Complex PTSD

From Surviving to Thriving

By: Pete Walker

Narrated by: Paul Brion

The causes of Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder range from severe neglect to monstrous abuse. Many survivors grew up in houses that were not homes - in families that were as loveless as orphanages and sometimes as dangerous. If you felt unwanted, unliked, rejected, hated, and/or despised for a lengthy portion of your childhood, trauma may be deeply engrained in your mind, soul, and body.

This book is a practical guide to recovering from lingering childhood trauma. It is copiously illustrated with examples of the author's and his clients' journeys of recovering. It is a comprehensive self-help guide for working through the toxic legacy of the past and for achieving a rich and fulfilling life.

©2014 Pete Walker (P)2018 Tantor

Saved my life

Reading this book is one of the best things I have ever done for myself. Until I read this book, I didn't know adult survivors of child abuse could be cured of CPTSD. About 15 years ago, I went to therapy; that helped, I got better but I wasn't completely healed. In 2022, I listened to the audible version of the book and it helped but didn't cure me. Last year, I read this paperback version of this book in a couple of weeks. (And each week since then, I reread the parts I highlighted of a chapter.) Seven months after I started reading the paperback version of this book, I was cured. I no longer have multiple nightmares every night. My emotional flashbacks are few and far between; and they just end on their own quickly. I know when/how to use fight, flight, freeze and fawn. Pete Walker's method works! But you have to take it seriously. You can't read this book like it's a story; you have to study it like you would study a textbook of a subject you really liked in school. Do the exercises, they worked for me.

WOW, 1st time relief

I was in a toxic relationship for 18 years. It started when I was only 16 years old, so I didn't know how to leave it or exactly how bad it really was. I believed I was crazy. This audio book opened my eyes to reality. I'm not crazy, my ex is an a$$ hole, and healing and my emotions through healing are a normal part of the process. I will probably listen to this book a few more times.

Unfortunately I think I need to return this...

The narrator's voice is really deep and for some reason it triggered me. I don't know if it was verbally hearing the information or the man's voice that did it. I got really jittery and uncomfortable and started rocking (I'm autistic). I'm okay now. I think I better return the audiobook. The eBook on my Kindle doesn't do that to me at all. I'll just stick with reading it instead. It's a good book overall. Just something with the audiobook triggered something in me.

Essential for anyone learning about Ptsd and Compl

I read this right after The Body Keeps the Score, a great companion to accompany research into this topic.

An Important Work on Childhood Trauma

Pete Walker is able to put into words the impact of decades of emotional, psychological, physical, and/or sexual trauma in a way that connects with survivors more strongly than I have seen before. This book has been life changing to everyone I know who has read who grew up with emotional neglect. I have now both listened to the audiobook and read the hardcopy, and both were powerful experiences for me personally. The book was able to help me understand more about what parts of me are trauma, and what parts of me are me.