A Survivor's Toolkit: Navigating CPTSD Recovery

Does your past constantly intrude on your present? Healing from Complex PTSD involves understanding its roots and learning new skills. This collection offers a structured path, from foundational knowledge to tools for stabilization and grounding.

Foundations & How-Tos

Understanding is the first step toward self-compassion. These guides clarify what CPTSD is, how it differs from BPD, and the origins of complex trauma, providing validation for your experiences.

What Is CPTSD? A Complete Guide for Survivors
Top Guides from Our Blog

What Is CPTSD? A Complete Guide for Survivors

Your essential starting point. This guide offers a complete and compassionate overview of Complex PTSD, written for those who have lived it.

Read More
CPTSD vs. BPD Test: Key Differences & Overlaps
Top Guides from Our Blog

CPTSD vs. BPD Test: Key Differences & Overlaps

These conditions are often confused. This guide provides crucial clarity on the key differences and overlapping symptoms between CPTSD and BPD.

Read More
Do I Have CPTSD? Core Symptoms & Complex Signs
Top Guides from Our Blog

Do I Have CPTSD? Core Symptoms & Complex Signs

This guide helps you understand the core symptoms and subtle signs of CPTSD, offering validation for your experiences and a path to clarity.

Read More
CPTSD Causes: Understanding Complex Trauma & Its Roots – A Guide and CPTSD Test Overview
Top Guides from Our Blog

CPTSD Causes: Understanding Complex Trauma & Its Roots – A Guide and CPTSD Test Overview

Understand the 'why' behind your feelings. This guide explores the roots of complex trauma, explaining how prolonged adversity shapes the mind.

Read More

Talks, Docs & Podcasts

Hearing directly from trauma pioneers like Pete Walker and fellow survivors can be incredibly powerful. These videos and podcasts explain key concepts and share personal journeys of healing from CPTSD.

Complex PTSD in 5 Minutes
Recommended Videos

Complex PTSD in 5 Minutes

The perfect starting point for understanding CPTSD. This short, clear video gives you the essential information in just five minutes.

Watch Video
Complex PTSD Explained
Recommended Videos

Complex PTSD Explained

A clear, professional, and compassionate explanation of Complex PTSD, its causes, and its profound impact on a person's life.

Watch Video
6 Signs of Complex PTSD | CPTSD
Recommended Videos

6 Signs of Complex PTSD | CPTSD

This video breaks down six of the most common and often misunderstood signs of CPTSD, making the condition easier to recognize.

Watch Video
Understanding Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Recommended Videos

Understanding Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

An informative and compassionate overview of CPTSD that helps survivors and their loved ones understand the condition on a deeper level.

Watch Video
Complex PTSD and Developmental Trauma with Pete Walker
Podcasts

Complex PTSD and Developmental Trauma with Pete Walker

Hear directly from the pioneering author of "From Surviving to Thriving." A must-listen for anyone on the CPTSD healing journey.

Listen Now
Healing From Complex PTSD with Stephanie Foo
Podcasts

Healing From Complex PTSD with Stephanie Foo

An inspiring and hopeful conversation with the author of "What My Bones Know," sharing her personal journey of healing from C-PTSD.

Listen Now
What is C-PTSD? - Trauma Rewired
Podcasts

What is C-PTSD? - Trauma Rewired

This podcast episode demystifies Complex PTSD, explaining what it is and how it differs from classic PTSD in a clear and accessible way.

Listen Now
Understanding Complex PTSD and Borderline Personality Disorder
Podcasts

Understanding Complex PTSD and Borderline Personality Disorder

For those confused about these diagnoses, this podcast offers a thoughtful exploration of the differences and overlaps between CPTSD and BPD.

Listen Now

Forums & Groups

Healing doesn't happen in isolation. Finding a non-shaming community of peers who understand the nuances of CPTSD is a vital part of recovery, helping to reduce feelings of alienation.

r/CPTSD - Complex PTSD Support Community
Online Communities

r/CPTSD - Complex PTSD Support Community

A deeply supportive and anonymous community for 24/7 peer support. A vital space to feel heard, understood, and less alone.

Join Reddit
r/CPTSD_NSCommunity - Non-Shameful Support
Online Communities

r/CPTSD_NSCommunity - Non-Shameful Support

A dedicated subreddit focused on creating a non-shaming, supportive environment for survivors to share their experiences and heal together.

Join Reddit
CPTSD Foundation Peer Support Chat Group
Online Communities

CPTSD Foundation Peer Support Chat Group

The CPTSD Foundation offers daily, structured peer support chat sessions, providing a safe and consistent space for connection and healing.

Visit Community
Mental Health Forum - PTSD & Complex Trauma
Online Communities

Mental Health Forum - PTSD & Complex Trauma

Discuss CPTSD within a larger, moderated mental health community. A safe and established forum for questions and shared experiences.

Visit Community

Apps, Tests & Planners

When emotional flashbacks or dysregulation strike, having tools at hand is crucial. These apps offer practical support for grounding, managing symptoms, and building emotional regulation skills day by day.

PTSD Coach
Apps & Tools

PTSD Coach

Created by the VA, this trusted app provides education, self-assessment, and tools to help you manage the daily challenges of trauma symptoms.

Download App
Rebound: Trauma Recovery
Apps & Tools

Rebound: Trauma Recovery

An app specifically designed to support your trauma recovery journey with tools for self-care, grounding, and emotional regulation.

Download App
TraumaRelief Tr
Apps & Tools

TraumaRelief Tr

This app offers immediate, in-your-pocket access to grounding techniques and coping strategies to help you manage trauma symptoms.

Download App
Self Help for Trauma
Apps & Tools

Self Help for Trauma

A pocket guide with exercises and psychoeducation based on proven therapeutic methods to support your self-guided healing journey.

Download App

Library Picks

For those ready for a deeper exploration, these books are essential. They cover the foundational science of how trauma impacts the body and provide comprehensive roadmaps from surviving to thriving.

Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker
Books & Reading

Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker

The definitive guide for survivors of childhood trauma. This book is a lifeline, offering validation and a roadmap from surviving to thriving.

Find on Amazon
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk
Books & Reading

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk

The groundbreaking, must-read classic that explains how trauma physically reshapes the brain and body, and explores paths to healing.

Find on Amazon
The Complex PTSD Workbook: A Mind-Body Approach to Regaining Emotional Control by Arielle Schwartz
Books & Reading

The Complex PTSD Workbook: A Mind-Body Approach to Regaining Emotional Control by Arielle Schwartz

A practical, hands-on workbook filled with proven mind-body exercises to help you heal from trauma and regain emotional control.

Find on Amazon
Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence by Judith Herman
Books & Reading

Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence by Judith Herman

The foundational classic by Dr. Judith Herman that defined the field of trauma studies. Essential reading for deep understanding.

Find on Amazon

Clarify Your Experience with the CPTSD Test

These resources offer a map. Our test, based on the ICD-11 ITQ, helps you find your location on it. Gain personal clarity in minutes.

Start the CPTSD Test

For Education—Not Diagnosis

This page is for informational purposes and is not a substitute for a clinical diagnosis from a trauma-informed therapist. Healing from CPTSD is complex. If you are in crisis or feel unsafe, please contact a crisis hotline or local emergency services immediately.

Help Us Strengthen This Toolkit

This toolkit is built by and for the survivor community. If a book, app, or podcast was a turning point in your healing, please contact us with your suggestion. Your input makes this resource stronger for everyone.