Physical Health - Long Term Affects of PTSD on Physical Attributes

[madjon]

with things going on over the years i havent at times paid the most attention to physical health so now im reasonably stable im finding things have caught up with me.

drinking smoking and generally leading an unhealthy life style.
a lot of people with mental health problems tend to ignore a lot of physiical problems, when i was bad and did go to a docs over something they didnt think anything was really wrong as i wasnt kicking up the fuss that a lot of ''normal' people do over matters, also i didnt see physical health as a great problem when my brain wasnt working, and there were far worse things inside than could happen outside. there are a few simple things such as eating regularly and reasonably well, avoiding too many ready meals or not eating properly , drinking can be a problem at times and i have many aches from things that happened while drinking or trying to escape from what was inside, try to take some care of your body as someday you may discover that it catchs up with you, walking is good exercise and is also a good way to help with stress, its just striking me today that things that happened and me not looking after my body while my brain was off doing its own thing means i find i have a lot of physical ailments which could have been avoided, so what are peoples thoughts on trying to keep reasonably healthy physically while dealing with mental problems?

 

[anthony]

Madjon, you hit the nail on the head mate. Totally agree with everything you have said. It is pretty common now in counselling and so forth that they try and get you exercising, whether your used too it or not, for this exact reason, that people don't realize the actual stress and torment our brains are putting upon our bodies, that will (not if) catchup with us in our older age.

I can't stress it enough to be quite honest, that everyone with PTSD should walk, ride a bike, go to a gym, run, jog, aerobics, or the like. Atleast one of those things, and regardless of age, everyone can do one of those things, even if wheel chair bound, you can exercise. Obviously as one ages, lower impact is emphasized over high impact such as running or aerobics, but atleast there is a choice for everyone. I guess the hard part mate, as you have found out, is getting people to acknowledge the issue before its too late, and they are 20 or 30 years down the track and their bodies are shutting down on them for no other reason than what PTSD has caused.

 

[fin]

This is where I am at at the moment on this, I used to run, and I walked everywhere always, and now leg is bad and I struggle. I know I have to do more on this...have to think how for me I can. Something low impact maybe pilates or something, I tried it before but when the pTSD got soo bad I couldnt any longer. Have to do something though for sure.

Thankyou

I miss running, I miss it soo much, it used to help me get so much out of ME, and I felt safe doing it...like they couldnt catch me because I was the wind...

it hurst just thinking about it to be honest

 

[cat]

Madjon, I wholeheartedly agree with all you regarding our physical health. following my truama I went into overdrive working too much, cycling, running & not eating regulary & chronic insomnia & thinking that I was dealing with all that had happened as I seemed to be in good health!
Consequently while I was abroad three years later I caught a virus which totally grounded me & I ended up beging diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Symdrome but it wasn't until my brilliant GP said 'you can come here & just complain, so tell me what the real problem is' that I finally acknowledge my deeper problems, then diagnosed me with PTSD. I think part of the problem with neglecting your physical health is that you become so tied up with PTSD that being busy is just a way of avoiding all that's going on in your head.
I've gradually forced myself back to a reasonable level of activity but at the moment i'm between my GP saying don't push yourself too hard & my psychologist saying you need to exercise more to deal with your anger & to get past the CFS fatigue & pain barrier as she feels it is largely a psychological illness connected with the freeze response, so its a bit of a vicious circle. I do find cycling too much of a challenge on the road because hypervigilance makes me nervous, so I'm walking 2hrs a day to build up to start running again.
So a word of warning to all those who are running 20hrs a day as I was, it will catch up with you. Start small, enjoy what you achieve then set the next challenge!

 

[Deleted member 541]

I totally agree Anthony about the exercise.......I have several health issues which makes it hard for me sometimes. Mild Emphysema, being one of those, but I push myself every morning to do 20 minutes on the Elliptical and 20 minutes on the Treadmill, and then the same every afternoon. I am averaging close to 5 miles a day now.

It sucks, I don't like doing it, but with all of the health issues, if I didn't I figure I wouldn't be walking as good as I do now. Plus, I REALLY believe that the exercise and Vitamin D3 has helped me tremendously with the depression associated with PTSD.......

 

[pianogirl]

Recently, I've begun to really start feeling the physical ramifications of PTSD. Sure, I shake, I space out. My memory is Swiss-cheesed in both the long- and short-term fronts. However, when I start feeling how my heart palpitates and squeezes so tightly for so long after an episode (flashback, dissociating, and sometimes even a startle response), I really can see why cardiovascular difficulties are so prominent amongst those with PTSD. Yikes. That really scares me.

pianogirl

 

[junglegirl]

Thank you for your wisdom. I am walking a lot and swimming and I find walking to be really great exercise and swimming to be my relaxing fun time. I have worried about the effects of ptsd. I have. Noticed that exercise has made me physically stronger. Theway ptsd affected me in the past was through infections-not life threatening but chronic sinusitis and ear infections. I am happy to say I have not had sinusitis in year. I have also started taking vitamin c with my multivitamin and I get a vitamin b 12 shot from time to time. Thank you for the reminder.