{"id":121127,"date":"2024-01-10T14:59:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-10T18:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=121127"},"modified":"2026-04-28T14:45:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T18:45:58","slug":"cptsd-and-relationships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/cptsd-and-relationships\/","title":{"rendered":"CPTSD and Relationships: Recovering Socially From Abuse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Why is it hard for victims of abuse to form connections, and how can they recover? How does complex PTSD (CPTSD) influence relationships?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many people struggle with CPTSD, and relationships are hard for those who do. Because abuse has such an effect on relationships, it takes time and effort for survivors to learn to form <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/healthy-friendships\/\">healthy friendships<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read on for more on how trauma survivors can heal and develop healthy connections with new people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-socially-recovering-from-cptsd\">Socially Recovering From CPTSD<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The previous sections have focused on trauma survivors as individuals, but another crucial part of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/recovering-from-cptsd\/\">recovering from CPTSD<\/a> is learning how to form <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/building-healthy-relationships\/\">healthy relationships<\/a>. CPTSD and relationships are linked because of the way abuse influences a person\u2019s ability to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/eckhart-tolle-relationships-how-to-be-present\/\">connect with others<\/a>. People have deep-seated needs to feel safe and loved, and the only way to meet those needs is through meaningful connections with other people. \u201cSafe\u201d in this context doesn\u2019t just mean physically safe, but also safe to be fully themselves: to freely express their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/thoughts-feelings-and-behaviors\/\">thoughts and feelings<\/a> without the fear of ridicule or punishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember that CPTSD occurs when the most important people in someone\u2019s life\u2014such as family members or romantic partners\u2014habitually abuse and neglect that person. <strong>This conditions the survivor to believe that <\/strong><strong><em>all <\/em><\/strong><strong>people are dangerous: <\/strong>If they couldn\u2019t trust the people they were closest to, who could they possibly trust now?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Neuroplasticity: How the Brain Changes in Both Trauma and Recovery\u00a0<\/strong><br><br>The conditioning described here doesn\u2019t just change a person\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-break-negative-thought-patterns\/\">thought patterns<\/a>, it physically changes how their brain works. This is possible because of <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/hub\/science\/what-is-neuroplasticity-and-how-does-it-work\/\">neuroplasticity<\/a><\/em>, which means the brain\u2019s ability to change and adapt. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/behave\/1-page-summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Behave<\/em><\/a>, neurologist Robert Sapolsky explains that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/behave\/1-page-summary#the-structure-of-the-brain\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the brain works like a muscle<\/a>: The parts that a person uses a lot grow bigger and stronger, while the parts that they don\u2019t use as much shrink and become weaker. In short, the brain gets better at doing what it habitually does.\u00a0<br><br>Unfortunately, for someone with CPTSD, neuroplasticity means that their brain has become very good at protecting them from other people, but very bad at determining who\u2019s actually dangerous and who isn\u2019t. This also means that they can\u2019t just decide to stop being afraid\u2014they have to recondition themselves and rewire their brains to stop assuming that other people are a threat.\u00a0<br><br>To illustrate this point, in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-body-keeps-the-score\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Body Keeps the Score<\/em><\/a>, psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-body-keeps-the-score\/chapter-5#even-eye-contact-is-threatening\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cites a study<\/a> that compared brain functions in people with PTSD and those without. The participants were hooked up to a brain scanner and shown images of a cartoon character making eye contact with them. In people with PTSD, the areas of their brains associated with defensive and protective behaviors were immediately activated. In people without PTSD, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-are-the-regions-of-the-brain\/\">areas of the brain<\/a> associated with social skills were activated instead; this suggests that they were interpreting the character\u2019s expression and intentions, rather than immediately considering it to be a threat.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-finding-meaningful-connections\">Finding Meaningful Connections<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The importance of strong social bonds is well documented and widely accepted, but how can someone who believes people are dangerous start to form deep, meaningful, supportive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/realationships-with-others\/\">relationships with others<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In many cases, a survivor\u2019s first meaningful connection is with their therapist. When someone\u2019s conditioned to be afraid of others, sharing personal details and leaving themselves emotionally vulnerable feels much too dangerous to risk. Therefore, therapy may be the first time they\u2019re able to talk honestly about their thoughts, feelings, and past experiences.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trauma support groups or online forums about recovery are also good places for someone with CPTSD to begin looking for healthy connections with other people. For survivors who aren\u2019t ready to join new social groups, a pet can also be an excellent source of love, acceptance, and connection.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: It\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindbodygreen.com\/articles\/how-to-make-friends-as-an-adult\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">notoriously hard for adults to make new friends<\/a>\u2014one study found that in 2004, the average American had <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/lost-connections\/part-2-chapter-3#modern-humans-are-less-connected-than-ever\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">zero close friends<\/a>\u2014and it\u2019s even more difficult for people with CPTSD. One reliable way for adults to make new friends is to join a group that interests them, where they\u2019ll naturally meet other people who share that interest and interact with them regularly. Also, making new friends sometimes takes a certain amount of boldness: To make friends they wouldn\u2019t make otherwise, people may have to accept invitations they\u2019d normally turn down or try making the first move to start a new friendship. For reasons that we\u2019ve discussed, all of these things are exceptionally hard for people recovering from complex trauma.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Social recovery is the last stage of recovering from CPTSD, since it requires a certain degree of self-esteem and self-confidence\u2014things that complex trauma conditions out of people. <strong>In fact, trying to form social bonds too soon can cause further harm<\/strong>, as rejection or humiliation might confirm the survivor\u2019s beliefs that they\u2019re unworthy of love and that other people are unsafe.(Shortform note: It might seem strange that a simple rejection could cause further trauma, but doctors say that people respond psychologically to rejection <a href=\"https:\/\/www.apa.org\/monitor\/2012\/04\/rejection\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">in the same way they respond to physical pain<\/a>. In fact, the responses are so similar that over-the-counter painkillers have been shown to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.apa.org\/monitor\/2012\/04\/rejection#:~:text=Compared%20with%20the%20placebo%20group%2C%20volunteers%20who%20took%20the%20drug%20recounted%20fewer%20episodes%20of%20hurt%20feelings%20in%20daily%20self%2Dreports.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reduce the pain of hurt feelings<\/a>. This suggests that\u2014especially for people with CPTSD, who already see others as threatening\u2014walking into a social situation could feel as risky as putting themselves in physical danger.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why is it hard for victims of abuse to form connections, and how can they recover? How does complex PTSD (CPTSD) influence relationships? Many people struggle with CPTSD, and relationships are hard for those who do. Because abuse has such an effect on relationships, it takes time and effort for survivors to learn to form healthy friendships. Read on for more on how trauma survivors can heal and develop healthy connections with new people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":121128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,12],"tags":[1366],"class_list":["post-121127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","category-relationships","tag-complex-ptsd","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>CPTSD and Relationships: Recovering Socially From Abuse - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Survivors of abuse often suffer from CPTSD, making relationships difficult. 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