When the Body Heals: Recovery From Relational Stress
Recently, I came across stories of two young people who experienced serious autoimmune disorders after suffering for years under an abusive, narcissistic parent. A young woman, who had been on crutches and even in a wheelchair for five years, saw her physical disability vanish within weeks after a court removed her abusive father’s visitation rights. Similarly, a young man had endured a many years long autoimmune illness that left him disabled. Within three months of his narcissistic father’s death, he recovered. Six months after his father’s passing, he is now employed full-time. These are striking examples, but they are not uncommon. In fact, similar stories exist, well documented in the literature, involving three key research areas: psychoneuroimmunology, the study of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and the growing body of clinical work on narcissistic abuse as a chronic traumatic stressor. The Body Keeps the Score: Somatic Responses to Relational Threat The psychiatrist and trauma researcher Bessel van der Kolk explained that unresolved threats, especially interpersonal threats from which escape is impossible, are stored not only in …
