MY THEORY- PART 2-TAKING A LOOK AT THESE ILLNESSES FROM AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

Ok, continuing from my article on my theory regarding these illnesses such as, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, IBS, gut issues, thyroid issues, PTSD, Crohn’s Disease, Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis, Scleroderma and other autoimmune diseases,  I am focusing on trauma/abuse/stress as the underlying cause of these illnesses since that is what happened to me. It’s not only chemicals, toxins, and the possibility of vaccines and food additives, that are supposedly causing these internal storms, it is also the intense gut wrenching emotions and chronic or toxic stress from abuse and trauma which affect the different systems in our bodies in a negative way and can reset them to a chronic faulty setting which leads to chronic inflammation and disease…autoimmune diseases.  Abuse and trauma (especially repeated) at the hands of a loved one or caretaker creates a special “toxic” kind of chronic stress and deep mental torment and anguish that is particularly damaging to its victims because of the epic inherent internal struggle and conflicting internal impulses, thoughts and deep feelings of wanting and needing to love this person (the abuser) but also wanting and needing for the abuse and pain to stop. This removes the natural protection against trauma for the victim, which is feeling safe with our loved ones. This destabilizes the victims stability and footing, not only within themselves and their emotions as they internalize their abuse, but with the people around them and in their environments. We have an innate need to feel “safe” but as long as we are experiencing terror from the loved one, we cannot feel safe. Where terror exists, safety cannot. I can tell you first hand that this is a total mind*uck of epic proportions.  The love/hate dynamics leaves you in total anguish. When someone you love is abusive to you, it feels like you have been turned inside out- literally.

  Genetics do not  “cause” these disorders and diseases outright, they are more of a factor in the process. In fact, abuse and trauma can actually change our genes during our lifetime through a process called “epigenetics.”  Trauma leaves a chemical mark on genes, this means that the imprint of trauma can be passed down from generation to generation. How a person processes adversities, depending on their personal psychological make-up, coping ability, the extent of the abuse/trauma, when the abuse occurred, current environment, and vulnerability of biological systems, all factor into how stress and intense emotions manifest in its victims and how sick they will get.  

Now that neuroscience and the related fields of interpersonal neurobiology and developmental psychopathology have shown us that intense emotions (which always involve the mind, heart and gut) and stress, especially chronic and toxic stress, are indeed catalysts for all these ailments and diseases, there is much confusion to clear up.  I feel there are too many “lenses” or “layers” that these symptoms and illnesses are being viewed through and that is over complicating the understanding of how and why they develop and how they manifest in a person. Take Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, for example, you have two completely different names and diagnosis but the symptoms are nearly identical, with so many overlapping.  One is characterized by more pain and one is characterized by more exhaustion, so basically that means that they are only separated by the “degree” of a symptom versus different symptoms altogether. Why do we need an entirely different name for something so incredibly similar? The biggest problem I think, is that most people do not realize just HOW sick stress can make you and that trauma and abuse has the ability to make you deathly ill with terrible diseases.  I think another big reason is that the drug companies like to take a certain set of symptoms, create a name for it so they can sell a drug for this specific newly named “disorder” or “syndrome” that has been “created”. Maybe not in that exact order but I feel they’re guilty of that. It’s about GREED and that almighty dollar! Don’t even get me started on what the drug companies have done with opiates and how their marketing was ripe with deception and drew millions of people into the grips of not just psychological but physical addiction and dependency! I go off about  this, I mean I will discuss this in my upcoming book!

What if we stripped away all these layers and lenses that create confusion and make understanding difficult and just re-examined these illnesses from a social framework and “big picture” perspective??? Now think about this for a moment… What if these symptom causing “illnesses”, such as Fibro, CFS, PTSD, etc., are all the same illness which start the same way- a result of an outer “assault” (trauma/stress/anguish/abuse/neglect) from external forces?  The body consciously and subconsciously reacts and adjusts to these external assaults by going into a hyperarousal/ hypersensitive state, which is where the pain comes from, where the feedback loops of the HPA axis (which will leave you feeling ‘wired but tired”), Dorsal Vagal Complex (DVC), Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and Ventral Vagal Complex (VVC) all kick into high gear which becomes their new default setting. The nerves tell your muscles to stiffen and harden to prepare for the assault or perceived assault.  This is the point of this illness where the patient is symptomatic (pain, stiff sore muscles, fatigue, gut issues, headache, anxiety, depression, cognitive/sleep difficulties, etc) but this illness has not developed enough to be seen in bio markers, with the exception of maybe abnormally high rate of inflammation and maybe an increase in proinflammatory cytokine levels. Once it’s been verified that abuse/trauma/stress is the culprit, these patients should ALL be treated with the same healing protocols, (depending on level of severity).  This includes, “bottom up therapy”, which focuses on the amygdala and other geographically lower and more primitive brain regions where past trauma actually lives and hides. This includes limbic system therapy and body based therapy. These types of therapy activate self-awareness and interoception so the patient can access their “emotional brain”, which is first needed in order to heal from trauma. The use of body-awareness techniques, rhythmical movements, sensory motor therapy, yoga, meditation, walking, exercise and breathing, all help to ground the victim and repair the misattunement between mind and body that these victims experience. These therapies also quell and reverse the hyperarousal symptoms, since trauma lives in our visceral sense and emotional brain. This is referred to as “self-management” and is at the core of recovery.  Unfortunately, “mainstream Western psychiatric and psychological healing traditions have not paid much attention to”, according to Dr. Van Der Kolk, in his best selling book, “The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma:

   It is Eastern medicine that understands and employs these treatment techniques and have been using them for thousands of years. “Top down therapy” and talk-therapy, which includes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is typically not as helpful with victims of trauma because it addresses the thinking and logical parts of the brain, (mainly the frontal lobes), which  actually go off-line and get deactivated long-term, during the “trauma response’ in victims of trauma. Victims stay in this state because of the hyperactive amygdala, which keeps its host in a state of flight/flight or freeze.” According to Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk, “The fundamental issue in resolving traumatic stress is to restore the proper balance between the rational and emotional brains, so that you can feel in charge of how you respond and how you conduct your life.” (as opposed to feeling like disconnected, fragmented thinking, angry, tightly wound, frazzled messes)  He also stresses the fact that “we have a host of inbuilt skills to keep us on an even keel.” This means we can directly train our arousal system by the way we breathe, chant, and move, a principle that has been utilized since time immemorial in places like China and India, and in every religious practice that I know of, but that is suspiciously eyed as “alternative” in mainstream culture.” I hope this article helps to sort through some of the big web of confusion our medical system has us all trapped in! Best of luck to you on your healing journey!!!

OUR HEALTHCARE AND MEDICAL SYSTEMS HAVE SOME SERIOUS EXPLAINING TO DO!😠😡🤬