PTSD follows a life changing event.  Not everyone that has a life changing event has PTSD but everyone with PTSD had a life changing event or series events.  CPTSD, Complex PTSD, is difficult for some people because there is not one main event but many things that build up to create a dysfunctional way of surviving.  The main importance of counseling is to learn new and different coping skills besides PTSD.

Keep in mind that PTSD is how I survived extreme conditions during a screwed-up childhood.  I’m an adult now.  I am different.  I can make different choices.  But I needed to know where to start.  Years before counseling someone recommended the book about Self Defeating Behavior.

http://www.amazon.com/Self-Defeating-Behaviors-Yourself-Compulsions-Attitudes/dp/0062501976/

The struggle for me is I didn’t understand what self-defeating behaviors I was using.  I needed someone on the outside instructing me where I needed to repair structural damage in my life.  My counselor explained that we had several things we needed to do.  Define the problem, find different solutions, try the solutions, evaluate their effectiveness then try another solution.  Eventually my counselor helped me build a tool box of useful techniques, choices, and attitudes that could be used in different situations.  Over the next while I’ll be sharing some of the tools I now have in my tool box.