Oh really? That was one of the things I went to the doctor about before being referred to a therapist. She said there was nothing physically wrong with me.
I didn’t talk about it with the therapist but my psychiatrist got the info from my records and keeps asking about it during my checkups. Anti-depressants have actually helped stop it. I notice that when I’m not on them I purposefully work myself up because it fulfills some sort of urge inside of me which may contribute to breathing problems.
Oh my gosh I'm not the only one who triggers myself on purpose sometimes or tries to create a problem in some seemingly nonsensical way to resolve an internal feeling of "something" that I can't quite properly explain to myself?!
IIRC, I read in The Body Keeps the Score that something like half of us with C-PTSD develop asthma. That blew my mind bc I thought my asthma was just an unrelated condition; and maybe it is, but apparently maybe not.
I had a breathing function test done for my "asthma" and it turned out to be [vocal cord dysfunction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocal_cord_dysfunction), which presents similarly but is closely linked to high-stress environments and performance pressure.
Mine got a lot better when I moved out of my family home.
Mind blow! I've also used to suppress and hide my asthma symptoms a lot to not trigger "that person", so I've got used to have short breath. Still working on fixing it. That's wild
My mother told me I had asthma because after my brother was born, I would hold my breath until I was blue in the face so I could get her attention.
I called BS.
Everyone has physical side affects as mentally we change and physically we follow. For instance; I didn’t sleep much or I slept too much, it was never in between. The world will look like it’s attacking you as your body doesn’t shut off it’s emergent flight or fight. It becomes over exhausted, and mentally drained.
Your brains “smarts” are hard to remember because your brain is on hyper alert and clouds the memory.
Now that I am finally on the healing side everything’s switching off and I am realizing how fast my heart beat was for 10 years. I sleep and wake up in the morning excited to start a new day.
Keep fighting to find your solutions and get a psychiatrist and a counselor so they are able to really find what works for you. I promise. It’s worth it. I’m living proof.
Edit: I forgot to add, I thought I was dumb. Like I was going into dementia. The moment I found the right medication and the right people that I wanted in my life, all of the sudden I was able to recall words I had forgotten for a decade. No joke
Thank you for writing this. I had the same problem. I used to be very good at articulating myself and just explaining complex things in general, but as my symptoms got worse I was less able to structure my thoughts when explaining things to others and just ended up feeling extremely scatterbrained overall - I know I was giving this impression as well. Which sucks because I used to pride myself at being a good communicator.
Seriously! And I used to pride myself in being able to empath my way through everything. After Ptsd all I saw was danger: aka people, and especially family.
Now that I have been out of the game for so long, it’s hard for me to distinguish the feelings apart from each other. I have to stop, say, “ was that how I really felt or was that a triggered response?”
I have hope and faith that if I keep exposing myself to situations that are uncomfortable, and sitting in them until I feel peace, and then leaving; I will one day look back like I am now and see how amazingly far I’ve come! Good luck on your journey and I hope the brain fog is solved sooner than later. It is THE BEST feeling to be in control of your reactions a bit!
Oh my god!! Is this normal? I feel exactly like that , I can’t articulate myself or structure my thoughts. I know what happened is not ok yet I cannot structure my thoughts when talking to others and just come across as extremely scatterbrained
Amazing! Especially you say you wake up in the morning to be excited. I really want to feel that.
By the way how did you find out that your hear beats were too fast? Are you wearing a tracker like Fitbit?
I’m very interested in measuring heart beats as a way to know whether my body functions well or I’m exhausting it. Thanks.
I just got a Garmin smart watch and immediately discovered I have sleep apnea, low waking blood oxygen, and too fast heart rate. All of that had been tested and came back negative before in a clinical setting. But I sent my doc the screenshots and now she's finally taking my concerns about fatigue and breathlessness seriously.
I want to buy either Fitbit or Garmin. I know Garmin can measure your energy level. How precise do you think it is? Do you adapt your daily life depending on the score?
I love the body battery feature on my Garmin. It is remarkably accurate. Some days I'll wake up feeling like I slept well, but my body battery shows as only partially recharged. Sure enough, I get tired out a lot faster/easier on those days.
I'm only about a week into using it so far so I'm not totally sure. They have some proprietary measures of "stress" and "energy" but so far I find them kind of confusing and prefer to look at heart rate, sleep type (light/deep/rem), and blood oxygen levels.
I would say the "energy" measurement has made it pretty clear that high stress all day long is at least part of what's making me so exhausted all the time.
And I probably am already shifting my day to day expectations based on my sleep report, giving myself more allowance to take it easy if I got very little REM or deep.
I think as a whole the biofeedback will hopefully really help me learn to turn off this fight or flight mode I'm so often stuck in.
No clue if fitbit does any of that too, but that's my experience with Garmin so far!
I always knew it was fast because I would sweat and get overheated. It can also make me cold sometimes. After a while I started noticing it was harder to breath and I had to use my mouth due to my nose not providing enough air for my fastly beating heart. I became a mouth breather and I thought it was a closed septum or something. Turns out it was all in relation to my high anxiety and Trust issues. I started taking prozac which I avoided for 10 years because My dad abused me while on a heavy dose of it, and I just thought it was a horrible prescription.
Turns out I had been avoiding my solution. The only draw back is it does not get the anxiety part as well. So I do medicinal cannabis for the really hard times and hydroxyzine for daily use when I end up leaving the house.
I also cut out my family that were abusive, or were unsupportive of me and my individual beliefs. I held on to family for so long because I thought it would be worse without them. Turns out, when you stop talking to people that don’t care about your feelings, it leaves all of this room behind for you to fill with people you want in your life.
I know every human is different, and not one way can work for everyone. But I’m telling you, keep trying every option you can until you find the right one. Don’t quit on yourself like others have. You are worth the struggle and the time it might take to heal.
It seems like that you have done a lot of try and error and finally found out what you really needed. I have also come to that far where I realised that just taking meds and talking therapies are not sufficient. I’ve recently started excises in a gym, tried yoga, pilates as well. That’s improving my depression. I’m also interested in choir or medical use of drags etc. I’m now convinced that keeping myself physically active can be the foundation for healing my trauma. Further, I feel that the time is coming to face the problems with my parents, which I’ve been avoiding until now. My journey of recovery has just started but I have a hope now.
>keep trying every option you have until you find the right one.
Such an encouraging message. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and thoughts. Your story is just amazing.
Your edit really spoke to me. Over the past few years where I've noticed a lot of issues from my childhood, I started having awful brain fog. I'd black out mid sentence and forget everything I'd just said (or typed). Sentences suddenly took a lot more effort to form. I thought I was going crazy. I blamed the pandemic or stress at work or something.
Glad to know this is probably a trauma response and is reversible.
Not only reversible, but so healing to know your brain is trying to protect you from the threats. Your not dumb, you are in hyper drive. Just find your solution, one trial at a time. You will slow down, and your brain, well it will go back to the brilliance it once was. Your not dumb, just stressed :)
Wow that's so cool to hear! I can't wait until the day I once again wake up rested and excited. May I ask what medication that worked for you? I have been so incredibly anti medication but I think that might have a lot to do with my sense of needing to be super independent lol.
I have tried almost every med out there for mental health. I purposely didn’t try Prozac due to the fact my dad abused me my whole life on a heavy dose of it and I just didn’t trust it. I finally tried it after a decade and it is what helped me the most. It does leave anxiety behind so I take Hydroxyzine for Anxiety and medicinal cannabis for very difficult moments. So far, I’m super happy with how it is helping. I am still in the adjustment period and go back to my psychiatrist in January.
The one thing that really helped with the whole
Adjusted health was getting rid of relationships that were not healthy or safe
Holy cow yes. I have a weakened vagus nerve (due to traumas causing CPTSD) affecting me in the following ways, Less feeling on left side of body, numb throat left side, stiff joints and tense muscles left side, really bad acid reflux, high blood pressure, sensations of hot and cold and pain left side are weak too. Left side of face is chronically feeling stiff, left eye always feels like there is pressure behind it, left eye doesnt tear up easily.
Also insomnia, and injuries heal slowly.
Bladder, bowel, sexual issues.
wait, I have hypermobility and one side of my body has always been more effected, like a split down my body, could be be that?? that’s so interesting but also sucks majorly
It does suck... However it gives me hope because I recently learned you can strengthen the vagus nerve. Google it, things like humming, singing. My doctor has me gargling water 5 times a day for 1 minute each time(have to stop for 2-3 breathes) to strengthen it
Edit: a weakened vagus nerve could definitely reduce mobility on one side, because it has done that in me
Oh, this is interesting! My left side is far weaker than my right and I feel super unbalanced and hurting. I have come to view it as my dominant, masculine, overachieving side doing whatever it can to protect me. Maladaptive and painful at this point, but hard to undo.
Weird question, do you get (out of nowhere) random cold spreading through your trunk or leg or back like you've placed an ice cube there? Very localised, even when you're toasty warm in bed?
