Regarding physical symptoms
Hey, so I've experienced 'mystery' pains and ailments starting when I was a teenager, most of them unexplained by doctors and often brushed off. Ibs, migraines/cluster headaches (fuck these seriously), and tons of small pains. I thought for a long time this was 'just stress' or that I wasn't doing enough exercise even if I was quite active etc.
Since about a year ago I started having neck/shoulder pain and headaches that I assume are related. This went away for a while during and after a holiday, and its come back with a vengeance. I only came to the conclusion of cptsd a short while ago and have been doing a lot of research etc., even got a therapist that specializes in developmental trauma.
What are some good ways to help relieve this pain? The realization that it is psychological is useful I suppose, but the pain is still here and quite active; especially when I wake up my neck is often in a lot of pain and the resulting headache feels nearly debilitating sometimes.
I've heard yoga is good for this - but also that it's easy to accidentally fuck up and cause damage? Not sure how true this is. Also I've noticed just how often I tense up. Jaw, neck, shoulders, feet, basically every body-part that can be tensed up is often tensed up, I suppose this is where somatic awareness comes into play.
Any advice would be appreciated!
Posted Dec 20, 2019, 4:42 PM UTC
I've done guided mindfulness meditations on pain. My pain was mostly in my gut region and sometimes in my shoulders. It's helped a lot over time. It gave me a new lens on pain too and reinforced that over time. I also have a lot of tension in my body so I do very quick body scans throughout the days to release muscles in my face, jaw, etc. The more you do that you'll find that there are even deeper muscles that you can relax in your face/head that might ease the pain (it's personally helped me breathe better). But this has only happened because of my practice over time. In the beginning I actually didn't know how to relax my muscles.
I've heard about the benefits of yoga. I use a few easier yoga movements in my post-workout stretches that way there's less of a chance I'll really mess something up. You can always start small and go from there as you're comfortable. I got the DVD of Yoga for Every Body and it helped me a lot. If you're a member of a gym sometimes they will offer free yoga classes there. The DVD was nice for me because it has beginner levels and works its way on up.
When I read this post I immediately thought of https://www.instagram.com/the.holistic.psychologist/ on Instagram where she talks about the mind/body connection and trauma. Here's some links that may help via her posts; they don't address your headaches but if you think this is CPTSD related then they might give you clues to further your research and healing: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4P0IHJJSJM/ . https://www.instagram.com/p/B2Rg_ULgojr/ . https://www.instagram.com/p/B0gKmAMAB82/ . https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzlq0HYgxr0/ . https://www.instagram.com/p/BxziyWaAq-9/ .
I hope you find answers and get some relief <3
Those body scans I've been practicing on. A book I've been reading talks about healing involving both somatic awareness and survival-style awareness and I've been trying. It's a pain in the ass though haha, every time I relax and two minutes later I'm already tense again. :P It's a process though, I suppose.
I've got a workout bench at home I've been using a lot, I'll try implementing yoga at the end of those sessions; seriously considering planning a few yoga sessions a week regardless, been reading up more and it seems very apt for helping with trauma related stress.
And coincidentally I've been checking her stuff out! Her videos helped me after a recent break up and made me become aware of how much attachment trauma etc. played a role in a lot of my issues; she's awesome!
And thanks, I feel more informed thanks to your comment. Did some yoga earlier and it definitely provided some relief. Have a nice day!
It's definitely a process; I used to be in the stage that you are in now. The stage I'm in now is just one that's more consistently aware in terms of when I'm tense. It's definitely a process. :)
Dr. Nicole is amazing, I'm so glad she's helped you already. :D Her info is certainly wonderful and realistic.
I'm glad I could help somewhat. I really hope you get some relief soon. <3 It sounds like you're doing a ton of work already and that's amazing. I hope you're pausing every now and then to reflect on how far you've come and to feel immensely proud of all you're doing.
Cheers for the kind words! It's really hard to appreciate and feel proud of this process as toxic shame and the ego are fighting tooth and nail to go back to my escapist and avoidant behaviors, but it's important to look at the situation and realize I've done well.
I hope you do the same, sounds like you've done really well too.