Psychosomatic side-effects

walking on broken glass · February 05, 2025, 04:32:21 AM

I apologize if this is too much information, but I was wondering if anyone here suffers from IBS? I find that it always flares up when I am stressed about the FOO situation, as I am now. It gets painful and uncomfortable

I get some tablets to manage the pain and try to regulate my diet, but if anyone else has similar problems and has found better ways to manage, I would love to hear it.

Poison Ivy · February 05, 2025, 09:37:44 AM

Often, stress goes straight to my gut. Unfortunately, I don't have any helpful suggestions for dealing with the issue.

Call Me Cordelia · February 05, 2025, 11:38:10 AM

The best thing I ever did for my health was go NC and then EMDR.

blunk · February 05, 2025, 01:24:57 PM

I suffer from GERD, but it definitely flares up when I am in high stress situations. I have found that a walk in mature is the best way for me to calm myself...unfortunately the weather where I am is not currenly conducive to a hike.

walking on broken glass · February 05, 2025, 02:27:30 PM

Quote from: Call Me Cordelia on February 05, 2025, 11:38:10 AMThe best thing I ever did for my health was go NC and then EMDR.

I am looking into different kinds of therapy and I was wondering about EMDR!

Call Me Cordelia · February 05, 2025, 10:02:35 PM

All sorts of chronic illnesses can be attributed to repeated trauma dumping cortisol and adrenaline into your body over and over again. Our body's emergency response system is not designed to be activated on a daily basis. C-PTSD repeats that bodily pattern when we get into emotional flashbacks. Vicious cycle! For me it was manifested by migraines, POTS, and thyroid disease, but IBS is also commonly associated with trauma I understand.

EMDR I believe has a unique ability to rewire those traumatic/amgydala-firing pathways in the brain and making them into more normal memories that don't instantly set off the full body alarm.

walking on broken glass · February 06, 2025, 04:39:27 AM

Thank you

I got in touch with a therapist who specializes in narcissistic abuse but she works with psychodynamic therapy. I am on the waiting list and will probably have a first session at the end of this month so I might ask her about this.

notrightinthehead · February 06, 2025, 05:03:56 AM

Psychodynamic - that's the freudian based talk therapy. Does talking a lot about your childhood make you feel better? Is that a good fit for you?

walking on broken glass · February 06, 2025, 06:13:19 AM

My previous therapist was using psychoanalytic psychotherapy, which is very similar to this, and I did find it very helpful, even though I think we came to a point where I didn't feel I was getting much out of the sessions. I am not entirely sure whether this had to do with the kind of therapy (i.e. whether talk therapy does not work for me anymore) or with my relationship with this specific therapist or with the fact that the sessions were not regular anymore (she is close to retirement). So I thought I'd try someone new. Other therapists I looked up were using CBT therapy and EMDR but I was drawn to her (the new one I found) because she specializes on narcissistic abuse and, I guess, I am still partial to talk therapy. I thought I'd give it another try and if it doesn't work, then look for something else. For EMDR you don't have to talk, is that right?

Call Me Cordelia · February 06, 2025, 06:22:56 AM

You definitely are talking but it's not the same as talk therapy. It's more free association, almost like lucid dreaming. It was weird at first, honestly. I liked though that I was doing my own work and the therapist was there to keep me"one foot in the present" so I was able to deal with a lot of stuff but it wasn't overwhelming. You don't have to give a ton of detail of the trauma you are working on. I saw improvement in my CPTSD symptoms much faster than with talk therapy, which I'd been doing before. It was my talk therapist who connected me with the EMDR therapist. I hope that helps!

walking on broken glass · February 06, 2025, 06:26:34 AM

Thanks so much, call me Cordelia!

I am second-guessing myself now. Perhaps I should have gone for EMDR.

DaisyGirl77 · February 07, 2025, 09:34:04 PM

I have IBS, GERD, burning mouth syndrome, rosacea that's made me very sun/light sensitive, & am currently undergoing allergy testing because my body's an asshole & has caused my food anxiety. Lol.

I haven't really found anything that mitigates my issues other than eliminating the trigger foods from my diet, which is unhappily bland at the moment. (I miss burritos & tacos & mint toothpaste.) I have noticed that stress & other external factors trigger my issues so I've had to limit exposure to those stressors, if I can, & try to manage the rest of it with multivitamins & extra fiber & whatnot.

blunk · February 10, 2025, 02:03:33 PM

Quote from: DaisyGirl77 on February 07, 2025, 09:34:04 PMI have IBS, GERD, burning mouth syndrome, rosacea that's made me very sun/light sensitive, & am currently undergoing allergy testing because my body's an asshole & has caused my food anxiety. Lol.

I haven't really found anything that mitigates my issues other than eliminating the trigger foods from my diet, which is unhappily bland at the moment. (I miss burritos & tacos & mint toothpaste.) I have noticed that stress & other external factors trigger my issues so I've had to limit exposure to those stressors, if I can, & try to manage the rest of it with multivitamins & extra fiber & whatnot.

I have rosacea as well, but had not considered that it could be stress induced as it was present before I met my bpdxh. But thinking back, it first presented during a very tough time for my family, so stress could definitely be a factor. Also trying to find a doctor (who accepts insurance) to help me investigate my gut health with regards to rosacea.