Are You Living with PMET?

Trauma is a buzz word in the social media world right now, but it is a REAL experience. Unfortunately, all people experience traumatic events at some point in their lives due to various experiences. Natural disasters that leave families without a home, change in school systems for children, and change of lifestyle due to relocating can have a huge impact. Car accidents, medical emergencies, the loss of a job, the loss of a friend, the ending of a relationship, these can all be traumatic events. In this passage, we are looking to address a common overlooked experience that may be related to trauma. 

                             What is PMET? Physical Manifestations of Emotional Trauma. 

 Keep Reading! Have you noticed that when facing certain situations or the thought of interacting with certain people cause you to feel physically ill? Do you ever get headaches when you think about previous events or upcoming stressful events? It is possible that you are experiencing a trauma response to an unaddressed experience. 

Trauma and stress can affect the mind and body in many ways. Some people experience depressive symptoms, anxiety, hyperarousal, hypersensitivity to rejection, disapproval, or abandonment and in some cases cognitive disturbances (i.e., inattentiveness, memory loss, challenges with memory retention, and comprehension). These are psychological reactions to trauma. 

 Common physical symptoms such as headaches, sleep disturbances, aches, muscle tension, or fatigue are associated with trauma. There are also chronic illnesses that have been associated with trauma. Have you ever considered that it may also be related to hypertension, cancer, arthritis, fibromyalgia, or even lupus? These are physical manifestations of emotional trauma. According to Malays (2008), chronic stress can impact the functioning of every system in the body. 

 Unaddressed trauma can lead to chronic stress on the body. This is seen commonly when resentment, shame, guilt and anger are suppressed. This suppression and production of high levels of cortisol in the body, will ultimately manifest into illness. 

However, it does not have to lead to physical illness. There is a solution to this dilemma! 

Acknowledging the physical symptoms you are experiencing and noticing when they occur can help you determine if they are related to trauma. Using a journal or health planner to log this information can help with this. If you are looking for a useful healthy lifestyle planner, go to https://www.ternionsolutionsllc.com. There are electronic and hard copy versions of a healthy lifestyle planner that allows you to document experiences of physical symptoms. 

Engaging in lifestyle changes to better manage emotional and physical symptoms of trauma will reduce symptoms. Activities such as trauma therapy, dietary changes, and spiritual counseling, can provide strategies to improving health and reducing symptoms.  Contact us to learn ways to manage symptoms associated with trauma and learn about more resources www.ternionsolutionsllc.com.