Topics

Dr. Doyle is a lecturer at Southampton Solent University in the United Kingdom and is involved in an ongoing a research study investigating whether childhood trauma may make women vulnerable to post-natal depression.  He has asked and I have given permission to recruit participants from OOTS on an ongoing basis. 

In order to participate, you must be a female over 18, have had a baby within the last three years, and not be pregnant currently. This study entails completing an anonymous survey which will take approximately 20 minutes to complete.  He suggests in his email to me that "The benefits of this research would be  to help understand an area of mental health that requires much greater attention."

For further information and to view the Informed Consent form and survey, go to https://educ.sphinxonline.net/v4/s/0rb8to

Please direct any questions regarding this research to Dr. Doyle at mark.doyle@solent.ac.uk or 023-8201-2056

[Note:]

As some of you may know I am a university professor at a university in Canada. I teach and supervise graduate students in the Masters of Adult Education program.  I am also involved in research as part of my employment and have chosen to investigate learning in online self-help forums such as OOTS together with the Dean of my Faculty, Dr. Rita Kop.  The title of our research proposal  is "It's Not Just about Support: Self-directed Learning in an Online Self-help Group."

The purpose of this research study is to investigate the nature and purpose of informal, self-directed learning (SDL) in an online self-help group in order to provide information to others (i.e., sufferers, professionals) who may want to develop and/or improve self-directed learning about a disorder/disease at an online self-help site. The data will also be used to improve learning at Out of the Storm (OOTS) specifically.                 

Participation will involve the completion of an anonymous online questionnaire which will take between 30 and 60 minutes to complete.  The questionnaire will provide data regarding:  your experience with Complex PTSD (e.g., diagnosis, causes, symptoms); what you have learned at OOTS; and, what you would like to learn at OOTS. 

If you are interested in participating please go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OOTSLearningSurvey.   There is additional information about the study there.   Study is closed.


Note: In order to ensure this research is conducted in an ethical manner, we have taken measures to preserve your anonymity.  First, the questionnaire is completely anonymous. Second, any communication about the study should be directed  to my colleague as follows:

Dr. Rita Kop - Telephone: 506 454-1220 #1379;  Fax: 506-459-3489; or, Email: rkop@yorkvilleu.ca. 

Should you choose to contact Dr. Kop, please be assured that she will not reveal any identifying information about you (e.g., your real or forum name, email address) to me. I have locked this thread to ensure anonymity of potential participants.

This topic has been moved to When Someone in Your Life has CPTSD.

http://outofthefog.net/C-PTSD/forum/index.php?topic=5490.0

Just posting to let members know there is a new pdf form available -  "Locating a Trauma Therapist" . 

Just wanted to announce that with Sanmagic's permission (tks SM), I have added her story to the "Personal Stories" section of the OOTS site (see http://www.outofthestorm.website/personal-stories-of-complex-ptsd/).  It's here if you'd like to have a look -  http://www.outofthestorm.website/sanmagics-story

If at any time anyone is interested in sharing their story on the web site, please let me know.  The intent is for our stories to provide visitors and potential members with insight into how/when/why Complex PTSD develops, and what the lived experience is like.   

There have been a number of people who developed CPTSD in adulthood (versus childhood) who have reached to me about making more of a distinction between the development in childhood and in adulthood.  I have been thinking this myself as I suspect there are more in the latter category than I and others realize.  One example is from my country where our federal police force (RCMP) recently settled a large class action suit for sexual harassment of female officers.  For many it was years of ongoing interpersonal trauma from which their only escape was to quit.  Just one of many examples I've been seeing lately - refugeeism, divisive, corrosive politics in the US, UK and elsewhere ......

If you developed CPTSD in adulthood for whatever reason, please know you are welcome at Out of the Storm. We hope you will find comfort, support and helpful, relevant information about the disorder here. 

I've had a few inquiries from new mbrs/guests regarding the possibility of getting together via audio (no picture, just voice) or teleconferencing for a live chat. I don't want to look into the possibly if no-one is that interested so thought it best to ask first.

Is anyone is interested? 

This topic has been moved to Christmas & New Years.

http://outofthefog.net/C-PTSD/forum/index.php?topic=5255.0

This topic has been moved to Christmas & New Years.

http://outofthefog.net/C-PTSD/forum/index.php?topic=5252.0

Here's a link sent to me by a member (tks SS!) about neuroplasticity which is a hot topic in psychology and cognitive neuroscience currently.   It's an "infographic" so not packed with scientific language, but uses a lot of graphics instead.

URL = http://theunboundedspirit.com/how-to-re-wire-your-brain-the-incredible-benefits-of-neuroplasticity/

Has anyone had trouble logging in in the last two days? It seems some people have been getting an error message that the forum is unavailable so I just want to check on this. 

Here's an article sent to me by a member (tks SS!) about research at Stanford University that may have ramifications for treatment by gender.

https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2016/11/traumatic-stress-changes-brains-of-boys-girls-differently.html

There's also a BBC article here - http://www.bbc.com/news/health-37936514

If your time is incorrect now that it has changed by an hour you  need to go into your Profile, then Account Settings, then Modify Profile, then Look and Layout and there near the bottom you will see: 

Time Offset: Number of hours to +/- to make displayed time equal to your local time. AutoDetect

If you click on the AutoDetect it will automatically change your time when it shifts during the spring and fall.

Here are some workbooks that are available online, and/or in print:

The ASCA (Adult Survivors of Child Abuse) workbook  - http://www.ascasupport.org/_downloads/survivor_to_thriver.pdf

Coping with Trauma Related Dissociation: Skills Training for Patients and Therapists by Boon, Steele & van der Hart  - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00O4RPUPU?keywords=suzette%20boon&qid=1454855893&ref_=sr_1_1&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

If you come across any others, please feel free to add them here. Tks!

