FOR TEARS UNSHED’ (to paraphrase Henry Maudsley) is as big a warning as we can get if we don’t allow ourselves to unleash our pain and sorrow. It’s likely that few of us are aware of the long-term impact of early life chronic trauma and stress.
There are many reasons why some people are unable to open up and I can’t help but wonder how many would continue to bottle their emotions if they knew the harm they’re doing to themselves.
NO-ONE TO TURN TO
Probably one of the most under-investigated health risk factors is trauma, particularly during childhood. It can ‘fester’ in our subconscious and become the cause of serious illness or dementia in later life. Examples of this are: the death of a parent or sibling, physical, psychological or emotional abuse, being involved in a horrendous accident, witnessing violence towards a loved one, suffering a nervous breakdown, losing a beloved pet, serious illness and so on. We now know how to identify these issues which, in the past, may have gone unacknowledged, and how important it is for us all to resolve them, no matter what age we may be.
A BAD CAR ACCIDENT CAN BE HIGHLY TRAUMATIC
In the 1990’s, a study of over 17,500 adults revealed that the majority of humans will have been affected by trauma at least once in their lives. They were looking to discover how many are still suffering from Adverse Childhood Events (ACEs). Following on from that, a different study of 28,000 adults in California, showed that those who had four or more ACEs had a 400% increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s (AD) or other form of dementia. And to take the figures to the extreme, those who had experienced 6 or more ACE’s were likely to have a reduced lifespan of 20 years and most likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s or other form of dementia in the concluding chapter of their lives.
DIVORCE – ALL TOO COMMON THESE DAYS
These studies didn’t include trauma such as racial discrimination, school bullying, financial crises in the family, divorce of parents, homophobia, incarceration of an important family member, mental illness or alcoholism in the family and more. And there is another factor that has now been uncovered and subsequently proved: trauma can be inherited! For instance, second and third generation survivors of the Holocaust can suffer from the same physiological or psychological problems as their parents or grandparents.
A HIGHLY DANGEROUS PAIN RELIEVER
Why are children and youngsters more likely to be long-term affected by trauma? The reason is simple, they are not yet able to process events in the same way as a fully-functioning adult. Throughout childhood until approximately 21 years old, our brains are forming, imprinting and setting our systems for later life. Throughout this brain-growth period, bad memories get frozen in the psyche lying in wait to manifest themselves as a serious health problem.
When we look at the various possibilities, it is easy to conclude that none of us is immune but is that necessarily the case?
Firstly we need to look at our personal level of sensitivity. Many of us, particularly women, are highly sensitive and will therefore suffer more and this can be governed by our genes! Do you have a sensitive gene? My mother definitely passed this goodie on to me, I’m hyper-sensitive, but at least I know it.
WORK TO BE DONE
We talk about stress a lot these days but rarely go into the deeper causes of psychological disfunction or acute anxiety. No matter if we’ve had a low-level intermittent, unpredictable stressor or one huge shock, it will ‘kindle’ the brain. This causes it to become excessively sensitive to future warning signals and therefore will require a lower level of stress to put us in fight-or-flight mode. This will naturally impact the immune system.
Unresolved trauma can also affect our gut. We’re likely to suffer from dysbiosis (imbalance of gut flora) when the microbiome (the cocktail of ingredients of that flora) shifts and as a result lays us open to auto-immune conditions and inflammatory disorders. Until recently it was thought that the brain was immune-privileged, meaning it could only become inflamed as a result of outside intervention. Research has now revealed that the brain has its own immune system in the form of microglia – non-neuronal cells whose job it is to clear out any foreign bodies that may have, for whatever reason, strayed across the blood/brain barrier.
DODGY STOMACH
In some people, storing the pain can result in self-destructive trends such as alcoholism, binge-drinking, smoking, injection drugs, a bad diet or other negative compulsive/addictive behaviour. These people are in emotional pain whether they realise it or not, and are trying to ‘distract’ themselves. On the other hand, a person who has experienced multiple ACEs but has none of the distraction habits will still be at a considerable risk.
It’s reasonable to suggest that there are very few of us alive today who haven’t been affected by at least one ACE.
