CPTSD: From Survival Mode to Living Again (The Daily Trudge)CPTSD: From Survival Mode to Living Again (The Daily Trudge)
RAW Recovery Podcast
Host Dion talks openly about living with complex PTSD alongside alcoholism, describing survival mode, trauma symptoms, and how they affect daily life and recovery. He shares practical tools, therapies, and mindset shifts that have helped him move from constant fear towards moments of safety and self-acceptance.
43:10•28 Apr 2026
CPTSD and Sobriety: From Survival Mode to Learning How to Live
Episode Overview
- CPTSD often comes from long-term, inescapable trauma, frequently starting in childhood, and can sit underneath addiction and other mental health issues.
- Emotional dysregulation, chronic shame, harsh self-criticism, and hypervigilance are described as common signs of CPTSD, not personal weakness.
- Healing focuses on awareness of triggers, regulating the nervous system through grounding, breathing, and tapping, and using therapies such as EMDR and CBT.
- Rebuilding self-worth and setting clear, consistent boundaries help replace survival strategies like people-pleasing, avoidance, and aggression.
- CPTSD is presented as manageable rather than curable, with ongoing maintenance similar to recovery from alcoholism, and support from therapists strongly recommended.
“"You are not broken. You adapted. And now you can learn how to live."”
How do people cope with the challenges of staying sober when their nervous system is stuck in survival mode? This RAW Recovery Daily Trudge conversation with host Dion takes on complex PTSD (CPTSD) head‑on, tying it closely to addiction, emotional regulation, and day‑to‑day functioning. Across the episode, Dion talks candidly about living with CPTSD, depression, anxiety and alcoholism, stressing that he’s "not a doctor" but someone managing ongoing trauma responses.
He explains the difference between PTSD and CPTSD, describing CPTSD as the result of prolonged, often childhood, trauma where escape wasn’t possible and the perpetrator was usually known.
You’ll hear real-life examples of emotional dysregulation, chronic shame, hypervigilance, and intense emotional flashbacks, like suddenly wanting to tell someone "I love you" and instead snapping "get the fuck away from me." Dion highlights how the nervous system gets stuck in survival mode, making ordinary situations feel dangerous, even in something as simple as choosing where to sit in a meeting or restaurant. The heart of the discussion is hope through practical tools.
Dion talks about therapy, EMDR, cognitive behavioural work, breathing, grounding techniques (like naming objects by colour), and tapping as concrete ways to calm the body. He also focuses on rebuilding self-worth, setting boundaries, and becoming "your own safe space" instead of relying on alcohol, anger, or people-pleasing as protection. This episode speaks directly to people in recovery who suspect that trauma still runs the show, as well as those supporting them.
The tone stays raw, honest, and often darkly funny, but keeps circling back to one key message: "You are not broken. You adapted. And now you can learn how to live." If CPTSD and addiction feel intertwined for you, could this be the reassurance and practical guidance you’ve been waiting for?
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