PTSD and chronic illness are connected in ways that rarely get talked about. When a minor back spasm left Muneeza bedridden for a few days, the emotional hurdles of healing surfaced before the physical ones did, bringing back memories of the year she spent recovering from neurological Lyme disease.
Key Takeaways
- PTSD and chronic illness are connected. Living through a prolonged illness can create a trauma response that resurfaces long after you have physically healed.
- A minor setback, like a back spasm, can trigger old feelings of hopelessness and fear from a much harder chapter of illness.
- The emotional hurdles of healing deserve the same attention as the physical symptoms of chronic illness.
- Self-care in the moment, not pushing through, is what changes your experience of a PTSD trigger.
- Glucose and mineral salts play a role in calming the brain and nervous system during a trauma response, within the Medical Medium® framework.
- Reaching out to a support system and asking for help is part of healing, not a sign of failure.
- You do not have to be fully recovered to understand this experience. Even a small health setback can bring old memories flooding back.
What Happened When I Threw My Back Out
Last week I threw my back out, and for the next couple of days I worked on recovering from my back spasm quickly in bed. For those couple of days I had to hold back on driving my kids to their activities, cooking, socializing, and sitting up to take client appointments.
The hard part about being laid up in bed (thankfully I am now recovered) was the post-traumatic stress, or PTSD, creeping up from when I was bedridden for a year with neurological Lyme disease and chronic fatigue, after being bitten by a poisonous spider. This is what today’s post is about: the mental and emotional hurdles of healing.
Remembering the Past
I used to be bed ridden with chronic fatigue. I was sick and unable to function at all. It was hard to go to the bathroom, take a shower, or even walk to my kitchen. It was hard to stand for more than five to ten minutes. My left arm, where I was bitten, felt paralyzed. Every time I tried to move it I was in excruciating pain, so much pain that it made my brain feel like it was exploding.
While bedridden for so long, there were times I felt depressed and down on myself. When would this end? How much more of my life would I spend in bed? Would I ever be able to live my life again, pursuing my dreams and goals?
My logical left brain, of course, knows that throwing my back out is a very temporary circumstance and nothing like being bedridden from chronic fatigue and neurological Lyme disease, but somewhere inside me those old feelings of being stuck in bed and feeling down and depressed came flooding back. And that is the thing with PTSD: you never know when it is going to show up. I felt the hopelessness I used to feel start to creep back in through remembering those harder times.
I am grateful I could reach out to my support system. My husband and my friends were quick to remind me that this very temporary back spasm would be over in a couple of days and I would be up and going in no time.
PTSD and Healing From Chronic Illness
I am sharing this moment I had with old PTSD because I know so many of you healing from chronic illness also experience this in various ways. The mental and emotional hurdles of healing are just as important to acknowledge as the physical symptoms are. Because the physical symptoms of chronic illness can be so debilitating, the emotional side of healing often takes second place.
However, PTSD is also a symptom, and it can surface because we became chronically sick. There are many other reasons PTSD can occur, but I would not have had a flashback to being stuck in bed, or the depression I felt, had I never been bedridden and chronically sick for a year. That PTSD came from being chronically sick. Research backs this up: people with chronic illness are more likely to experience PTSD than the general population.
The Emotional Hurdles of Healing
This is something that is not talked about very often: the post-traumatic aspect of healing from chronic illness. Once you have healed, a part of you says, I do not want to go back to that. I will not. So finding yourself in a similar position, or thrown into a situation where you are forced to remember old wounds, can be triggering. Being sick takes so much from you: time, energy, money, personal goals, and dreams. When there is so much living to do and your life becomes unrecognizable, it is no wonder the negative experiences find a way to stay with you.
Before my recent back injury, I was active in the life of my family: three daughters and a husband. I ran my business and was making strides in my health through extended Advanced 3:6:9 cleanses, and all of that came to a sudden halt. Of course I am okay now, but it still shocks the mind, to say the least.
