Is there are crossover between autism and CPTSD?

Post date: 2025-02-19 11:05:28

I'm starting to wonder whether I (36F) might be autistic. It's been difficult for me to pin down what's happening as I've always blamed all my symptoms on childhood trauma but I'm starting to suspect there's something else going on.

I went to my boyfriends sister's 40th on Saturday, it was a small gathering of people I don't really know. I found it really difficult, I was very quiet most of the time. My mind felt blank and I wasn't following conversations. I was giving one sentence answers and struggling to hold a conversation.

It has been on the back of my mind for a while now that the childhood trauma, which, whilst extremely real, might have for a while now covered the fact that I might actually be autistic.

My boyfriend independently brought this up with me after that party, he feels I may display autistic behaviours - that I appear to mask socially and that I do not seem to be able to follow what is going on in conversations, that I'm "not there" and unable to read social cues.

My question is, is there an overlap between complex ptsd from childhood and autism? My heart wants to believe it's just trauma and I can get better, but my sisters's superior social skills tell me otherwise - that there is something in my genes which is predisposing me to these behaviours.

5 out of 7 of my siblings display significant dissociation, social anxiety etc - I have always put it down to trauma but could it be possible that we have inherited autistic traits

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