Laatst bewerkt: 21 februari 2026

Laatst bewerkt: 8 juni 2025 (referentie toegevoegd)

Somatically explainable complaints after years of abuse and torture trauma

APA referentie:
Van Stratum, L. C. (2025). Let op je lijf!!! Somatisch verklaarbare klachten na jarenlang misbruik en marteling
Geraadpleegd op (datum), van https://eendeelvanjezelf.nl/behandelstrategieen-bij-dis-lau-s-methode-/let-op-je-lijf-/

Don't be like me... For years I thought: "Yes, I do have pain every day, I have loss of strength in my arms and legs, I have great difficulty eating and drinking, I'm exhausted every day, I have tremors, I easily see double, and I can't stand for long or I'll collapse. BUT, I have DID and a very serious traumatic past. SO it's probably psychosomatic, or stress." And the doctors I spoke with agreed with me: "Indeed, you have PTSD, so..." 
But a lifetime of trauma and extreme forms of sexual abuse is not something a body is built to endure. So the following somatic complaints could be a logical consequence: - Autoimmune diseases (chronic inflammation) - Hypermobility - Chronic pain - A dysregulated autonomic nervous system (dysautonomia) - Cardiovascular problems - Gastrointestinal problems - Neurological complaints (especially if torture with electricity has occurred) - Gynecological complaints. 
Systemic complaints that don't necessarily have to come from blood tests or vital signs measurements because the body has become so accustomed to having to compensate for vital functions for years (Bobba-Alves et al., 2022). A body (in development) that has been tortured and abused for years is almost bound to develop somatic complaints as a result. Please take yourself seriously. Even if you're sent away by doctors under the guise of "stress." Because "stress" can be more destructive to your body than you'd like. As a notorious doctor-avoider, I only sounded the alarm when my physical symptoms were a page long... DON'T DO IT!! I should have sounded the alarm much sooner than I did. I had to recover a long time from my very disregulated body. Because I didn't want to admit I was so ill because I didn't want to let go of my future. But something you deny doesn't disappear. Only when you start listening to your body can it create a space and oppurtunity to heal that you might not have expected at all.

References: 
Bobba-Alves, N., Juster, R., & Picard, M. (2022). The energetic cost of allostasis and allostatic load. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 146, 105951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105951

 

About the author 
Lauren C. van Stratum is a Dutch psychologist in training for a master's degree and an expert by experience in the areas of complex dissociation, profound giftedness, chronic illness, and gender dysphoria. Based on personal experience with early childhood and long-term sexual trauma, he developed a methodological approach that combines clinical and in-depth experiential knowledge. His work lies at the intersection of trauma processing, body awareness, identity, and consciousness development, with a special focus on methodology development based on practical experience. He also researches innovative concepts such as "interdynamiality," which extend beyond traditional frameworks and offer new perspectives on human consciousness and self-development.

©Authorsright. All rights reserved to Lauren C. van Stratum.

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