First coined by Daniel Goleman, the amygdala is a part of our brain responsible for emotional memory and when ‘hijacked’ or triggered, it can respond as if what happened before is happening right now. I could only say ‘I can’t'…’ but could not complete my sentence.Īt home, trying to work out what had happened to me and why it had felt so alien and ‘not quite’ connected to my course, I stumbled across the term ‘amygdala hijack’. I stood up and left the room, retreating to a friend’s car where I sat crying unable to explain what had happened or why I was so upset. I knew I had to get out but I didn’t know why or what was happening. Although I wasn’t aware of it, my breathing began to increase and become more shallow and I could hear the words ‘I can’t’ on a loop in my head. My heart began to beat faster and I could feel my chest tightening. The room began to feel at once restrictive and oppressive yet somehow too vast to feel safe in. As the room fell quiet and people started to concentrate on the task at hand, I could feel myself starting to panic. We’d been asked to complete an exercise to spend 5 minutes reflecting on what it was like to be depressed. My fascination with CPTSD began when I experienced what I now know to be an emotional flashback during the second year of my psychotherapy training course.

Perhaps you’ve read Pete Walker’s excellent book ‘From Surviving to Thriving’ and are wondering what to do next and are having trouble finding a therapist who understands what you’re looking for. Maybe you aren’t even sure if what you’ve been through is ‘serious enough’ to be considered traumatic - this is a common concern for clients who also worry about being dismissed in therapy as they have been with well meaning friends, family or sometimes doctors or previous therapists. If you’re looking for help dealing with CPTSD, you might be wondering how to find a therapist that really understands what you’re going through and how to help.

Hi I’m Sarah! I’m a Manchester psychotherapist, working worldwide via Zoom.

Pete walker complex ptsd website