That layering of childhood and adult-onset trauma can feel so overwhelming. It makes sense that it’s been hard to get your footing. When the more recent pain is still fresh or unresolved, it can sometimes feel like it’s blocking access to the deeper healing work underneath.
But the fact that you’re noticing it-and naming it-that’s a powerful step.
Be gentle with yourself.
Healing from both layers takes time, and there’s no “right” order. You’re doing the work, even when it feels messy.
And you’re not alone in this.❤️
Stay close- next week we’re taking a deep dive into emotional flashbacks.
I think I have both, too, as well as standard PTSD. I was diagnosed autistic and ADHD only a few years ago, so I've gone a lifetime of not knowing why life was such a constant struggle. Plus generational trauma and incidents in adulthood that I can pin specifically as traumatic. I struggle to separate them all, especially as some of the signs of trauma are also common ADHD issues (e.g. trouble concentrating, fatigue, rejection sensitive dysphoria).
Thank you so much for sharing this. You are so not alone — so many of us are trying to untangle all of those overlapping layers: childhood trauma, adult trauma, undiagnosed neurodivergence, and the generational patterns we were born into.
It’s a lot — and it makes complete sense that it’s hard to separate them when the symptoms can look so similar.
I really hear you on the ADHD and trauma overlap too — things like fatigue, trouble focusing, and RSD are so real, and often overlooked and misunderstood.
I hope you keep following along with the series — we’ll be diving deeper into exactly these kinds of overlaps in the coming weeks. I’m really happy you’re here.🩷
Once again, your writing completely resonates with me. A friend and I were just talking about how so many holistic healers think that they are equipped to help clients who suffer from the effects of long term trauma, yet many times they hurt more than help. I think there needs to be a learning component around C-PTSD in all therapies including energy work.
Thank you so much for sharing this - and I couldn’t agree more. I’ve seen the same thing far too often. While many holistic healers mean well, without a real understanding of Complex PTSD and how trauma reshapes the nervous system, their tools can sometimes retraumatize instead of regulate.
When someone carries the weight of long-term trauma, especially from childhood, even the most gentle practices can feel overwhelming or unsafe if they’re not offered through a trauma-informed lens.
I’d love to see C-PTSD education woven into every modality - especially energy work and body-based practices, where deep emotions can surface fast. When we know better, we can help better.
Sending big hugs - I’m so glad this resonated with you.
I’m currently reading ‘The Body Keeps the Score’ by Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk. It started off talking about Vietnam war veterans, but haven’t started the chapter on childhood abuse yet. He’s been working as a traumatologist almost for as long as I’ve been walking earth. I’ve read a few of Dr. Maté’s book, including ‘The Myth of Normal’, which helped me understand some of my projections. My brain lives in a state of hyper-vigilance even with all the counseling, short periods of medications, a couple EMDR sessions. I’ve been working on healing my childhood cPTSD and rewiring my brain for about 30 years now and when I think all is good, something or someone, who unmasks the pain and longing remind me I’ll be done working on the damage done when I die. Meditation, healing the very few memories left, counseling, and understanding the cycle of generational trauma are key to the healing process. Thank you for making the distinction with this essay.
Thank you so much for this thoughtful reflection. I felt every word.
The Body Keeps the Score and The Myth of Normal are actually two of my top 5 favorite books-they both played such a big role in helping me make sense of my own trauma responses and nervous system patterns. It sounds like they’ve been powerful mirrors for you, too.
That sentence- “I’ll be done working on the damage done when I die”- is heartbreakingly honest. I think so many of us with childhood-onset Complex PTSD know exactly what you mean. Even after years of therapy, meditation, and inner work… something can still stir up the grief, the longing, the old pain.
But you’ve stayed with it! And that matters. Everything you named-generational trauma, rewiring, returning to your body again and again-is the work. If no one else has told you this, may I be the first: GREAT job!! Most people are too afraid to do the deep inner work, but here you are - still doing it! Amazing!
I’m grateful my post resonated. Thank you for taking the time to share your journey-you’re not alone in it.❤️
Stay close- next week we’re taking a deep dive into emotional flashbacks!
The emotional pain or reaction elicited by daily events in our lives is greater than the one that is relived. That’s why strive to heal and better myself. I am what some call a “super empathetic” too and want to avoid being used If each one of us took the time to just sit down and quiet our minds, listen to it, we would hear our subconscious. The world would be a better place, more in tune with their emotions, but more people live in denial than those that want to heal.
Which are your other 3 favorite books if I may ask?
Learning how to hold that sensitivity with boundaries has been such a huge part of my healing too.
I love what you said about quieting the mind. That’s where so much of my own healing started - in the stillness, finally listening to what had always been there underneath the noise.
