Note:  If you have any suggestions for additional terms, please email l.herod@yahoo.ca.

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Abusive Cycle - This is the name for the ongoing rotation between destructive and constructive behavior which is typical of many dysfunctional/abusive relationships and families.

Adult Children - An adult child is a term commonly used to refer to an adult who was exposed to emotional, physical and/or sexual abuse as a child.

Adverse Child Experiences (ACE) – a study was conducted by the Centres for Disease Control and Kaiser Permanente in the United Stated from 1995 to 1997.  Investigators surveyed 17,000 Americans regarding a history of adverse experiences (e.g., abuse/neglect), and their current health and risk factors. The results indicated that the higher the ACE score the greater the incidence of the ten leading causes of death including heart/lung/liver disease, smoking, obesity, alcoholism, risky sexual behaviour, injection drug use, clinical depression, and suicidal behavior.

Alienation - The act of cutting off or interfering with an individual's relationships with others.

Amygdala - The amygdala is a small region of the brain which plays a key role in emotional regulation, emotional memory and responses to emotional stimuli. 

Amygdala Hijacking - An “amygdala hijacking” is a term first used by Daniel Goleman to describe immediate and intense emotional reactions which take over the cognitive areas of the brain; feelings are ramped up while thinking is slowed. In the case of CPTSD the amygdala becomes over-reactive and hypersensitive due to ongoing trauma. Thus, when someone with CPTSD perceives danger or a threat, the amygdala triggers more quickly and intensely than other people.

Angering - Angering is a one of four “processes of grieving” (angering, crying, verbal ventilation and feeling) in recovery from CPTSD described by Pete Walker in his book “CPTSD: From Surviving to Thriving” (2013, pp. 222 to 225).  It involves expression of one’s deeply held feelings of hurt, anger and even rage over the abuse or neglect at the hands of the perpetrator. It is important to point out that angering is not directed at the person who inflicted the trauma, but against the internalized version which in CPTSD commonly takes the form of a virulent and vicious Inner Critic. 

Attachment Needs – The term “attachment” refers to a lasting, emotional/psychological bond that is forged between people.  Attachment needs are particularly important in infancy when children form a bond with primary caregivers and develop a sense of safety, security and self-esteem.  Adults with CPTSD who grow up in an abusive or neglectful household do not have these needs met and as a result, struggle with forming and maintaining healthy, intimate relationships in adulthood. 

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Baiting - A provocative act used to solicit an angry, aggressive or emotional response from another individual.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) – Individuals with CPTSD are often misdiagnosed with BPD. The cluster of symptoms associated with BPD includes: transient dissociation; a feeling of chronic emptiness; intense anger; identity disturbance; impulsivity; self-harming behaviours; and, affective instability.  While these overlap with both PTSD and Complex PTSD in the DSM-V, BPD is considered distinct from both based on two additional diagnostic criteria: terror of abandonment or rejection, and alternating idealization and devaluation of others.  Further, while the etiology of both PTSD and CPTSD relates solely to trauma, the development of BPD is multi-factored in nature, often stemming from severe attachment insecurity and disorganization, and as a personality disorder extends beyond both PTSD and CPTSD.  (Reference: Ford, J. D. & Courtois, C. (2014).  Complex PTSD, affect dysregulation, and borderline personality disorder. Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation , 1(9). Retrieved from http://www.bpded.com/content/1/1/9.)

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Catastrophizing - The habit of automatically assuming a "worst case scenario" and inappropriately characterizing minor or moderate problems or issues as catastrophic events.

Childhood Abuse and Neglect – Childhood abuse and neglect refers to emotional/sexual abuse/physical abuse perpetrated when a person is a child or teen. Underlying all forms of childhood abuse and neglect is emotional abuse and ultimately emotional abandonment of children. That is, children do not receive the love, support, guidance and safety they need from parents/caregivers during their developmental years and essentially are left emotionally to fend for themselves.  When childhood abuse and neglect is repeated or ongoing it can lead to developmental arrests and CPTSD that carries into adulthood. 

Codependency - A codependent relationship is when an otherwise mentally-healthy person is controlled or manipulated by another who is abusive, and/or affected by an addiction or mental illness.

