Chronic Illness and Trauma FAQ

This chronic illness and trauma FAQ addresses the most common questions I get asked.

The answers explain where to find therapists to work with chronic illness from a cell danger response / nervous system / trauma perspective, where to learn more about the science, how to find my free ebooks, why it’s not psychological and how to contact me.

They also address why it’s harder for some of us to recover after seemingly minor stressors or accidents. And why addressing the past is worth the time and effort. This will widen your options, give you new tools for healing, and – when you feel like you’ve got nowhere else to go with your health – help you get unstuck.

1. Can ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) really affect risk?

Q. Can ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) or other kinds of trauma make one more prone to developing chronic illness (or to suffer mental illness or chronic pain, addictions, obesity or other health conditions)?

A. Yes. Hundreds of ACE studies show that 10 different types of trauma are risk factors for just about every kind of chronic health problem. It’s not psychological, it’s because life experiences interact with our genes through epigenetics and other mechanisms.

Here’s a post on the ACE studies relevant to chronic illness where you can also take the ACE survey, a post with lists of the different effects of ACES, books and resources on ACEs, and a downloadable 1 page ACE fact sheet to give your doctor.

In addition, a large body of evidence and scores of studies show that other kinds of trauma in childhood and at other times in our lives also increase risk for many chronic illnesses and other health conditions, including type 1 diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and rheumatoid disease. You can also learn more in Chapter 5 of The Essential Guide).

2. Does a history of trauma mean it’s psychological?

Q. Does a history of trauma mean my chronic illness or other symptom is psychological?

A. No. While thoughts and emotions can affect our bodies and health, the effects of trauma go well beyond psychological symptoms and PTSD. Trauma also shapes how our nervous system and immune systems function, influences which genes turn on and off and to what extent, and alters physiology and how cells function. This includes metabolism, blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, digestion, clotting, and much more. Having a chronic health problem is not your fault, is not because you are lazy or weak, and is not due to a personality flaw. It’s about the scientific discovery that life experiences interact with our genes to shape long-term health ⁽¹⁾Shonkoff, J. P., et al. (2012). “The lifelong effects of early childhood adversity and toxic stress.” Pediatrics 129(1): e232-246, ⁽²⁾Francis, R. C. (2012). Epigenetics: how environment shapes our genes [kindle edition]. New York, W. W. Norton & Company: 256, ⁽³⁾Romens, S. E., et al. (2015). “Associations between early life stress and gene methylation in children.” Child Development 86(1): 303-309, ⁽⁴⁾Weaver, I. C., et al. (2004). “Epigenetic programming by maternal behavior.” Nature Neuroscience 7(8): 847-854, ⁽⁵⁾Hurley, D. (2013). Grandma’s experiences leave a mark on your genes: Your ancestors’ lousy childhoods or excellent adventures might change your personality, bequeathing anxiety or resilience by altering the epigenetic expressions of genes in the brain. Discover. May.

3. Are there therapists that can help?

Q. Can I find a therapist for healing chronic illness from a trauma perspective?

A. Here’s a list of therapies I recommend for healing the effects of trauma and for working with chronic illness from a nervous system perspective. Includes links to website directories to help you find therapists around the world.

4. Why do some people recover when others continue to suffer?

Why do some people get helped by whatever treatment they try when others continue to suffer after less severe accidents or similar medical treatment? Hover over the reference number at the end of this sentence to see a more detailed reader question ⁽⁶⁾What I mean is, whenever I hurt myself, whatever pain I get as a result, it becomes a chronic pain for me. Whereas others heal and forget about the injury, I have a reminder of the physical trauma for years to come if not for my entire life. A banal example: I suffered from a concussion a year ago when I fell off my bike and hit my head. A week after that I developed a headache which has never gone away! I know this thing is not uncommon but it is more common to recover from a minor traumatic brain injury than to suffer from a debilitating post-concussive syndrome as I do. Given my history, however, I am not surprised. I always get the short end of the stick. I go to a doctor for a “harmless, standard procedure” and that procedure goes wrong and I get worse instead of better. This has happened many times, sometimes with horrific consequences.

A. This makes sense in the context of trauma and the science about the cell danger response. Some people are able to recover more quickly perhaps because their nervous systems are less overwhelmed by the effects of trauma. Others may have more difficulty because of larger effects, more exposures to subtle or overt trauma, or because their nervous systems are caught in states of hibernation-like freeze.

Adverse babyhood and childhood experiences change our brains and physiology gradually over years. It also makes us more sensitive to stress and later trauma. Many medical procedures, for example, are invasive or at the very least stressful, and can feel threatening, especially if we have a history of trauma. Here’s how trauma affects risk for side effects and complications.

5. Am I doomed to suffer forever? Is there a way to heal?

Q. Are people like me – who suffered trauma a long time ago or whose parents were traumatized – doomed to suffer forever?

Q. Is there a way to detraumatize the brain and turn the healing switch on?

Hover over the reference at the end of the sentence for a reader’s more detailed question ⁽⁷⁾In other words, “Do you think that there could be a link with a “traumatized brain”? Could it be that someone who has developed a fearful, pessimistic personality on account of traumatic experiences, or even inherited it from equally traumatized parents, is more likely to suffer from “chronic pain” and more likely to experience delayed and/or incomplete healing?”.

