We currently live in a world where chronic stress has become commonplace. Depending on one’s profession, especially if a person is a first responder (e.g., paramedic, police officer, fire fighter, ER doctor or nurse, dispatcher, crisis worker), veteran, or a licensed clinician, hearing and witnessing a variety of traumatic events is the daily norm. Similarly, children and adults may be exposed to home or cultural environments where various forms of violence is a daily occurrence. Since the invention of the internet and all the ways everyone has online access to anything and everything, witnessing horrific trauma multiple times a day has desensitized many of us.
Unless it hasn’t...
Too much stress on anyone, regardless of its origins, often has an impact on individuals’ bodies, not just our minds. Our bodies may get used to experiencing a stress response, but that doesn’t mean it is normal or healthy. For decades, research has indicated that chronic stress can result in auto-immune diseases as well as adrenal insufficiency. Examples of auto-immune diseases include: lupus erythematosus, Sjogren syndrome, Hashimoto thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile (type 1) diabetes, polymyositis, scleroderma, Addison disease, vitiligo, pernicious, anemia, glomerulonephritis, and pulmonary fibrosis. Symptoms of adrenal insufficiency include: Body aches, fatigue, unexplained weight loss, low blood pressure, lightheadedness, loss of body hair, skin discoloration (hyperpigmentation). We may not be aware of how much we carry chronic stress around each day but it is indeed aware of us. It creeps in slowly, waiting for the perfect moment to steal our joy, rob our happiness and peace, and create physical ailments.
For those individuals who have survived various forms of trauma (physical, verbal, emotional abuse or neglect, combat trauma) certain ailments can remain dormant in their bodies for decades. Symptoms from adrenal insufficiency or auto-immune diseases, for instance, may not rear their heads until we are in our late 30s or older and can be triggered by something that seems as benign as words that are spoken, a certain familiar smell, a sound, or hearing someone else's life struggles. We may spend years feeling depressed, anxious, or even have symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress4 as a result of chronic stress symptoms and not seek support until we become physically ill.
Many individuals and couples that come to our center for therapy report symptoms of PTSD from the following life experiences: childhood abuse, neglect and developmental/attachment, trauma; being a first responder, licensed clinician, or veteran with chronic stress; intimate betrayal from substance or pornography abuse; domestic violence, or tragically in some cases, all of the above. Symptoms of PTSD include:Experiencing repeated exposure to the traumatic event, distressing memories or dreams, flashbacks, prolonged distress at exposure to reminders of the traumatic event, marked psychological reactions at reminders of the traumatic event. The duration of the traumatic symptoms last more than 1 month.The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning and the disturbance is not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g.,medication, alcohol) or another medical condition.
Our approach to recovery from chronic stress involves healing the mind and the body. We use an integrative treatment approach where we collaborate with medical professionals (e.g., nurses, psychiatrists, naturopaths), holistic practitioners (e.g., acupuncturists, acupressurists, yoga therapists), all the while providing individual therapy primarily using the evidence based treatment modality Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing(EMDR)5 to resolve symptoms of traumatic stress. Research6 consistently indicates that EMDR therapy improves PTSD diagnosis, reduces PTSD symptoms, and reduces other trauma-related symptoms. EMDR therapy has also been evidenced as being more effective than other trauma treatments to neutralize emotional charges and calm down an individual’s entire nervous system.
Healing from chronic stress is possible with an accurate, integrative approach to alleviating a person’s mental and physical distress. We believe it takes a collaborative village of medical, holistic, and mental health practitioners to eliminate the mental and physical stress responses that those who seek our care have accumulated over the years. In time, and with the proper support and self care practices, long-term healing and an improved quality of life is possible.
Remember, you are worth it.
Candice