So my cousin emailed tonight to say her mother has been diagnosed with a brain tumour and is only expected to live a few months. Very sad news to be sure, but what upset me even more was that at the end of the email my cousin said she had called to tell my M the news, and that she was worried because my M had taken it hard. She asked me to touch base with my M to make sure she's OK.  (It isn't my M's biological sister by the way, it's my F's sister). Really?

My covert NPDM is that good that my cousin probably doesn't even realize that my M ended up centre stage in what is a difficult time for my cousin and her family, that she should be receiving comfort not worrying about my M.  Sad, sad, sad that those who have NPD often trade on tragic situations to direct attention their way.   

Anyway, tks for reading my little rant, now I am going to take a deep breath and let it go to the universe because there are much better ways to use my time and energy. 

I've added a new section to the web page section of OOTS called "Personal Stories" - see http://www.outofthestorm.website/personal-stories-of-complex-ptsd/. 

Have a look and if you're interested in contributing your story just PM me.  I am writing my story and have a couple of others who are doing so but more would be appreciated.   

I mentioned about a week or so ago that we could revisit the guideline about offensive language which currently reads as follows:

Do not use offensive and/or vulgar language. Swearing is not permitted at OOTS because many of our members were traumatized by abuse which involved aggressive, threatening and/or demeaning language.  Please be considerate and use a symbol mash (e.g., %^&$) instead. A filter has been added to replace offensive words with an *. However, if a word slips by please report the post and it will be edited accordingly.   If words are used that have negative connotations (e.g.,  "tits" versus "breasts") or are derogatory in some fashion, a moderator may edit your post.

We ran into a problem recently with the use of letters in the symbol mash (e.g., f**k) which isn't covered in the guideline explicitly.  In the follow-on conversation about amending the guideline to be more explicit, some members wondered about the need for any guideline/filter. 

So, I am opening this up for input/feedback ....   I do have some thoughts on this but don't want to sway things so will add my two cents later once those who want to weigh in have posted ( a week or two?). 

A new member just posted about problems with getting his employer to put in place accommodations and I realized we don't have much info at all about this, partly because we are from different countries, but also because few of us have any knowledge/ experience to draw on.

I've started this thread in the hopes that we can gather some links to info about what is an important issue for so many of us. If you do have a link, please add it below and note the country (and state, province, etc) it pertains to please and I will add it to this sticky so that hopefully we can build a helpful list over time.   

• Australia
• Canada
• United Kingdom
• United States

[Off-Board Information/Relationships]

From time to time we pull out a member guideline and post it here as a reminder of what is and isn't allowed at OOTS and/or how to stay safe.  This one falls into the latter category and isn't meant to scare anyone, rather it is just to serve as a small reminder that not everyone is who they purport to be so do be careful if you are PMing/emailing with members off board.

Off-Board Information/Relationships

Protecting the confidentiality and privacy of members at OOTS is paramount to our members' sense of safety and community.  One risk to this lies in using the Private Message (PM) feature or emailing in off-board relationships, and revealing personal information to someone who is not trustworthy. While building friendships here at OOTS is encouraged, the fact of the matter is this is the Internet and people are not always who they say they are.

You are not obliged to answer any PM you receive or to provide any personal information to any individual, no matter how friendly or trustworthy they may appear. If you receive a first time PM which seems inappropriate, report it and the Moderators will discuss it with the sender. Members are strongly encouraged to go slowly and cautiously in any off-board PM relationship. If you start having red flags or the relationship has devolved into something negative, please be aware that Moderators cannot become involved in what inevitably turns into a "he said, she said" situation.  What we recommend if you do experience this, is to: a) end the relationship immediately; and, b) block the person's emails/PMs.

In terms of privacy and confidentiality, please be clear that members having personal information about another member they have learned off-board shall not disclose it to anyone other than in discussions with the Site Manager/ Moderators regarding problematic behaviour.  This is considered a serious breach of privacy and extends to the contents of any personal communications including email, personal messages, texts and telephone/face-to-face conversations.  Any information of this nature which is posted in the forum will be modified or removed by the moderator and the member warned. If it comes to light that this information was revealed to members other than the Site Manager/Moderators, the member will be warned and if there is a pattern of disclosing other members' private information, the member will be banned.     

Please respect the privacy of others as you wish your own privacy to be respected so that we keep OOTS a safe haven in which everyone can focus on their recovery.   

So I don't have nightmares per se, but I have always had dreams filled with anxiety and last night I had one about my H abandoning me. It makes perfect sense if you're someone with CPTSD and are just recovering from surgery as I am.  I am quite dependent on him as I recover and he has stepped up happily to step and fetch, soothe my tears and hear my fears so why the dream? 

It is what I fear most - that this man I have known and loved for 40 years has been hiding his disgust and disdain of me all these years (I know crazy right but that's CPTSD for you), and when I really need him he will turn his back on me.  That's what happened in my NPD FOO - I would think things were OK and then my parents or B would yank their love away, turn out the light on me and I would have to figure out what to do to get it back.  Its the whole rejection and abandonment legacy and it rises up when I am under a lot of stress and very dependent.

Anyway, horrible dream and I will never forget the look on his face at he looked at me and basically turned out the light on me - just like my FOO did over and over again.     Awful and sad and scary and when I woke up I wanted to get out of bed and chase the feelings away but I didn't.  Hard as it was I let myself feel them, looked at them square on because I know how important they are to validate.  They tell me what I felt like as a child and why the trauma is still with me as I am about to turn 60.