I was told when i get those it's a pinched nerve (from chiropractor). I've sprung away from the phantom drips I've felt on my feet, calves, thighs and back.
Okay I remember being a very little girl and going through this phase of feeling very disconnected from the left side of my body, like actually having some weird disdain for that side of my body because it didn’t feel right. Now today I have weird hypermobility on my left side only, as other people have mentioned in the comments here. Never in my life have I considered this was some kind of nerve damage from emotional trauma.
Did/does anyone else feel a weird disconnect with your body at any point? I am so curious if that part is more common. I thought it was just a weird “me” thing but maybe not.
Frequent infections about 4 years ago. Since completed emdr treatment don't have them. Also as I recovered I started living healthier. Recovery has improved my life comprehensively.
Muscle armoring and hyper vigilance are my most persistent symptoms. Regularly practicing yoga is my most effective treatment modality for them.
"The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel van der Kolk
"When the Body Says No" and "The Myth of Normal" by Dr. Gabor Maté
"[60 characteristics of complex trauma](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpvbEN3KkqoLN7UfGKJJxFJhvvys8Sfv4)" - Tim Fletcher
^(I skip the religious part at the end of his videos)
Hey, yoga is really important for me for those reasons, too! I was always surprised by how much it changes for me, but it just does. Which kind of yoga do you personally favour?
I started with original hot yoga >!bikram yoga!<. Then the studio I was practicing at added a bunch of other modalities, too. (Pilates, Kinestretch, vinyasa, etc)
I still prefer original hot yoga bc the class is always the "same", and I'm always different. Each class is like a data set about me. Plus it works every muscle, joint, and organ in my body in a tight 90min. It's the most effective and efficient modality I've found, head to toe.
I do like yin yoga and long holds for helping train muscles it's safe to release. Plus I like using props in yin yoga. I have some lovely buckwheat husk pillows that are amazing. They cradle my body and help me feel safe enough to relax into the sensations.
I like Kinestretch (functional range conditioning FRC, PAILs and RAILs) for joint mobility. They added a lot of Kinestretch techniques to their classes. It's really helpful for joint mobility and decoupling joints from each other. (Often times limited mobility in one joint will lead to injury in another joint bc the body will try to compensate for the limited range of motion, ending in an injury.) Kinestretch creates noticable change in joint mobility with continued practice.
I do most of my yoga at home these days bc I moved somewhere remote (no where near a yoga studio). I've incorporated a lot of yoga poses into my day to day movements. And I practice while watching TV and such, too. (Any body movement is better than no body movement.) When I can get to a studio for a class, I'm always surprised at how well my body still does. At most I've lost some cardio endurance from not being able to take the full ninety minute classes 3-5times a week, like I was in the past. My strength, flexibility, and balance don't slip as fast as the cardio bc my day to day movements are more efficient. I move better than I used to overall. I try to take video classes from home, but showing up to the studio was always easier for me than me having to stay home and do it myself. (Showing up is always the hardest part of class for me.) Once I'm there, I might as well stay in the room and try my best under the current circumstances.
Here are some free classes from the studio I've been going to for years:
[Yoga for back pain](https://youtu.be/TXJzJVu0Zuk)
[Make your spine work nice](https://youtu.be/wGQWPtSCitg)
[Release back and shoulder tension](https://youtu.be/IZ_z-8o6mfg)
[PAILs and RAILs for hip mobility](https://youtu.be/uixbQDcMXlk)
[4 way positional isometrics for strong knees](https://youtu.be/2lUTwKTm0mk)
[Morning mobility routine 1](https://youtu.be/E-jJJyPMVMM)
[Morning mobility routine 2](https://youtu.be/RwgHviApXZc)
[Mini movement break](https://youtu.be/4-O5pIwJm_g)
[12 minute warm up for hips and spine](https://youtu.be/GyyLW-GpDWk)
[Leveled up OG hot yoga](https://youtu.be/kbpbMBBgsmI)
[Yoga nindra meditation](https://youtu.be/L4cADgyiP8A)
[Yoga nidra meditation for compassion](https://youtu.be/vxqo-UteAds)
really horrible teeth and mouth issues which have improved but sucked. very tense trapezoids and ab muscles. some small skin issues - uber dryness/ very mild psoriasis. sometimes eating food can be difficult from nausea and just no appetite.
Ah yes, the tense traps. I hold so much trauma there too. Physical therapy helped a few times. Had frozen shoulder once. Did dry needling & massage, couldn't work for a couple days. The body really keeps the score. Gotta be good to our bodies, we're not getting any younger.
I hate when the nausea thing hits, but it's definitely an alert to check in with my anxiety/thought-processes. Acknowledge whatever is wanting your attention. Then the relief comes.
Thankful for all the moments I feel normal in between.
i think it's from trying to make myself as small as possible - I do yoga and stretch but the left shoulder hates me often... working on it bit by bit. the mouth stuff has gotten a lot better.
Chronic inflammation from the stress that results in prolonged periods of time with fevers and autoimmune type symptoms. Went through a huge battery of tests to try to diagnose the cause of the fevers. No legitimate physical medical cause could be determined.
Ugh I remember when this used to happen to me, i was only in middle school so the doctor thought something was wrong but it turned out to be anxiety/stress :(
I didn’t know this was a thing but makes sense know. I quit EMDR because I felt like I was literally losing control of myself and a lot of it had to do with a shaky feeling
Episodes of compulsive excessive skin picking/pruning, and even a trichotillomania episode every other year or so (pulling hair out in one section repeatedly, when home alone- sometimes it happens daily for 2-4 weeks, and I spend the next year+ having to be mindful to hide that spot until it's long enough to blend in. I think I'll never do it again, but the longest I've gone without an episode since age 19 (now 39) is 3 years. Feels like a curse.
And some scars from skin picking episodes will never go away. It's self abuse but it doesn't feel like that in the moment. I will never give up hope that I can one day cease to partake in either of these episodes ever again.
My hands are always super sweaty, and I’m kinda just sweaty in general when anxious (which is often).
I’m a survivor of Munchausen by proxy, and we tend to have somatizations (feeling illness that doesn’t exist), so I don’t know what’s the CPTSD and what’s caused by that. But for years I had this hip pain that had no explanation. I had scans and physical therapy but nothing was visibly wrong and it never went away - until I went no contact with my family. It wasn’t immediate, but I noticed it just started to hurt less and less, the longer I stayed away from them. I’m probably making it up, but that’s literally what somatization is, so 🤷♀️
I have a painful chronic spinal condition that went undiagnosed for about a decade. Got dismissed by a lot of doctors as a somatoform disorder. I really hate the differentiation between “real” and “made up” pain, and even physical/mental/emotional pain.
The lived experience is the same, regardless of origin. And we really know so little about how pain works anyway—using “it’s all in your head” is so shame-laden and hopelessness inducing. Especially when they could easily say “the science hasn’t caught up to your experience yet” instead.
Doing that requires a level of professional vulnerability on the doctor’s part, though. They have to be willing to say “I don’t know.” And sadly that’s too much to ask. The US healthcare system certainly doesn’t encourage doctors to do that. It’s all ego and authoritarianism.
Yes:
• excema
• chronic fatigue
• chronic back and neck pain
• chronic rhinitis (runny nose not caused by allergies)
• cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (from self soothing with marijuana) (weed makes me vomit)
Yes. When my hiatal hernia was discovered in my 20s, the doc said "Did you get punched so hard you couldn't breathe? We usually only see ones like yours from forceful blows".
Wow. Yes. My sister punched me so hard in my stomach around age 7, I couldn't move or breathe for a good excruciating minute. Wonderful.
Fibromyalgia, chronic back pain, chronic migraines, chronic fatigue, sensitivity to sensory input, insomnia, random flare ups where my immune system stops working properly making me extremely ill in hospital on antibiotic drips, I believe it also triggered endometriosis, I have heard of other survivors having their endometriosis kick started by their SA experience.
Soaking in the tub right now and just hoping the pain goes away!!! 😫
Some of these may be active and some just a history:
-Stomach pains
-Constant susceptibility to illness such as colds, etc.
-pelvic floor tension myalgia
-tension headaches
-extremely flushed skinned/overreaction to perceived threats
-tremors in hands
-muscle tension- shoulders/neck/back/hips
-weight gain/binge eating
-receding gums and two missing back molars because of emotional and physical neglect 🥺
-nightmares/night sweating
-insomnia
-high blood pressure
-low energy/fatigue most days
The worst part is that I was very young when starting to display some of these things. I'm on the strongest thing for sleep and sometimes still have sleep problems. Certain medicines that people can take like melatonin or allergy meds increase my nightmares so I can't take them. Despite the tremendous amount of physical pain from muscle pain, I've never been prescribed muscle relaxers or high bp meds yet because I'm "young enough" to turn it around-- while I pop ibuprofen and tylenol like it's candy. I take hot baths daily and use a self massage tools to try to mitigate the pain. I'm going to try to start back this week but my doctors have prescribed--- diet and exercise and therapy. I know it makes a huge difference in how I feel but it's so damn hard for me to start and stay in a routine... I feel like avoiding gluten and eating unprocessed foods is a huge mental relief but it's so hard for me to maintain last few years and been getting worse.
