Associated Fatigue

[SpikeBall]

Hey all, a common question I hear with PTSD is "Why am I so tired?" It seems like a natural after effect of hyper vigilance and stress. I find I need a lot more sleep after an episode, and a lot of sleep to make myself less vulnerable to episodes in the first place (although I feel like I need to take care of myself more than a normal person to avoid problems). Do you guys have experience with fatigue?


Here is an interesting article I found online. It's short and informative, and I'd like to hear your thoughts on it! Link Removed

The article written by
Michele Rosenthal covers:

Mind/body connection: If your mind is producing so much stress that your body can’t handle it, what will your body do?

Depression. PTSD depression is particularly heavy... It won’t take long before you just feel ready to curl up and take a nap.

Cortisol When present in higher levels for a prolonged period of time cortisol can be responsible for memory loss, fatigue, and reduced serotonin levels.

Scientifically speaking a little further: When there’s an overload on the adrenal system a survivor might experience a variety of symptoms such as fatigue, exhaustion and an overload of stress.

<Please note: an article cannot be taken from another site and simply cut and pasted on the forum as in infringes copyright. You must also cite the author - please see the article via the link as the content here has been condensed to comply with copyright>

 

[Still loving]

I have always wondered why it is called POST traumatic stress, when the brain has changed and the trauma to the brain, the traumatic stress remains after the incident/s are over. The brain has a unique ability to react to thoughts about a sensation or event in almost the same way it reacts to the sensation or event itself.

 

[Chava]

It makes much more sense to me as a sort of autonomic nervous system (fight-flight) dysregulation than a mind or cognitive thing. I don't have clear memories of my major traumas, so few connected thoughts. Sometimes I get into worst-case-scenario thinking, but I don't even attribute that to trauma. CBT and thought-focused therapy was helpful to a point, but working directly with my nervous system, somatic responses, etc has been more helpful, at least in how my trauma affects me. I don't need to think about anything to have a panic attack or even a nervous breakdown. If I am in "flight" energy (sympathetic overdrive, too much adrenaline like you mentioned), I have a hard time coming down and just burn out. On the flip side, many trauma sufferers waver between the poles of dysregulation...sympathetic or parasympathetic overdrive, with the system having a hard time returning to a more stable center. Continuous sympathetic overdrive, hypervigilence, etc, is exhausting. But so is a body that has slipped too far the other direction (depression and numbness seem more connected to parasympathetic stuff). There is a LOT known about how trauma affects the body and this regulation...why it doesn't seem to get to the mainstream medical community is beyond me...probably because we need to research body-therapies better (somatic experiencing etc)..spend more money on that and not all of it on drug research.

 

[Intrepid]

Whatever is going on with you – be it emotional, mental or physical in origin – the bottom line is that fatigue (and often inexplicable fatigue) very often accompanies symptoms of PTSD. If this is the case for you, be your own best friend.

I get exhausted because I don't known the difference between physical, mental and emotional fatigue. Here's what I found out:

When I'm physically tired I want to lay down.
When I'm mentally tired I want to sleep.
When I'm emotionally tired I distance. I want to say I'm done, I'm over it.

What happens is that I get emotionally tired, and I think that I'm physically or mentally tired. Its been really confusing.