Question for Ashok

[Nora]

Ashok,
First of all : thank you so much for your inspiring work!
I wonder about something that you probably have given answers to in your DVDs but hope you tolerate a question even if this is so...


I didn't contract a virus when I first became ill. I was having symptoms of stress; sleep-disturbances, dizziness and fatigue-like symptoms for a long time. I'm not quite sure where to draw the line of which I could say that AT THIS POINT I got ill. It sort of gradually developed into CFS. I only know that the first blow was after a period of exams and a lot of emotional stress in the same period where I found myself in bed for two weeks. But I recovered only to find that I didn't tolerate stress anymore.
The symptoms then were "On" and "off" for about a year and then I just went down with symptoms.

I wonder about the dynamics here. Is there any difference in the nature of it whether you've contracted a virus or you became ill more gradually? Why do the amygdala tolerate less and less stress(relapses that tend to get WORSE)?
My point(sorry): Why does the amygdala, after the body's been better for a while, suddenly interprets something(for instance work-outs or 2 glasses of wine) as dangerous?

The reason for asking is that I find it really hard to get to a point where I can trust that it's not a message from the body(I'm confused at the moment because of all the pacing-thing) and the smallest doubts about this are just hindering me to really trust in the process.
But I'm moving closer to believe that I can do it.




Nora

[Ashok Gupta]

Dear Nora

Thanks for your email. Yes, there are two types of onsets - one is when someone comes down with a virus, and others where there is a gradual onset without a virus necessarily. Both of these scenarios are compatible with my hypothesis, in that trauma in the amygdala to bodily sensations may also occur to the symptoms of chronic sympathetic stimulation themselves, as well as to symptoms of a virus.

Also, we can sometimes have viruses mildly without realising it, which can contribute to amygdala trauma, although I'm guessing here.

The amygdala can be gradually traumatised where it gradually ratchets up its level of sensitivity to the outside world....to the point at which it responds to any mental, emotional of physical stress with an over-reaction - chronic stimulation of the sympathetic system as well as aspects of the immune system.

From the sounds of it, you have had amygdala conditioning creep up on you, rather than there being a particular event which caused it. That's also normal it happens to around 20% of my patients.

Sudden reactions after a period of being well are difficult to explain. It could be that a unique set of circumstances can come together to put the amygdala on higher alert than usual, triggering a reaction, and then triggering a dip. It could be other stresses, mental, physical, emotional which come together to start off the cycles again.

In terms of thinking that these reactions are a message from the body, the way to actually look at it is that the subconscious can make mistakes when deciding what to react to - it becomes a learned reaction but it is not in keeping with the actual danger presented. Therefore it is about retraining the amygdala not to react in this way, whilst still pacing. I don't know which point in the programme you are at, but you break unconscious patterns about pacing, and then make calm rational pacing decisions at the end of the right path. This is the ideal combination.

I hope that answers your questions,

Kind regards
Ashok

[Nora]

Dear Ashok- thank you!


[i]Sudden reactions after a period of being well are difficult to explain. It could be that a unique set of circumstances can come together to put the amygdala on higher alert than usual, triggering a reaction, and then triggering a dip. It could be other stresses, mental, physical, emotional which come together to start off the cycles again[/i].

It was definetly a gradual onset, as you say. I felt stressed for a very long time and these syptoms WERE messages from the body, but I don't really think the symptoms now are making sense at all- it's just an overreaction.

When I bought your Amygdala Retraining Program I INSTANTLY knew when I watched your explanation that THIS IS WHAT I FEEL. Still the anxiety is hard to deal with because it sort of interrupts as I'm doing the process(the worse the symptoms the worse it is to work with it and it gets to me, but not always).

Do you think that it's only natural that I have to work harder to recover(and the 20% of people with this kind of onset) as there are more emotional and mental stuff going on? What is your experience with this?


I've read large parts of "The Emotional Brain"(interesting and beautiful book). Ledoux says that the projections from the Amygdala to the cortex are much stronger than the other way around. Well. I KNOW!!!


AGAIN: THANK YOU for your time and always kind and patient replies to people(I've read several of your posts)

Warm regards
Nora