What people say is true. You don’t know what you have til its gone.
Seven years ago, I could eat anything that I wanted to.
Fast forward to today, and I have multiple food and chemical sensitivities, as well as sensitivity to light.
How did this happen?
The answer is fascinating.
I worked in an emergency dispatch setting for years. I was great at my job. I felt like I was doing good things. I felt great about the work that I did. But it took its toll on me mentally.
Years ago I was diagnosed with PTSD, but prior to this diagnosis there were multiple physical ailments that started to appear.
Within a year I went from health at 100% to being diagnosed with interstitial cystitis, multiple food sensitivities, chemical sensitivities, sensitivity to light causing migraines, thyroid issues, and general exhaustion. I couldn’t seem to do anything to stop the issues. They were coming faster than I could begin to treat them.
When I finally was diagnosed with PTSD and was removed from the emergency services environment, my health started to stabilize, but some restrictions remained, and I expect will remain for the rest of my life (though I would love to be proven wrong on this point)
PTSD doesn’t just effect your mind.
PTSD causes your nervous system to be working overtime, always in hyper-vigilance. It causes your brain to work using the primal or lizard brain, more than it relies on the rational part of your brain.
(Fun fact : the primal part of your brain is called the amygdala and it is responsible for ‘fight, flight, freeze, or faun’ response. The rational part of your brain is called the prefrontal cortex and allows your reasoning. With PTSD your amygdala actually enlarges sometimes, and your prefrontal cortex gets lazier and less efficient… so if you feel like you’re fighting against your own brain and losing, you’re not imagining that)
When your brain is working this way, it starts to see things as threats first. Things that might not really be threats. Imagined threats. Maybe it expresses as you being a little more jumpy, attuned to noises, a little paranoia or irritability where it shouldn’t be.
But it doesn’t end there.
Central Sensitization is when your central nervous system has been working in overdrive for so long, that it forgets to let off the gas. It just goes with the threats and is always looking to find new ones. A lot that manifest physically.
All of a sudden things that weren’t considered a threat to your body before are considered a threat now. Harmless things. Things that should not be threats at all. Lights, foods, chemicals, scents, touch, almost anything that your senses recognize can become exaggerated and become a ‘trigger’ for reactions in your body.
There’s often so many things going wrong with you that you might wonder if its all in your head…. and you might be worried that other people could think its all in your head too.
And in a way, it is! Your brain translates all of our senses and experiences into our reality.
But your painful reaction to food, chemicals, or lights is just as real as anyone else’s reaction to food, chemicals, or lights… its just a way less pleasant version of real.
People who have central sensitization often have other diagnoses for chronic pain conditions, with other health conditions and sensitivities.
So what can you do?
Have a compassion for yourself. If trauma has caused any of your health issues, know that it is real. That your experience is valid. Know that you are not alone.
Get a little curious. Your body wants to heal, you have to help it. But how can you help it? Here’s a little direction to get you started.
Diet : diet can play such a huge role! And it is completely within your control. If you want help navigating this I highly recommend seeing a good naturopath. They’re so smart with gut health and holistic healing. And you want to look at healing your body as a whole. That’s the only way it works.
Meditation : spend some quiet time with yourself. This doesn’t have to be long and it doesn’t have to be hokey. It can be kind of nice. There are short simple meditations that you can do through apps. (I really like Buddhify, but there are so many options)
Exercise : and this can be tough when you’re feeling like you’ve been run over by a truck each day. The best thing I can offer is Yoga! The breathing and movements have been beneficial for treating people with PTSD, and was recommended to me in place of medication by a psychiatrist. I love Yoga With Adriene on Youtube. It is free, and she also has a downloadable schedule that you can follow each month. Just print it or screenshot it and you’re good to go. (She isn’t ‘annoying’ like with that soft blissful sounding voice that just irritates the crap out of you… she’s very natural and genuine)
I feel like not many people know about Central Sensitization and its link to PTSD.
But if any of this sounds familiar to you, I hope it gives you some peace of mind that even if you are in the thick of it now, that there are better days ahead.
And if your healing journey brings you away from gluten… it always ends up being a culprit. It just does. Then I hope you will give me a follow on Instagram or Facebook so I can help you out with recipes that work.
Happy healing friends!
Further Reading on Central Sensitization & PTSD
US Department of Veterans Affairs
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