HA - result of childhood trauma

[Health-Anxiety-Sad]

Hi again everyone

I have recently started talking to a new therapist who is doing some interesting work with me and I wanted to share some things she said and what Im working on as it might help someone.

First thing she told me was that most of health anxiety sufferers are 'victoms' of some kind of childhood trauma or abuse. It got me googling articles on trauma which make so much sense to me. I wonder if anyone else ever seen this link with their HA?

According to her when you have an event such as a death in the family or loose your job or some sort of 'every day trauma' you will be obviously shook but should be over it mostly within a 6 month period, if you still are not and its trigger all sorts of HA and fears its most likely linked to a childhood trauma hense your HA is a result of a childhood trauma. Note- not saying the above is my opinion and or factual I am just sharing what this therapist told me. This does make sense in my case.

What she has me doing for a week is every day writing down my physical symptoms and how Im feeling and then describing my day. She is trying to make links to my triggers.

For example today I booked an eye test as I have been having blury vision (convinced I have brain cancer) just booking that app gave me a panic attack so clearly a trigger for me anything to do with medical apps.

This might be an interesting exercise for others to follow to try and pin point what sets them off of its not already obvious and to try and see patterns etc. Writing in general very therapeutic

[WiseMonkey]

Hi,

Yes I agree, I think a lot of people with HA have had childhood trauma likely to be narcissist abuse in their family of origin.

It is far more difficult to shift because you have received faulty or wrong conditioning since birth. Dysfunction becomes your normal and is fraught with verbal, mental, psychological and (sometimes physical) abuse and other types of negative drama. This can affect children in traumatic ways and sadly many never find a way out of this.

The stress of such drama can trigger anxiety (generalised or HA), depression etc.

Journaling is a very positive way to become aware of patterns and triggers. I believe that awareness of your triggers is very important to recovery.

One of my triggers is my narcissistic mother, who's done some very nasty, abusive things over the years. She's 90 and now in a private hospital. My brother and I cope by having limited contact with her.

[bulan]

Yes, this makes a lot of sense to me too. In my case the trauma isn't from childhood, though. During my graduate studies, I became a caregiver for my Dad who had early-onset Lewy Body dementia. His illness changed his personality to some degree, especially at night when he routinely woke up but didn't recognize us. The illness also brought him paranoia and hallucinations, and it made him very aggressive and dangerous too. For 1.5 years, slept with one eye open, always waiting for the phone to ring, which it did every 2 or 3 nights when Dad had woken up and was being aggressive towards Mom. I'd race to their place, sneak in, and monitor things until I needed to step in to distract him or deescalate the situation. When I did, I placed myself in danger too, because Dad was ready to lash out at anyone when he was having one of those episodes. Once he left our home permanently for a nursing home, I quickly realized that I had developed anxiety, hypervigilance, hyperarousal, insomnia, and other symptoms. Many of them have hung on for eight years, and I've just realized that I need better help/therapy to deal with this, because time alone doesn't seem to be helping. And yes, my anxiety has morphed into health anxiety, which is almost more excruciating than the PTSD by itself. This is a hard road!

---------- Post added 22-03-18 at 00:48 ---------- Previous post was 21-03-18 at 21:13 ----------

I really hope this gets more attention, because trauma can lead to so many health issues. I didn't know, for instance, that some registered massage therapists, acupuncturists, and other practitioners offer services designed to help people's minds and bodies deal with the effects of trauma. Had I known, I wouldn't have waited 8 years to seek them out!

[cattia]

I've heard this theory too and my therapist also talked about it. For me though, I can't remember any particular trauma in my childhood that would have triggered it, although I certainly have had anxiety since childhood. I wonder if I have some repressed memory of a traumatic event that I don't remember but then the thought of that makes me more anxious! My therapist said it doesn't have to be anything that an adult would necessarily consider a major event, it could be something that just appears to be massive to a child, but although I did spend some time in hospital at a young age, I don't remember being particularly upset by it at the time. It's an interesting theory though. I also see that anxiety patterns run through my family in one way or another and I wonder if genetics also have a part to play.

[Health-Anxiety-Sad]

Hi all

Thanks for your responses. Interesting to hear this makes sense to some of you.

Wise monkey you certainly are wise. Everything you wrote is spot on. I actually also deal with a crazy and verbally abusive mother. I try to keep my distance from her for my own mental health but i do want my kids to know her so Im caught. The most fustrating part is she denys how horrible she has been to me. I remember her verbally abusing me until I vomited crying as a child regularly. She now feels so sorry for herself and full of her own importance now that all of her kids are out of the house.

Bulan my father had frontal temporal dementia and like that became physical. It was a very tough time for everyone and I can relate to how this is hugely traumatic.

Cattia I def agree that a child can perceive a situation or event as traumatic.

I wish you all the best

[Kark1970]

[/COLOR]I really hope this gets more attention, because trauma can lead to so many health issues. I didn't know, for instance, that some registered massage therapists, acupuncturists, and other practitioners offer services designed to help people's minds and bodies deal with the effects of trauma. Had I known, I wouldn't have waited 8 years to seek them out!

Yes cranial sacral therapy offers this, I had my son do it when he was small as he had a traumatic birth, and now my daughter, she loves it. It involves very gentle touch and minimal manipulation. But has some surprising effects on mood and behavior. What ever you believe it's really worth giving it a go if you can find a good practitioner..

Kark

[swajj]

So can you ask your therapist to give you links to the reputable studies that support her theories, because I would be interested in reading them.

[Kark1970]

So can you ask your therapist to give you links to the reputable studies that support her theories, because I would be interested in reading them.

Haha, probably not! I guess there's an element of placebo and the willingness of the subject to believe, don't think there is any real "clinical" evidence..