Chronic Illness Trauma Studies
How Adversity Shapes Health & Why It's Not In Your Head
Guy MacPherson invited me to his Trauma Therapist Project for a chronic illness and trauma podcast. We talk about the science and some of my own story of how this became my passion. It was a joy and Guy's inviting style holds depth of curiosity and wisdom, with questions that get right to the heart ...
I don't really "want" to write about shame and other difficult emotions because it means having to feel into these feelings. And as many of you know, shame, in particular, can feel annihilating. But the origins of shame are sneaky and we tend to think it's because something is wrong with US. The ...
Past trauma triggers flares in all kinds of chronic diseases as can infections, mold, and other exposures. This understanding builds on the cell danger response (CDR) and other science I share on this blog. It enables you to see how you can begin to change your health. Included below are 16 ...
I've described how chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disease driven by a cell danger response (CDR) and a nervous system caught in a threat response of freeze and some of us with an underlying fight/flight response (wired and tired) in Part 1. This second post describes how the CDR gets stuck ...
This post, also a guest post on Cort Johnson's Health Rising blog about chronic fatigue syndrome (aka ME/CFS), introduces the relationship between ME/CFS and freeze states. These occur in the nervous system, in our cells and in all kinds of tissues in the body (updated October 2020). The science ...
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, ...
Chances are you go through periods when your symptoms increase or decrease. And there are times when you get overwhelmed by flare-ups and symptoms that seem to come out of the blue. Flare-ups - which are also often referred to as exacerbations, "episodes," increases, relapses or aggravations - ...
A gentle, spacious, insightful example of how helpful and straightforward trauma therapy for chronic illness can be and feel. Providing an overview of the what is done and why, the importance of going at a person's pace, and how it's about following the intelligence of the body. Using an example of ...
There are a lot of unanswered questions about chronic illness. Why do so many of us develop our diseases after periods of stress, for example? Why are we then unable to recover by addressing, removing or reducing the stress in our lives? Why do some people with type 1 diabetes, or chronic ...
