The difference between PTSD and complex PTSD is that complex PTSD sort of has the potential to have a constant fear sort of churning underneath the surface. It manifested in my life as anxiety, as depression. Complex PTSD is kind of like if you were hit by that car every week for years. So you can get traditional PTSD from a single traumatic event, like, say, you were hit by a car. But how is complex PTSD different?įOO: Right. MCCAMMON: I want to start with your diagnosis, because listeners have likely heard of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. The result is her new memoir, 'What My Bones Know.' And Stephanie Foo joins us now from New York City. Years of trauma and violent abuse as a child had left her with a diagnosis - complex PTSD, a little-studied condition that Foo was determined to understand. She graduated from college, landed a job at 'This American Life,' became an award-winning radio producer, was dating a lovely man, but she was also struggling. #323.Stephanie Foo grew up in California, the only child of immigrants who abused her for years and then abandoned her as a teenager.

Center for Child Trauma and Resilience at Mount Sinai.What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing From Complex Trauma.Jacob Ham, who will be featured in another episode this week.Ĭontent Warnings: Discussions of trauma and abuse, references to addiction and mental health challenges. What actually worked for her, and how it might be relevant to other survivors.The various therapies, meditation styles, and wellness modalities Stephanie explored to help process her trauma.Her writing has been featured in The New York Times and Vox. Her previous work includes This American Life, The Cut, Reply All, and 99% Invisible. Stephanie Foo is a journalist and radio producer. The result of her journey is a new book called What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma. In this episode, Stephanie Foo shares her story of being diagnosed with complex PTSD and how she learned to process her trauma and live with her past. This episode is part of our Mental Health Reboot series to mark Mental Health Awareness Month.

While some people may be luckier than others, it’s rare that anyone goes unscathed. We’ve all had difficult, and sometimes horrible things happen to us.

What my bones know