Medical Trauma

There is a collective wound surfacing. It doesn’t affect everyone, but those who are experiencing this surfacing right now are suffering a lot because of it and they may not even know why they feel the way they do.

Medical trauma isn’t something that is new to me. It comes up a lot in my work as a doula. People’s past experiences with the medical system absolutely influence the choices that they make when they are thinking about their upcoming births.

We often only talk about evidence and making evidence based decisions (weighing the benefits and risks) but our past experiences influence our beliefs, our biases, who and what we trust, who and what we do not trust and the paths we take.

It wasn’t an accident that I became a holistic practitioner. I made this choice when I was still a teenager. Why? Part of my why had to do with the parents I have and how I was raised. We were healthy people that spent a lot of time outside in nature, eating a lot of whole foods and illness was very rare and when someone did get sick, we didn’t go to a doctor very often. I remember having antibiotics once in my childhood. Other than Buckley's (so gross), I don't even remember taking over the counter drugs. I never considered my family to be extreme by any means. I would say my mom and dad really trusted our immune systems and our country life probably contributed to our good health. Maybe we were lucky.

I started a couple of prescription medications in my early adult years. Antidepressants and birth control… oh and one course of antibiotics for strep throat that was actually mononucleosis, which is not treatable by antibiotics - but "finish the antibiotics anyway even though they’re making you really sick."

You know those side effects that the commercials list off that sound so terrible? I think the few prescription medications I’ve ever taken, I was always blessed with more side effects than benefit. Needless to say, I didn’t finish the antibiotics, I got myself off of the anti-depressants and I quit birth control and learned about fertility awareness method instead.

I didn’t realize how much those early experiences in childhood and very early adulthood would influence the path I would take in life. When I have visited doctor's they could rarely provide me with answers and there was never any followup. My first pregnancy lead me to my first actual medical trauma. My second pregnancy lead me to midwives and a homebirth.

What about you? Do you have a history of medical trauma? I have supported people after and during some very traumatic medical experiences.

Not enough people are talking about medical trauma today even though it’s so obviously up. It’s just one of the many factors that are influencing people’s choices right now and it’s a big one.

Whether you can relate to a person refusing a drug even if it means losing their job or not, that really speaks to what people believe in, and how big this is for them. Many people are experiencing medical trauma right now by doing something even though their being screams “No!” and what will the repercussions of that be? How will that affect us as a collective in the future?

Nobody shares your journey with you. Nobody knows your past, how past events influenced what you believe in or choose today. Even you might not fully understand your why, but that doesn’t make it unimportant.

Compassion is what we all need more of. Your journey shapes your beliefs, perspectives and choices just as someone else's unique journey shapes their beliefs, perspectives and choices. Whether medicine has saved your life and you've had wonderful experiences with doctors or you've been let down or even harmed by the medical system, that's the root of the discussion that is not happening. Everyone's experience is valid.

I am hosting a free online seminar on Tuesday, November 23rd at 1:30pm EDT on Medical Trauma. My intention is to hold space, provide energy healing support and increase our compassion for self and others. I'd love to see you there. Register