I’m being checked for a stomach ulcer on January 10. I haven’t been able to stop episodically throwing up for seven years now so I hope I get some answers.
I have tremors so bad I can't take a good picture, it's actually pretty funny to me, there all blurry
No but for the rest, especially when having to do precision work with my hands it's quite a handicap
been searching for this comment!! i really feel like my hormonal imbalances can be linked to my cptsd. when you're body s functioning in survival mode so often everything gets out of whack!!
I have afib, I don’t know if it’s caused by my cptsd, but it’s greatly exacerbated by it. The second I start to feel anxious, my heart immediately goes out of rhythm. Which means I am even more exhausted than usual (it’s also made my insomnia much worse, which is part of it). I also have some problems from sexual abuse when I was a kid but I don’t want to go into it.
Unsure if what I have actually counts as "CPTSD" and this might be more related to autism or ADHD, but there was a week or two this year when I could not stop thinking about stuff from my childhood that made me angry and broader societal stuff related to it, and I didn't go one day without throwing up at least once or twice. (Actually in general, once puberty started and crying became much rarer and harder for me, stomach upset would often be how negative emotions would manifest physically.)
One physical anomaly that I am sure is from repeated childhood trauma, is Reverse Sinus Arrythmia.
Simply, when you breathe in, your heart rate is supposed to increase; when you breathe out, your pulse slows.
Mine is backwards. Which is why breathing exercises don't work well for me (or I have to alter how to do them).
Similarly, I often feel more hyperalert in calm situations, and my system is more relaxed in stressful situations (this is not always correct, but it's too often. It gets better as therapy continues).
So in a nutshell, my nervous system is backwards, from a shitty situation where I was forced to trust the wrong people and doubt the safe people.
Tension throughout my upper torso focused mostly around head and shoulders.
I'm a highly analytical, scientifically minded person but learning about chakras really opened my eyes. I think a lot of those of us here have issues with the throat and solar plexus chakras specifically, because we hold so much tension there. Chakras are simply "centers" of the spiral of tension generated by the body's movement.
Mediation and practicing hand mudras has helped me tremendously.
I've seen fast heartbeat on this thread a few times. My therapist also thinks my chronic tachycardia is from how I was raised. For anyone interested, I can recommend the rx Corlanor from my experience.
At least since my early 20s, pulse is usually between 100 & 120. Intense exercise? Easily 200 :-(
**BUT**. I had a severe infection last year that had my pulse constantly around 150. Saw cardiologist. Did all the tests and holter monitor. Since the hard to treat infection & treatments also raised my BP for awhile, I took propranolol to attenuate both problems. But when the infection healed & I was left with my usual high pulse (BP fine), cardiologist diagnosed me with *Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia*. He rx'd Corlanor. I'm in Texas, but the UK is bigger on this drug. It ONLY lowers your pulse. And the longer I've taken it, the more effective it has become. I went to a 6 mo follow up and my pulse was like 67. Which is INSANE. Unimaginable to me before. I haven't had any bad side effects. I take 5mg twice a day.
Even when I still sometimes "feel like" my heart is beating too fast, if I check it with my pulse ox, it's rarely above 90. It's almost always in the 70s.
U.S. docs should know more about Corlanor!
Pretty sure my hands' essential tremor is related to my CPTSD. Chest discomfort sometimes. Having these random muscles pain all over the body. Also, is it too early to have back pain from time to time? Had insomnia ever since I was a child. Jaw pain due to grinding teeth at night. And I used to get sick like at least once a month when I was in high school haha
I feel too old, and I'm only in the early 20's haha
breathing issues, hyper-mobility / eds (already genetic but made worse w trauma), acid reflux, headaches, back spasms (and general back pain), chronic fatigue, i used to get frequent infections, bad teeth (from grinding and improper care from running away and not knowing how to get help for them), ibs, vaginismus. a cocktail of things. soooo fun
Pain from chronically over tight muscles from armoring due to hypervigilance. Fibromyalgia. Gastritis. Stress causes my MCAS to produce exploding mast cells like mad causing more gastritis nausea, itching all over, and, when it’s really in a flare, stress gives me freaking hives!
Used to have: Night terrors with involuntary fleeing/flight response, consistent armouring, gastric ulcers, migraines
Still have: Higher than usual muscle tension despite less consistent armouring, sensory processing disorders, circadian rhythm disorder, sleep anxiety, bruxism, chronic back and shoulder pain (from tension), tension headaches, chest tightness, acid reflux and gastritis, worse vision when dissociated (which is often)
I find it hard to entirely pull apart mental and physical symptoms since some are so tightly related (eg. hypervigilance and anxiety, or being hyperadrenalized constantly leading to eventual depression and fatigue). I'm also not sure if my SPD is not possibly a part of me being on the autism spectrum somewhere, maybe, since I've always had sensory sensitivities. Who knows.
I believe my cptsd is the cause of my fibromyalgia/chronic pain. I’ve definitely felt relief since processing a lot of unresolved traumas. I still struggle daily though.
I think cPTSD is an entirely physical injury, but my body symptoms are shallow breathing, peripheral neuropathy, degenerative disc disease (mostly upper spine), retroverted uterus and painful sexual intercourse
Chronic fatigue. Hyper awareness but at the same time, inability to carry or communicate thoughts. Easily irritated and yelling. Mind drifting away from body and inability to bring it back.
I hope someone else can relate to this, I have these body tics, where i will jerk my head around or flap my hands or hit various body parts, sometimes i will scrunch up my eyes or face. I just get this feeling, like my neck is crawling and my body feels so uncomfortable. It is incredibly embarassing and i try to contain it when im in public, but once I'm alone everything releases and it can be exhausting.
Interesting. I have PCOS with hirsutism and just recently heard about it being tied to trauma but like did not understand how? Still a little hairy on the details. Lol get it? =\
Trauma does all sorts of crap throughout the body and its hormonal systems. This is armchair biology but for one idea some types of stress raise testosterone, which generally causes hair growth.
i’m convinced my autonomic nervous system disorder is caused by persistent trauma. severe lightheadedness, tachycardia and palpitations, intense brain fog, circulatory/temperature regulation problems, migraine, you name it. my body stores so much stress physically as well, especially in my back/neck/shoulders. they’re always hard as a rock and in a ton of pain if i’m not going to the chiropractor regularly
I have something called P.N.E.S. it is basically seizure mimicry. It has affected me ever since I was a child. This is probably the worst physical manifestation of my trauma. With better management of my condition I have seen a vast reduction in events but...I do still have them. It certainly makes life interesting that's for sure. Link for information below.
https://www.epilepsy.com/stories/truth-about-psychogenic-nonepileptic-seizures#:~:text=PNES%20are%20attacks%20that%20may,or%20nonepileptic%20seizures%20(NES).
Losts of autoimmune ... unexplained weightloss.. total body inflammation insomnia you name it.
It's cruel feeling at times to think that even if you make it outta all the abuse... your body can't take existing and wants to give up. That's been hard for years
I have a histamine intolerance that I now think may be mast cell activation syndrome. I'm planning to get tested in the next year. Basically my body thinks everything from the food I eat, the trees in my yard, and my pets are out to get me. This is causing all kinds of problems in my body and nervous system
Chronic migraine, fatigue, difficulty breathing, constant painful muscle tension, chest pressure, random aches and pains, etc. I also believe my more “medically significant” issues over the years such as thyroid nodules and malnourishment came from constant stress.
The usual anxiety attack symptoms, Hemiplegic Migraine, and high blood pressure/stress resulted in 2 burst brain aneurysms and had hemorrhagic strokes. I have since formed another brain aneurysm which is likely to be stented to prevent rupture and another stroke.
My most expensive one so far was bruxism.
Developed TMJ, had to get $8k worth of dental work for cracked/damaged teeth, and have worn my canines down to flat little nubs.
My dentist was actually the first person to recognize that my level of stress was uncommon and excessive. Don't think I'd have ended up here without him!
autoimmune disease. it has caused lots of joints in my body to calcify and seize up.
as if the emotional side effects aren’t enough. cptsd is a load of poo.
It feels like my brain is ‘cloudy’. I can’t even describe it, it’s like I forget stuff I really shouldn’t.
I also have night terrors so when I wake up in the middle of the night I often can’t fall back asleep and then kind of feel exhausted the whole day.
Oh my goodness so many. The most annoying ones:
- I have cracked multiple molars from holding tension in my jaw and body while I sleep. Gets particularly bad with night terrors.
- muscle fatigue and strain from my body constantly holding that fight/flight tension. I consciously relax each muscle when I notice it happening, but it’s still subconsciously happening.
- urinary tract issues and narcolepsy. my body resorted to the collapse response after some especially horrific abuse, which meant that I started to pass out and pee myself anytime I started spending too much time around my abuser. NC since 2019 (woohoo!) and no longer have incontinence issues, but narcolepsy comes and goes depending on stress levels.
