What has abuse done to your physical health?

[Fightingback16]

I know a lot about the mental health side of things but my physical health is slowly deteriorating years after, lots of things going wrong relating to stress apparently.

I developed a rare autoimmune condition called Systemic Sclerosis( Scleroderma). I was abused throughout childhood and then ran straight into a abusive marriage at 19 years old to try to escape. I ended up stuck there for twenty years. My illness is life limiting and theres a well known link between developing it and catatstrophic stress. I have no doubt at all its down to many years of constant abuse and stress. Ive also had pre eclampsia twice where i nearly died, severe PND and grade 3 breast cancer.There is much more needs to be said about the link between abuse( and the stress it causes) and physical health.

My elbow has 20° of rotation instead of 180°. Unfortunately, he broke it in a way that is impossible for surgeons to tackle.

I had severe rhinitis, IBS, migraines which disappeared the day he moved out. That's just the physical signs

Obesity red face extreme fatigue suicidal depression…..all those cortisol hits played havoc with my health

I was given frozen shoulders from being hurled across the room/ out the door on many occasions. Consequently, I can't raise my arms above my head and have difficulty doing up zips on the back of dresses. I have days of incessant aching and nights when I can't turn over in bed.
I have scars on both knees.
I have a healed fracture in my nose which is visible when I smile.
I was given Herpes.
My mental health is damaged beyond repair.

I’d forgotten about the frozen shoulders! One on the left where my shoulder has to do the work of the broken elbow. Then the right froze just for good measure.

Teeth grinding so one snapped off.

Tired ALL THE TIME.

Churning “all or nothing” digestive system.

PTSD.

Just reading another thread and I realised I keep my hair short as my mum used to grab it and cut chunks off as punishment.

Distrust of any adults at all. This exacerbated massively when I described what my mum was like and the psychiatric nurse said I was lying.

I developed a condition called functional neurological symptom disorder. My understanding is that it's trauma stored in my body which causes collapses, speech and memory problems, migraines etc but that is somewhat controversial as a lot of people with it haven't experienced trauma.

What is happening for you at the moment?

I have chronic fatigue syndrome, IBS, constant brain fog and muscle pain especially in my calf muscles. My hair is crap I had 3 roots canals after I left and multiple fillings as I neglected myself terribly, I’m ashamed about that. Now I’m being investigated for premature ovarian failure at 38. Might explain some of my symptoms and my wild mood swings which I thought was just post abuse issues.

IBS, teeth grinding, allergies and intolerances, warts, insomnia. Had none of these issues until I met my abusive ex. I've managed to get rid of half of them since we split!

Improved it. I ended up walking away from the relationship and having a proper look at my self respect. I started to look after myself, and am healthier than I've ever been, mentally, emotionally and physically.

I do still grind my teeth though, so those are gradually wearing away.

There's an excellent book by Gabor Mate, When The Body Says No. He's a researcher and the book explores how abuse and violence and chronic stress contribute to physical health issues, especially auto-immune conditions, later in life. It's fascinating and well worth anyone reading who has suffered abuse in childhood or as an adult. It has a great section at the end with 7 strategies for rectifying things, which I found brilliant. One of them is reclaiming your anger which I think is SO important - we have to let go of that anger and direct it outwards rather than in.

I got it through my library as an ebook, so you might not even need to buy it if you're a library member!

I have hormonal issues, acne, I'm constantly tired, and stomach issues. All my blood tests come out fine so nobody ever wants to do anything to help. It's so frustrating and I just put it down to the chronic stress from an abusive childhood (and the subsequent OCD and problem drinking I developed as a young adult as a result). Now I take really good care of myself, prioritise sleep, healthy food and a shameless amount of self-care!

Anxiety, depression, PTSD, a spinal injury which means I can still walk but have neurological symptoms that affect my everyday life and make me reliant on a carer. I don't qualify for PIP.

PCOS, autoimmune thyroiditis. Possibly celiac disease (being tested). All caused by stress.

I did have an alcohol problem but gave up completely aged 23 - half my lifetime ago. I accidentally swapped it for binge eating.

Google 'Dan buglio TMS'
Stress and emotions can cause debilitating symptoms in the body
But you can heal... I'm proof!

It's all abit woo and I didn't believe I could get better but I did ...

High Blood Pressure
Obesity
PTSD
Depression
Anxiety
Possible alcoholism

Obesity, depression, aching jaw from clenched teeth, headaches

Also
Brain fog
Diarrhoea
Vomiting
Mood swings
Insomnia

Currently in a emotional abusive marriage. I'm anxious constantly and have started taking sertraline. But kids want things done before he gets home etc. I've gained a stone with anxiety as if he gets bk from work and I want to cook he screams and shouts as he likes standing in kitchen playing on his phone.

Christmas fairy LTB

Isn't as easy. I have lots of change with eldest dd just starting comp.

Well, I'm marking my place - I have a lot of autoimmune and other problems that have developed concurrently with my abusive relationship (that I am currently trying to leave)

I'm not even sure what I have as I haven't been to a GP in years and have suffered in silence. Last year things came to a head with the stress and I thought I was slowly dying. I felt like my body was at breaking point. I don't even know how to describe what I went through. (Healing slowly now)

@Dillydollydingdong

Christmas fairy LTB

Easier said than done. MN always assumes LTB can be done quickly and easily.

Leaving is never easy. It's always difficult and there will always be a reason why "now is not the right time". All it does is allow more damage to occur and make it harder to leave.

Do you really think people who've been through it themselves think it's easy? Of course not.

We just can't bear seeing people stuck and suffering like we were.

There is no perfect time where it will suddenly be easy. It's better to just get it done so you can start recovering.