What we now know to most often be "Trauma Related" disorders are many--Fibromyalgia, Diabetes II, Chronic Fatigue, Low Back Pain, Chronic Migraine Headaches, Arthritis, Irritable Bowel Disorder and Depression, are just a few of them that fall into this category.
Trauma can be caused by things you are well aware of--like being in a war or a horrific accident. Trauma can also be much more subtle and even more difficult to identify.
It can happen years before we develop chronic pain symptoms, before we mysteriously start having funny aches and pains here and there that go away and return again later on, with ever increasing pain intensity and time lines.
Some of us were raised by very strict parents. That was nothing unusual in my era, being raised in the 1960's and 1970's. But sometimes our spirits, our psyches, took things harder than we realized. Or we may have blunted and dimmed the depths of the experiences in our memory. These memories may even be totally out of our conscious awareness.
I would bet that most of us that experienced abusive or very strict parenting have at least some diminished memories out of our full conscious awareness. It is just how it is. It's what many survivors do to get on with being in the land of the living.
I discovered that I discounted all of the split lips and the bloody noses, all the name calling and the brutalizing energy I experienced growing up. I knew they happened, but they were just below the surface of my everyday conscious awareness.
But, even if it is expected and common occurrence to have been raised this way in childhood, that does not mean it didn't effect us--and possibly even more than we know.
Most folks that experienced the kinds of things I did as a child find ways to get through such experiences. I know I did. As I've said previously, I learned to make lemonade out of the lemons. It's my long suit and always has been. But until I was jolted into reality by an Ear Nose and Throat specialist, I had completely discounted the effects and even buried it all to some degree, from my full-on awareness, the full brunt of the experiences. This stuff went on for all of my childhood, up until I left home as an adult.
Neuroscience now says that these kinds of experiences rewire our brains, making us have more possibilities for developing chronic pain and chronic conditions later in life.
Here is a link to read up on this information:
http://www.multiplyingconnections.org/science-behind-trauma
Until my experience with a doctor questioning my scar tissue filled nose and sinuses, I doubt I would have ever begun the journey of putting the pieces together, doing the research that has now opened everything to me. I am certain there is a direct correlation to my experiences with chronic pain problems in adulthood and my childhood experiences with trauma.
When we are someone that looks for the good and the positive, it is easy to skim past obvious things that may actually be considered bordering on, if not flat-out, abusive parenting.
I can hear myself hollering at myself, "Pull up your socks, quit whining, get over yourself, you big ninny."
Those are my words, now. But, they came from another in my life. They didn't even actually use these specific words. These are my interpretations of their words. They are my words. But this was the energy of what I heard repeatedly while growing up.
This is how a child learns to be unbendingly hard on themselves.
Herein breeds the way to trauma going underground and setting oneself up for Chronic Pain problems in adulthood.
It all goes hand in hand. I observe it regularly in nearly every client I see. Trauma and Chronic Pain are two ends of the same journey--if the Trauma is not addressed and healed.
Thankfully, there are more and more options for healing Chronic Pain than ever before, and the list is growing longer!
It takes great willingness to do this work, to heal these parts of ourselves. It is the hardest work I have ever done. And it is the very most rewarding, too.
Love, Hugs and Blessings,
Barbara
© Copyright 2009-2015, Transformation Of A Mystic | Barbara F. Manning.
All Rights Reserved
Thank you to ME for the cool photos of a Pronghorn Antelope in the Great Basin Desert
and flowers from my garden, too!
and flowers from my garden, too!
Interesting theory, it would be good to know what is causing my constant back issues.
ReplyDeleteBarbara,
ReplyDeleteI have been studying trauma and want to say that your health care physician is RIGHT ON! For the doubters out there I would like to direct your attention to the ACE's study. Very interesting and long over due. But if you want an interesting read about how trauma treatment is changing pick up Dr. Peter Levine's book "In an Unspoken Voice" or Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk's book "The Body Keeps the Score". It's yet another example about how the energy healers have been way ahead of our medical institutions. I would like to add that the current governor of Michigan just signed into law that requires every school in Michigan to have someone on staff who is trained in dealing with trauma. The guy is a business man and I think he is looking at how much the state is going to save down the road in disability and medical care for the low income population in MI. KC
Dear KC,
DeleteI have gotten NOTHING from my Health Care Physician about anything related to Trauma. Most doctors that I frequent just want to give you a pill and send you out the door. They don't seem to have any clue whatsoever about the connection between Trauma and chronic health issues.
I have dug what I am sharing on my blog out of reading books and researching national and international studies, plus my own, personal experience. I have also been taking some online classes from NICABM - The National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine, which does a huge 5 or 6 week class each year about the latest in Trauma research and healing techniques.
I ran across the ACE study a few years ago and was shocked and somewhat frightened, even, about the outcome of it. Not one single doctor I see has ever mentioned the study.
I am currently reading and will soon blog about Dr. van der Kolk's book, "The Body Keeps The Score." It has been very enlightening and is an extension of what I have learned from the classes I have taken from NICABM. He and his colleagues have been the instructors for each of the classes! It has been phenomenal to learn from them!
It is hard to see the health care split that exists about Trauma. Many are not yet on board about Trauma and think that much of this is a crock.
I know down to my soul that this is Truth, and further, that Healing is only possible by addressing Trauma in the body.
I loved reading your note about the governor of Michigan's law about Trauma Specialists! This is great news!
We have Trauma Specialists in Clark County School District where I worked for 27 years. But mostly it was token stuff in terms of District officials and administration. The real healers, the nurses, school psychologists and teachers, pretty much were limited in what they were allowed to do. There is much more needed.
There is hope, yet. Michigan is far ahead of many others! But eventually, others will figure it out, I believe.
Barbara
I'm so sorry I didn't know you were going through the same abuse I was going through at home. I try talking to my mom about it, she's like in denial. She says she did the best she could, period. She doesn't remember the beatings with razor strap that hanged on the wall next to the phone or when she'd sit on the couch watching my dad pounce on me & smash my head into the wall. Oh well, there were happy times too. Just hard to remember them. I can't imagine what you went through with your gift. I'm sure you were probably young when it started. The abuse was acceptable back then. I've forgiven my mom.
ReplyDelete