A large majority of targeted victims of coercive control have, or will, develop symptoms of, or full-blown, PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). In my opinion, based on the research I've reviewed and the clients I have worked with, if you are targeted by a coercive controller, unless you are able to effectively escape their PsychoSocial Quicksand™ early on, developing symptoms of PTSD is practically inevitable. And, if you already had significant trauma when you became entrapped by the coercive controller, your chances of developing full blown PTSD, or even CPTSD (complex post traumatic stress disorder) increase.
NOTE: The Quicksand Model™ of Coercive Control terms all of the negative impacts to the target #DoubleVision. This includes all mental, emotional, physical, and psychological symptoms caused by the coercive controller.
The fact that many targeted victims of coercive control will develop PTSD or CPTSD creates additional challenges for survivors, by providing coercive controllers more avenues to further terrorize and torture their targeted victims. Receiving a mental health diagnosis on top of already having been victimized by a coercive controller can increase shame and stigma and lead to victim-blaming.
Since the name PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) was introduced in 1980, there has been debate over the term. By using disorder in the name post traumatic stress disorder, there is an implication that the condition is not treatable, and is permanent. Such is the case for personality disorders, which are known to be "permanent and persistent" across the lifetime. Personality disorders are known to be incredibly difficult to treat, if not impossible, and there is often a link between domestic abuse, especially coercive controlling domestic abuse, and personality disorders.
Because PTSD and personality disorders are both considered mental illnesses (I won't go into all my reasons why I believe this should not be the case here) when a targeted victim of coercive control develops symptoms, and is then diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, it opens the door for the coercive controller to claim the two conditions present equal risk. This gives the coercive controller the opportunity to claim mutualize harm.
More commonly though, coercive controllers use the targeted victim's diagnosis to obscure and distract outsiders from detecting their own personality disorder and/or pattern of coercive and controlling behaviors, focusing attention on the targeted victim's "disorder" instead.
But post traumatic stress disorder and personality disorders are not the same. PTSD is treatable. The symptoms of PTSD can be reduced and even eliminated with treatment. Therefore, "post traumatic stress disorder" is more like an injury than a disorder, which is why there have been attempts to rename the condition post traumatic stress injury.
This survey reveals that renaming post traumatic stress disorder to ‘Injury’ would reduce stigma for 69% of those surveyed.
The reason why this is important is that there are major myths and misunderstandings that pervade societal attitudes and beliefs. One such myth is the idea that a relationship with a coercive controller should even be classified as a "relationship".
Coercive controllers most often target individuals using fraud to convince targets that they desire a "romantic relationship". However, coercive controllers lie about what they really want. They do not want a mutually beneficial "relationship". Coercive controllers wish to completely dominate the other person. They desire to rob that person of their autonomy, liberty and identity. Coercive controllers do not want an equitable partnership. They want a slave to serve their every desire and need, and they expect their "slave" to completely surrender their thoughts, feelings, values... their very identity, to the coercive controller's distorted version of reality.
Once the targeted victim discovers this underlying hidden agenda they will often try to escape the PsychoSocial Quicksand™ that the coercive controller has entrapped them in. This is when the situation can become very dangerous for the targeted victim, and if they have developed symptoms of something called post traumatic stress disorder, that can really work against them.
This is especially so in family court where a coercive controller can exploit the system's misunderstanding, and lack of education, about coercive control and the resulting trauma. The coercive controller can use the target's diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder to paint the victim as the problem. It seems absurd that anyone could get away with blaming a victim for the very problem (PTSD) that the coercive controller caused... but it works. In family court, victims are very often blamed for the symptoms they are experiencing due to the coercive controller's coercive control, and in a majority of cases, when a coercive controller further complicates matters by claiming their targeted victim is "alienating" them from the children, the coercive controller often wins custody.
This is one place where a change in our language could be useful. By changing post traumatic stress disorder to post traumatic stress injury, much of the blame for the symptoms can be removed from the victim and appropriately placed upon the person who caused that injury... the coercive controller. A protective parent in family court who displays symptoms of post traumatic stress injury is (hopefully) less likely to lose their children to a coercive controller, due to the harms that coercive controller has caused, than one diagnosed with a "disorder".
So, I fully support changing "disorder" within post traumatic stress disorder and complex post traumatic stress disorder to "injury."
But there is another problem with the term post traumatic stress disorder and that is the word "post". This is especially problematic in family court. Judges often misunderstand the ongoing and escalating nature of coercive control and domestic abuse, and believe that once the targeted victim has left the "relationship" that there is no longer any danger. But nothing could be further from the truth. Because most court professionals are not trained in the dynamics of coercive control, and don't realize how targeted victims are trapped in PsychoSocial Quicksand™, that is nearly impossible to escape, they don't realize that leaving a coercive controller is one of the most dangerous things a person can ever do. Separating from a coercive controller has a high likelihood of making the coercive controller escalate to physical violence, or even potentially, to murder and/or suicide, because they are infuriated by their loss of control over their victim. Separation is the most dangerous time for a targeted victim of domestic abuse, especially when that domestic abuse includes coercive control.
The reality is that targeted victims of coercive control will most likely experience months, years or even decades of post-separation coercive control from the perpetrator, especially if they have children. When we consider that coercive control causes trauma, and that targeted victims are likely to be subjected to ongoing coercive control post-separation, it is unrealistic to call this trauma "post". Targeted victims of coercive control who have not yet insulated themselves from ongoing post-separation coercive control, often facilitated by family court, are dealing with ongoing, and often constant, trauma. There is nothing post about it!
So... if we are going to rename PTSD and/or CPTSD, my recommendation would be to call them TMI & CTMI. "Traumatic stress injury" and "complex traumatic stress injury" would remove the offending word "disorder" and the misnomer "post" and leave us with a diagnosis that is less likely to further stigmatize sufferers and facilitate coercive controller's continued coercive control.
Some people disagree that changing the name will make a difference. However, as someone who has experienced the horrors of coercive control and family court, I can see the benefit of re-framing PTSD to reduce the ability of coercive controllers to DARVO family court into blaming the victim.
What are your thoughts? Have you been diagnosed with PTSD or CPTSD? And, if so, how do you feel about the terms traumatic stress injury and complex traumatic stress injury?