And yes, I’d love to share the rest of my top 5 books! Alongside The Body Keeps the Score and The Myth of Normal, here are the other three that really shaped my journey:
1. How to Do the Work by Dr. Nicole LePera (The Holistic Psychologist)
2. The Greatest Secret by Rhonda Byrne — the audiobook version is so powerful
3. How to Ikigai by Tim Tamashiro — a beautiful reminder of purpose and joy
Each one gave me something different - and they’ve all helped me come home to myself in a deeper way.
Grateful we’re walking this path together. I think you’ll really connect with next week’s post on emotional flashbacks - it speaks right into what you just shared.
Thank you for taking the time to write this, very helpful. I was diagnosed with cptsd 5 years ago at 67 years. Emdr was very effective and helpful. I have come to realize I will have to manage it for the rest of my life, not unlike many other diagnoses. The paradox, while I grieve who I could have been, I’m grateful for who I am 😔
It really does take a village — and I’m so honored to be part of yours.
Thank you for sharing your story with such vulnerability and strength. The more we speak this truth out loud, the less alone we all feel. I’m grateful you’re here.
I’m so grateful I happened upon your account. I’ve had years (probably decades all added up) of therapy with varying degrees of relief. I found myself tearing up while reading this article. I experienced both childhood and adulthood PTSD, which I would guess is not too unusual. Anyway, thank you. 💞💞💞
Thank you so much for sharing this - I’m really touched to hear it resonated that deeply. ❤️It’s incredibly common to have both childhood and adult trauma, and yet so many people go years (even decades) in therapy without having that full picture acknowledged. I know I did.
The fact that you’ve stayed on the path - through all the layers and all the pain - is something to be deeply proud of. I’m so grateful you found your way here, and I hope you keep finding pieces of yourself reflected and supported in this space. You’re not alone. 🌿
I have both... The adult-onset seems to be thwarting my efforts till now on the childhood-onset. It's hard to get my footing...
That layering of childhood and adult-onset trauma can feel so overwhelming. It makes sense that it’s been hard to get your footing. When the more recent pain is still fresh or unresolved, it can sometimes feel like it’s blocking access to the deeper healing work underneath.
But the fact that you’re noticing it-and naming it-that’s a powerful step.
Be gentle with yourself.
Healing from both layers takes time, and there’s no “right” order. You’re doing the work, even when it feels messy.
And you’re not alone in this.❤️
Stay close- next week we’re taking a deep dive into emotional flashbacks.
I think I have both, too, as well as standard PTSD. I was diagnosed autistic and ADHD only a few years ago, so I've gone a lifetime of not knowing why life was such a constant struggle. Plus generational trauma and incidents in adulthood that I can pin specifically as traumatic. I struggle to separate them all, especially as some of the signs of trauma are also common ADHD issues (e.g. trouble concentrating, fatigue, rejection sensitive dysphoria).
Thank you so much for sharing this. You are so not alone — so many of us are trying to untangle all of those overlapping layers: childhood trauma, adult trauma, undiagnosed neurodivergence, and the generational patterns we were born into.
It’s a lot — and it makes complete sense that it’s hard to separate them when the symptoms can look so similar.
I really hear you on the ADHD and trauma overlap too — things like fatigue, trouble focusing, and RSD are so real, and often overlooked and misunderstood.
I hope you keep following along with the series — we’ll be diving deeper into exactly these kinds of overlaps in the coming weeks. I’m really happy you’re here.🩷
Thank you! I'm looking forward to reading more from you 😊
Once again, your writing completely resonates with me. A friend and I were just talking about how so many holistic healers think that they are equipped to help clients who suffer from the effects of long term trauma, yet many times they hurt more than help. I think there needs to be a learning component around C-PTSD in all therapies including energy work.
Thank you so much for sharing this - and I couldn’t agree more. I’ve seen the same thing far too often. While many holistic healers mean well, without a real understanding of Complex PTSD and how trauma reshapes the nervous system, their tools can sometimes retraumatize instead of regulate.
When someone carries the weight of long-term trauma, especially from childhood, even the most gentle practices can feel overwhelming or unsafe if they’re not offered through a trauma-informed lens.
I’d love to see C-PTSD education woven into every modality - especially energy work and body-based practices, where deep emotions can surface fast. When we know better, we can help better.
Sending big hugs - I’m so glad this resonated with you.
I’m currently reading ‘The Body Keeps the Score’ by Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk. It started off talking about Vietnam war veterans, but haven’t started the chapter on childhood abuse yet. He’s been working as a traumatologist almost for as long as I’ve been walking earth. I’ve read a few of Dr. Maté’s book, including ‘The Myth of Normal’, which helped me understand some of my projections. My brain lives in a state of hyper-vigilance even with all the counseling, short periods of medications, a couple EMDR sessions. I’ve been working on healing my childhood cPTSD and rewiring my brain for about 30 years now and when I think all is good, something or someone, who unmasks the pain and longing remind me I’ll be done working on the damage done when I die. Meditation, healing the very few memories left, counseling, and understanding the cycle of generational trauma are key to the healing process. Thank you for making the distinction with this essay.