How does stress or trauma affect our brain function and, in the case of children, impact their behaviour and health patterns? In the face of such trauma, the microglia are said to go beserk flooding the brain with neurochemicals and cytokines (cell repro systems) which will eat away at our brain synapses and affect normal functioning of memory and concentration, to name but two essentials. This will disrupt the cell-regeneration work of the hippocampus and can lead to mental disorders such as depression and anxiety or more serious conditions such as AD or schizophrenia.
BULLYING – WE CAN BE AFFECTED FOR LIFE
Having our emotions rule our health and therefore our lives, can be disastrous. So by not resolving emotional trauma we could become destroyed by it.
There are stages we need to go through to come to terms with the pain we’ve suffered. Those stages are roughly:
SHOCK – ANGER – DENIAL – DEPRESSION – REINTEGRATION – RECOVERY – FORGIVENESS (if relevant)
Those of us who are able to steer our way through these will disassociate ourselves by becoming ‘the outsider looking in’. We will then (hopefully) come to terms with the pain. What about the rest of us? What can we do to heal ourselves of the effects of ACEs?
Luckily, there is much. Our brains can grow new neurons thanks to neuroplasticity – the ability of the cells to regenerate and change during our lifetime. The suggested process will take a great deal of courage in some cases. So, how can we bring this about?
- first we need to face the monsters, identify them fearlessly if we can
- write them down
- talk to someone we trust without holding back
- seek professional help – psychotherapy for instance
FACING THE MONSTERS
Then there are other possible therapies, such as:
- NLP – neurolinguistics programming
- hypnotherapy
- EFT – emotional freedom technique
- TFT – thought freedom technique
- EDMR – eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing
- Somatic experiencing
We can Google all of these for more information.
On a personal note, I was lucky enough not to suffer from ACEs, assuming that minor incidents are to be expected, but my adult life has dealt out some pretty distressing stuff. Those who have read my two autobiographical books will know what they were!! I should perhaps also include my current situation as carer to Leaf which can be emotionally devastating and is likely to become more so. Even though these occurred in my adult life, I have dealt with them as recommended above and can highly endorse the first four steps.
TRAUMATIC MEMORIES
Note: it’s imperative that we seek out the right person to confide in and a therapist with whom we will feel entirely at ease. This may require some researching but if we find ourselves facing someone we instinctively don’t feel comfortable with or even take an instant dislike to, we will naturally be unable to benefit.
Additional help to reset the brain, reduce inflammation and calm stress:
- the obvious activities but not suitable for everyone – Qi Gong, Tai Chi, Yoga and Meditation
- checking out our diet and general lifestyle which I have written about in other posts
- looking at our relationships – are they positive or negative? If someone in our lives has a negative attitude, we would be wise to phase them out. Negativity is catching
- are we mixing with people who sap our energy? Ideally, we should phase them out too
For the future, we need to learn to face up to the bad stuff and the pain, listen to our bodies, thoughts and minds and, in doing so, we’ll realise that our intuition will help us make appropriate choices.
FREE AT LAST
It’s encouraging to note how much better we will feel if we can treat ourselves by resolving/integrating/coming to terms with those ACEs and adult traumas too. Suddenly we will feel lighter, more energetic, more enthusiastic about life and a lot happier.
N.B. For those who are on medication, it’s essential to be aware of side effects. We may be doing do all the right things to heal ourselves, but are being thwarted by medications. Thorough research is needed.
USEFUL SOURCES OF FURTHER INFORMATION:
‘COMPLEX PTSD: FROM SURVIVING TO THRIVING: A GUIDE MAP FOR RECOVERING FROM CHILDHOOD TRAUMA’ by Peter Walker
‘WAKING THE TIGER: HEALING TRAUMA – THE INNATE CAPACITY TO TRANSFORM OVERWHELMING EXPERIENCES’ by Peter Levine
‘THE WISDOM OF THE ENNEAGRAM: COMPLETE GUIDE TO PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SPIRITUAL GROWTH FOR THE NINE PERSONALITY TYPES’ by Don Richard Riso and R.Hudson
The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this web site is for general information purposes only.
