Physical Consequences of Historical Trauma

 

“What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night.

It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.

It is the shadow which runs across the grass

and loses itself in the sunset.”

Crowfoot

 

Many of us have paid a high price concerning our physical health resulting from the aftereffects of historical trauma. A multitude of Native American people are struggling with obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, and a whole host of physical maladies. According to a report filed by the Office of Minority Health in 2010, 16.3 in 100,000 Native Americans were diagnosed with diabetes compared to 7.6 per 100,000 people of other races.  In essence, they are diagnosed with diabetes at more than 2 times the national average. Many people are being treated for the physical symptoms that actually stem from historical and any other unresolved trauma.

            Before the arrival of the Europeans, medicine men and women provided for the medical and psycho-therapeutic needs of the villagers. After European contact, the tribal practitioners were dishonored and they lost their authority. The missionaries took on the role of providing medical care which resulted in the introduction of various contemporary forms of healing practices associated with a whole host of negative side effects.

Native Americans relied mainly on a high protein diet with the addition of berries and other plant life before the Europeans settled in this county. After the Europeans started settling in this country, the Indian people were introduced to and were forced to depend on a high carbohydrate regimen provided by the missions and trading posts during the fur trading years and then later on as a result of the implementation of reservations and boarding schools. The inadequate nutritional value of the newly introduced foods led to high levels of disease and was partially to blame for the extensive decrease in population. 

            Traditional foods served as symbols of ethnic identity and to some degree some foods still serve as pro-minent symbols of the diet of Native Americans. Tra-ditional foods in the United States have undergone a cultural and natural selection over time. The high carbo-hydrate diets are linked to specific diseases such as diabetes, kidney disease and insulin resistance.

            Other food sources were also introduced such a table salt, flour, and refined sugar. When a diet rich in protein is changed to a diet high in sugar and flour, the change also produces dental problems concerning dental caries and a narrow dental arch coupled with crowded, and crooked teeth. A diet in which salt is plentiful contributes to hyper-tension. Non-iodized salt diet can lead to goiter, enlarged thyroid glands and iodine deficiency. Iodine deficiency can lead to a multitude of neurological disorders.

            The Western diet of refined starch, sugar and fat, which is low in fiber, has been associated with many ail-ments including impaired cholesterol metabolism which leads to obesity, arteriosclerosis, coronary heart disease and gall bladder disease.  Lack of fiber can lead to large bowel vein problems and hemorrhoids.

            A multitude of Indian people are obese today. People who are plagued with obesity have higher rates of depression, negative body image, and low self-esteem. Because of the excess weight which collects around the airways, we can develop sleep apnea in which breathing stops periodically while we are sleeping. We can develop velvety patches on our necks and armpits which is a sign of obesity related problems such as diabetes.           

            Cholesterol can buildup and thicken artery walls, restricting blood flow and increasing our risk of heart disease and stroke. Excess fat can damage the pancreas’s ability to utilize insulin to control blood sugar which can lead to Type 2 diabetes. Obesity can lead to abnormally large organs and accumulated fat can weaken liver function similar to what heavy drinking of alcoholic beverages can do (Strand, 2005).

            Sustained high blood pressure, or hypertension, can impair our kidneys and lead to kidney failure. Native American people have been inflicted with intergenerational stress resulting in historical trauma. An outcome of this trauma has been the culmination of various serious health issues. For example, if a person is suffering from de-pression, a side effect of PTSD, is that person going to take care of his or her needs by eating right, getting enough sleep and exercising.   

The medical mindset still supports that highly dis-turbing stress such unemployment, discrimination, divorce or the death of a loved one serve as compelling sources of stress. Chronic daily stresses and the damaging effects of historical trauma are more harmful and are more likely to lead to long-term biological consequences.

Picture our bodies as if we are a rubber band. Chronic stress is continuously stretching the rubber band. Finally the rubber band was stretched so many times that the rubber becomes worn. After so many years of being stretched over and over again, the rubber band is becoming thinner and thinner. It may eventually break if it is too worn. Chronic stress can wear on us; emotionally, spiritually, physically, and intellectually. If we are under a lot of stress can we think clearly?  Are we more emotional? Are we tending to our spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical selves appropriately? 

