Examples : Being neglected as a child, sexual abuse, verbal abuse.
In: Biology
Trauma induces a severe stress response. The stress response is designed to protect us in emergencies (ie: fight / flight / freeze / fawn) but to do so, it deprioritizes regular housekeeping functions, since it has to choose where to direct your energy. Cortisol, one of the primary stress hormones, is sometimes called “the little thief” because of how it will “steal” nutrition, energy, etc from other organs and tissues. The more time we spend in this response, the more destructive it is for these other systems. Further, if we spend too much time here, it can become our default setting, worsening the issue.
Since you mention childhood abuse, you may find reading about ACE scores and the host of potential long term health effects from them interesting.
Anyone getting freaked out reading this: Neuroplasticity is amazing! There’s a ton of things you can do to rewire your nervous system and help it return to a state of better balance / stop getting stuck in the stress response. Read about vagal activation, go spend time in nature, hug a friend, sing, meditate. All these help.
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