Childhood Disrupted - ACE scores & physical health

[Phoenix]

Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone else has read Childhood Disrupted. I know I'm not the first one to recommend it - but I want to second everyone else who has suggested it - life changing read for me (hopefully truly life changing if I can follow the advice in it).

Anyway, it allowed me to make the connection between my completely confusing and debilitating health issues with my CPTSD. I'm a 32 year old female who prides herself in completely ignoring physical needs/pain (totally understand how self-destructive and damaging that bizarre self-harm has been) but anyway - who has suddenly been completely crippled by physical pain/symptoms. I went from working literally 18 hour days to now being on medical leave. I've been out for a month but was utterly crushed by the depression that came from not being able to work (my number one source of avoidance and relief)... but thanks to a fantastic psychiatrist and PCP - meds have lifted me out of the dark cloud enough to get out of bed - at least briefly - woohoo I showered today! Mini victories

Would love to chat with others who are just realizing the connection between physical health and their CPTSD and how they're juggling emotional/psychological healing with physical issues... as well as how they explain anything to anyone... to doctors... to jobs... friends... people ask you what's wrong and I feel like responding with - "here's a list of books you should read... it'll basically explain it"... especially when NO ONE in my life has any idea about my childhood... even my husband's understanding of it is only vague... he knows my mother is very mentally ill and knows there was trauma... but that's it.

Alright... and there it is Hope to hear from anyone!

[Kizzie]

Hi Phoenix - don't know how I missed this topic but I did.  SweetSixty sent me a link from the BBC on ACE you might want to listen to.  It's starting to seem like a "no brainer" that chronic stress in childhood leads to illness in adulthood, things that previously have been looked at in isolation (heart disease, obesity, cancer, alcoholism, etc).

I have written in other threads about struggling with my weight all my life, having ovarian cancer in 2007 and now am suffering with severe osteoarthritis. I also smoked and drank.  As I think you and I discussed in another thread, my GP thought I might have FM, but the jury's out in terms of a definite diagnosis. So unfortunately you have lots of company according the the ACE study and if members' posts about their health issues are anything to go by. 

[Phoenix]

Thanks for following up, Kizzie.

While misery may love company - certainly sorry that so many of us are dealing with this.

Though I haven't participated in the book discussion thread, I've been reading the disassociation book and I'm wondering if maybe it's one of my personality fragments that's tied upin the physical health issues and maybe I can reconnect and ultimately better understand what's going on...

we'll see...

[Kizzie]

It would help if I give you the link wouldn't it lol     http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b070dksr?inf_contact_key=8df2b8f43214dc32e9f188a0a67b3f974867bf03bb4e206f8667eda95919c8f6.

[Phoenix]

thanks!