Comments on: Betrayal Trauma & CPTSD

By: Someone

Someone — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 06:03:38 +0000

Thank you for bringing attention to this issue. Institutional betrayal is an insidious problem, and it is often overlooked or misunderstood.
Institutional betrayal occurs when an organization or system (intentionally or unintentionally) fails to uphold fundamental human rights, values, or needs, often guided by false belief, cultural assumption or cognitive bias. This violation not only compounds direct harm but can legitimize neglect, abuse, or oppression within the collective conscience of a population and will often leave the victim stigmatized, misunderstood and disadvantaged. It ends up being a public gaslighting, so to speak…whereby the individual is at greater risk of internalizing the false beliefs of the group.

Unfortunately, i know all about it. You may feel alone during the trauma. But that doesnt mean you are. Hold on, friends.

By: Reni

Reni — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 20:20:13 +0000

After 13 years with my husband and 2 little kiddies, found out my husband had been living a double life the entire time. Having endless short and long term affairs physically and online with women and men. I found everything one evening on his phone including images, videos and messages, he would say anything to get what he wanted mainly putting me down and telling his affairs I wasn’t enough sexually. For years I felt neglected mentally and physically and poured so much energy into trying to spice up our marriage, I wish I had trusted my intuition and been strong enough to want more for myself. The trauma and grief are still very overwhelming 3 years later and my eldest who is 7 suffers from our sudden separation which breaks my heart. He did more damage than he realises and will never understand. So hard to move on when I have to co-parent with him.
Luckily my love for my kids is greater than my hate for him so I focus on myself and my kids everyday.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sun, 01 Jun 2025 03:37:48 +0000

In reply to Kellie.

Wow.

It’s sad how extremely complicated this can become. I’m sorry for your situation..I’m going through something similar. Early on in a 8 yr relationship, she was consumed with the idea of a 3some, I ended up kissing the neighbor, thinking I was getting the ball rolling for us. But I did that without her, which caused more trauma in her. Nothing I did was good enough, every holiday was ruined. I haven’t seen or heard from her in a month. I cannot get her out of my head, and I know for a fact she is with another man. Yet I feel like she was both the best and worst thing in my life. I miss her so very badly.

I guess I’m only posting this because I have no one to talk to

By: Tracy Guy

Tracy Guy — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 09:57:56 +0000

In reply to Elizabeth. Hi Elizabeth, Thanks so much for your kind comments. Validation is incredibly valuable on our path to healing. Keep going!

By: Tracy Guy

Tracy Guy — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 09:56:30 +0000

In reply to Bryce. Hi Bryce, I can empathise with you after having a similar experience. It changes us and in some cases, building trust in ourselves and others takes a very long time. Be kind to yourself. Regards Tracy

By: Tracy Guy

Tracy Guy — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 09:54:02 +0000

In reply to OSF. Hi OSF, I'm sorry to hear of your experience. People can be so very cruel. I hope you're making good progress on your path to healing now. Impotent rage can be hard to live with in the face of the injustice of betrayal, but it is possible to move forward. Just keep trying to move forwards.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 13:46:09 +0000

Thank you so much for this article and for validating what I have been trying to explain to myself and so many others (including therapists and affair recovery communities).

Because of this article that I found while googling C-ptsd, I found the meditation class through here. It has been 3 weeks and it is helping me regulate my triggers and also use the breath work and focus to improve my yoga practice. And visa versa.

Additionally, I have found the work of Dr. Omar Minwalla and his white paper on the “Secret Sexual Basement”. What a game changer for feeling validated for how all this feels and has affected me for almost 3 decades. Yes, I was lied to for almost 3 decades before discovering the truth about my husband’s secret life. Absolutely devastating.

Thank you again for the work you wrote so beautifully. Thank you for helping me realize I am not alone on this journey to recovery.

By: Bryce

Bryce — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 07:59:35 +0000

I was emotionally blindsided by a woman that I gave my entire heart to. But in the end and through many mutually loving encounters, (or so I thought) she discarded me and then blamed me for her departure. She hurt my entire family. And I am still trying to work through the betrayal.

By: OSF

OSF — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 08:59:31 +0000

Thank you for this. It is hard to relate to my friends about my CPTSD that I got at one job. A co-worker found out personal things about me and shared it with everyone. I was felt so shameful, and management said there was nothing they could do. Fast forward to the next year. The same coworker went through my medical chart. Again, there was no consequences for her actions. I was for the most part mentally sound, but this job has affected me tremendously. I moved but my friends here are all their own bosses, so they don’t really relate to what I have been trough. I feel more and more like a burden to them and it’s not fair that I shut them out. But I do fear of being betrayed again. I have been working on healing for the past year with therapy, but I have huge step backs. It’s a never-ending cycle.

By: Tracy Guy

Tracy Guy — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 11:00:18 +0000

In reply to ML. ML more than happy to help. Sending you strength to push through the bs!