Something I tell the members of my Intuitive Healing Community is that you can change your experience of PTSD by how you take care of yourself when you are triggered. For example, I could have pushed through these feelings of crumminess, tried to compartmentalize them, or soldiered on with my raw cleanse, but I knew that stepping back and taking care of myself was what I needed in that moment.
So that is what I did. I started to prioritize TLC and decided to stop judging myself. I stopped my raw cleanse and focused on nourishing myself with healing foods instead. I took the pressure off what I expected myself to get done, and I knew that if I let myself take a step back, I would be ready to take three more steps forward once I recovered.
Related reading: Let’s Talk About Emotions
Overcoming PTSD Naturally
Simple Ways to Shift Out of a Trigger
Last week, getting unstuck mentally and emotionally looked like changing the scene. If I could not get up and move, I would watch funny movies or shows, meditate on nature, look out the window, take a relaxing bath, or use essential oils just for a change of scent, which instantly helps me shift. I also found ways to be productive by doing email or something else adjacent.
The Physiological Side of PTSD
PTSD creates a physiological response to past memories. There are different levels of intensity, ranging from a mild hindrance to a full-body physiological response, the kind associated with harrowing experiences like war. Within the Medical Medium® framework, you can support the physiological side of PTSD with the right foods and supplements, and support the mental and emotional hurdles of PTSD with the right self-care. Knowing when to reach out and ask for help matters too.
Physiologically, healing PTSD is understood, within the Medical Medium® framework, to come down in large part to glucose and mineral salts. You need both of these nutrients to help cool the response in your brain and nervous system. It is important to build up your glucose reserves so your body has a buffer for traumatic experiences. The Trauma, Shock, and Loss Stabilizer Shot is a tool I recommend for this.
Additional Resources for PTSD and Healing
A great resource of information regarding PTSD is the book Medical Medium® Revised and Expanded by health author Anthony William- in there is a chapter on PTSD and how to recover from it complete with angels to call on and soul-healing meditations which help to restore your faith and build back trust. He also has an updated chapter on PTSD in Medical Medium® Brain Saver and a supplement protocol list you can follow. Find more Medical Medium® podcast meditations here and more information on PTSD here. I would recommend reading both chapters as this can be a healing experience in itself.
Physiologically, healing PTSD comes down to glucose and mineral salts (surprise!). You need both of these nutrients to cool down the response in your brain and nervous system. It is important to build up your glucose reserves so that your body has a buffer to these traumatic experiences. The Trauma, Shock, and Loss Stabilizer Shot is a great tool to use for this reason.
Final Thoughts on Healing and Moving Forward
What I Used for My Back Pain
For my back pain, I used Ancient Minerals magnesium cream lotion, took extra magnesium glycinate, California poppy, curcumin, propolis, mullein, nettle, and lots of lemon balm. I also used matrix repatterning magnets on my back, and within about 48 hours I was up and moving around. Once I felt better, I spent time outside in my garden and said many prayers of gratitude for bouncing back quickly.
Try incorporating these healing foods:
- Raw honey
- Dates
- Mango
- Wild blueberries
- Melon
- Sweet potato
- Figs
- Papaya
- Persimmon
- Beets
- Tomatoes
- Bananas
- Oranges
- Tangerines
- Apples
- Celery juice
- Mache
- Red leaf lettuce
- Cilantro
- Parsley
Avoid dairy and eggs, and keep radical fats to a minimum.
I know I am not the only one who experiences the mental and emotional hurdles of healing, and there is comfort in knowing you are not alone. You do not have to be fully recovered to know what this experience feels like. Even turning a sharp corner in your health can leave you with painful memories of where you used to be.
The more spiritual, emotional, and nutritional support you give yourself, the farther you will go and the stronger you will become. Take this as your sign to take care of yourself even more when you are feeling triggered, so you can positively change your experience of PTSD. Know that I am here for you.
With prayers for your healing,
Muneeza
Your Roadmap for
Healing Chronic, Mystery and Autoimmune Illness
A FREE 7-Day Video Series for Beginners
If you are not sure where to start, this free 7-day video series covers the foundational steps for healing chronic, mystery, and autoimmune illness.