Comorbidity - Comorbidity refers to the occurrence of more than one diagnosis in a person. In the case of those who experienced ongoing relational trauma/complex trauma, comorbidities may be psychological and/or physical (e.g., heart/lung/liver disease, smoking, obesity, alcoholism, risky sexual behaviour, injection drug use, clinical depression, suicidal ideation).

Coercive Control – a form of psychological abuse in which the perpetrator uses various strategies to control someone (e.g., emotional abuse, financial dependence, isolation). There are now laws against this form of abuse in many countries.

Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) - a psychological injury that results from prolonged exposure to trauma in which there is no real or perceived avenue of escape. According to the International Classification of Diseases Revision 11, there are six symptoms including: 1) RE –Re-experiencing past trauma in the present (flashbacks; nightmares); 2) AV – Avoidance of traumatic triggers (thoughts, feelings, people, places, things); 3) SOT – Persistent sense of threat (hypervigilance, heightened startle response); 4) AD – Affective dysregulation (shame, fear, anger/rage, grief; hypoarousal - numbing, dissociation, depersonalization, derealization); 5) NSC – Negative self-concept (highly critical of self; feeling defective/inferior/worthless; perfectionism); and, 6) DR – Disturbed relationships (attachment disorder, social anxiety, desire to isolate, feeling different than others, mistrust, fear of vulnerability or intimacy).

Complex Trauma – This term refers to protracted/repeated traumatic stressors from which escape is not possible or is perceived as such. Examples include: relational - an individual is trapped for an extended period in an abusive/neglectful relationship with someone in a position of authority/power over them (e.g., parent, partner, coach, teacher, employer, religious leader); identity/community - trauma inflicted on people based on identifiable characteristics (e.g., race, gender, sexual orientation) and/or beliefs (e.g., political, religious); impersonal - trauma caused by random events such as natural disasters, accidents, chronic illness; and, institutional - ongoing trauma inflicted by the actions or lack of action on the part of an institution (e.g., the church, police, justice system)

Cortisol – Cortisol is a hormone that is secreted by the adrenal glands and converts protein into energy. When a person feels unsafe or threatened in some manner, the amygdala signals the endocrine system which releases cortisol and causes an increased heart rate and a rise in blood pressure arises in preparation for a defensive response such as fight or fright. In people with CPTSD, chronic stress can cause high levels of cortisol to be released.

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Depersonalization – A form of dissociation in which a person feels as though they are not real, that they are disconnected from themselves, and are somewhat distant or detached from what is happening to them.  This is a psychological response when facing overwhelming trauma.

Derealization - A form of dissociation in which a person feels as though the world around them is not real, that they are in a dreamlike state and detached from their feelings. Like depersonalization this is a psychological response when facing overwhelming trauma.

Developmental Trauma Disorder - Repeated or ongoing exposure of children to one or more forms of developmentally adverse interpersonal trauma (eg, abandonment, betrayal, physical assaults, sexual assaults, threats to bodily integrity, coercive practices, emotional abuse, witnessing violence and/or death). This is a relatively new unofficial diagnosis which is not yet in either the APA DSM or the WHO ICD.

Disorder of Extreme Stress Not Otherwise Specified (DESNOS) – DESNOS is an earlier, alternative term used to describe the cluster of symptoms now referred to as Complex PTSD.

Dissociation - Dissociation is a central feature of Complex PTSD in which one or more parts of the person’s psyche becomes fixated on avoiding and/or defending the self from the painful emotions of re-experiencing trauma, while other parts manage the tasks required of daily living. According to van der Hart and his colleagues (2005), there are three levels of dissociation (primary - PTSD; secondary - CPTSD; and, tertiary - Dissociative Identity Disorder or DID) which span a continuum in terms of a person’s sense of continuity of self and relate to the degree to which trauma interrupts integration of the psyche’s daily life.  Reference:  van der Hart. O., Nijenhuis, E. & Steele, K.  (2005). Dissociation: An insufficiently recognized major feature of Complex PTSD. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 18(5).

Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - The American Psychiatric Association's classification manual of mental disorders.

Domestic Abuse/Violence – behaviours in an intimate relationship that are used to gain or maintain power and control a partner. Abuse may be physical, sexual, emotional, economic including any behaviors that frighten, intimidate, terrorize, manipulate, hurt, humiliate, blame, injure, or wound the partner.

Dopamine - Dopamine acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain. Increased levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine have been found to reduce depression and are the basis of most antidepressants.

