By Katy Reid, LPC

Navigating complex, chronic illness is a uniquely stressful situation for both patients and their caregivers.

I dealt with this myself starting at age 16, when a myriad of tick-borne diseases created a slow, physical, decline until I was bedridden. My parents worked diligently to help me get answers, but it took several years to be diagnosed accurately.

During that time of uncertainty, the medical professionals I encountered often encouraged stress management as the solution to my many symptoms.

This overt dismissal of my physical experience not only delayed appropriate medical treatment but instilled in me a belief that focusing on stress management or psychological treatment was acquiescing to the idea that this was “in my head.”

The suggested practices were often impractical and insensitive. I didn’t have the energy to start yoga and a bubble bath wasn’t going to remedy the daily onslaught of difficulties.

Even after I was finally diagnosed, however, my healing journey wasn’t linear. I continued to experience crushing stress, both as a patient and as a member of a family attempting to cope with their lives being upended.

Now, 20 years since my first symptoms began, I have a better understanding of how that kind of stress affects the immune system and healing–and how important it is to address it appropriately.

Stress and the amygdala

Any type of stress activates our brain’s amygdala. Under normal circumstances, the body and brain will eventually return to homeostasis—a state of equilibrium.

However, each time the amygdala enters a high state of stress-related activation, it sets off a chain reaction within the brain and body that is deeply impactful, such as unleashing a cascade of stress hormones.

Over time, this reduces the body’s ability to fight infections and manage inflammation. From a mental health perspective, an over-activated amygdala can also contribute to the development of additional disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

It is critical that patients navigating these complex, chronic illnesses not only have appropriate and affirming medical care, but they also need access to complementary psychological treatment protocols.

This requires an approach that helps mitigate the impact of stress, delivered with flexibility to the physical and psychological presentations of complex disease processes.

It also is crucial to emphasize that psychological stress reactions are not “just mental.” They are the body’s self-protective reactions when physical illness compromises health.

Psychological programs for people dealing with chronic illness partner with medical treatments by showing how the mind and body together can turn down the amygdala so that it no longer is an over-active alarm that amplifies the chronic stress caused by physical illness.

TARGETing trauma

I am passionate about making this available for every patient. I became a licensed professional counselor, ran a support group for young adults navigating tick-borne disease, and have worked in the field of mental health evidence-based practice dissemination for the last ten years. Through these ventures, I have seen first-hand how a present-centered PTSD therapeutic intervention meets the needs of this unique clientele.

T.A.R.G.E.T (Trauma Affect Regulation: Guide for Education and Therapy) was developed by Julian Ford, PhD, a Professor at the University of Connecticut Health Center.

The program  helps patients learn self-regulation skills that re-set the alarm in the brain.

T.A.R.G.E.T teaches a sequence of practical skills to enable users to shift from being in a chronic alarm state to regaining healthy control of their body’s reactions and health. Over the last 30 years, T.A.R.G.E.T has acquired an extensive evidence base as an effective treatment for Complex PTSD.

In partnership with Dr. Ford and his wife Judith Ford, I have developed a new Health on T.A.R.G.E.T. program to specifically address the stress challenges impeding the progress of patients suffering from chronic diseases such as tick-borne illness, as well as their caregivers.

Re-setting the alarm system

Health on T.A.R.G.E.T provides a practical guide to understanding how four essential areas in the brain react to physical illness as a form of stress. It helps the patient re-set the body’s alarm system by tapping into the power of the brain’s higher-order centers that regulate bodily pain and health as well as our emotions.

Resetting the alarm in the brain is an essential, but too often overlooked, way to manage pain and restore bodily health. When the brain’s alarm center over-reacts, it can hijack the brain and trigger chronic pain, inflammation, and auto-immune responses that cause chronic suffering and undermine bodily health.

We hope this protocol will provide relief to the many individuals currently experiencing the difficulties of chronic illness. Training and consultation are anticipated to be available to licensed mental health professionals beginning early 2024.

For more information please visit www.atspro.org or e-mail support@advancedtrauma.com.