Hi there,
thank you for dropping by… I am sharing something that is close to my heart as a Rapid Transformational Therapist. With my nutritionist ‘hat on’ it is common for clients to come with self-diagnosis or doctors diagnosis of candida, SIBO, HPA axis imbalance, depression, PCOS, diabetes, infertility, acne and in quite a few cases a multiple of functional tests, from OATS, GI-MAP, DUTCH test….basically tests and diagnosis to try and find some help with their health issues.
This can all amount to a lot of dollars/pounds …BUT these do not necessarily address the ‘root cause’ …this can be upsetting. In other words, some become anxious about supplements, eating certain foods, doing certain things right…it just leads to more stress and that vicious cycle, it is like going into that ‘rabbit hole’. These tests may address nutrient deficiencies, lack of certain neurotransmitters, hormones, parasites etc but they do not necessarily get to the root cause. So let’s look at one of the most common root causes, the MIND…now I am not a believer that EVERY cause be it Chronic Fatigue Syndrome through to heart disease is all about the MIND as I do see clients who have poor nutritional intake or are living in chemically toxic environments, or have been the ‘victims’ of the birth control pill side effects or other medication side effects such as antibiotics etc. But this post I am touching upon your timeline, from pre-conception through to today.
Emotional traumas change our biology, as humans we NEED love. If our needs are not met and in Dr Gabor Mate’s words it can be in the form of not being ‘attended to when crying as a baby’ (yes SUPERNANNY has a lot to answer for) or even an incident whereby the nervous system goes into ‘fight or flight’ mode (such as being involved in a car accident), this disrupts the so-called HPA axis (Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis).
I will share more on this in another blog, but nutrition alone DOES NOT address this, which can include adrenal supplements, adaptogenic herbs, REAL salt, it can help and/or manage symptoms, but not CURE it. WHY? because as soon as we stop those supplements or have a bad day, one can ‘crash’. So let’s go back to the HPA axis….
Have you seen children suck their thumb or repetitive behavior like rocking back and forward or screaming or having a tantrum or having nightmares? …these are all outlets to re-balance that HPA axis, also known as ‘SELF REGULATION or SELF SOOTHING’. These self-regulation patterns are important and VITAL as it brings the body back to SAFETY.
A large groundbreaking study looked at 17 000 adults completed in 1998, showed the CORRELATION between emotional stress during childhood and adult onset of disease. This study looked at ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experience), the number of ACEs in connection with adult onset of chronic illnesses.
This research basically confirmed the PNIE link (Psycho-Neuro-Immuno-Endocrine), that the MIND and BODY are ONE…not even connected BUT ONE.
This was a GROUNDBREAKING study and is embraced by mental health practitioners but not ALL the medical profession. In today’s health and wellness practice, it is absolutely vital that practitioners are ‘ACE’ aware as because addressing these is the key to HEALTH, metal and physical. Otherwise, trying to help someone with their health concerns just by ignoring this is like ‘putting out a fire whilst someone else is added gasoline to it’.
The ACEs in the above groundbreaking study included:
physical abuse
psychological abuse
emotional neglect
physical neglect
sexual abuse
loss of a parent for any reason
domestic violence
mother treated violently
mental illness in the family
substance abuse
Incarceration of a family member
during childhood. You just score one for each ACE above and add them up together. In this study, 67% said they experienced ONE ACE and 80% of this 67% group said they had experienced more than ONE ACEs. THIS IS PROVEN, there is no debate about this study and outcome. Having a high level of ACEs increases the risk of disease dramatically. This study even impacted the researchers carrying out the study.
– 6 or more ACEs has been shown to reduce lifespan by 20 years – 8 or more ACEs there is 3.5 times risk of heart disease and 3 times the risk of lung cancer – 4 or more ACEs there is an increase a 4.5 fold increase in depression 2x likely to get cancer, 1.5 times increase in diabetes – 2 or more ACEs, 70% increased the risk of auto-immune conditions
In today’s society, there is an ‘epidemic’ of CFS/Fibromyalgia/ME, conditions that doctors do not understand and most blood tests coming back ‘normal’. (more on this later).
Now the researchers are finding other ACEs that were not considered but are vitally important, these include
– experiencing bullying – racism – witnessing violence – ‘trauma’ during pregnancy or birth – homophobia – hospitalization as a child – inter-generational trauma such as Holocaust survivors
And there are the silent ACEs that have been under-studied such as – attachment trauma – neglect – mother with PND – surgical trauma
if you are interested in learning more, there are many wonderful books that go into all this and easy to read, Dr. Jonh Sarno’s Book “The Divided Mind”, Dr Gabor Mate’s book, “When the Body Says No” and Bessel Van Der Kolk’s book, “The Body Keeps The Score”.
In essence, everyone has some kind of ‘trauma’, BUT this can upset people but a ‘trauma’ can be being left to cry as a baby, being shouted at by a teacher in school, having a distant father etc. The word trauma is not solely about sexual abuse, physical abuse, war trauma BUT it is about the way our body experiences the event, how the autonomic nervous system EXPERIENCES it and responds to it. So it can be as simple as not being ‘heard’ as a child. These experiences get stored in the subconscious and can be triggered by certain events, scents, music etc
PTSD (single discrete traumatic event) is well known and studied extensively, but these more ‘silent’ ACEs also lead to disease. This is why addressing mental emotional well being is important for any practitioner that is MIND-BODY focused. GO HERE TO GET YOUR ACE SCORE.
“Don’t let your biography become your biology”
To health!
Khush
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