Is Trauma Making You Ill?

I've always been fascinated by the idea that we exist in our bodies, like it's a machine we have no manual for, often devolving responsibility to doctors and practitioners but thinking we have limited ways to truly impact our mental and physical health. Especially when it comes to long term chronic conditions, mental health like ADHD, and auto immune dysfunction.

There was a point at which, during Descartes time in the 1600's, the mind and body were split in the eyes of science, and we now mainly focus on treating the symptoms (the body's distress signals) rather than seeking to truly understand or address the root cause.

Trauma takes away a person’s sense of self, safety and stability at a deep, core level and activates the amygdala. The amygdala is part of the limbic system, a deeper, more primitive part of the brain that primarily responds to basic signals about fear and safety 'fight to flight'.

Here, memory is stored as a lived experience with feelings and physical sensations that may not be connected in a logical story which is why trauma can be re-triggered and pop up at the most random of times!

However it is not 'The Trauma' that is the catalyst to ill health, it is how you respond.

How do you heal from trauma? Is it even possible?

It might seem like trauma does irreversible damage to your brain, but that's not true. Our brains are extremely adaptable. Neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to form new connections, explains why we can rewire our brains to reverse trauma's damaging effects.

Some ways to help rewire your brain and boost cognitive function include exercising regularly, eating a balanced diet, and stimulating your brain with activities like reading, playing music, laughing, or learning a new language.

So, what is the 'recipe' for good mental and physical health?

Every day Facebook tells me what I 'should' be doing to be the best version of myself (eye roll please!), But I’ve always wondered what I should focus on, is it:

• religiously eating 5 a day?
• microbiome/gut health? - ensuring that we have the right nutrients through what we eat (and what we avoid or even fasting) and the supplements we take like medicinal mushrooms and CBD, which calm the nervous system, therefore enabling our immune system to do the job it is built for.
• reducing inflammation? (If you even know what's causing it. For me it’s stress and potatoes - who knew!). This is a common cause of many psychological and mental health disorders including auto immune and ADHD. The connection between ADHD and inflammation is fascinating, this short webinar is worth falling down a rabbit hole -especially the mast cells information and why ADHD can become more pronounced/prevalent in woman during the peri menopause!
• genetics/epigenetics? This refers to the way your behaviours and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work. Epigenetics turns genes "on" and "off" and basically means that ancestors immediate/past could be the source of health issues that aren't only physical but also mental - check out the mice experiment where stimuli from 5 generations previous was introduced to the offspring of this family tree of mice and they still responded to the stimuli (in this case the smell of cherry blossom) with the same trauma response (dedicating and shaking) but having had no direct exposure to the original trauma. 
• the stress response? - getting out in nature, meditating, breath work, mindfulness, gratitude, exercise, cold water swimming, laughter, managing our para-sympathetic /sympathetic nervous system - not just reducing stress (it can't always be avoided) but aiming for a different response to it.
• environmental toxicity? - including pollution, mould and chemicals in the home. 
• your thoughts, what you believe about yourself and your perceptions of the world/having a positive mental outlook and the ability to be resilient?
• our polyvagal nerve resonating at the right frequency to transmit signals from your brain to your gut?
• being religious or having faith in some form?
• neuroplasticity? - helping our brains to work more effectively, rewiring our thoughts and behaviours away from a 'fight or flight' response, taking it out of the trauma cycle.
• alternative therapies? - acupuncture, reflexology, aromatherapy, kinesiology.
• positive relationships and letting go of toxic ones? Being able to set boundaries.
• dealing with trauma (known or otherwise)? - that is known to cause addiction, weight gain, ill health etc.
• community vs loneliness?
• a sign we need to slow down and ask what the illness is telling us?
• living in a commune and only eating mung beans and hugging trees (apologies if you love beans)?

The answer is we can do all the ‘right’ things but does that lead to a guaranteed outcome? Sadly, not. I am sure we have all heard stories of super fit people dropping dead in their 30's and old Uncle Jim who drank and smoked daily until he died at the ripe old age of 93!

So what is the silver bullet to 'Wellness'?

If I had my time again I would have studied Psychoneuroimmunology - the study of the effect of the mind on health and resistance to disease. But as I'm pushing 50 and my 'go-to' stress dream is not having read the books for a key English exam, I don't fancy going back to traditional academia. So, I have condensed my research into the time it took me to paint my small bungalow with the intention of also trying to find a new career path/life direction! (I never do things by halves). 

Whilst I did this I decided to listen to several books relating to trauma and health (just your light reading!), including (re-reading) the Body Keeps the Score, The Autobiography of Trauma, When the Body Says No and CURED (not as divisive as you might think). 

Cured by Dr Jeff Rediger, a world-leading Harvard psychiatrist who has spent the last fifteen years studying thousands of individuals from around the world, examines the stories behind extraordinary cases of recovery from terminal illness - demonstrating the immense power of our own immune system, the mind-body connection and the scientific evidence to back his observations. It is is an exceptional book in which he explains the vital role that nutrition plays in boosting our immunity and fighting off disease, and he also outlines how stress, trauma and identity affect our physical health. In analysing the remarkable science of recovery, Dr Rediger reveals the power of our mind to heal our body and shows us the keys to good health. In an era of incurable chronic diseases causing 60% of all deaths worldwide. And that whilst there is not one 'recipe' to follow you can certainly improve your chances by significantly changing your life but also living an authentic life - doing what you love and knowing who you really are!

What all of these well-respected authors have in common is a firm belief that trauma is the root cause of addictions, auto immune disorders including MS and arthritis, neurological conditions, and some would go as far as to say most other illnesses - you immune system when suppressed is vulnerable to attack and your nervous system controls how well this works. But this is not trying to suggest you are 'to blame' for your condition far from it they are saying it should empower you when it comes to you health rather than judge you.

