There is a documented phenomenon in
CPTSD research called "betrayal trauma theory," developed by psychologist Jennifer Freyd. It proposes that trauma caused by people on whom the victim depends for survival produces a specific kind of cognitive adaptation. The child cannot afford to know what is being done to them because knowing would threaten the attachment they require to survive. So the knowing gets blocked. Not as a choice. As a survival mechanism.
hey is it okay if i decide to be an active participant in my life for the first time after a lifetime of trauma making me feel like i need permission to exist
ptsd: something terrible happened to you.
complex ptsd: something terrible WAS your entire environment and you had to just live in it. there was no escape.