Chronic Pain
and Trauma:
How Stress and Trauma Affect the Body
It's not just in your mind.
Stress and trauma aren’t just mental or emotional experiences—they trigger significant and immediate changes in the body. These physical responses are essential for survival, helping us react to threats. However, when the body remains stuck in a constant state of stress, it can lead to chronic health problems.
Common Physical Symptoms of Chronic Stress and Trauma
Prolonged exposure to stress and trauma can result in chronic pain conditions, such as back pain, temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD), headaches, neck pain, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). These symptoms arise because the body is continuously preparing to defend itself, often before we’re even aware of any perceived threat.
Key Physiological Responses Include:
Increasing blood flow to the muscles for enhanced speed and strength.
Releasing powerful hormones like adrenaline to boost energy levels.
Slows down our digestion and
gets ready to protect vital organs.
Pupil dilation to improve threat assessment, spotting danger earlier.
“This system is great if you are in a forest and there is a bear, but what happens if the bear comes home every night?
This system goes from being adaptive, or life saving to maladaptive or health damaging.”
As Nadine Berk, shares in her TED Talk on The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study,
Polyvagal Theory and Chronic Pain
Polyvagal Theory offers insight into how the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS), particularly the Vagus Nerve, influences our physical and mental health.
Your ability to detect safety or danger is critical for survival, and your nervous system is constantly scanning your environment, your body, and other people for these cues.
When trauma and stress are experienced, especially during childhood, the nervous system can become stuck in a defensive state, always on high alert. This creates a neurophysiological feedback loop, reinforcing chronic stress and trauma responses.
The Polyvagal Chart below demonstrates how the nervous system reacts to threat:
“Healing severe or chronic pain, I believe, includes transforming our relationship to the pain, and, ultimately, it is about transforming our relationship to who we are and to life.”
Sarah Anne Shockley
The Neuroscience of Pain and Trauma
Chronic pain and trauma impact the brain similarly, keeping it in a constant state of survival.
In this state, the brain perceives ongoing threats, making it difficult to feel safe. Pain acts as a danger signal, an internal alarm indicating potential harm.
Key areas of the brain affected by chronic pain and trauma include:
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Amygdala: This brain region is responsible for detecting danger and triggering the stress response. Chronic pain and stress can make the amygdala hyperactive, leaving you feeling constantly unsafe.
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Hippocampus: The hippocampus plays a vital role in processing pain and stress, linking new experiences with past memories. Chronic stress can alter the hippocampus, making the brain misinterpret safe situations as dangerous.
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Thalamus: The thalamus is crucial for processing pain signals and regulating stress responses. Chronic pain and stress can cause the thalamus to release stress hormones that heighten nerve sensitivity, altering pain perception.
“Traumatized people chronically feel unsafe inside their bodies:
The past is alive in the form of gnawing interior discomfort.
Their bodies are constantly bombarded by
visceral warning signs.”
Dr Bessel Van Der Kolk
Why Trauma Makes You Feel Uncomfortable
Trauma and chronic stress can leave you feeling persistently uncomfortable in your body, overwhelmed by internal alarms.
Those who have experienced trauma often feel out of control emotionally, leading to chronic muscle tension and pain, a condition known as Chronic Muscular Tension.
Whether these emotions stem from past trauma or current stress, they can have a significant impact on how you feel physically.
Emotions and the Body
Numerous studies* have established that emotion systems prepare us to meet challenges encountered in the environment by adjusting the activation of the:
cardiovascular, skeletomuscular, neuroendocrine, and
autonomic nervous system.
Healing Through Therapy
Living with chronic pain can feel overwhelming. It’s normal to feel hopeless after trying many treatments without success.
With both professional experience in treating chronic pain and personal experience of living with it, I understand the challenges.
I offer non-judgmental, holistic, and trauma-informed therapy to support those living with chronic pain. Regular therapeutic support is crucial for healing and improving your quality of life.
"There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds."
Laurell K. Hamilton