CPTSD and Attachment: Understanding the Lasting Impact and How to Heal
If you've ever felt overwhelmed in relationships—craving connection but pushing people away—you’re not alone. These experiences may not be about who you are, but rather what happened to you. For many living with Complex PTSD (CPTSD), attachment wounds lie at the heart of the struggle.
In this post, we’ll explore how CPTSD and attachment are connected, how early caregiver relationships shape adult attachment styles, and most importantly—how healing is possible.
What Is Attachment and Why Does It Matter?
Attachment styles are patterns of relating to others, formed during early childhood based on your interactions with caregivers. If those early relationships were safe, responsive, and consistent, you likely developed a secure attachment—the foundation for healthy relationships later in life.
But when those relationships were neglectful, abusive, or unpredictable, the result can be long-term emotional dysregulation, fear of connection, and difficulties in trusting others—core features of Complex PTSD.
Attachment Styles and CPTSD
Let’s break down the four main attachment styles and how they may show up in people with CPTSD:
1. Secure Attachment
Caregivers were reliable, emotionally available, and responded to your needs.
As an adult, you feel safe, trust others, and can maintain balanced, fulfilling relationships.
2. Anxious Attachment (Preoccupied)
Caregivers were inconsistent—sometimes nurturing, sometimes emotionally unavailable.
You may fear abandonment, constantly seek reassurance, and struggle with low self-worth or emotional dependency.
3. Avoidant Attachment (Dismissive)
Caregivers were distant, emotionally unavailable, or discouraged emotional expression.
You learned to rely only on yourself. As an adult, you may avoid intimacy, suppress your emotions, and struggle with vulnerability.
4. Disorganized Attachment (Fearful-Avoidant)
Caregivers were abusive, frightening, or completely unpredictable—someone you depended on but also feared.
You may experience intense emotional dysregulation, conflicting desires for closeness and distance, and a deep mistrust of others.
This style is often linked to CPTSD, as the trauma was relational in nature.
Why Attachment Trauma Leads to CPTSD Symptoms
When trauma is ongoing and comes from those who were supposed to provide safety—parents, caregivers, or trusted adults—it wires your nervous system for survival, not connection. This leads to:
Chronic hypervigilance
Fear of abandonment or betrayal
Difficulty identifying or expressing emotions
Deep shame or unworthiness
Problems with boundaries and self-trust
If this sounds familiar, you’re not broken—you’ve adapted to survive. And healing is absolutely possible.
Healing Attachment Wounds and CPTSD
Healing starts with awareness and moves toward building safety—internally and relationally. While talk therapy is valuable, embodied healing is often essential for individuals with CPTSD. Trauma is not just stored in the mind; it's held in the body.
Here are evidence-based therapies and embodied approaches that support healing from CPTSD and attachment trauma:
Attachment Focused Approaches
1. Attachment-Based Therapy
Helps explore early relational patterns and build healthier, more secure connections in the present.
2. Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
Particularly effective for couples and individuals, EFT helps create safe emotional bonds and repair broken relational patterns.
3. Sensory Attachment Intervention
Led by trauma-informed occupational therapists, this approach uses sensory strategies to support nervous system regulation, especially in those with developmental trauma.
Embodied Approaches for Nervous System Regulation
These practices focus on attunement, self-awareness, and co-regulation—helping the nervous system relearn safety:
1. Trauma-Informed Yoga
Gentle, body-aware movement practiced in a safe, non-judgmental environment. Trauma-informed yoga prioritizes choice, grounding, and presence—offering a powerful way to reconnect with your body and calm the nervous system.
2. Somatic Experiencing
Developed by Dr. Peter Levine, this approach helps release stored trauma through bodily awareness, allowing the nervous system to complete self-protective responses that were interrupted during trauma.
3. Polyvagal-Informed Practices
Grounded in the Polyvagal Theory (Dr. Stephen Porges), these practices help you learn to recognize and shift your physiological state. Techniques might include breathwork, vocal toning, safe eye contact, and using safe relationships for co-regulation.
4. Safe Co-Regulation
Connecting with a therapist, friend, or even a pet who offers calm, attuned presence can help your nervous system rewire for safety. This kind of consistent, trustworthy connection is key to healing attachment wounds.
Final Thoughts: Healing Is Not Linear, But It Is Possible
CPTSD and attachment wounds don’t have to define your future. With the right support—both cognitive and embodied—you can create new patterns of safety, connection, and self-trust. You are not beyond repair. You are healing. It’s time to RISE into the person you were born to be.
Ready to continue your healing journey?
Download my free Resolve to Rise Companion Guide for tools that support healing, regulation, and growth.
