Video · 12 minutes · C-PTSD · Men

C-PTSD comes from prolonged, repeated harm in a situation you could not leave. This video is what I told an interviewer when he asked what I see most often in the men in my practice.

Watch the video below. A written summary and transcript follow.

What this video covers

  • What C-PTSD is: repeated trauma where escape and help were not available
  • Childhood abuse, neglect, and abandonment — especially by a caregiver
  • Domestic violence against men, which is still under-reported
  • Combat, war zones, and high-crime environments
  • Chronic bullying, including humiliation and exclusion
  • Sexual abuse and exploitation
  • Institutional abuse and betrayal
  • Hostage or torture histories
  • Work-related trauma and workplace psychological bullying
  • Growing up in a chaotic, substance-using, or mentally ill family

Key takeaways

  • The common thread is not one event. It is prolonged fear, betrayal, and powerlessness.
  • Harm from a caregiver or trusted figure is especially damaging.
  • Men are talking about this more than they did a decade ago. That takes courage. It is not weakness.
  • If this started young, the adaptations often get woven into personality. That is why specialized care matters.
  • Naming the real source is what gets people into the right treatment instead of generic “stress” work.

Who this is for

Men who:

  • Recognize one or more of these backgrounds and have been told they only have anxiety, anger, or depression
  • Minimized the history because “other people had it worse”
  • Need a plain list before they read a longer article or book a consult

Next step

If you are a California resident and want to discuss fit, request a consult.

Transcript

C-PTSD: Common Causes in Men

Hi everybody, welcome. It’s Michael Quirke. I want to talk more today about men and complex post-traumatic stress disorder, or C-PTSD. I was being interviewed and this gentleman asked what I saw as the most common causes of C-PTSD in the men in my practice. If you come from one of the backgrounds I am about to describe, specialized care is how you get better.

C-PTSD stems from prolonged, repeated exposure to traumatic events — especially in relationships or environments where escape was not possible and help was not available.

Childhood abuse and neglect. Physical, emotional, or sexual abuse in childhood, plus chronic neglect or physical and emotional abandonment. This is particularly damaging if the perpetrator was a caregiver or a close trusted figure.

A side note: over the last ten years I have seen more men recognize the enormity of what they lived through. They minimize less than they used to. That honesty serves them, their families, and the people around them. It takes bravery.

Domestic violence. An abusive relationship — physical, emotional, or psychological — over time can lead to C-PTSD. It is still widely misperceived and under-reported when men are the ones being hurt.

Combat and other prolonged violence. Military trauma: prolonged combat, witnessing death or severe injury, living under constant threat. Also gang violence, growing up in a war zone, or growing up in a high-crime area.

Chronic bullying. In childhood, adolescence, or adulthood. Especially damaging when it includes humiliation, social exclusion, or physical harm. Men talk with me about this regularly.

Sexual abuse or exploitation. Especially if you were young or powerless to stop it.

Institutional abuse and betrayal. Prison, an orphanage, a school, a hospital or recovery setting, a military training camp. Prolonged mistreatment and systematic dehumanization.

Hostage situations or torture. Less common in the men I see, but when captivity or physical or psychological torture lasts, the scars run deep.

Work-related trauma. First responders, police, physicians, nurses, other high-risk work, repeated accidents, disasters, or violence. Also ongoing workplace psychological bullying. Speaking up or leaving can mean economic harm as well as emotional danger, and often there is no help inside the setting.

Family dysfunction. Constant conflict, adults or siblings using substances, mental illness and erratic behavior. Particularly damaging when caregivers were the source of fear and instability.

These settings share powerlessness, betrayal, and prolonged fear. That is what makes C-PTSD complex and enduring. When this happens young, the symptoms and adaptations get woven into personality.

Educate yourself about post-traumatic effects. When you know what you are actually dealing with, you can get appropriate treatment and you can get better. Hundreds of articles on trauma treatment are at www.michaelgquirke.com.

This page and video are for education. They are not therapy, a diagnosis, a crisis service, or a substitute for personal assessment. Psychotherapy is available to California residents.