A. You are not doomed, it really is possible to detraumatize our brains. The science of trauma, brain development, epigenetics, the cell danger response and more not only explain how our brains and physiologies change to cause symptoms – it also shows how our brains and nervous systems are designed to heal. And healing can happen even if trauma happened decades ago, in your parents or grandparents’ lives, or during pregnancy and birth. Many kinds of well informed approaches exist that support healing the effects of trauma. Here’s a list of helpful, insightful and inspiring books on trauma and healing, of tools for healing symptoms and chronic illness, and for trauma therapies with links to websites to help you find therapists around the world. I hope that helps!!

6. How are you doing? Do you really see improvement? 

Q. Do you really see improvement in your physical health as a result of trauma work? 

A. Yes. I am much improved. It’s been a slow process that has taken place over many years and is still ongoing, but I’ve gone from being mostly bedridden to quite active. Here’s my story.

 

9. What do you recommend If I have no access to therapies? 

Q. What would you recommend to a person who needs help but has no access to therapies (due to location, cost, etc)? 

A. Here are 10 tools for working with symptoms. You can also find ways of working with the nervous system in these books on chronic illness and trauma symptoms. More and more therapists do sessions by phone or through the internet, and many also offer a sliding scale to help with cost. The list of therapies includes links to websites with directories to help you find a therapist near you (around the world).

10. Is there a self-help or online program?

Q. Is there a self-help or online program that can be just as effective in getting started with this?

A. Yes. See this list of of books for working on yourself as one place to start.

If you are a coach, therapist or have some familiarity with trauma and the nervous system take a look at Organic Intelligence “Basics.”   Steve was my favorite faculty when I trained as a trauma therapist [somatic experiencing (SE) faculty] and I can’t say enough good things about him, his approach or his teaching style.

 

If concepts about the nervous system and chronic illness and trauma symptoms are new to you, watch Irene Lyon’s free videos on youtube. You may want to take one of her online courses (see under “programs” on her website). She has a big focus on chronic illness and is also trained in SE. I hear many good things about her and her work although I don’t know her personally.

11. I am so tired and have tried so much. Is it really possible to undo this? 

Q. I have tried many things, lost so much money – and time – and gotten nowhere ⁽¹³⁾I am so tired of being ill and have become skeptical of everything, including therapies and an ill-functioning brain. Is it really possible to undo something that has been years or decades in the making and has become such an intrinsic part of my being?

12. Have you considered treatment “x” ?

Q. Have you considered treatment “x” (insert name of treatment here) as a way to recover from chronic illness and trauma symptoms or release what has been suppressed?

A. I have personally tried many things (B12, acupuncture, herbs, probiotics, prebiotics, major dietary changes, juicing, feldenkrais, rolfing, ayurveda, coffee enemas, medical intuitives, craniosacral therapy, homeopathy, and more. Most did not help. some made things worse, and I gradually became intolerant to most foods as well as supplements, herbs, vitamins and even probiotics) although I have not tried medical treatments. This is in part because of how many side effects I’ve experienced with what I’ve already tried (see #4). It’s also because there is no known cure for my chronic illness (I have chronic fatigue aka ME/CFS). And it’s because, as a doctor, I saw how little we know about treatments that address symptoms without curing the underlying cause.

 

My interest has long been the trauma route. Perhaps because it enables me to trust myself, my impulses, my own body and to listen for what is true for me. And because healing trauma is helping me and I can see the deep changes happening. Also because the science keeps pointing in this direction too.

13. Can you recommend a therapist?

A. Look for a trauma therapist in therapies for healing nervous responses to stress, trauma and perceptions of threat.

14. Do you have any tips for healing the freeze response?

Q. Do you have any tips for healing the parasympathetic freeze response / getting the parasympathetic social nervous system back on board?

A. These somatically based trauma therapies are designed for this very thing as are most of these tools. Allowing yourself to spend time with soothing or pleasurable  resources is also a way of accessing the ventral vagal / social nervous system, which can help regulate fight, flight and freeze responses. You can read Love 2.0 to learn more and see my colleague Dr. Arielle Schwartz’ post on yoga and other ways to stimulate the vagus.

15. Do I really need to deal with old trauma?

Q. Do I really need to deal with old trauma? It’s in the past so it seems there’s nothing I can do but move on.

A. Good question. Trauma can be like a wound that is filled with pus. It gets red, sore and leaks yellow stuff. If we don’t open up the abscess to let the infection out, it can trigger a much bigger infection and whole body reaction. And the abscess can’t actually heal.

The pain of trauma is like an abscess. When unresolved, it prevents our nervous systems from being in the present, which is where our psyches and bodies need to be in order to heal.

The good news is that resources, connection (with friends / nature / hobbies / music, see more in ebook #1), and other things that help us feel even one iota of pleasure are hugely supportive of healing. This is because our brains and bodies are designed to recover from trauma. And sometimes that’s all we need to do: take time and make room for resources.

If that’s not enough – when changing your diet, leaving the stressful job or relationship, exercising to whatever extent you can, doing self care, meditating, doing yoga or tai chi, de-stressing, resourcing and more are not enough to make you better or feel better – healing trauma can help. These somatically based trauma therapies are just one set of approaches for that. See more approaches in this list of books.

Lansing the trauma abscess is only painful in the short term. Once it heals your emotional and physical symptoms can begin to improve. And you feel more whole, experience more joy, feel more connected, and can live your life more fully.