Chronic Illness Trauma Studies
How Adversity Shapes Health & Why It's Not In Your Head
Spring in my garden is a riot of color. I caught the above pic of my poppies just past their peak after deciding to replace them and wanting to document the process. Because uprooting a cheery, bright colored perennial that makes me happy in order to take the chance that something else might do an ...
On my return from time with my parents for my annual summer visit in the early 2000s I finally connected the dots to realize that my unquenchable thirst and dry mouth were not solely from living at 5000 feet in the arid climate near the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Eating desserts and vinegary ...
There's nothing quite as exhilarating as a home remodeling show that transforms a special space from drab or defective to contemporary, functional and gorgeous in 30 minutes. When you have a chronic illness it's natural to want a quick fix too. As the homeowner, however, you realize that ...
Over the past year I've followed a number of very subtle, thin-as-air, "whiffy," seemingly over-the-top, yet very clear impulses. Some have come during trauma therapy sessions and some as part of listening to my body in my ongoing process of working with my chronic illness and gradual ...
Right now, with all the painful, difficult stuff streaming into all of my newsfeeds and throughout so many of my social media channels, I need something gentle, compassionate and positive to read. Something that gives me hope and reminds me of all the good in people and in the world. Something that ...
Getting stuck in states of fight, flight, freeze or faint can lead to physiological changes that drive disease. Regaining the ability to come out of survival states is one way that helps us resolve chronic illness. We can experience stuck states of F/F/F/F as high or low blood pressure, high or ...
It's still summer time for just a little while longer and I've been talking and writing a lot about trauma. It's time to play and I want to introduce unexpectedly fun ways to support your social nervous system (also known as "The Vagus"). I've updated this 2016 post with new content and ...
While treating trauma is an important tool for improving our health, following impulses for pleasure is an aspect of trauma therapy that can be used in everyday life. It is a way of working with an overactive nervous system. It's a way of listening so you can heal social nervous system functions and ...
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 ...
