I had a university professor inform me—after self-disclosing a diagnosis I had been given of C-PTSD to the class—that it was just a more politically correct way to identify Borderline Personality Disorder in women. I had a bit of a crisis about how uninformed and unintelligent I was, then had a fit of worrying about how terrible it is to diminish those with BPD in my mind, and ended up settling on not needing to waste the doctor’s time with trying to sort out something so small (that I thought about for a few months).

For me, I have such intense waves of dissociation when things become too intense or stressful. I’ve also never been able to quite articulate the disconnection I feel from my body: when I look into a mirror, I can only see components or sections of myself. I can only see my eyes, my teeth, my left arm, my right elbow, but I can’t look at my whole self as a person. Seeing pictures of myself is a different experience than looking at a reflection. I have never had a mental health or other medical professional provide any insights when I’ve tried to describe it in the past. I am typically told I likely have C-PTSD based on my experiences combined with living with PTSD for nearly 20 years.

Thanks for posting this. The first time I read the list of symptoms, I was definitely surprised.