“We must presume…that the psychical trauma -or more precisely the memory of the trauma-acts like a foreign body which long after its entry must be continued to be regarded as an agent that is still at work.” -Sigmund Freud and Josef Breuer
Stress, specifically “toxic stress”, which is born from, abuse and trauma at the hands of a loved one, other types of traumas (war), adversities and the intense negative emotions, torment and mental anguish that go with these events, are like literal wooden “splinters’ or glass “slivers” we sometimes get stuck in our skin. If not removed or treated properly, they can fester, become infected, inflamed and cause further problems. Our bodies identify “toxic stress” and other threats as “foreign bodies invading the organism”, just like a virus, bacteria, or environmental toxin. Our bodies react the same way…
Wait…you mean stress can cause a person to develop an auto-immune disease??? Well, as it turns out…YES IT CAN !!! This very question, and subsequent answer is one of the main reasons I have been inspired to start this website, (and book to follow), as it was the answer to a question that had eluded me for almost 2 decades! I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in the early 2000’s after I started feeling sick, mind numbingly exhausted and was having weird little infections, seemingly out of nowhere, (just a few years prior I was an exceptionally healthy Division I athlete playing softball in the PAC 12). I had been physically well conditioned, mentally tough and had a very positive and happy disposition and was a well adjusted person but within just a few years’ time I found myself very ill. Well long story short- I didn’t learn/realize/was able to make the connection, that it was actually the chronic stress, intense gut wrenching emotions and trauma from being in an abusive relationship that took me on a wild and crazy ride for almost 30 years, that was the CATALYST and CAUSE of my illnesses! I didn’t have any of the risk factors or contributors that typically or “have been known to” cause auto-immune diseases (not that there are very many KNOWN causes anyway.) During my marriage, I knew that my husband could be exceptionally and unnecessarily wicked and cruel (especially verbally and emotionally) and could be violent and scary at times but I truly did not REALIZE that his behaviors, how he was treating me and what I was enduring was considered ABUSE, in the eyes of the LAW. I think everyone is familiar with the domain of physical abuse by now but not many are familiar with the highly destructive, very insidious and long term damaging verbal, emotional, and psychological abuse, as well as, isolation, oppression and rejection. These are often more psychologically harmful than physical abuse because physical abuse tends to be cyclical with periods of calm in between, but verbal and emotional/psychological abuse can happen EVERYDAY and it feels very personal. Verbal, emotional and psychological abuse tears at your character, soul and spirit…DAILY, HOURLY… IT’S ALWAYS THERE!
Trauma and abuse at the hands of a loved one is generally the worst kind because of the intense conflicting emotions, torment and instability involved. Chronic exposure to any type of abuse, including rejection, by a loved one, intimate partner or parent/caretaker (as is the case with child abuse), creates not only enormous amounts of extreme emotions and stress but it also creates a special kind of stress known as “Toxic Stress” that is especially damaging and has a long term physiological grip on its victims. Having to “walk around on eggshells” in a love/hate relationship is profoundly insidious and harmful. This type of stress happens primarily because there is an internal struggle of impulses within the victim; one that . comes from that innate need to be loved, valued and taken care of by that loved one, (the abuser) and to look to them for safety. The other conflicting internal impulse tells them that their loved one is also the source of their pain and suffering and they need and want that to stop. This scenario creates a tormenting epic struggle within the victim and sets the stage for a full blown physiological chain of events that “resets” many of our internal biological systems including our immune system to a hyperactive and hypersensitive state, so that it keeps trying to fight off the enemy long after the enemy or traumatic event/s are over. These “memories” or “imprints” of the trauma also live on within our senses by manifesting viscerally as uncomfortable and sometimes unbearable inner sensations and feelings. Many times, the victim has no words or cannot verbalize the intense emotions they are feeling or even identify what it is their feeling. This is known as-“ALEXITHYMIA”. (Please see my article on Alexithymia!) This alone, can directly cause the immune system to become a more ‘proinflammatory” environment.
According to Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk, who is at the forefront of this subject, in his best selling book “The Body Keeps The Score; Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma” states that, “In our society the most common traumas in women and children occurs at the hands of their parents or intimate partners. Child abuse, molestation, and domestic violence are all inflicted by people who are supposed to love you. That knocks out the most important protection against being traumatized; being sheltered by the people you love. If the people whom you naturally turn to for care and protection terrify or reject you, you learn to shut down and to ignore what you feel.” This creates an environment where in place of safety, there is terror and WHERE TERROR EXISTS, SAFETY CANNOT.
This profound internal dilemma along with the acts of abuse themselves, set off a coordinated series of behavioral and physiological responses known as “The Stress Response”, which is aimed at protecting and attempting to return its host to homeostasis but with victims of abuse, this system becomes faulty. The Stress Response gets stuck in a repeating loop so the hypothalamus keeps telling the adrenal glands, via the HPA axis (the interaction between the hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal glands) and part of the Central Nervous System, to keep secreting the stress hormones adrenaline (also known as epinephrine) and cortisol, (which is part of the “FIGHT OR FLIGHT” response to prepare the body for danger- real or perceived) while also communicating bi-directionally with the immune system. This communication takes place by way of small proteins and chemical messengers. Messengers in the CNS are hormones and neurotransmitters (which deliver information between neurons.) The immune system messengers are known as cytokines. These cytokines are small proteins which are released by cells. Although there are many different types of cytokines, the ones typically stimulated by the stress response are known as “pro-inflammatory” (causing inflammation) and are normally released from the immune system, in response to injuries to protect and heal tissue and in response to infections, to help fight off bacteria, germs and viruses, etc. This is one of the main causes of inflammation in the body, in the absence of injury or infection. Inflammation is at the heart of auto-immune diseases and many other illnesses and disorders. Sometimes these “pro-inflammatory’ WARRIORS will attack systemically- all over the body (as is the case with my own Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) or they can attack in a concentrated area such as a single organ or only the myelin sheaths (the protective coating) of nerves, as is the case with Multiple Sclerosis..
While this process is happening, many other simultaneous changes to the body’s other systems are going on as well and can become the default setting that our systems stay in, when faced with chronic abuse and trauma related toxic stress. For example, According to Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk, in his best selling book, explains how the insula (the part of the brain that collects input from internal organs such as, joints, muscles and our balancing system), interprets and integrates this information and when in this faulty state, will keep sending signals to your amygdala (the brain’s smoke detector) which keeps setting off “fight or flight” and releasing surges of hormones. Dr. Van Der Kolk states that, “the insidious effects of constantly elevated stress hormones includes memory and attention problems, irritability and sleep disorders. They also contribute to many long term health issues, depending on which body system is most vulnerable in a particular individual.”
Please check out my article on “The Different Types of Stress’. Thank you for reading and please remember…KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!!!