Thank you so much for this thoughtful reflection. I felt every word.
The Body Keeps the Score and The Myth of Normal are actually two of my top 5 favorite books-they both played such a big role in helping me make sense of my own trauma responses and nervous system patterns. It sounds like they’ve been powerful mirrors for you, too.
That sentence- “I’ll be done working on the damage done when I die”- is heartbreakingly honest. I think so many of us with childhood-onset Complex PTSD know exactly what you mean. Even after years of therapy, meditation, and inner work… something can still stir up the grief, the longing, the old pain.
But you’ve stayed with it! And that matters. Everything you named-generational trauma, rewiring, returning to your body again and again-is the work. If no one else has told you this, may I be the first: GREAT job!! Most people are too afraid to do the deep inner work, but here you are - still doing it! Amazing!
I’m grateful my post resonated. Thank you for taking the time to share your journey-you’re not alone in it.❤️
Stay close- next week we’re taking a deep dive into emotional flashbacks!
Thanks for sharing the books information. Likewise, grateful for walking the journey with you and all those working on healing.
The emotional pain or reaction elicited by daily events in our lives is greater than the one that is relived. That’s why strive to heal and better myself. I am what some call a “super empathetic” too and want to avoid being used If each one of us took the time to just sit down and quiet our minds, listen to it, we would hear our subconscious. The world would be a better place, more in tune with their emotions, but more people live in denial than those that want to heal.
Which are your other 3 favorite books if I may ask?
Learning how to hold that sensitivity with boundaries has been such a huge part of my healing too.
I love what you said about quieting the mind. That’s where so much of my own healing started - in the stillness, finally listening to what had always been there underneath the noise.
And yes, I’d love to share the rest of my top 5 books! Alongside The Body Keeps the Score and The Myth of Normal, here are the other three that really shaped my journey:
1. How to Do the Work by Dr. Nicole LePera (The Holistic Psychologist)
2. The Greatest Secret by Rhonda Byrne — the audiobook version is so powerful
3. How to Ikigai by Tim Tamashiro — a beautiful reminder of purpose and joy
Each one gave me something different - and they’ve all helped me come home to myself in a deeper way.
Grateful we’re walking this path together. I think you’ll really connect with next week’s post on emotional flashbacks - it speaks right into what you just shared.
Thank you for taking the time to write this, very helpful. I was diagnosed with cptsd 5 years ago at 67 years. Emdr was very effective and helpful. I have come to realize I will have to manage it for the rest of my life, not unlike many other diagnoses. The paradox, while I grieve who I could have been, I’m grateful for who I am 😔
Thank you so much for sharing this.
Being diagnosed later in life brings so many layers-but I love the way you’ve met this inner work with honesty and grace.
That paradox you named is one I know very well: the deep grief for who we might’ve been, and the quiet gratitude for who we’ve become.
It’s not either-or. It’s both.
Healing isn’t about getting rid of it completely. It’s about learning to live alongside it with more understanding, more compassion, and more tools.
It’s about looking back- and learning to love all your parts, even the ones that once felt too hard to hold.
Sending big hugs your way.
You’re not alone in this.❤️
I feel so validated - thank you for acknowledging and responding - it does take a village, doesn’t it
It really does take a village — and I’m so honored to be part of yours.
Thank you for sharing your story with such vulnerability and strength. The more we speak this truth out loud, the less alone we all feel. I’m grateful you’re here.
Big hugs right back.
I’m so grateful I happened upon your account. I’ve had years (probably decades all added up) of therapy with varying degrees of relief. I found myself tearing up while reading this article. I experienced both childhood and adulthood PTSD, which I would guess is not too unusual. Anyway, thank you. 💞💞💞
Thank you so much for sharing this - I’m really touched to hear it resonated that deeply. ❤️It’s incredibly common to have both childhood and adult trauma, and yet so many people go years (even decades) in therapy without having that full picture acknowledged. I know I did.
The fact that you’ve stayed on the path - through all the layers and all the pain - is something to be deeply proud of. I’m so grateful you found your way here, and I hope you keep finding pieces of yourself reflected and supported in this space. You’re not alone. 🌿
Thank you for this
I’m so glad it resonated.
These are the kinds of reminders we all need sometimes-especially on the harder days.
Thank you for being here.
Really helpful post thank you so much
Thank you- These are such important distinctions to name. I’m really happy it was helpful.
You’re not alone in this work.❤️
Thank you, I need to hear this again!
I’m so glad it landed at the right time. Sometimes we do need to hear it again—especially when the old narratives try to creep back in.
Keep doing the inner work.
You’re not alone in this❤️
Stay close- next week we’re going to take a deep dive into emotional flashbacks.