Does PTSD Damage Your Body?

[Shamstalat]

dust,

Yes, yoga, body and energy work of any kind always trigger flashbacks for me. I get massage/physical therapy now for the cathartic effect and the body/mind healing it leads to. My father is trying to persuade me to take yoga classes, but I absolutely do not feel like having flashbacks in public. Yoga is even more intense thank physicla/massage therapy because I am moving my own body instead of having my body moved by somebody else.

I don't think I am ready for yoga quite yet.

That must have been so intense, dust, having your acupuncturist trigger those flashbacks.

Has anyone ever looked into CranioSacral Therapy/SomatoEmotional Release or Reiki? I have found these helped me tremendously with my PTSD. They helped me understand the connection between mind and body, and helped me to intregrate the two. They also gave me the benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy and physical therapy all in one. I find that after a CST, Reiki, or physical/massage therapy session, my joint pain is duller or sometimes completely gone (depending on how deep the therapist goes).

I think that acupuncture, Reiki, CranioSacral Therapy, yoga, and all sorts of other alternative therapies, are all different roads to reaching the same phenomenon. I personally combine them so I can have many channels for healing.

-shamstalat

 

[dust]

Shamstalat,

It's interesting to hear that someone else has had this problem. It does make me worry about other kinds of energy work. My therapist has suggested that massage would help me with the body pain. I tried a light massage and it was fine, so when finances are better I think I'll start that work.

I have had EMDR therapy - which is an energy therapy that allowed me to process a lot of my trauma sub-consciously.

dust

 

[Shamstalat]

Hi dust,

I'm glad you'll be starting out with some massage therapy. If you wan you can start out with Reiki and CranioSacral which only involve either almost touching the body or just very lightly touching it.

I had an EMDR session once but it actually just reminded me of electrotherapy instead of doing any healing. It made me go into a flashback instead of processing a flashback. Plus my therapist, according to my other therapists, didn't know what she was doing. She started it the very first session, and she tried it for me with beeping sounds in each ear and then with small electric signals under each thigh. That's fine but the electrical signals is what sent me into flashback. I know she couldn't have known but my other therapist said she should have not done it in the first session, and also should have checked with me beforehand if I was okay with it instead of just going for it.

dust, do you know what your body pain is from? Do you have a physical diagnosis such as fibromyalgia or do you have psychogenic/psychosomatic pain? Where do you have the most pain or is it all over? Is it more in the muscles or the joints?

shamstalat

 

[dust]

Shamstalat,

thanks for your PM. Sounds like your EMDR therapist didn't do her homework - or follow protocol - I think I had 2 or 3 sessions with my EMDR therapist before we started the work. Even then it felt very quick and I put the breaks on a few times.

My body pain is in the muscles and psychosomatic.

dust

 

[Shamstalat]

Hi dust,

Your body pain sounds a lot like mine except that mine is in the joints. Have you already considered you might have fibromyalgia? I just wanted to put that out there but it is also definitely possible your chronic pain is real but has no detectable physiological cause.

I hope your muscles feel better, especially as you continue on your healing process.

shamsi

 

[lilcuda1]

Can't work? I see to have a few of your symtoms + irratible bowel symdrone + Degenerative Disc Discorder. I haven't work for a while & applied for social security disability. will you please explain to me more why u can't work the affects please.
lilcuda1

 

[SunnyBrookFarm]

I've had high blood pressure since I was 21 yrs old (with no risk factors at all), I have chronic pelvic pain, and recently my joints have begun to hurt also. Yes, sometimes I feel like I'm the most unhealthy person in my entire family (and I'm young, small etc.). Certainly I think that this stems from the PTSD.