Body aches or other weird side effects from prolonged exposure

[Dana1010]

I got back from my fourth session of a twelve-week prolonged exposure therapy program today. We went into greater detail about the particular memory that loops in my head as well as some peripheral traumas.

I got home and took a nap. Aside from the generally crappy mood I woke up in, I also noticed body aches. In my upper back and shoulders mostly, but also in my legs. What are the chances that my PE session earlier in the day caused these? Does PE usually trigger weird side effects? Are there other things I should look out for?

 

[kilted]

There's a high chance that this is associated with the Exposure therapy.

With Prolonged Exposure Therapy you are deliberately inducing a stress response in the body. This will inevitably produce physical side effects. These may be muscular pain, issues with digestion/cramps/stomach or gut discomfort, palpitations, tiredness, migraines inc visual ones, headaches... basically the whole 9 yards of the body's stress responses.

Emotional responses may also occur.... eg irritability, tearfulness etc etc.

It's the therapists job to calibrate the sessions so that the mind doesn't trigger too much physical/endocrinal stress response, keeping the process within the bounds for neurogenesis. If there is a significant physical reaction the therapist needs to know so they can tone down the stimulus.

THe real problem comes if the therapy accentuates a process that is already occurring..... eg if you already have a history of thinking about the event or stimulating yourself with catastracising then the therapy just adds to the stress level rathe than reducing it over time.

THe key is that the PE therapist gives you tools to come out of the thinking/experiencing loop with a lowered level of stress hormones than when you went in. Obviously this takes time to calibrate!!