Unexplained pain or something...?

[tigrin.livejournal.com]

Not entirely sure how to word the subject, sorry... I apologize in advance, I'm not sure how much this particular topic relates, but I'm interested to see if anyone has any experience with this, and if there's any possible connection...

I often get a lot of physical symptoms without any physical cause... by which I mean, I will get a lot of pain in certain spots of my body for apparently no physical reason. I get this the most in my wrists, knees, and ankles, though often I can get it in a whole leg or arm, or spots as specific as a certain joint of my toe. The pain is usually intense and kind of brief, and moves around different spots... it can last for a while... and I find I usually get this when I'm tired or anxious, and it will usually go away if I relax or sleep... but I'm not controlling any of this.

I get some other things as well... heart palpitations is an occassional one... one that's rather distressing, is I'll suddenly go mute. this has happened on a number of occassions, especially when there's a lot of conflict going on between myself and the others.... I've described it as kind of a train wreck in my brain... like I just shut off, or withdraw. and I can be responsive and such, but I just... can't seem to talk. it seems to be more of a psychological inability rather than a physical one. what's probably the most distressing about this is how mad people will get when I do this... they think you're ignoring you on purpose. so far I've yet to meet anyone who didn't get at least irritated when I go mute. besides the mutism, I'll also get dizziness and vertigo (especially when faced with something triggering), and sometimes, some sort of vision field disturbance... like my eyesight kinda shifts or tilts to the right a bit. the combination often makes me feel sort of like I'm going to pass or black out, even though I never have.

This doesn't really seem that unusual to me, as I seem to have several other problems with anxiety that are subconscious... anxiety can make me violently ill... I also have trichotillomania (pull out my eyelashes and eyebrows unintentionally).

Do you think that anxiety disorders/manifestations have any correlation to dissociation/multiplicity? Can inner conflict or something of the sort between system members result in physical manifestations like pain or dizziness? Or are the two entirely separate/unrelated? How many people have problems with anxiety, as well as being multiple/plural?

Sorry if that's too many questions.. :) Just curious.

- Krystina, Tigrin

Comments

[tigrin.livejournal.com]

Irregular heartbeat. It doesn't hurt, it just feels kind of weird. like a heart flutter.

[tigrin.livejournal.com]

It's disturbing but I don't think it's anything to worry about, unless it causes you to faint or something. hmm.. info on palpitations: http://my.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/stp1297.asp?navbar=aa53425

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Musculoskeletal pain generally does have a physical cause, even if it's not an obvious one. Back in the 70's, the doctors were telling me I had arthritis; by the 90's they were saying it was fibromyalgia.... didn't really matter what Latin name they put on it, because they couldn't make it go away. However, I found some things on my own that help, and some of them may work for you too.

Contrast therapy is my stand-by - that's where you get in the shower and alternate hot and cold water; it works better than anything else if I'm seriously hurting. Hot baths with Epsom salts are also very helpful. Walking and stretching every day are essential - I know; it's hard to want to do it when it hurts to move, but not doing it will cause more pain in the long run. According to the studies, aerobic exercise is one of the most effective treatments for fibromyalgia (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=aerobic+exercise+fibromyalgia&btnG=Google+Search).

Calcium/magnesium and glucosamine/chondroitin supplements make a lot of difference for me. Caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and refined carbohydrates all tend to cause more and worse pain - unfortunately, I do like all of those, but I've learned I've got to be very moderate about them. Sleeping well and avoiding petroleum-based products also makes a big difference.

Rescue Remedy (http://www.bachflower.com/rescue_remedy.htm) is the stuff I rely on if I'm having any sort of stress/anxiety difficulties - it really works, and it's entirely non-toxic, safe enough for babies.

"Do you think that anxiety disorders/manifestations have any correlation to dissociation/multiplicity?"

I think people who are multiple or who dissociate (which are two separate things, by the way) often have more anxiety because life is more complicated for people who share a body with others or who lose touch with their bodies. There seems to be a correlation between autism and multiplicity, and what you describe, the visual animalies and the loss of speech, are very common for autistics (you can find more information here (http://www.autistics.org).)

[tigrin.livejournal.com]

I can believe aerobic exercise helps... for some reason, playing DDR helps with the pain. o_O

I think I was taking glucosamine tablets for a while... they didn't seem to make much of a difference, but then again, I don't think I took them longer than a few weeks. I know pain killers like Advil do absolutely nothing (which makes sense, as there's nothing physical to treat).