Comments
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adrienne says
Hello Sue
À very interesting article.
I had a dear aunt who suffered two serious nervous breakdowns in her seventies and I am convinced that these happened due to ACE’s experienced during her childhood.
My father had severe dementia in his mid eighties. I do not know why he developed it but I do remember him recounting traumatic events from his childhood and him making the comment that no one councilled him! (He rather pooh poohed the need for councilling) …..
Your article and memories of my aunt and father make me ask myself the question as to whether we should all be given an annual opportunity to speak to a psychologist, in the same way that we would see our GP. Current statistics would suggest that these should start at about eleven years old. This I would see as being state funded and in the long term could save the national health service of all countries a lot of money but more importantly than that, help prevent the illnesses and distresses that you have highlighted in your article.
Adrienne, thank you. Two examples of stiff-upper-lip and, I guess, we all know one or more.
I think your idea about us all going to see a psychologist on an annual basis is excellent. So practical and, in the long run, money-saving as well as promoting holistic well-being.
It seems to me that those who pooh-pooh (or is it poo-poo?) seeing a ‘shrink’ as they would call them, have something buried deep that they’re terrified of revealing. Otherwise, why would they object so vehemently? Specialists in psychology etc. exist to help us and, in the main, I have found they definitely do.
More than 10 years ago, I was involved in a horrendous trauma – which I cannot talk about publicly – and had fantastic help from an English psychologist in Toulouse. Very sadly, he has closed his practice to lecture worldwide. Otherwise I could have recommended him to lots of people. Oh well, maybe someone who reads DOODAH will be able to pass on the name of someone else. Please note though, that French medical practitioners, allopathic as well as alternative, are not allowed to ‘advertise’, and recommendations count as that, so if you know someone, please email me, see CONTACT page. Thanks.
Hi Sue!
I’ve had a bad gut all my life pretty much. My current consultant is as flummoxed as everyone else has been…with one exception. A psychiatrist in Slovenia said to me “You’ve got ADHD and t’s gone straight to your gut: it often does.” She was right. She put me on anti-psychotics and for the first time I was symptom-free! However, the side-effects from the drugs proved on balance to be far worse than the symptoms from my gut, so I stopped taking them. Now I’ve got a sporadically bad gut again; however, to my mind this proves your point about the head doing physical things to the body. I’m currently going to investigate the potential of CBT, which I tried once before on the NHS and was irritated to find the course utterly worthless. Indeed nearly the whole class defected before the end of the course! Maybe a private practitioner will have something more tailored to my requirements?
Sounds rotten, John. So many people we know are getting stomach problems which we’re inclined to assume is due to their diet, BUT their state of mind has a lot to do with it too.
It makes me cross that so many pills are handed out to people with psychological problems. So often they will then suffer God knows what in the way of side-effects and, long-term, their bodies may well to become dependent on whatever chemicals are in the pills. Don’t they always say, come off the medication gradually? And anyway, logically, the medics should be looking to root out the cause and treat that, not just the symptoms. Hence this latest blog post!
As to the NHS course on Cognitive Behavioural Technique, it’s always a good idea to do some homework before attending a free course. I can’t imagine it will be as thorough as a one-to-one course with a single-subject specialist who has time to be right up-to-date. To illustrate what I mean: in France, acupuncturists are supposed to be medical doctors as well. This is a nonsense, proper training to practice acupuncture is long and complex. The medics who are supposedly qualified to administer ‘the needles’ cannot be fully trained unless they extended their learning period by several years. Of course, I cannot say whether a CBT instructor in the NHS is likely to be a specialist in this field or someone who includes it in their treatment repertoire..
I believe it’s vital to find a practitioner who specialises exclusively in whatever field they’re pursuing.
I will email you a booklet on treating ACEs which might be helpful.
Hi Sue, really enjoyed this article, helped me understand a certain person who I think is really affected. Thanks
I’m glad you found this post helpful, Ethel. We so often don’t look beyond the disfunction on the surface to discover what’s behind it. When we do, understanding and even helping becomes a lot easier. And, of course, forgiving which is so important.