Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1464088
L i s te n to T h e A B M P Po d c a s t a t a b m p.co m /p o d c a s t s o r w h e reve r yo u a cce s s yo u r favo r i te p o d c a s t s 73 Chronic disorders Chronic pain Adverse childhood experiences Substance abuse/misuse Systemic racism PTSD (and ATSD) Epigenetics: inherited impacts of trauma TRAUMA Trauma: Everything Connects to Everything • Posttraumatic stress disorder and acute traumatic stress disorder (ATSD) are conditions connected to short- and long-term physical, mental, and emotional changes related to traumatic events. People who live with PTSD or ATSD may also perpetrate threatening or violent acts on others, furthering the cycle. • Systemic racism, especially as it manifests in health-care access and treatment, causes trauma in people who are targets of racism, and is also associated with other negative health-related outcomes, including chronic conditions and substance abuse and misuse. • Epigenetics is the study of how long-term trauma can impact inherited characteristics for multiple generations. In this way, the societal impacts of trauma resonate far further than any single person; they can affect whole communities and cultures for many decades. • Chronic disorders like cardiovascular disease and autoimmune diseases have direct links to traumatic histories, as well as to epigenetics and systemic racism. Many conditions that have been considered a genetic predisposition in marginalized ethnic groups are now understood to be at least partially the result of generational stressors. Anxiety and depression fall into this category of health challenges as well. • Chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia, migraines, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, and others can be both the cause and effect of trauma. Interestingly, these all involve dysfunction in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, which determines the efficiency of the stress response system. • Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are, as the label implies, negative events that happen in early life. When a person has multiple ACEs, it has been seen to lead to both the experience of trauma and predictably poorer health outcomes and shortened life spans compared to people who don't have a history of multiple ACEs. • Substance abuse and misuse are common but dangerous coping mechanisms many people with trauma-related histories may use to try to manage their pain and stress. And of course, the repercussions of substance abuse and misuse can include the risk of creating ACEs and other traumatizing events for people close by. Many more connections can be made between trauma and other aspects of health and wellness. This map leaves out the trauma-related repercussions that are part of the experience of being other than cisgender and having a non-straight sexual orientation. Other marginalized populations (immigrants, people with disabilities, people over 65, etc.) could also be represented here—not to mention the people whose identities intersect, like gay elders of color, for instance. But this map provides a place to start thinking about how trauma and its aftermath affect every part of our society and culture.