Are My Medical Conditions Linked?

The answer is, to some degree, both. The research connecting health outcomes to traumatic experiences (things like the ACEs study) have been around since the 80s. There is also a lot of data now in the realm of genetics about how trauma is stored in the DNA. You take into account how people can be traumatized on a macro level (like experiencing systemic racism, ableism, sexism, etc) and on a micro level (interpersonal abuse, violence, etc) and then compound that generation after generation... it makes sense that we would feel it physically. It's sort of like asking nature vs. nurture, the answer is it's a bit of both. We are in pain because we are traumatized and also traumatized because of the pain. Strongly recommend The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk to learn more, it's very comprehensive but it isn't super accessible (kinda reads like a textbook). If you want something a little easier to read, I would also recommend My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Mending of Our Bodies and Hearts by Resmaa Menakem. Hope this helps, friend 💖 Sending a lot of care and resilience.

@alis.aw agreed. It's not uncommon for trauma patients to experience chronic pain. Additionally, there is a very low percentage of autistic people who aren't traumatized because, even ignoring any intentional abuse, we live in a world not designed for us and are constantly being gaslit by society that our reactions are wrong. Your ED is likely a trauma response as well, and bpd is partially genetic, partially trained (acting as your caregiver acted), and partially trauma. Regarding your PCOS and endometriosis, I haven't done any research if those are linked, but it would make sense. And I know there are a lot of comorbidities with autism, like dysautonomia and mental illness, so those may overlap, but I'm unsure. 🤷‍♀️ The vaginismus is also usually at least in part a fear response, even if it's a subconscious one. So you're not wrong! If you're more interested, I Google my disorders together and see what studies pop up.

I’m not medically qualified but from personal experience, traumatic events and whichever personality disorders/neuroses come out of them have a severe impact on your physical health too 💕