            When we are under stress, stress is encountered in three stages.  First the stressful event affects us physically and/or emotionally and we may interpret the event as threa-tening. The second element involves how we process the experience and interpret its meaning. This involves the nervous system and the brain. The final stage includes the stress response, which consists of various physiological and behavioral reactions to the identified threat. As you see, the definition of the stressor is dependent on the processing system that designates meaning to it. Equally important is the personality and psychological state of the individual of whom the stressor is discharging upon. The intensity of the stress experience and its long-standing outcomes depend on many aspects unique to each individual. 

The stomach responds to emotionally arousing situations by exerting muscle contractions, blood flow changes and the secretion of organically active substances. Such brain-stomach incorporation is essential for survival. Large volumes of blood may need to be diverted from the intestines to the heart and to the muscles of the limbs at a moment’s notice. We need to be prepared for the flight or fight mode when something appears to be a threat. We can develop problems with our intestines such as irritable bowel syndrome and diverticulitis when are subjected to chronic stress.

            The health of our adrenal glands can make an impact on our overall health. Our adrenal glands are crucial to our health, mood, and entire well-being. Adrenal fatigue can cause problems such as high blood pressure, insulin resistance, digestive issues and a decline in our overall general well-being. These little grape size glands sit on top of our kidneys and are responsible for giving us those extra surges of the get-up-and-go we need to cope with uncommon challenges, new demands, and amplified levels of stress. The required vigor we need to handle these specific circumstances is referred to as the flight or fight response. When a major stressor occurs, our adrenal glands kick up the stress hormones, enabling us to cope with whatever added stress or emergency is occurring. When the crisis is over, the stress hormones subside and we are capable of returning to the relaxed state.    

            Our adrenals work all day by providing us with the surge of energy that wakes us up in the morning and provides the stimulating hormones keeping us awake and focused throughout the day. By night time the hormones secreted by our adrenal glands declines allowing us to fall asleep. That is how our adrenal glands are supposed to work. We were designed for our adrenal glands to only fire off the excess hormones during times of stress such as when we encounter a dinosaur or another opposing tribe fighting over resources.  These experiences were acute and not long lasting (Pick, 2001). 

Historical trauma is a different story. The effects of this form of trauma have been continuous and have occurred for over 500 years. Our bodies were not meant to endure the firing of our adrenals on a continuous basis. Studies have been conducted that address the effects of trauma endured by veterans of war and what this trauma has done to their offspring. This phenomenon is also referred to as intergenerational stress. Through extensive research it has been determined that the cells of the offspring are altered due to the stress suffered as a result of their parents and grandparents involvement in the ravages of war. Struggling to stay alive in extremely adverse con-ditions while killing the enemy can raise havoc on a person’s soul as well as their bodies. 

            Cells naturally go through a death process. It is referred to as apoptosis, the scientific term for the physiologically regulated death necessary for the main-tenance of healthy tissues. Apoptosis assures normal tissue turnover, replacing older cells with weakened genetic material, leaving room for healthier and more vigorous new cells. Our cells are essentially replaced on an ongoing basis. When this process is altered or disrupted this may cause many illnesses, including tumor production, auto-immune and immunodeficiency diseases, brain and nervous system disorders.

            Routine repression of emotion leaves an individual in chronic stress, and continuous stress creates an unnatural biochemical state of affairs in the body. Stress affects and compromises nearly every tissue in the body including the brain, pituitary gland, adrenal glands, kidneys, blood vessels, connective tissue, thyroid, liver, and white blood cells and we must include the interrelations between these organs and tissues. Also involved in the immediate alarm reaction to threats are the heart, lungs, skeletal muscles and the emotional centers of the brain (Mate’, 2003).

When a threat is occurring the body must focus on the threat ignoring all other stimuli including the person’s biological, spiritual, intellectual and emotional needs. When we are saddled with PTSD, which I believe is more readily occurring for Native American people than realized. Depression is a symptom of PTSD. When someone suffers from Depression they often have trouble meeting their physical needs such as addressing hunger and sleeping properly. They either sleep too much or they suffer from insomnia. Our bodies require sleep and sleep is a time for our body to repair itself and sleep also bolsters our immune system.  Lack of sleep, PTSD, depression, chronic abuse and repression of our emotions are some of the ways in which our physical health is compromised.

Various diseases have been linked to chronic stress such as multiple sclerosis, cancer, irritable bowel syn-drome, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Disease is not an outcome of external attacks but develops in a vulnerable host in whom the internal environment has become damaged. Historical trauma is a phenomenon Native American people have endured for centuries and can definitely be associated with chronic and injurious stress which in turn has caused a whole host of physical ailments.