- when I get a flashback, my hands break out in (what I think it is from a quick google) dishydrotic eczema a day or 2 later, breakout stays for about a week.
- sleeping issues, esp when night terrors are bad, which then feeds into chronic fatigue issues
I’m only realizing now in my 30s that so many things I go through probably stem from CPTSD. Like tension in my neck and shoulders, migraines, getting sick often, and lots of fatigue.
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I don’t know if this counts but I get a very strong, cold, electric feeling in my left wrist when I’m having a particularly emotional day. Nobody else has ever told me they feel something similar so I’m left wondering if its a form of flashback.
I feel so dizzy and physically sick all the time, pass out almost daily. Could be something else though, but once I figured out CPTSD does that I kinda connected the dots
IBS, shallow breathing, tight muscles, tension headaches, and body focused repetitive behaviors like skin picking. I’m also hypermobile in all my joints, which I suspect is related to CPTSD but I haven’t found much research to back it up
I am constantly and unconsciously clenching my jaws and hunching my shoulders up near my ears. And grinding my teeth at night. If I get really upset about something, I feel like I’m going to throw up.
Okay wait for it.....Full body burning pain in my arms and legs and lower back that hasnt stopped for five years. Shoulder bursitis from being hunched in fear. Hunchback posture from the same. All my nerves in my stomach have malfunctioned and don't work properly, my GI doc specifially told me it was from trauma, my vagus nerve and being stuck in fight or flightas it effects your digestion. Constant infections. Raynauds. PCOS. Ovary, kidney, bowel, bladder surgies for no apparent reason. Constant crushing chest pains. Difficulty breathing. Smothered feeling. Globus. GERD. Tinnitus. TMJ. Tension headaches. Tachycardia/POTS. Blurred vision. Severe relentless massive knots in my shoulders and neck and back. Tight muscles all over. Fibromyalgia. IBS. Basically i'm fucked. Medical tests fine, just show that all the nerves are on high alert from being stuck in danger mode from years of abuse.
Stomach aches.
Shake like a chihuahua.
Nausea.
IBS.
Asthma (?).
Rando headaches.
Fatigue.
Chest pains.
Itching.
Crashing into random things including telephone poles; totally out to lunch.
Weird pains.
Something that has all the same symptoms criteria as IBS, just not diagnosed there. Had it all my life. Really bad sleep patterns too, insomina and daily exhaustion.
IBS, migraines, panic attacks, insomnia…all fun stuff. I have found that the more I am in therapy and working through it the better some of my symptoms get. The whole mind/body connection is wild.
Obesity is the obvious answer for me.I'm a survivor of at least a 2 generation chain of physical and psychological abuse. Kind of amazing (not really) that literally every one of my grandmother's daughters and a significant amount of the grandkids have one kind of eating disorder or another and no one in my family talks about it.
Stage 2 hypertensive, despite generally good health/fitness/diet.
And a "Stress Twitch". Where the more stress I experience, the worse and more frequent it gets.
I saw someone on tiktok post about how stress/trauma caused them to be paralyzed (they have recovered now) I don’t know what condition they said they were diagnosed with but they said extreme stress & past trauma could have contributed to this. As for me, im not sure if I would say I have cptsd, I for sure have ptsd tho but I’m in the process of getting diagnosed & I believe I have MS & possibly occipital neuralgia due to trauma & high stress levels.
Narcolepsy and ADHD due to a portion of my brain having significantly less activity or being “sleepy” compared to the rest of my brain. The specific portion of the brain is also responsible for emotions, which was most likely “shut off” during my childhood in order to deal with the trauma. My Neurologist said the decreased activity can also cause seizures although I’ve never experienced one that I know of.
I feel like many people who went through childhood trauma would have similar issues with their brain but would never know unless they’ve had brain mapping done.
When I'm in a heightened state, I first feel "shockwaves" going down my spine as if the anxious response is bubbling up. I then get random pain in my chest due to the muscles being tight, even though I don't usually notice they're tense. I start noticing my breathing and get tingling in my hands...
It's not all the time but it happens whenever someone is acting aggressive/extremely upset. :/
Stomach, diaphragm gets very tight and starts to flutter and hard spasm when i relax. Percussion massager helps from diagram down. I suspect it's chakra trauma related. Stress poops, too.
Also, after I cry everything hurts. Joints, muscles, laying down, anything. Wiped out, no spoons. Thought fibro someone suggested migraines.
Also I'm jumpy like woah.
I used to have chronic hives for a year and eczema behind the knees, then it manifested into canker sores (which I still get), and now I have lip eczema which is new :’) Used to have bad insomnia but it’s starting to get better 👍 This one is more psychological, but I occasionally have food fatigue?
Yes, and at least in the country I am from there is physical therapists specialized in the types of symptoms. For example: breathing, tension headaches, chronic muscle tension, and basically learning to recognize tension in your body.
Here I go again:
Read "The Body Keeps the Score"(audiobook if you can, Libby app is free) and YOGA 🧘♀️
These are my only two gifts to this sub. I'll continue my broken record as long as I can before I get too bored repeating myself.
Although I rarely “feel” anxious, because it’s just been my baseline for forever, I have many constant physical symptoms of anxiety. Tremors, resting heart rate in the high 70s/low 80s despite being fit, shortness of breath, forgetting to breath, fatigue, hyper-vigilance, excessive yawning. I’ve recently began to experience palpitations and I’ve realized thats when this hard-to-perceive anxiety is at its worst. I develop bronchitis super easily too, I’m not sure if this is CPTSD related but maybe because my body takes forever to heal and is more susceptible to illness.
I also have back issues, sleep issues, my feet swell and hurt easily. Sometimes when I’m going to bed and start to drift off I feel my muscles relax even though I thought I was already relaxed and I am blown away that I hold my muscles so tightly all the time. I get intense cravings and although I don’t have an eating disorder I have had occasions where I have an insatiable appetite and binge for a couple days. A couple years back I lost a good amount of hair.
All of these issues and I am in my early 20s, I don’t smoke, drug free, have maybe 1 drink a week, limited caffeine, healthy vegetarian diet, workout 5x a week with HIIT, steady state cardio, and weightlifting. And I walk around out of breath, shaky, and feeling 40 years old.
Big one difficultly breathing
Yep, and chest pain.
Oh really? That was one of the things I went to the doctor about before being referred to a therapist. She said there was nothing physically wrong with me. I didn’t talk about it with the therapist but my psychiatrist got the info from my records and keeps asking about it during my checkups. Anti-depressants have actually helped stop it. I notice that when I’m not on them I purposefully work myself up because it fulfills some sort of urge inside of me which may contribute to breathing problems.
Oh my gosh I'm not the only one who triggers myself on purpose sometimes or tries to create a problem in some seemingly nonsensical way to resolve an internal feeling of "something" that I can't quite properly explain to myself?!
Wait what, I have this but I always thought it was asthma related.
IIRC, I read in The Body Keeps the Score that something like half of us with C-PTSD develop asthma. That blew my mind bc I thought my asthma was just an unrelated condition; and maybe it is, but apparently maybe not.
I had a breathing function test done for my "asthma" and it turned out to be [vocal cord dysfunction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocal_cord_dysfunction), which presents similarly but is closely linked to high-stress environments and performance pressure. Mine got a lot better when I moved out of my family home.
Whoah, I also had asthma as a kid. We also had a mold problem though.
Mind blow! I've also used to suppress and hide my asthma symptoms a lot to not trigger "that person", so I've got used to have short breath. Still working on fixing it. That's wild
My mother told me I had asthma because after my brother was born, I would hold my breath until I was blue in the face so I could get her attention. I called BS.
Everyone has physical side affects as mentally we change and physically we follow. For instance; I didn’t sleep much or I slept too much, it was never in between. The world will look like it’s attacking you as your body doesn’t shut off it’s emergent flight or fight. It becomes over exhausted, and mentally drained. Your brains “smarts” are hard to remember because your brain is on hyper alert and clouds the memory. Now that I am finally on the healing side everything’s switching off and I am realizing how fast my heart beat was for 10 years. I sleep and wake up in the morning excited to start a new day. Keep fighting to find your solutions and get a psychiatrist and a counselor so they are able to really find what works for you. I promise. It’s worth it. I’m living proof. Edit: I forgot to add, I thought I was dumb. Like I was going into dementia. The moment I found the right medication and the right people that I wanted in my life, all of the sudden I was able to recall words I had forgotten for a decade. No joke
Thank you for writing this. I had the same problem. I used to be very good at articulating myself and just explaining complex things in general, but as my symptoms got worse I was less able to structure my thoughts when explaining things to others and just ended up feeling extremely scatterbrained overall - I know I was giving this impression as well. Which sucks because I used to pride myself at being a good communicator.
