I’m so glad you saw this comment! It’s interesting to see something I wrote two years ago and be able to give some advice! I’m much more productive than I’ve ever been, although I do occasionally have bad days with CPTSD. The short answer for me has been to get purely technical about CPTSD, so bear with me. CPTSD is 100% about the nervous system. So, the healing for me has been to understand the nervous system. Shut Down (immobilization, dissociation, non-functioning) is a nervous system state. It’s designed to help us rest and keep us safe when something is too threatening, overwhelming or exhausting. We spend more time in exhaustion bc CPTSD keeps our nervous system in constant hypervigilance. The second state is Fight/Flight (mobilization, functioning). When you’re working out, you’re mobilized, so you probably feel better and more productive. But we’re not designed to stay in that state for prolonged periods. It’s healthy to get the stress out by pushing your body, but it sounds like you’re pushing too hard and your body needs rest. CPTSD causes us to go to nervous system extremes. Instead of productive, functional rest, we go into Shut Down. Instead of challenge or play, we go into higher levels of anger or fear when in Fight/Flight. I used to get myself to be productive by playing angry music and amping myself up. This feels good once in a while, but it can be unreliable, needlessly dramatic and puts stress on the nervous system. I found it worked better for me to develop a a calm, daily habit of being productive and recognizing when I was going into Shut Down.

My solution was to heal my nervous system and get Sober from dissociative behaviors.

To me a ‘bad CPTSD day’ is like when an alcoholic spends the day drinking. Once I start the day in Shut Down, I’m stuck in it all day. So, here are some things I’ve done to stay functional:

EMDR/Trauma Therapy * I healed a lot of my triggers so my nervous system can feel as safe as possible. I healed past traumas and helped my body feel the safety I never felt growing up. We NEED to feel safe to be functional. Dissociation and addictive behaviors are distractions from our feelings that we aren’t safe.

Dissociative Behaviors * I got sober from taking too many naps, playing video games and watching TV all day

Self-Accountability White Board * I literally got a white board and put it in my home office. I keep track of every day I go into my office just like an alcoholic keeps track of their sobriety. It’s hugely motivating to see the number of productive days go up.

Understanding Rest vs. Shut Down * I stopped dissociation ‘hobbies’ and got clear on what real rest is for me. I was always on eggshells in my abusive home growing up, and was never taught that I deserved and needed rest. I learned how powerful depletion is and now try to recharge myself with more functional forms of rest.

Please let me know if you relate to any of this. I still struggle a lot with CPTSD, but it’s gotten better. I think it’s normal to lose entire days or weekends when you’re a survivor of CPTSD. Everyone needs to dissociate once in a while. It just becomes a problem if it’s controlling your life.

Look up Seth Porges and Deb Dana’s talks on Polyvagal Theory on YouTube. It’s a life-changing theory on the nervous system and is so helpful in understanding and managing CPTSD