The Connection Between Emotional Trauma & Physical Health

Trauma is exhausting: It keeps our nervous system on high-alert, over-taxes our brain, puts constant tension in our muscles, and even causes hormonal and genetic changes. 

Research has continued to highlight that emotional trauma and physical health are undeniably interconnected, but this connection hasn’t been fully embraced or utilized by health professionals. 

And this relationship is bidirectional; chronic illnesses, surgeries, and other medical and physical events can be experienced as traumatic when they cause feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and loss of control of the body. 

Trauma causes physical symptoms through three pathways:

Inflammation

Inflammation is an immune response to foreign invaders or damaged tissue in the body. 

When we experience physical injuries, like a cut or a bruise, our body signals our immune system to send white blood cells to surround and protect the area, and this is what causes inflammation. 

In the short term, it allows our body to fight off invaders that might cause infection or disease. But in the case of trauma or chronic stress, our immune response gets dysregulated, leading to chronic inflammation. 

Inflammation in the body can show up as:

• Dermatological & skin Issues like redness, itchiness, hives, rashes, eczema, and  psoriasis

• Musculoskeletal, Autoimmune, and Joint Conditions such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, and Osteoarthritis

• Digestive Disorders including Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBS), Chohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Acid Reflux, Gastritis, Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EOE). Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), and Ulcers

• Cardiovascular Diseases like high blood pressure and heart disease

• Allergies & Asthma

• Mental Illnesses like depression

• Metabolic Diseases like Type 2 Diabetes

• Neurodegenerative Diseases like Parkinson’s

• Cancers

• Urological problems

• Neuropathy

• Chronic pain & Illness

It seems that our body might respond to emotional distress in the same way that it responds to physical danger; and the unfortunate consequence is that we experience physical symptoms that often prolong and perpetuate the distress we feel. It creates a new trauma narrative: that we feel out of control within our own bodies.

Nervous System Dysregulation

Trauma dysregulates the autonomic nervous system (ANS) by causing a chronic activation of the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and a chronic suppression of the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS). 

Our SNS is also known as our “fight or flight” response, which includes hyperarousal or hypervigilance, increased heart rate and breathing rate, activated or tensed muscles, and improved eyesight. When activated, our SNS releases chemicals like cortisol and adrenaline to help get us out of danger and protect us. In order to do so, it diverts energy from our SNS, which regulates us and handles systems such as digestion. 

When our SNS remains activated for long periods of time, it causes physical issues including:

• Constipation & Diarrhea

• Fast heart rate even when resting (Tachycardia)

• Heart rhythm problems (Arrhythmias and Atrial Fibrillation)

• Sexual concerns 

• Difficulties with digestion

• Insomnia

• Migraines

• Anxiety

• Muscle tension, soreness, and pain

• Teeth grinding and jaw clenching

• Pelvic floor dysfunction and pain

While our body is trying to protect us, it seems to sometimes get “stuck” in this activated state that prevents us from resting, digesting, and healing.

Emotional Dysregulation

Trauma can cause incredibly intense and painful emotions that might come on suddenly, stick around for long periods of time, and be more difficult to regulate. This can understandably lead trauma survivors to turn to coping strategies like substance use, over or under eating, social withdrawal, or self harm, in order to attempt to control their emotional experience and physical body.

These behaviors can have detrimental effects on our physical and emotional health. Even the intense emotions brought on often by trauma such as loneliness, shame, guilt, anger, anxiety, and intense sadness can cause physical symptoms such as:

• Back pain

• Loss of appetite

• Difficulty focussing

• Constipation & Diarrhea

• Headaches & Migraines 

• Exhaustion & Fatigue

• Chest pain

• Dry mouth

• Loss of sex drive

• Stiffness

• Heart palpitations 

• High blood pressure 

• Skin itchiness or rashes 

• Urinary difficulties

A Whole-Body Approach to Healing

By understanding and acknowledging the connection between emotional trauma and physical health, we can approach human wellness with a more diversified approach.

Working with trauma inevitably brings up the debate about whether more somatic or talk-based therapies are more effective: But using both approaches acknowledges the complexity of trauma and the impact it has on the nervous system.