For those living with Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD), recognizing that they are stuck in survival mode can be incredibly challenging. Survival mode is a state where the body and mind are constantly on high alert, prepared to respond to perceived threats. For many, this becomes a normalized state of being, making it difficult to identify and address.

The Normalization of Survival Mode

1. Early Adaptation: Many people with CPTSD have adapted to survival mode from a young age. Chronic trauma, especially in childhood, can lead to a state of constant vigilance. This hyper-awareness becomes a coping mechanism, ingrained so deeply that it feels like a normal part of life.
2. Seemingly Normal Lives: It’s common for individuals with CPTSD to lead what appear to be normal lives. They may have successful careers, relationships, and social interactions. The ability to compartmentalize and function well in daily life can mask the underlying trauma. This facade of normalcy often makes it hard to recognize the signs of survival mode.
3. Coping Mechanisms: Over time, people develop various coping mechanisms to manage their trauma. These can include dissociation, perfectionism, and highly functioning with a hyper-level of independence. While these strategies can help them function, they also keep the person disconnected from their deeper emotional pain, making it harder to identify the ongoing impact of trauma.

Triggers and the Landslide Effect

Triggers are events or experiences that resemble and remind the individual of their past trauma. When a trigger occurs, it can set off a cascade of emotional and physical responses that bring the underlying trauma to the surface. The autonomic nervous system is a memory bank of distressing and traumatic events ready to be unleashed in the present moment.

1. Unexpected Triggers: Triggers can be anything from a specific smell, sound, or situation that unconsciously reminds the person of their trauma and exposure of deeply engrained limiting core beliefs. These triggers can occur unexpectedly and may seem minor to others, but they are deeply impactful and create immense nervous system dysregulation in the person with CPTSD.
2. The Landslide: When triggered, the body, brain, mind, and emotions can react intensely, often referred to as a “landslide.” This can manifest as panic attacks, overwhelming anxiety, depression, or intense emotional outbursts and overpowering stress responses. These responses reveal the depth of unprocessed trauma stress that has been lurking beneath the surface.

Recognizing Survival Mode

1. Hyper-Vigilance: Constantly feeling on edge, scanning the environment for potential threats, and having difficulty relaxing are signs of hyper-vigilance, a key indicator of survival mode.
2. Emotional Numbness: Feeling detached from emotions or having a limited range of emotional experiences can be a coping mechanism to avoid the pain associated with trauma.
3. Chronic Stress Symptoms: Physical symptoms such as headaches, muscle tension, gastrointestinal issues, and fatigue are common in those stuck in survival mode.
4. Dissociation: Experiencing moments where you feel disconnected from your body or surroundings, often described as feeling “spaced out” or “unreal,” is a sign of dissociation.

Path to Healing

Understanding that living in survival mode is not truly living but merely existing is the first step toward healing. Here are some steps to help identify and move beyond survival mode:

1. Education and Awareness: Learning about CPTSD and survival mode can provide insight into your experiences and validate your feelings.
2. Therapeutic Support: Working with a trauma-informed therapist can help you navigate and process your trauma. Therapies such as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), somatic experiencing, and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are effective for treating CPTSD.
3. Mindfulness and Self-Compassion: Practices like mindfulness meditation and self-compassion exercises can help you stay present and connected to your body, reducing the grip of survival mode.
4. Community and Connection: Building a supportive network of friends, family, or support groups can provide a sense of safety and belonging, which is crucial for healing.
5. Nervous System Regulation: Techniques that focus on regulating the nervous system, such as deep breathing, yoga, and vagus nerve stimulation, can help move the body, brain, and nervous system out of survival mode. Releasing unrelenting cycles stuck rotating between hyper and hypo arousal states and into a state of true calm and embodied safety and reconnection.

By acknowledging the impact of survival mode and taking steps to complete stored, incomplete stress cycles, individuals with CPTSD can move towards a life of genuine presence, connection, healing, and empowered growth. Turning towards the nervous system provides maps to guide the system back to increased safety. Remember, the journey may be challenging, but it is also profoundly transformative when one bridges the gap between the mind and body, the brain and nervous system. Compassionately embrace the body as wisdom and emotions as healing intelligence. 

Guest Post Disclaimer: Any and all information shared in this guest blog post is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in this blog post, nor any content on CPTSDfoundation.org, is a supplement for or supersedes the relationship and direction of your medical or mental health providers. Thoughts, ideas, or opinions expressed by the writer of this guest blog post do not necessarily reflect those of CPTSD Foundation. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Full Disclaimer.

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Roseanne Reilly

Roseanne Reilly DipNUR, APCST, ERYT500hr CEP specializing in Restoring Safety to the Nervous System Repair

Roseanne comes from a Background of Nursing, She is an Advanced CranioSacral Therapist, Yoga Teacher and Educator and Somatic Emotional Healing Practitioner

Roseanne provides research based tools and resources for nervous systems restoration following chronic and trauma stress

She provides insights from her own healing journey towards recovery, through blogs, weekly resources, work shops, courses, 1 to 1 mentoring and small group sessions

Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/roseanne-reilly-3014a0200/

website address: https://handsoftimehealing.com/