Physical Health Effects and Complex PTSD
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About this ebook
There is a close relationship between exposure to abuse during childhood and several of the leading causes of death in adults. Diseases including heart disease, cancer, lung disease, and liver disease have been tied to childhood trauma. The findings in many emerging studies suggest that the impact of these adverse childhood experiences on adult health status is cumulative.
As more and more research looks at the effects of abuse, neglect, and maltreatment, findings are showing that noticeable impacts are seen through adulthood, which illustrates the connection between developmental and psychopathological aspects of childhood traumas. The effects of trauma and stress are cumulative. When significant secondary traumas occur, the risk of developing CPTSD symptoms increases.
Kimberly Callis
When Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder forced me to leave a 25 year career in management consulting, I turned my focus to writing. My primary interest is in post traumatic stress disorder as it relates to developmental trauma and childhood sexual abuse. I have spent much of the last five years researching this topic from numerous perspectives. I hope to share my insight and experiences to help others in their recovery process.
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Physical Health Effects and Complex PTSD - Kimberly Callis
Physical Health and Complex PTSD Kimberly Callis
Stoning Demons
An Informed Patient’s Perspective on Complex PTSD
and Marijuana-Supported Therapy
Book 3, Physical Health and Complex PTSD
*****
By Kimberly Callis
FIRST EDITION
Copyright © 2014 Kimberly Callis
ISBN 978 1 310 13 6801
*****
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Physical Health and CPTSD
"There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds."
Laurell K. Hamilton
I want to challenge you to think about post-traumatic stress disorders in a new way… to move beyond thinking of PTSD as mental illness and see it for the systemic neuroendocrine disorder that disrupts the normal balance of energy, emotion and functioning.
Most of the more common symptoms of PTSD – anxiety, depression, confusion, eating disorders, addiction and even suicidality – can also have physiological sources. In the majority of cases, there are underlying illnesses and chronic imbalances that contribute to mental and emotional symptoms.
I had to learn this myself after I was diagnosed with Complex PTSD several years ago; a disorder stemming from childhood trauma that affects development and is compounded by recurrent traumatic experiences and chronic stress into adulthood.
While the experience of specific types of trauma and stress can affect a person’s psychology in different ways, recurring traumas and chronic stress, in general, have a pervasive and particularly damaging effect on physical health.
The pathways are similar in nearly all cases; chronic activation or over-stimulation of the stress response. This response is also known as fight-or-flight.
Biologically, all emotions are supported by chemistry. All thoughts are supported by neurobiology. This is the chemistry and electricity of who we are and how we experience our lives. Being unwell mentally – especially when symptoms are chronic – generally means there is some corresponding imbalance in the body, one or more comorbid chronic conditions that influence cognition, emotions and mood. Just look at how stress affects the body and the mind.
Chronic health issues can reinforce and complicate psychological symptoms in a feedback loop that makes the sufferer feel as if they will never truly recover. That’s how I felt, at least… until I started looking more deeply into my condition.
The way I discovered the relationship of physical and mental health for myself was difficult and involved. I researched and read as many medical and scientific papers as I could after my diagnosis. I took courses on psychology and biology online. I was a bit obsessed with understanding what was going on with me.
I wasn’t happy to think that suddenly everything had gone wrong in my mind… it seemed like it was more than just something in my head.
In line with the commonly accepted definition of Complex PTSD, I had an extended list of symptoms beyond the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual classifications for PTSD and included all of the markers for Disorders of Extreme Stress as well. This was the legacy of neglect and abuse I experienced as a child, but it wasn’t just in my head… it was bound in my body.
I was only in my early forties, but my physical health was failing fast. I had a number of illnesses that had been affecting my health for years. It seemed like every other word in my medical file was chronic
. I was in bad shape and it was all linked in some way to chronic nervous system