Social Trauma and Finding Belonging (CPTSD in Autistic Adults)

I have struggled my whole life to find belonging amongst my peers. As an autistic person, I didn't know how to form the connections necessary for friendship. I became isolated and developed severe CPTSD (complex PTSD). My CPTSD was due to the social trauma of being autistic and unable to navigate socially. I did not receive my autism diagnosis until age 40, so I spent most of my life thinking that my social problems were my fault. In this video, I discuss my experiences and how I'm trying to get better with dealing with people.  

00:00 Life on the Periphery
01:02 Trigger warning disclaimer
01:18 Traumatic social experiences of an autistic child and teen (trigger warning)
04:57 My response to trauma
5:29 Desperate for connection and vulnerable to bad actors
06:46 The consequences of complex PTSD
07:37 Dating and cPTSD
08:06 Friendship and cPTSD
09:52 Learning to be vulnerable
10:10 Realizing I still struggle with C-PTSD (autistic social trauma)
11:28 My barriers to connection
12:15 Being vulnerable
13:38 Steps to stop isolating
15:05 Thank you for watching!

#autism
#cptsd
#anxiety