Dysthymia - Dysthymia is a psychological term for prolonged depression, generally lasting 2 or more years.

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Emotional Flashbacks – EFs are one of the most common symptoms of CPTSD and involve mild to intense feeling states (e.g., anger, shame, fear) that were felt in past trauma, and are layered over present-day situations. For example, a person who grew up with a parent who was angry and abusive may react with sudden intense fear to a conflict at work and not understand what is happening or why. 

Enabler - A person who habitually attempts to placate another by sacrificing their own or other family members needs in a misguided attempt to keep the peace.

Enabling - Enabling is a pattern of behavior, often adopted by abuse victims, which seeks to avoid confrontation and conflict by absorbing the abuse without challenging it or setting boundaries. The perpetrator of the abuse is thus "enabled" to continue their pattern of behavior.

Engulfment/Enmeshment - An unhealthy and overwhelming level of attention and dependency on another person, which comes from imagining or believing one exists only within the context of that relationship.

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Family of Choice (FOC) – The family a person chooses to be with.

Family of Origin (FOO) – The family that a person was born into/raised by.

Fear, Obligation & Guilt (FOG) - feelings that a person often has when in a relationship with someone who suffers from a personality disorder who manipulates others using FOG.

Fear of Abandonment – The belief that one is imminent danger of being personally rejected, discarded or replaced. This is a vary common fear in survivors of relational trauma with Complex PTSD either because they were actually abandoned physically/emotionally or threatened with abandonment. 

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Gaslighting - The practice of convincing someone their understanding of reality is mistaken or false. The term “Gaslighting” is based on the 1944 MGM movie “Gaslight”.  This technique is common in narcissistic abuse.

Grooming - Grooming is the predatory act of maneuvering/manipulating an individual into a position that makes them more isolated, dependent, and vulnerable to abusive behavior. 

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Harassment - Any sustained or chronic pattern of unwelcome/unwanted behavior by one individual towards another.

Hyperarousal – refers to being dysregulated emotionally, in this case the person feels a heightened/overwhelming state of agitation, anxiety, anger, fearfulness.

Hypervigilance - Hypervigilance refers to a tendency to be constantly on guard, continually scanning the environment for threats. Threats can vary from signs of being excluded socially to impending physical attack. Sufferers are hyperaware of their surroundings in a way that makes them feel tense, anxious, and constantly on guard. Hypervigilance in CPTSD survivors starts out as a coping strategy, a normal reaction to an abnormal, traumatic situation, but over the long term it becomes a maladaptive coping strategy. That is, as an adult the sufferer now has ways of escaping from or dealing with threats but continues to act as though danger is ever-present.

Hypoarousal – refers to a state of emotional dysregulation where a person’s emotions are blunted and they feel numb, disassociated, exhausted and/or depressed.  

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International Classification of Diseases (ICD) – The World Health Organization’s (WHO) manual for classifying physical and mental disorders of which the ICD-11 is the most recent (published in 2022) and contains the first official diagnosis of Complex PTSD.

Inner Critic – refers to an inner voice that judges, criticizes, or demeans a person whether or not the self-criticism is objectively justified.

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JADE - Justify, Argue, Defend, Explain (as in don't Justify, Argue, Defend, or Explain).

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Limited/Low Contact (LC) – Refers to curtailing most forms of non-essential correspondence, communication and personal contact with an abuser/perpetrator, in particular family members, for one’s own protection, health and well-being.

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Narcissist/Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) - NPD is a psychological condition in which those who suffer from it behave with a pattern of selfishness, grandiosity, need for admiration, self-focus and a lack of empathy or consideration toward others. Behind a mask of extreme confidence lies a fragile self-esteem often caused by a history of trauma.

Narcissistic Abuse - a form of emotional abuse perpetrated by someone who suffers from narcissistic personality disorder. It can lead to the development of Complex PTSD if the abuse is ongoing.

Neglect - A passive form of abuse in which the physical or emotional needs of a dependent child are disregarded or ignored by the person responsible for them.

No Contact (NC) - Going "No Contact" means cutting off all forms of correspondence, communication and personal contact with an abuser/perpetrator in order to protect oneself.

Normalizing - Normalizing is a tactic used to desensitize an individual to abusive, coercive or inappropriate behaviors. In essence, normalizing is the manipulation of another human being to get them to agree to, or accept something that is in conflict with the law, social norms or their own basic code of behavior.

