3 Things To Know About Trauma & Thyroid Connection

Yes, the trauma & thyroid connection is real. Until very recently the term trauma was reserved for those huge, life-shattering events. For war veterans, victims of abuse, and disaster survivors. It almost felt inappropriate to use it for our “not-so-serious” issues. If anything, we would jokingly say, “Well that was traumatising!” not realising that, in fact, most, if not all of us, have experienced trauma and very likely still carry it with us every day. But what does it have to do with your thyroid you ask?

Well, to answer this question, we need to first look at the new definition of trauma…

“Trauma is not what happens to you. Trauma is what happens inside you, as a result of what happens to you.”

– Gabor Maté

Which means it’s not about the event itself and its objective severity. It’s about what happens to your body (and mind) as a result.

So even if that particular thing is a no biggie for someone else, if you found it OVERWHELMING to your mind and/or body, you have the right to call it trauma. Especially if it occurs without a strong support system and when we didn’t prioritise processing and releasing accompanying emotions.

For instance, having an emotionally unavailable parent or a bad breakup, can be deeply traumatic and have a lasting damaging effect on your nervous system and emotional health. Some trauma experts call it big and small T trauma, depending on the more objective severity of the event, but both types are equally valid and can leave a very similar mark.

3 Things To Know Trauma & Thyroid Connection

1. Trauma as a root cause of your thyroid condition

Psychological and physiological trauma is a trigger for developing a thyroid disorder for most of us (esp. of autoimmune origin like Hashimoto’s which accounts for 90% of hypothyroidism cases). This is backed up by research but also, by what I see in my practice every day, speaking to hundreds of thyroid patients.

If you had a generic pre-disposition towards a thyroid condition, an event or a series of events that had left you feeling overwhelmed and hopeless – this could have switched on that gene and triggered the condition.

What is important to understand is that psychological distress affects us physiologically. Childhood trauma and subsequent nervous system dysregulation could have led to imbalances in your gut microbiome affecting your immunity and inflammation from a very early age.

What are some examples of those negative events?

This events can literally be anything and is very specific to you and your threshold for overwhelm. That could be something that happened in childhood, but also a particularly overwhelming period at work, relationship trouble, or difficult labour … It will be different for all of us.

What could it have been for you?

2. Trauma as a result of a thyroid disorder

‘Your results are normal’.

‘Your symptoms are probably linked to something else than your thyroid?’

‘But you don’t look sick. Just exercise more and you’ll feel better’

How often do we hear that? Sound familiar?

Well, I don’t know about you but that screams hopelessness to me. We have been tirelessly looking for a solution? Zero support or compassion from your doctor? People around just not getting it, thinking you’re lazy or making it up? Being bombarded with conflicting advice and promises of a ’cure’? This is overwhelming!! and I lived it for years.

So I propose an idea that due to the lasting effect of emotional trauma caused by the thyroid experience we all share (and possibly rooted in trauma that caused it in the first place), our body struggles with true healing.

We get stuck in a trauma response – fight or flight, freeze or fawn (people pleasing anyone?) and continue acting from that place. Constantly on high alert, frozen, exhausted, unable to act. Our energy levels suffer as do our emotional wellness, immunity, digestion, the list goes on…

Unless we address the dysregulation in our nervous system, the stress trapped in our bodies and the energetic blockages, true healing will forever be hindered. I have lived it myself and I see it again and again with my clients.

The good news is that you already have everything you need to access the transformation. You already have everything you need to heal.

Your body holds all the answers.

3. Our bodies are fully capable of healing. Our bodies WANT TO HEAL!

Here are some excellent techniques to kick-start the process:

Daily regulating morning and evening routines
Short breathing exercises with focus on longer exhales.
Emotion Release Meridian therapies (I use this modality in my practice with great success)
Massage and other body therapies
Acupuncture and acupressure
Dancing and shaking
Yoga and QiGong
EMDR
Sound healing
Cold water therapy

And many more!

I am mindful that reading this post about trauma & thyroid connection may have moved some emotions within you. Be gentle with yourself and take things slowly. If you’re looking for support addressing both the physiological and emotional root cause of your thyroid condition, take a look at THRIVE, my 121 thyroid healing programme.

Heaps of love!