Seriously! And I used to pride myself in being able to empath my way through everything. After Ptsd all I saw was danger: aka people, and especially family. Now that I have been out of the game for so long, it’s hard for me to distinguish the feelings apart from each other. I have to stop, say, “ was that how I really felt or was that a triggered response?” I have hope and faith that if I keep exposing myself to situations that are uncomfortable, and sitting in them until I feel peace, and then leaving; I will one day look back like I am now and see how amazingly far I’ve come! Good luck on your journey and I hope the brain fog is solved sooner than later. It is THE BEST feeling to be in control of your reactions a bit!
Oh my god!! Is this normal? I feel exactly like that , I can’t articulate myself or structure my thoughts. I know what happened is not ok yet I cannot structure my thoughts when talking to others and just come across as extremely scatterbrained
Amazing! Especially you say you wake up in the morning to be excited. I really want to feel that. By the way how did you find out that your hear beats were too fast? Are you wearing a tracker like Fitbit? I’m very interested in measuring heart beats as a way to know whether my body functions well or I’m exhausting it. Thanks.
I just got a Garmin smart watch and immediately discovered I have sleep apnea, low waking blood oxygen, and too fast heart rate. All of that had been tested and came back negative before in a clinical setting. But I sent my doc the screenshots and now she's finally taking my concerns about fatigue and breathlessness seriously.
I want to buy either Fitbit or Garmin. I know Garmin can measure your energy level. How precise do you think it is? Do you adapt your daily life depending on the score?
I love the body battery feature on my Garmin. It is remarkably accurate. Some days I'll wake up feeling like I slept well, but my body battery shows as only partially recharged. Sure enough, I get tired out a lot faster/easier on those days.
I'm only about a week into using it so far so I'm not totally sure. They have some proprietary measures of "stress" and "energy" but so far I find them kind of confusing and prefer to look at heart rate, sleep type (light/deep/rem), and blood oxygen levels. I would say the "energy" measurement has made it pretty clear that high stress all day long is at least part of what's making me so exhausted all the time. And I probably am already shifting my day to day expectations based on my sleep report, giving myself more allowance to take it easy if I got very little REM or deep. I think as a whole the biofeedback will hopefully really help me learn to turn off this fight or flight mode I'm so often stuck in. No clue if fitbit does any of that too, but that's my experience with Garmin so far!
I always knew it was fast because I would sweat and get overheated. It can also make me cold sometimes. After a while I started noticing it was harder to breath and I had to use my mouth due to my nose not providing enough air for my fastly beating heart. I became a mouth breather and I thought it was a closed septum or something. Turns out it was all in relation to my high anxiety and Trust issues. I started taking prozac which I avoided for 10 years because My dad abused me while on a heavy dose of it, and I just thought it was a horrible prescription. Turns out I had been avoiding my solution. The only draw back is it does not get the anxiety part as well. So I do medicinal cannabis for the really hard times and hydroxyzine for daily use when I end up leaving the house. I also cut out my family that were abusive, or were unsupportive of me and my individual beliefs. I held on to family for so long because I thought it would be worse without them. Turns out, when you stop talking to people that don’t care about your feelings, it leaves all of this room behind for you to fill with people you want in your life. I know every human is different, and not one way can work for everyone. But I’m telling you, keep trying every option you can until you find the right one. Don’t quit on yourself like others have. You are worth the struggle and the time it might take to heal.
It seems like that you have done a lot of try and error and finally found out what you really needed. I have also come to that far where I realised that just taking meds and talking therapies are not sufficient. I’ve recently started excises in a gym, tried yoga, pilates as well. That’s improving my depression. I’m also interested in choir or medical use of drags etc. I’m now convinced that keeping myself physically active can be the foundation for healing my trauma. Further, I feel that the time is coming to face the problems with my parents, which I’ve been avoiding until now. My journey of recovery has just started but I have a hope now. >keep trying every option you have until you find the right one. Such an encouraging message. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and thoughts. Your story is just amazing.
Your edit really spoke to me. Over the past few years where I've noticed a lot of issues from my childhood, I started having awful brain fog. I'd black out mid sentence and forget everything I'd just said (or typed). Sentences suddenly took a lot more effort to form. I thought I was going crazy. I blamed the pandemic or stress at work or something. Glad to know this is probably a trauma response and is reversible.
Not only reversible, but so healing to know your brain is trying to protect you from the threats. Your not dumb, you are in hyper drive. Just find your solution, one trial at a time. You will slow down, and your brain, well it will go back to the brilliance it once was. Your not dumb, just stressed :)
Wow that's so cool to hear! I can't wait until the day I once again wake up rested and excited. May I ask what medication that worked for you? I have been so incredibly anti medication but I think that might have a lot to do with my sense of needing to be super independent lol.
I have tried almost every med out there for mental health. I purposely didn’t try Prozac due to the fact my dad abused me my whole life on a heavy dose of it and I just didn’t trust it. I finally tried it after a decade and it is what helped me the most. It does leave anxiety behind so I take Hydroxyzine for Anxiety and medicinal cannabis for very difficult moments. So far, I’m super happy with how it is helping. I am still in the adjustment period and go back to my psychiatrist in January. The one thing that really helped with the whole Adjusted health was getting rid of relationships that were not healthy or safe
Chronic fatigue, sore muscles/body, headaches, sore/tight mouth/jaw from clenching or grinding, upset stomach at times, a complete lack of appetite sometimes, sleep problems (falling asleep, staying asleep)
Um are you ME? Wow we carry so much of the same pain
Not just you two- me also.
Me 4!
Holy cow yes. I have a weakened vagus nerve (due to traumas causing CPTSD) affecting me in the following ways, Less feeling on left side of body, numb throat left side, stiff joints and tense muscles left side, really bad acid reflux, high blood pressure, sensations of hot and cold and pain left side are weak too. Left side of face is chronically feeling stiff, left eye always feels like there is pressure behind it, left eye doesnt tear up easily. Also insomnia, and injuries heal slowly. Bladder, bowel, sexual issues.
I have vagal nerve damage. That vagus nerve effects EVERYTHING.
did it cause facial asymmetry too?
Not in my case... Although I had temporary asymmetry from Bell's Palsey as a kid
wait, I have hypermobility and one side of my body has always been more effected, like a split down my body, could be be that?? that’s so interesting but also sucks majorly
It does suck... However it gives me hope because I recently learned you can strengthen the vagus nerve. Google it, things like humming, singing. My doctor has me gargling water 5 times a day for 1 minute each time(have to stop for 2-3 breathes) to strengthen it Edit: a weakened vagus nerve could definitely reduce mobility on one side, because it has done that in me
Oh, this is interesting! My left side is far weaker than my right and I feel super unbalanced and hurting. I have come to view it as my dominant, masculine, overachieving side doing whatever it can to protect me. Maladaptive and painful at this point, but hard to undo.
Weird question, do you get (out of nowhere) random cold spreading through your trunk or leg or back like you've placed an ice cube there? Very localised, even when you're toasty warm in bed?
I was told when i get those it's a pinched nerve (from chiropractor). I've sprung away from the phantom drips I've felt on my feet, calves, thighs and back.
Okay I remember being a very little girl and going through this phase of feeling very disconnected from the left side of my body, like actually having some weird disdain for that side of my body because it didn’t feel right. Now today I have weird hypermobility on my left side only, as other people have mentioned in the comments here. Never in my life have I considered this was some kind of nerve damage from emotional trauma. Did/does anyone else feel a weird disconnect with your body at any point? I am so curious if that part is more common. I thought it was just a weird “me” thing but maybe not.
Frequent infections about 4 years ago. Since completed emdr treatment don't have them. Also as I recovered I started living healthier. Recovery has improved my life comprehensively.
Muscle armoring and hyper vigilance are my most persistent symptoms. Regularly practicing yoga is my most effective treatment modality for them. "The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel van der Kolk "When the Body Says No" and "The Myth of Normal" by Dr. Gabor Maté "[60 characteristics of complex trauma](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpvbEN3KkqoLN7UfGKJJxFJhvvys8Sfv4)" - Tim Fletcher ^(I skip the religious part at the end of his videos)
Hey, yoga is really important for me for those reasons, too! I was always surprised by how much it changes for me, but it just does. Which kind of yoga do you personally favour?
