Childhood Abuse, Stress, Depression and Anxiety
Many disregulated eaters recognize
that they’re set off by stress and distress more than other people seem to be. A
major reason for hyper-sensitivity is disregulation of brain chemistry due to
childhood abuse or neglect. For those of you who’ve suffered this way, understanding
the cause of your hyper-sensitivity will help you be more compassionate toward
yourself for not always managing your food urges as well as you'd like to.
“Suicidal threads” by Laura Sanders (Science News 11/3/12) explains how childhood
abuse—emotional/physical/sexual—affects the developing brain and is a risk
factor for suicide. “Neuroscientists and psychologists now believe that
childhood trauma, including violence and neglect, sears itself into the brain
in ways that can have devastating effects later”…” and “may throw off-kilter
the hardware responsible for the brain’s response to stress.” Sanders goes on
to say that, “due to childhood abuse and resultant stress, there may be
problems with a protein called the glucocorticoid receptor that decides when
the body’s stress system has produced enough of the stress-signaling hormone
cortisol and helps shut that system down. Without enough of this receptor, the
body and brain can’t reset after a stressful event.”
This dynamic matches up with what
I’ve seen clinically, and explains why many of you turn to food. When you’re distressed,
that is, emotionally disregulated, you have great difficulty ...
Source: Normal Eating - Category: Eating Disorders Authors: eatnormalnow Source Type: blogs
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