Why do we not believe that our bodies deserve to be well?

Over the years I have treated my body like a dustbin, yo-yo dieting, burning the candle at both ends (and in the middle!) and pushing my body to the limits (and I don't mean doing a marathon). However, I am left wondering about all this 'fun' I had, the lack of sunscreen, the office-based sit down all day jobs, the ultra-processed food - Has this created irreversible damage? 

I am not ill physically (perhaps mentally!) but I have always wondered what toll various traumatic experiences have had on my long-term health. I have had lots of therapy including CBT, NLP, EFT (basically all the acronyms), and I've studied Psychology for years (in various forms) and had a lot of 'talking' therapy. But do you know what this has made me realise? I'm so bored of my own story! I'm not one to wallow and I certainly don't want to relive the experiences time and again, although I also have a sneaking suspicion that there are repressed elements that I am not even aware of! Therapy has taken me so far but where next?

When I finished painting my kitchen, I felt sure at this point that unresolved trauma has such a substantial role to play in both my physical and mental health. I considered however that whilst I now feel I am a lot kinder to my body, do I think I deserve to be well?

I had always thought of self-esteem and 'self-care' as the same as being selfish, but now with a child depending on my health, which is more of a motivator than just doing it for myself, I wonder how key self-esteem in relation to the mind/body connection when it comes to things like substance addiction, eating disorders and OCD. I don't think I liked myself enough or thought I deserved it enough to do the things that would benefit my overall mental and physical health. Why? I can only relate this back to where my self-esteem was forged in childhood, and the trauma that I experienced back then is still impacting my self-perception now.

But how can you address unresolved trauma? 

Talking Therapies 

Psychotherapy, CBT, and Counselling can be hugely beneficial, in telling your story to a trained professional you can feel heard and validated however not everyone knows or is able to communicate a traumatic experience to a therapist (especially children) and not everyone feels able to relive traumatic moments from their past or may not even be consciously aware of the event.

What happens if you have no idea what that trauma was and/or do not want to relive it?

Somatic Therapy 

EMDR and Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a form of alternative therapy aimed at treating trauma and stress-related disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. The primary goal of SE is to modify the trauma-related stress response through bottom-up processing. It can involve movement like yoga to release trauma that is held in certain parts of the body. Although both can require a retelling of trauma.

Medication

We live in a world where we are so blessed to have amazing advances in technology and pharmaceutical medicine. However not all physical and mental conditions benefit from pharmaceuticals, and they can cause as many problems as they solve and be more of a band aid over the root cause. Antibiotics for instance are a marvel however we are now finding that using them too often not only builds a tolerance, but they also negatively impact our gut health and microbiome - commonly known as the 2nd brain. 

The polyvagal nerve runs from the brain to the gut, and they communicate constantly so the phrase 'you are what you eat' and 'food be thy medicine' is clearly more relevant than we have been led to believe.

Supplements 

Ashwaganda, Shilajit and CBD are all beneficial for calming the nervous/immune system as a whole, leading to 'Homeostasis', allowing it to do the job it is meant to do - fight foreign bodies in our system. Medicinal Mushrooms are a great way to help rebuild neurological pathways and boost the immune system. You could take hundreds of different supplements but often the benefits are subtle, and we fall out of the habit of taking them easily.

Psychedelic experiences

or listen to the Joe Rogan podcast without them extolling the virtues of going on your own personal 'Trip'. My personal belief is these plants have been used for thousands of years during religious and cultural gatherings and for healing and have huge benefits to offer. But as they are not yet legal in the UK they are out of reach for most people and without the right guidance and support you can end up with new information about yourself that you can’t process which can be damaging. It really needs someone to guide you during and after the experience!

Neurofeedback Therapy (NF)

Dr Van de Kolk, who is regarded as the godfather of trauma and how it affects the body says of this therapy that it calms fear driven brain, stating that:

"Neurofeedback makes use of the brain’s capacity for change to reshape brain networks. It is a way to directly train the brain to function better. Neurofeedback is a research-supported treatment to manage arousal, sharpen attention, relieve anxiety, and improve learning …without medication and with sustained results."

Neurofeedback Therapy helps your brain to move from ‘fight or flight’ mode and to permanently re-regulate the Nervous System and in turn the Central Nervous System (CNS) and Peripheral Nervous System (PNS), allowing the body to work more effectively. This Includes the immune system which is vital in our bodies protection against mental and physical impairments. The NF therapy is looking to help you regain your sense of 'self' by helping the brain to help itself whilst helping you to regulate yourself emotionally and physically.

Neurofeedback is actually a form of biofeedback that measures and trains brain activity using visual, kinetic and auditory cues. By getting insight into their brain activity with neurofeedback, you'll have the knowledge necessary to have more control over your brain. Read More

In summary of trauma...... 

If you have unresolved trauma then you are more likely to have low self-esteem which leads to poor health choices such as substance addictions, chronic stress, eating poorly, addiction to work or even exercise (I wish!) and the list goes on. This leads to your nervous system being pinged, inflammation then creeps in and your immune system, the gate keeper to mental and physical health, is distracted from doing the job it was designed to do – it is a vicious cycle that is hard to break free from.

If you can look to improve your diet, stress responses, immune system and identity these will all help to improve both your mental and physical health but if you struggle with any or all of these then trauma may be the barrier and addressing it may help you to live a more fufilling life.

Stress will always trick the mind into returning to old habits but if you can do just one of the the long list above, then that will open the door to more changes, leading to the restoration of your health. 

You deserve to be well, so be kind to your body and your mind - they are more closely linked than you think!

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