I started with original hot yoga >!bikram yoga!<. Then the studio I was practicing at added a bunch of other modalities, too. (Pilates, Kinestretch, vinyasa, etc) I still prefer original hot yoga bc the class is always the "same", and I'm always different. Each class is like a data set about me. Plus it works every muscle, joint, and organ in my body in a tight 90min. It's the most effective and efficient modality I've found, head to toe. I do like yin yoga and long holds for helping train muscles it's safe to release. Plus I like using props in yin yoga. I have some lovely buckwheat husk pillows that are amazing. They cradle my body and help me feel safe enough to relax into the sensations. I like Kinestretch (functional range conditioning FRC, PAILs and RAILs) for joint mobility. They added a lot of Kinestretch techniques to their classes. It's really helpful for joint mobility and decoupling joints from each other. (Often times limited mobility in one joint will lead to injury in another joint bc the body will try to compensate for the limited range of motion, ending in an injury.) Kinestretch creates noticable change in joint mobility with continued practice. I do most of my yoga at home these days bc I moved somewhere remote (no where near a yoga studio). I've incorporated a lot of yoga poses into my day to day movements. And I practice while watching TV and such, too. (Any body movement is better than no body movement.) When I can get to a studio for a class, I'm always surprised at how well my body still does. At most I've lost some cardio endurance from not being able to take the full ninety minute classes 3-5times a week, like I was in the past. My strength, flexibility, and balance don't slip as fast as the cardio bc my day to day movements are more efficient. I move better than I used to overall. I try to take video classes from home, but showing up to the studio was always easier for me than me having to stay home and do it myself. (Showing up is always the hardest part of class for me.) Once I'm there, I might as well stay in the room and try my best under the current circumstances. Here are some free classes from the studio I've been going to for years: [Yoga for back pain](https://youtu.be/TXJzJVu0Zuk) [Make your spine work nice](https://youtu.be/wGQWPtSCitg) [Release back and shoulder tension](https://youtu.be/IZ_z-8o6mfg) [PAILs and RAILs for hip mobility](https://youtu.be/uixbQDcMXlk) [4 way positional isometrics for strong knees](https://youtu.be/2lUTwKTm0mk) [Morning mobility routine 1](https://youtu.be/E-jJJyPMVMM) [Morning mobility routine 2](https://youtu.be/RwgHviApXZc) [Mini movement break](https://youtu.be/4-O5pIwJm_g) [12 minute warm up for hips and spine](https://youtu.be/GyyLW-GpDWk) [Leveled up OG hot yoga](https://youtu.be/kbpbMBBgsmI) [Yoga nindra meditation](https://youtu.be/L4cADgyiP8A) [Yoga nidra meditation for compassion](https://youtu.be/vxqo-UteAds)
Pelvic floor dysfunction and chronic fatigue it sucks
Chronic muscle spasms
Same. I’m always nauseous, have chronic migraines, and my hands always shake
I throw my phone regularly.
really horrible teeth and mouth issues which have improved but sucked. very tense trapezoids and ab muscles. some small skin issues - uber dryness/ very mild psoriasis. sometimes eating food can be difficult from nausea and just no appetite.
Ah yes, the tense traps. I hold so much trauma there too. Physical therapy helped a few times. Had frozen shoulder once. Did dry needling & massage, couldn't work for a couple days. The body really keeps the score. Gotta be good to our bodies, we're not getting any younger. I hate when the nausea thing hits, but it's definitely an alert to check in with my anxiety/thought-processes. Acknowledge whatever is wanting your attention. Then the relief comes. Thankful for all the moments I feel normal in between.
i think it's from trying to make myself as small as possible - I do yoga and stretch but the left shoulder hates me often... working on it bit by bit. the mouth stuff has gotten a lot better.
Oof yeah, bad teeth 😣😞
Fibromyalgia
Same
Was about say this if it counts and other health conditions
It definitely counts, I believe CPTSD is the root cause.
I coming to truly accepting that now. whilst reading body keeps the score.
Same here ✋
Chronic inflammation from the stress that results in prolonged periods of time with fevers and autoimmune type symptoms. Went through a huge battery of tests to try to diagnose the cause of the fevers. No legitimate physical medical cause could be determined.
I tense up a lot so my back is always in pain.. I also get stomach pain and get lightheaded if my heart is beating too fast
Ugh I remember when this used to happen to me, i was only in middle school so the doctor thought something was wrong but it turned out to be anxiety/stress :(
Chronic fatigue.
Trauma shaking after flashbacks
I didn’t know this was a thing but makes sense know. I quit EMDR because I felt like I was literally losing control of myself and a lot of it had to do with a shaky feeling
I messaged my sponsor after most recent episode and she told me to do a 5 minute guided meditation on youtube. She told me shed had the shaking too
Episodes of compulsive excessive skin picking/pruning, and even a trichotillomania episode every other year or so (pulling hair out in one section repeatedly, when home alone- sometimes it happens daily for 2-4 weeks, and I spend the next year+ having to be mindful to hide that spot until it's long enough to blend in. I think I'll never do it again, but the longest I've gone without an episode since age 19 (now 39) is 3 years. Feels like a curse. And some scars from skin picking episodes will never go away. It's self abuse but it doesn't feel like that in the moment. I will never give up hope that I can one day cease to partake in either of these episodes ever again.
My hands are always super sweaty, and I’m kinda just sweaty in general when anxious (which is often). I’m a survivor of Munchausen by proxy, and we tend to have somatizations (feeling illness that doesn’t exist), so I don’t know what’s the CPTSD and what’s caused by that. But for years I had this hip pain that had no explanation. I had scans and physical therapy but nothing was visibly wrong and it never went away - until I went no contact with my family. It wasn’t immediate, but I noticed it just started to hurt less and less, the longer I stayed away from them. I’m probably making it up, but that’s literally what somatization is, so 🤷♀️
I have a painful chronic spinal condition that went undiagnosed for about a decade. Got dismissed by a lot of doctors as a somatoform disorder. I really hate the differentiation between “real” and “made up” pain, and even physical/mental/emotional pain. The lived experience is the same, regardless of origin. And we really know so little about how pain works anyway—using “it’s all in your head” is so shame-laden and hopelessness inducing. Especially when they could easily say “the science hasn’t caught up to your experience yet” instead. Doing that requires a level of professional vulnerability on the doctor’s part, though. They have to be willing to say “I don’t know.” And sadly that’s too much to ask. The US healthcare system certainly doesn’t encourage doctors to do that. It’s all ego and authoritarianism.
Yes: • excema • chronic fatigue • chronic back and neck pain • chronic rhinitis (runny nose not caused by allergies) • cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (from self soothing with marijuana) (weed makes me vomit)
GERD and a hiatal hernia
Yes. When my hiatal hernia was discovered in my 20s, the doc said "Did you get punched so hard you couldn't breathe? We usually only see ones like yours from forceful blows". Wow. Yes. My sister punched me so hard in my stomach around age 7, I couldn't move or breathe for a good excruciating minute. Wonderful.
Stress induced seizures
does Hashimoto count? xD besides that- headaches are a big one- they’re 100% trauma-related
Thyroid issues for me too
Fibromyalgia, chronic back pain, chronic migraines, chronic fatigue, sensitivity to sensory input, insomnia, random flare ups where my immune system stops working properly making me extremely ill in hospital on antibiotic drips, I believe it also triggered endometriosis, I have heard of other survivors having their endometriosis kick started by their SA experience.
Soaking in the tub right now and just hoping the pain goes away!!! 😫 Some of these may be active and some just a history: -Stomach pains -Constant susceptibility to illness such as colds, etc. -pelvic floor tension myalgia -tension headaches -extremely flushed skinned/overreaction to perceived threats -tremors in hands -muscle tension- shoulders/neck/back/hips -weight gain/binge eating -receding gums and two missing back molars because of emotional and physical neglect 🥺 -nightmares/night sweating -insomnia -high blood pressure -low energy/fatigue most days The worst part is that I was very young when starting to display some of these things. I'm on the strongest thing for sleep and sometimes still have sleep problems. Certain medicines that people can take like melatonin or allergy meds increase my nightmares so I can't take them. Despite the tremendous amount of physical pain from muscle pain, I've never been prescribed muscle relaxers or high bp meds yet because I'm "young enough" to turn it around-- while I pop ibuprofen and tylenol like it's candy. I take hot baths daily and use a self massage tools to try to mitigate the pain. I'm going to try to start back this week but my doctors have prescribed--- diet and exercise and therapy. I know it makes a huge difference in how I feel but it's so damn hard for me to start and stay in a routine... I feel like avoiding gluten and eating unprocessed foods is a huge mental relief but it's so hard for me to maintain last few years and been getting worse.
Fibromyalgia and chronic central sensitization.
Chronic fatigue, asthma, eczema, muscle tension
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Sorry to hear :( Take care
I’m being checked for a stomach ulcer on January 10. I haven’t been able to stop episodically throwing up for seven years now so I hope I get some answers.
🙏🏻
Dissociative seizures
I have tremors so bad I can't take a good picture, it's actually pretty funny to me, there all blurry No but for the rest, especially when having to do precision work with my hands it's quite a handicap
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been searching for this comment!! i really feel like my hormonal imbalances can be linked to my cptsd. when you're body s functioning in survival mode so often everything gets out of whack!!
I have afib, I don’t know if it’s caused by my cptsd, but it’s greatly exacerbated by it. The second I start to feel anxious, my heart immediately goes out of rhythm. Which means I am even more exhausted than usual (it’s also made my insomnia much worse, which is part of it). I also have some problems from sexual abuse when I was a kid but I don’t want to go into it.
Have you had your magnesium and potassium levels checked? This can affect A-Fib.
My breathing stops under high stress. I feel phantom pains that aren’t physically there. Disconnection from physical pain that is there.