If that Rescue Remedy stuff works as well as it says it does... oh man, I'd pay anything, especially considering how often I get anxiety attacks... can you find that in drug stores?

been hearing about autism a lot lately... Silence (as you can tell by his name I suppose) is mute... he doesn't seem to have a physical disability, he just generally does not talk for some reason. He can make noises (crying, wimpering, laughing, etc.) but speaking aloud is nearly impossible for him. When I go mute I'll have the same problem... I cannot speak aloud no matter what, but I can write or draw to communicate. there seem to be two different types of my mutism... one seems to be like an emergency shut-off to keep from continuing a topic that could be upsetting... the other seems to be like I've sort of withdrawn... I can see and be somewhat responsive to what's happening to the body (like my friends tickling me, or trying to catch my attention), but for the most part I can't talk or move. I just kind of.. sit or lay there. sometimes I will go almost catatonic, and people who don't know me better will assume I'm sleeping. some of my friends have actually gotten used to this. What I'm mostly trying to figure out is if my mutism is a result of anxiety, or Silence co-fronting (or something of the sort).

[divine-sinners.livejournal.com]

We have heart palpitations as well. Or something of the like. Our chest will feel like there is a heavy pressure on it, but if we lay down for a while, it goes away. As for the mute thing, we have something similar to that. It only happens during or before the heart palpitations, and usually only when laying down. Dizziness comes and we get the sensation that one gets when they jump out of bed too quickly... and suddenly we can't move the body at all. Not able to move even a finger or an eyelash, it's almost like being in a vegetable state for a minute or so. Also, during that, the heart starts beating faster.

I am not sure what it is, but I do not think heart palpitations and the like are related to being multiple.

[echoesnspectres.livejournal.com]

if we lay down for a while, it goes away

this (http://www.potsplace.com/pots_an_overview.htm) might be relevant.

[khlara.livejournal.com]

trichotillomania
Our 3D sister has a severe case of this. Trichotillomania is most caused by stress/anxiety (although you probably knew this).

We hope you get better and wish we had advice. Only good vibes.

[apokryfae.livejournal.com]

I have anxiety/panic attacks; I'm not sure if any of ^our others get them, though I suspect Ta'asa does. Ta'asa's also got a case of mutism, that I have yet to discover the root of; it bleeds over to me sometimes, but only in patches... especially when I've just woken up.

^We've been fairly "muddy" lately, so We/I have been expressing everyone's idiosyncrasies to some degree. The body's got allergies (including to pollen) and my head is miserable... wrapping up for now, 'coz of it.

[bizamoogie.livejournal.com]

I have heart palpitations, it happens every few days. Usually when I go from laying down to sitting/standing or if I move from one place to another real fast. I'm iron defficiant, tho, so it may be a seperate thing. As for the mutism, I get that a lot. Sometimes it feels like I just can't open my mouth, though I can talk if I have to.

"I've described it as kind of a train wreck in my brain... like I just shut off, or withdraw. and I can be responsive"

I shut off and withdraw. Usually by passing out. I'll get overstimulated, or don't dissociate all the way into switching out and I'll just pass out. Sometimes when I wake up, I'm a different person, other times I'll still be me. Cory says sometimes I have sezuires, but I'm not epileptic. It's weird.

[bizamoogie.livejournal.com]

Do you think that anxiety disorders/manifestations have any correlation to dissociation/multiplicity? Can inner conflict or something of the sort between system members result in physical manifestations like pain or dizziness? Or are the two entirely separate/unrelated? How many people have problems with anxiety, as well as being multiple/plural?


I believe inner conflict can produce physical pain. When I was younger, I absoultely REFUSED to let any of my people out. What I got in return was debilitating migranes. They went away once I stopped chaining them in.

There have been times when my people have felt ill. I'll be fine, but if I switch out, it confuses the hell outta people cuz one minute I'll be OK, then the next I'll be upchucking, w/ the chills and a fever and then the NEXT minute, I'll be fine again.

[shatterstorm.livejournal.com]

one minute I'll be OK, then the next I'll be upchucking, w/ the chills and a fever and then the NEXT minute, I'll be fine again.

Oh yes. We've done that. It really confuses the crap out of the people around us.

[ksol1460.livejournal.com]

"Do you think that anxiety disorders/manifestations have any correlation to dissociation/multiplicity?"

