July 29, 2026, 2:01 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
Starting in August, Alan Ritchson will once again fight his way through numerous spectacular action scenes as Reacher. That’s when the fourth season of the popular series of the same name begins. In it, the Hollywood star embodies the epitome of a muscle-bound tough guy ready to solve problems with violence. In interviews, however, he often shows a different side. This was also the case recently in a conversation with actor and podcast host Dax Shepard. Ritchson spoke openly about suffering from complex post-traumatic stress disorder. He also discussed how it manifests in him and how it affects his private life.
A few years ago, Alan Ritchson publicly revealed that he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. However, his exploration of his mental health uncovered even more. “I was recently diagnosed with CPTSD, complex post-traumatic stress disorder,” the 43-year-old revealed on the podcast “Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard”.
Repeated Traumas Can Trigger CPTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder is often triggered by a single major trauma. Repeated, almost chronically experienced “small” traumas (usually in childhood) can lead to complex post-traumatic stress disorder.1 As the name suggests, this condition is more complex, making the healing process more difficult than with PTSD. “If there’s a narcissistic or abusive adult in the house, chronic deprivation, an incarcerated parent, addiction, or sexual abuse, and if it’s exacerbated by the lack of secure attachments, it’s almost likely that you’ll never fully recover,” Ritchson shared what he learned in therapy.
The Constant Feeling of Being at Fault
In everyday life, the disorder manifests in the actor by making him believe he is at fault and has done something wrong whenever there’s a mishap or bad mood. His therapist explained to him that this feeling is typical for those affected by CPTSD: “That’s exactly what people say when they were victims of abuse as children—you make everything your own fault.”
Associated with this is hypervigilance. Behind it lies an exaggerated, constant alertness and readiness of the nervous system. Affected individuals continuously scan their environment for mistakes or threats, even when no real danger exists.2 “You learn to read the room very quickly… and I think the survival mechanism is: ‘Am I responsible for this, and what can I do to fix it?'” Ritchson shared insights into the effects of his complex post-traumatic stress disorder in the interview. This learned behavior often causes him difficult moments with his wife or children in his daily life. “My child cried, and my first thought was: ‘What did I do?'” he described a typical situation on the podcast. Instead of being able to comfort his son, he was trapped in his own thoughts.
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Fear of Rejection
Another symptom of his condition: Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD). People with RSD react extremely emotionally sensitive to criticism or rejection. The reaction is independent of whether it is real or only perceived rejection. Rejection sensitivity can occur in the context of anxious personality disorders and mental illnesses.3 Ritchson describes it as part of ADHD. “I overreact because I feel so hurt, rejected, and criticized. What might have been just a comment to the other person feels like a punch in the gut to me,” the actor revealed about how RSD manifests in him.
On the other hand, he is very harmony-seeking because of it. “I hate it so much because it’s such a visceral, intense, sickening physical reaction that I would do anything to avoid it. So I’ll be perfect for you; this will be the best experience or relationship you’ve ever had, so you’ll never be angry with me. But that doesn’t work in the long run. It’s exhausting.”
Ritchson Works on Himself
Alan Ritchson doesn’t see his strong emotions solely as a weakness. They motivate him to identify and fight injustices. He sees himself in the role of a protector. However, he also admitted in the interview that the burdensome effects on his life and that of his family are undeniable. That’s why the father of three sons is working on healing. He is in therapy and has had good experiences with EMDR.
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and is a therapeutic method used to treat severely traumatized individuals.4 It involves linking the memory of a traumatic experience with stimulation of both brain hemispheres. Ritchson describes it as: “You have this vibrating impulse in your hand that keeps both brain hemispheres online, so you don’t go into ‘shutdown mode’ when talking about the trauma. It allows you to process the stuff differently.”
If you or someone you know is affected by mental stress or illness, you can contact the social psychiatric service, among others. In acute crises, the crisis hotline is available at 0800 111 0 111 or 0800 111 0 222 free of charge and around the clock.