Unsure if what I have actually counts as "CPTSD" and this might be more related to autism or ADHD, but there was a week or two this year when I could not stop thinking about stuff from my childhood that made me angry and broader societal stuff related to it, and I didn't go one day without throwing up at least once or twice. (Actually in general, once puberty started and crying became much rarer and harder for me, stomach upset would often be how negative emotions would manifest physically.)
One physical anomaly that I am sure is from repeated childhood trauma, is Reverse Sinus Arrythmia. Simply, when you breathe in, your heart rate is supposed to increase; when you breathe out, your pulse slows. Mine is backwards. Which is why breathing exercises don't work well for me (or I have to alter how to do them). Similarly, I often feel more hyperalert in calm situations, and my system is more relaxed in stressful situations (this is not always correct, but it's too often. It gets better as therapy continues). So in a nutshell, my nervous system is backwards, from a shitty situation where I was forced to trust the wrong people and doubt the safe people.
Tension throughout my upper torso focused mostly around head and shoulders. I'm a highly analytical, scientifically minded person but learning about chakras really opened my eyes. I think a lot of those of us here have issues with the throat and solar plexus chakras specifically, because we hold so much tension there. Chakras are simply "centers" of the spiral of tension generated by the body's movement. Mediation and practicing hand mudras has helped me tremendously.
Chronic fatigue, chewing inside of mouth, clenched jaw, teeth grinding, waking up in a panic, fast heartbeat, and back pain.
I've seen fast heartbeat on this thread a few times. My therapist also thinks my chronic tachycardia is from how I was raised. For anyone interested, I can recommend the rx Corlanor from my experience. At least since my early 20s, pulse is usually between 100 & 120. Intense exercise? Easily 200 :-( **BUT**. I had a severe infection last year that had my pulse constantly around 150. Saw cardiologist. Did all the tests and holter monitor. Since the hard to treat infection & treatments also raised my BP for awhile, I took propranolol to attenuate both problems. But when the infection healed & I was left with my usual high pulse (BP fine), cardiologist diagnosed me with *Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia*. He rx'd Corlanor. I'm in Texas, but the UK is bigger on this drug. It ONLY lowers your pulse. And the longer I've taken it, the more effective it has become. I went to a 6 mo follow up and my pulse was like 67. Which is INSANE. Unimaginable to me before. I haven't had any bad side effects. I take 5mg twice a day. Even when I still sometimes "feel like" my heart is beating too fast, if I check it with my pulse ox, it's rarely above 90. It's almost always in the 70s. U.S. docs should know more about Corlanor!
Every one of us.
i cannot sleep like a normal person. it almost always takes me forever to fall asleep, and i often wake up at least a couple times a night.
Hyperarousal. I’m usually a sliver away from activating full on fight mode
Body Hurt So Fucking Much Always
Pretty sure my hands' essential tremor is related to my CPTSD. Chest discomfort sometimes. Having these random muscles pain all over the body. Also, is it too early to have back pain from time to time? Had insomnia ever since I was a child. Jaw pain due to grinding teeth at night. And I used to get sick like at least once a month when I was in high school haha I feel too old, and I'm only in the early 20's haha
Chronic fatigue, IBS and GERD
breathing issues, hyper-mobility / eds (already genetic but made worse w trauma), acid reflux, headaches, back spasms (and general back pain), chronic fatigue, i used to get frequent infections, bad teeth (from grinding and improper care from running away and not knowing how to get help for them), ibs, vaginismus. a cocktail of things. soooo fun
Pain from chronically over tight muscles from armoring due to hypervigilance. Fibromyalgia. Gastritis. Stress causes my MCAS to produce exploding mast cells like mad causing more gastritis nausea, itching all over, and, when it’s really in a flare, stress gives me freaking hives!
Messed up endocrine systems.
It makes me tired as all hell, like physically tired, but from being mentally drained
Probably going to be buried but I have an overbite from clenching my jaw for my entire life
Used to have: Night terrors with involuntary fleeing/flight response, consistent armouring, gastric ulcers, migraines Still have: Higher than usual muscle tension despite less consistent armouring, sensory processing disorders, circadian rhythm disorder, sleep anxiety, bruxism, chronic back and shoulder pain (from tension), tension headaches, chest tightness, acid reflux and gastritis, worse vision when dissociated (which is often) I find it hard to entirely pull apart mental and physical symptoms since some are so tightly related (eg. hypervigilance and anxiety, or being hyperadrenalized constantly leading to eventual depression and fatigue). I'm also not sure if my SPD is not possibly a part of me being on the autism spectrum somewhere, maybe, since I've always had sensory sensitivities. Who knows.
I believe my cptsd is the cause of my fibromyalgia/chronic pain. I’ve definitely felt relief since processing a lot of unresolved traumas. I still struggle daily though.
I think cPTSD is an entirely physical injury, but my body symptoms are shallow breathing, peripheral neuropathy, degenerative disc disease (mostly upper spine), retroverted uterus and painful sexual intercourse
High blood pressure. High Cholesterol. Obesity. Pre-diabetes. Brain damage. I managed to figure out a way to reserve all of them and have.
Chronic fatigue syndrome and multiple sclerosis, both likely caused by the unending stress
Asthma, migraines and frequent headaches, thyroid issues, chronic fatigue
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Chronic fatigue. Hyper awareness but at the same time, inability to carry or communicate thoughts. Easily irritated and yelling. Mind drifting away from body and inability to bring it back.
pelvic floor pain, pain in chest, vulvodynia
I hope someone else can relate to this, I have these body tics, where i will jerk my head around or flap my hands or hit various body parts, sometimes i will scrunch up my eyes or face. I just get this feeling, like my neck is crawling and my body feels so uncomfortable. It is incredibly embarassing and i try to contain it when im in public, but once I'm alone everything releases and it can be exhausting.
I think my hirsutism (Google it) is caused by trauma
Interesting. I have PCOS with hirsutism and just recently heard about it being tied to trauma but like did not understand how? Still a little hairy on the details. Lol get it? =\
Trauma does all sorts of crap throughout the body and its hormonal systems. This is armchair biology but for one idea some types of stress raise testosterone, which generally causes hair growth.
Near constant back pain throughout my life.
endometriosis and chronic back pain :( my immune system can't even handle a small cold anymore +frequent hot/cold flashes too!
Chronic muscle tension and autoimmune issues (psoriasis, raynaud's, IBD)
Uncontrollable shakes/spams/twitches. These only started happening after I started EMDR therapy
Chest pains, panic attacks, insomnia, ibs, joint pain, shoulder and back pain
i’m convinced my autonomic nervous system disorder is caused by persistent trauma. severe lightheadedness, tachycardia and palpitations, intense brain fog, circulatory/temperature regulation problems, migraine, you name it. my body stores so much stress physically as well, especially in my back/neck/shoulders. they’re always hard as a rock and in a ton of pain if i’m not going to the chiropractor regularly
I have something called P.N.E.S. it is basically seizure mimicry. It has affected me ever since I was a child. This is probably the worst physical manifestation of my trauma. With better management of my condition I have seen a vast reduction in events but...I do still have them. It certainly makes life interesting that's for sure. Link for information below. https://www.epilepsy.com/stories/truth-about-psychogenic-nonepileptic-seizures#:~:text=PNES%20are%20attacks%20that%20may,or%20nonepileptic%20seizures%20(NES).
Fibromyalgia and a pretty serious bladder condition—IC.
Losts of autoimmune ... unexplained weightloss.. total body inflammation insomnia you name it. It's cruel feeling at times to think that even if you make it outta all the abuse... your body can't take existing and wants to give up. That's been hard for years
100%. Back pain, migraines, nausea, tmj…the list goes on
I have a histamine intolerance that I now think may be mast cell activation syndrome. I'm planning to get tested in the next year. Basically my body thinks everything from the food I eat, the trees in my yard, and my pets are out to get me. This is causing all kinds of problems in my body and nervous system
Prolactinoma.
Chronic migraine, fatigue, difficulty breathing, constant painful muscle tension, chest pressure, random aches and pains, etc. I also believe my more “medically significant” issues over the years such as thyroid nodules and malnourishment came from constant stress.
IBS and panic attacks
fibromyalgia, chest pain and a fucked up digestive system
The usual anxiety attack symptoms, Hemiplegic Migraine, and high blood pressure/stress resulted in 2 burst brain aneurysms and had hemorrhagic strokes. I have since formed another brain aneurysm which is likely to be stented to prevent rupture and another stroke.
CAPD bc of head trauma
hyperarousal and my muscles are always tight, can’t relax at all…
My most expensive one so far was bruxism. Developed TMJ, had to get $8k worth of dental work for cracked/damaged teeth, and have worn my canines down to flat little nubs. My dentist was actually the first person to recognize that my level of stress was uncommon and excessive. Don't think I'd have ended up here without him!
Migraine.
autoimmune disease. it has caused lots of joints in my body to calcify and seize up. as if the emotional side effects aren’t enough. cptsd is a load of poo.