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Outer Critic - the inner part of the self that views everyone else as flawed and unworthy.

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Perfectionism - The maladaptive practice of holding oneself or others to an unrealistic, unattainable or unsustainable standard of organization, order, or accomplishment in one particular area of living, while sometimes neglecting common standards of organization, order or accomplishment in other areas of living.

Personality Disorder (PD) – An enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior the deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual's culture and affects two or more of the following areas: Cognition (i.e., ways of perceiving and interpreting self, other people and events); Affectivity (i.e., the range, intensity, liability, and appropriateness of emotional response); Interpersonal functioning; and impulse control.

Physical Abuse - Any form of voluntary behavior by one individual which inflicts pain, disease or discomfort on another, or deprives them of necessary health, nutrition and comfort.

Projection - The act of attributing one's own feelings or traits to another person and imagining or believing that the other person has those same feelings or traits.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - a psychological injury that results from limited exposure to trauma and leads to the development of three symptoms including: 1) Re-experiencing past trauma in the present (flashbacks; nightmares); 2) Avoidance of traumatic triggers (thoughts, feelings, people, places, things); and, 3) Persistent sense of threat (hypervigilance, heightened startle response).

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Relational Trauma - a type of complex trauma in which an individual is trapped for an extended period in an abusive/neglectful relationship with someone in a position of authority/power over them (e.g., parent, partner, coach, teacher, employer, religious leader).

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Scapegoating - Singling out one person (e.g., child, employee, member of a group), for unmerited negative treatment or blame.

Self-Harm - Any form of deliberate, premeditated injury, such as cutting, poisoning or overdosing, inflicted on oneself.

Sexual Abuse - unwanted sexual activity in which the perpetrator uses force, make threats or takes advantage of a child/adult not able to give consent.

Silent Treatment - A passive-aggressive form of emotional abuse in which displeasure, disapproval and contempt is exhibited through nonverbal gestures while maintaining verbal silence.

Smear Campaign - A series of false accusations.

Social Anxiety (SA) – A mild to intense feeling of discomfort or fear and concern about being judged negatively, evaluated, or looked down on by others. It can happen during the actual situation or in anticipation of an event which is referred to as anticipatory social anxiety).   At the moderate to severe level SA can interfere with daily living, work, friendships and intimate relationships, and cause sufferers to isolate themselves.  SAD is distinguished from Introversion by the lack of choice sufferers feel; that is, introverts choose not to be very social whereas SA sufferers avoid social situations because of fear, discomfort and concern. SA is a common comorbidity to CPTSD. 

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) - the most commonly prescribed antidepressants (e.g., Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft).

Stalking - Any pervasive and unwelcome pattern of pursuing contact with another individual.

Suicidal Ideation - Suicidal thoughts.

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Trauma – “events, experiences, and exposures that greatly exceed the individual’s capacity to control, cope with, or withstand and that compromise the individual’s psychophysiological equilibrium or stasis… They pose an imminent threat or actuality of death, or through other means cause fundamental and life altering psychophysiological harm.” Reference: Ford, J. & Courtois, C. (Eds.) (2020). Treating Complex Traumatic Stress Disorders in adults: Scientific foundations and therapeutic models. (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press, p.4.

Trauma Responses – These are common responses to traumatic stressors including: Fight (stand one’s ground), Flight (flee, leave), Freeze (shut down), Fawn (pleasing, appeasing, pacifying)

Triangulation - Gaining an advantage over perceived rivals by manipulating them into conflicts with each other.

Triggering - Actions, statements and/or events that relate to one’s trauma and cause an psychological/physical reaction.

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Validation - Validation is the process of actively listening to a person as they describe their feelings, echoing back their stated emotions and responding that their feelings are their own property, are legitimate and have value.

Verbal Abuse - Any kind of repeated pattern of inappropriate, derogatory or threatening speech directed at one individual by another.

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Window of Tolerance – This concept was developed by Dr. Siegel and refers to the ideal emotional zone that a person needs for optimal functioning. If you’re within your optimal tolerance window, you feel grounded and can manage your emotions effectively. When you’re out of it you may be hyperaroused (heightened agitation, anxiety, anger, overwhelmed) or hypoaroused (feelings of numbness, disassociation, exhaustion, depression).

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