When the Body Says No, Ch. 13-15

Who was Rachel?

A Jewish woman, who had a nuclear family

What condition did Rachel have?

First flare of rheumatoid arthritis following re-enactment of childhood trauma

What hidden stressors did Rachel have? (4)

• Problems at birth, forcing her to undergo lengthy hospitalization & invasive medical procedures

• Parental separation before birth

• Conflict with older brother

• Father favored her brother

What was Dr. Mate’s assessment of Rachel & what does it tell us? (8)

• Repressed anger led to disordered immunity

• Serving the needs of others before considering one’s own

• Immune system gets confused if the self cannot differentiate

• Had an expectation that she will be abandoned

• Only some aspects of childhood experiences are available to conscious retrieval

• Emotionally unsatisfying child-parent interaction is a recoccuring theme

• Biology of potential illness arises early in life

• Tactile contact is the newborn’s earliest experience in the world

Who was Joyce?

44 year-old professor of applied linguistics for over a decade (also had a nucelar family)

What hidden stressors did Joyce have? (4)

• Only female faculty member for years

• Anger surrounding her childhood

• Family tension related to father lashing out

• Brother’s emotional attack triggered her

What was Dr. Mate’s assessment of Joyce + what does it tell us? (4)

• Chronic emotional stress

• Highly emotional children pick up subconscious cues from the environment

• Said “I never felt safe”

• Positive social relationships involved in modulating stress

Who was Caitlin?

42 year-old women with 4 children with her husband, described as cheerful and welcoming (parents were still together)

What conditions did Caitlin have?

Diagnosed with scleroderma and died less than a year after her diagnosis

What hidden stressors did Caitlin have? (5)

• Father was harsh & highly critical

• Not emotionally close with her mother, who was not very loving

• Family lied about grandfather dying

• Rejection from the family business

• “Multigenerational nature of suffering”

What was Dr. Mate’s assessment of Joyce? (3)

• Concern for everyone but herself

• ‘Bottled up a lot of emotion”, rarely spoke of her illness or her childhood

• Little emotional support and love in the family