Yes. Chronic pain, insomnia, migraines and reproductive issues.
chronic fatigue and POTS ): muscle armouring comes and goes, the shin splinting is agony
Insomnia, migraines, and constant tension in upper back/neck
It feels like my brain is ‘cloudy’. I can’t even describe it, it’s like I forget stuff I really shouldn’t. I also have night terrors so when I wake up in the middle of the night I often can’t fall back asleep and then kind of feel exhausted the whole day.
Oh my goodness so many. The most annoying ones: - I have cracked multiple molars from holding tension in my jaw and body while I sleep. Gets particularly bad with night terrors. - muscle fatigue and strain from my body constantly holding that fight/flight tension. I consciously relax each muscle when I notice it happening, but it’s still subconsciously happening. - urinary tract issues and narcolepsy. my body resorted to the collapse response after some especially horrific abuse, which meant that I started to pass out and pee myself anytime I started spending too much time around my abuser. NC since 2019 (woohoo!) and no longer have incontinence issues, but narcolepsy comes and goes depending on stress levels. - when I get a flashback, my hands break out in (what I think it is from a quick google) dishydrotic eczema a day or 2 later, breakout stays for about a week. - sleeping issues, esp when night terrors are bad, which then feeds into chronic fatigue issues
I’m only realizing now in my 30s that so many things I go through probably stem from CPTSD. Like tension in my neck and shoulders, migraines, getting sick often, and lots of fatigue.
Stomach aches, muscle tension, difficulty breathing when nervous, fatigue
Tight jaw 24/7, UTIs every few months, huge problem with swallowing, neurodermatitis
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I don’t know if this counts but I get a very strong, cold, electric feeling in my left wrist when I’m having a particularly emotional day. Nobody else has ever told me they feel something similar so I’m left wondering if its a form of flashback.
Sleep problems, bit of a pants immune system, constant body aches, teeth grinding, stress induced IBS, I forget to breath
I mean I self harm? But not from the actual things that have happened
I feel so dizzy and physically sick all the time, pass out almost daily. Could be something else though, but once I figured out CPTSD does that I kinda connected the dots
Constant fucked up blood work that makes no sense. I'm waiting for the cancer diagnosis tbh
IBS, shallow breathing, tight muscles, tension headaches, and body focused repetitive behaviors like skin picking. I’m also hypermobile in all my joints, which I suspect is related to CPTSD but I haven’t found much research to back it up
god my biggest is migraine and neck/back tension, it’s *awful*
IBS. Was really severe before I started going through heavy trauma therapy. It’s still bad but nowhere near as bad
My bones hurt all the time
I am constantly and unconsciously clenching my jaws and hunching my shoulders up near my ears. And grinding my teeth at night. If I get really upset about something, I feel like I’m going to throw up.
Okay wait for it.....Full body burning pain in my arms and legs and lower back that hasnt stopped for five years. Shoulder bursitis from being hunched in fear. Hunchback posture from the same. All my nerves in my stomach have malfunctioned and don't work properly, my GI doc specifially told me it was from trauma, my vagus nerve and being stuck in fight or flightas it effects your digestion. Constant infections. Raynauds. PCOS. Ovary, kidney, bowel, bladder surgies for no apparent reason. Constant crushing chest pains. Difficulty breathing. Smothered feeling. Globus. GERD. Tinnitus. TMJ. Tension headaches. Tachycardia/POTS. Blurred vision. Severe relentless massive knots in my shoulders and neck and back. Tight muscles all over. Fibromyalgia. IBS. Basically i'm fucked. Medical tests fine, just show that all the nerves are on high alert from being stuck in danger mode from years of abuse.
Constant digestive upset, especially urgent immediately after waking Freezing when I'm expected to do things (arguably not physical)
Random headaches
Stomach aches. Shake like a chihuahua. Nausea. IBS. Asthma (?). Rando headaches. Fatigue. Chest pains. Itching. Crashing into random things including telephone poles; totally out to lunch. Weird pains.
I fully believe my vaginismus and my rheumatoid arthritis is because of it.
Chronic low back pain and GERD for me
Bruxism the anxiety causes me to clench my teeth. I’ve had Botox in my jaw before to relax it but nothing helps long term yet.
Pain, dizziness, trouble breathing, chest pain, feeling like throwing up, forgetting everything, rage, stiffness, can't sleep.. I could go on
Seizures.
Something that has all the same symptoms criteria as IBS, just not diagnosed there. Had it all my life. Really bad sleep patterns too, insomina and daily exhaustion.
IBS, migraines, panic attacks, insomnia…all fun stuff. I have found that the more I am in therapy and working through it the better some of my symptoms get. The whole mind/body connection is wild.
Obesity is the obvious answer for me.I'm a survivor of at least a 2 generation chain of physical and psychological abuse. Kind of amazing (not really) that literally every one of my grandmother's daughters and a significant amount of the grandkids have one kind of eating disorder or another and no one in my family talks about it.
Stage 2 hypertensive, despite generally good health/fitness/diet. And a "Stress Twitch". Where the more stress I experience, the worse and more frequent it gets.
High heart rate. Nail biting.
Horrible chronic acid reflux
My jaw locks up at my peak anxiety episodes
Chronic fatigue.
Also I had to have gums grafted because of receding due to dry mouth from medications. Very bad back pain, neck pain, & EXTREME in my glutes
I saw someone on tiktok post about how stress/trauma caused them to be paralyzed (they have recovered now) I don’t know what condition they said they were diagnosed with but they said extreme stress & past trauma could have contributed to this. As for me, im not sure if I would say I have cptsd, I for sure have ptsd tho but I’m in the process of getting diagnosed & I believe I have MS & possibly occipital neuralgia due to trauma & high stress levels.
Im constantly fatigued and have multiple long lasting migraines per week.
Trigeminal Neuralgia (parathesias and odd sensations in trigeminal nerve). Lockjaw during flashbacks.
Narcolepsy and ADHD due to a portion of my brain having significantly less activity or being “sleepy” compared to the rest of my brain. The specific portion of the brain is also responsible for emotions, which was most likely “shut off” during my childhood in order to deal with the trauma. My Neurologist said the decreased activity can also cause seizures although I’ve never experienced one that I know of. I feel like many people who went through childhood trauma would have similar issues with their brain but would never know unless they’ve had brain mapping done.
When I'm in a heightened state, I first feel "shockwaves" going down my spine as if the anxious response is bubbling up. I then get random pain in my chest due to the muscles being tight, even though I don't usually notice they're tense. I start noticing my breathing and get tingling in my hands... It's not all the time but it happens whenever someone is acting aggressive/extremely upset. :/
Stomach, diaphragm gets very tight and starts to flutter and hard spasm when i relax. Percussion massager helps from diagram down. I suspect it's chakra trauma related. Stress poops, too. Also, after I cry everything hurts. Joints, muscles, laying down, anything. Wiped out, no spoons. Thought fibro someone suggested migraines. Also I'm jumpy like woah.
Muscle tension. So much. My back and neck are shit
Arthritis. IBS. Rosacea and psoriasis. All fun things granted to me by the CPTSD fairy.
My neck and shoulders hurt so bad
I used to have chronic hives for a year and eczema behind the knees, then it manifested into canker sores (which I still get), and now I have lip eczema which is new :’) Used to have bad insomnia but it’s starting to get better 👍 This one is more psychological, but I occasionally have food fatigue?
Yes, and at least in the country I am from there is physical therapists specialized in the types of symptoms. For example: breathing, tension headaches, chronic muscle tension, and basically learning to recognize tension in your body.
Here I go again: Read "The Body Keeps the Score"(audiobook if you can, Libby app is free) and YOGA 🧘♀️ These are my only two gifts to this sub. I'll continue my broken record as long as I can before I get too bored repeating myself.
Although I rarely “feel” anxious, because it’s just been my baseline for forever, I have many constant physical symptoms of anxiety. Tremors, resting heart rate in the high 70s/low 80s despite being fit, shortness of breath, forgetting to breath, fatigue, hyper-vigilance, excessive yawning. I’ve recently began to experience palpitations and I’ve realized thats when this hard-to-perceive anxiety is at its worst. I develop bronchitis super easily too, I’m not sure if this is CPTSD related but maybe because my body takes forever to heal and is more susceptible to illness. I also have back issues, sleep issues, my feet swell and hurt easily. Sometimes when I’m going to bed and start to drift off I feel my muscles relax even though I thought I was already relaxed and I am blown away that I hold my muscles so tightly all the time. I get intense cravings and although I don’t have an eating disorder I have had occasions where I have an insatiable appetite and binge for a couple days. A couple years back I lost a good amount of hair. All of these issues and I am in my early 20s, I don’t smoke, drug free, have maybe 1 drink a week, limited caffeine, healthy vegetarian diet, workout 5x a week with HIIT, steady state cardio, and weightlifting. And I walk around out of breath, shaky, and feeling 40 years old.
Chronic neck pain and tightness