In this society, where plurals are denied their right to exist? Where our way of life is considered a thought disorder to be medicated out of existence? Where we must hide and conceal and pretend to have but a single soul -- some of us must do this every minute of every day -- and live in fear of discovery?

Constantly.

[shatterstorm.livejournal.com]

Yes. Our body was under a doctor's care for something like lupus (immune system goes psycho causing muscle and joint pain, fevers, exhaustion, weakness, etc...) and as we've learned to work together we've gotten much healthier. Tending to all our needs has made us healthier. Our rheumatologist is delighted. We're even taking bellydance classes. :)

Two of ours have a lot of control over the immune system. Upset them and the body catches colds like you wouldn't believe. When they're willing, we can be in a room full of snot-dripping kids for hours and catch nothing.

We also have these things called "body memories." Something will hurt a lot, sometimes for months, then we'll remember/flashback to something and the pain will go and never return. *shrug* It is strange but it happens.

One of our kids (she's 11) will scratch until the body bleeds when she's stressed. We're working with her.

One of our selves who communicates poorly will make the right foot hurt horribly when s/he wants to talk. We've tried encouraging some means other than automatic writing and foot pain, but no luck so far. :P

post traumatic stress disorder

[shatterstorm.livejournal.com]

Physical symptoms such as headaches, gastrointestinal distress, immune system problems, dizziness, chest pain, or discomfort in other parts of the body are common in people with PTSD. Often, doctors treat these symptoms without being aware that they stem from an anxiety disorder.
from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/reliving.cfm

[sethrenn.livejournal.com]

Like someone else said, I think a lot of plurals have anxiety connected to fear of being discovered. If the system's undergone a lot of trauma, then yeah, it's pretty much expected that you'll feel a great deal of anxiety, but singlets who've been through lots of trauma have the same thing. It's got more to do with life circumstances than with multiplicity-- in other words, people who've undergone certain experiences tend to have certain reactions, whether they're sharing a body or not.

We pulled out the body's hair for a long time due to stress-- we've gotten a lot better, but we have to be careful about lapsing back into it when we're feeling nervous or even bored. As basic as this may sound, you really have to find some substitute for it-- if it's for manual stimulation, do something like squeezing a beanbag or stress ball; if you're doing it because you want to feel pain, try holding an ice cube against your face or scalp.

One of the things that can happen when you spend extended periods of time under stress is that your body-- your endocrine system, which controls the fight-or-flight response-- can lose the ability to distinguish between major and minor crises; even a small amount of stress can cause a full-blown panic reaction. We had/have (less so than in the past) problems with that, although quite seriously, I think some of ours was caused by having to hide and deny the fact that there were others in here-- when we began to really acknowledge each other as real people and work with each other, our anxiety level dropped significantly. More often these days, we get the stuff like dizziness, vertigo and vision field disturbances when we're really angry-- though it's probably related to the same basic biochemical process.

the day i broke my hand

[reinahada.livejournal.com]

i got pissed off inside once and okay well its a regular occurance but still ... i punched the wall of the house inside, put a hole through it. thing about p utting holes through walls is bones tend to break. nice crunchy finger bones. well yeah, my hand was toast. that manifested itself in the body as this body's hand hurting big time.

also we have some people who somtimes have seizures. so if we have a really bad headache we look for people inside who might be having a problem.

but lately we've been having the opposite problem. the body will be fine and people will be hiding how they feel and nobody will realize how hurt or injured someone is until they come front.

distraida-claudia

[spazishness.livejournal.com]

We have horrible heart problems that cause the heart to get up to 170 just walking around, and it's made it so we can't get up stairs or even walk fast. We're not even fat, so it doesn't make sense.

Christina, the other main personality, is extemely violent. We have had fights when she is co-fronting, and she'll tell me that she'll hurt me real bad, and then she somehow hurts my heart or wrist or leg or something. It's very unnerving. We get dizy when we talk too much, too. It's very strange.

[spazishness.livejournal.com]

Oh, and we get migranes. Constantly. And we've passed out before and woke up throwing up blood and with a migrane. Don't know if it's related...

[karma-silenced.livejournal.com]

I used to have RSDS (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome).
I also have anxiety and panic attacks sometimes.
I get headaches.
I have OBEs, which usually result in insights about my mind. During those times, I can't talk until I come back into my body. No matter how hard I try. It's weird.
I get heart palpitations too.
I've had all sorts of weird body and mind stuff happen to me.

I think that the mental health affects the physical health and the physical health affects the mental health.

-KittyKat