Intro [0:00]
Hello my dears! My name is Johanna, and I welcome you to the Johanna Draconis - The Deconstruction Of C-PTSD podcast.
In this episode we will talk about how the mind can affect the body - and the other way around. Being mentally unwell can make you sick - as in you need to go to a regular doctor. This is known as psychosomatic and very relevant to PTSD.
So let us talk about it.

Prelude [0:32]
If you keep getting sick or have this weird illness that just won’t go away, then that might be related to PTSD. I can confirm the same - the issues I had disappeared one by one during my healing progress. After years and years of riddling doctors and everyone basically.
It turns out the answer was psychosomatic. The field of psychosomatic is huge - so we will once again limit it to PTSD. The word is set together from the Old Greek words psyche and soma - which translates to body. Which perfectly summaries the topic.
It’s about your psychological and physical side interacting with each other and how they influence each other. Your mind can’t be well if your body isn’t well and your body can’t be well if your mind isn’t well. I’m sure when you were sick - you likely didn’t feel very great.
Same with going through a rough time mentally will make your body not feel particularly great either. And, as you likely have guessed, this also of course includes PTSD and all the side effects it can have on your body and wellbeing.
We first talk about how does it work, then how far does it go, then stress and then benefits.

How does it work? [2:00]
Now you’re likely wondering, how does it work? And the answer is - we don’t really know. A big problem of sciences is the psyche or mind, because the body can operate completely on its own and there is no need or place for a mind. It’s a complete system on its own.
There a few sciences for that reason that don’t believe that there is a mind and that it is only chemical processes and nothing more. But here is the issue: We CAN measure the impact and the effect of the mind. I think therapy is a good example for it.
We can’t find it for certain, but we can measure its effects. This is known as the Mind-body problem. People are still trying to solve it and finding answers. The brain really is the frontier of the sciences revolving around living beings. At least in my opinion.
This also includes emotions and trauma and how much does one effect the one or the other. Who is in control? What causes what? Who influences what? So many questions we are trying to find an answer to. We likely will - especially with brain scans, etc.
For now all we know is that there is a strong connection between how we feel mentally and physically.

How far does it go? [3:31]
Now you might wonder - how far does it go? The answer is of course based on assumptions again, because we don’t really know. But the answer is likely to the bitter end. There are many hints that a severe state of mind can cause the body to die - and I mean literally.
One good example is the broken heart syndrome - when you suffer such a severe emotional reaction that your heart is literally physically damaged. If you ever strongly mourned - you might have also noticed your body responding very different than usual.
There is the question of - are you depressed because your mind is unwell or because of a chemical imbalance in your brain? Or maybe one time it is the one thing and sometimes the other? Or both? The brain is still a huge mystery on so many levels.
That is why psychological medication is sometimes a “let it hit the wall and see what sticks” approach, because often it is very educated guesswork. Of course, we get better and our understanding is growing every year as we learn more and more.
And we don’t really have an alternative often - so it is what it is. But the future is very likely going to look a lot better in that regard.

Stress [4:56]
What we DO know is one of the best and strongest indicator - which is stress. Stress causes a lot of issues for the body - from blood pressure, heart rate, stomach issues, sexual issues, muscles issues and so much more. Almost anything basically.
But the most important one in our context is the immune system - which studies have shown is strongly affected by stress. It can cripple your immune system and make you prone to get almost any sickness - usually colds - that flies through the air.
It might surprise you, but there are a LOT of illnesses flying through the air right now and you constantly breathing in, but our immune system is keeping them at bay - it’s constantly busy basically. Now if we talk about stress, we don’t talk about time stress.
We talk about the psychological stress. It can be the result of constant pressure, a lot on your plate, swiftly changing circumstances or whatever causes you to be stressed out. Sometimes that is unavoidable and sometimes we can work on the effect it has on us.
That’s a topic on and of itself. But stress really shows easily how our state of mind can effect our body and can lead to permanent damages.

Benefits [6:26]
The good news is, that there are also benefits. We can improve our healing and body with positive influence and stimuli. One of the things that were found, that a positive attitude from your doctor has a positive influence on your healing prospects.
That is also the reason why placebos work - the mind influencing the body in a positive way. On a completely different note, the military and especially the special forces - use the mind over body to get the abilities to do what they do and go further than most can.
Also one of the reasons a more positive and less stressful life helps with the healing process. A virtuous circle vs a viscous one - once again. That is also the reason why it is so important to have a positive environment - which doesn’t mean yes men.
It means having people around you that want the best for your and bring out the best in you. Where success is celebrated and encouraged - and not just with words but with the actions and attitudes to match it. And a beautiful environment can make you feel better.
Or at least something nice to look at. Sometimes it can’t be helped, but if we manage to have a positive outlook then we help our health and our healing progress. It’s just how life is - all we can do is make the best of it.

Outro [8:01]
That was it for todays episode, I hope you found it helpful and that you are safe and well. And as always, if you have any questions or feedback and the like, please let me know at contactme@johannadraconis.com.
More information and transcript you can find as usually under johannadraconis.com and links are in the description. You can also find me under @johannadraconis on Youtube, twitter and instagram.
I hope to see you next time. Watch yourselves and have a wonderful time.