Trauma-Based Nervous System Dysregulation

[brenda]

I ran into this philosophical commentary from Jungian psychologist Dr. Jordon Peterson, earlier today. It seems pertinent to this discussion.

"
Advice- Confront the Memory

Reduce The Probability Of Catastrophe

The parts of your psyche that bring back memories of being humiliated, for example, are part of an alarm system. It is the same alarm system that tells you unexplored territory is dangerous. If the consequence of being in a particular social situation is that you are being humiliated and undermined, then you have not mapped out that situation very well. While there may be all kinds of reasons as to why that is the case, it does not matter so far as the alarm system is concerned because it is fixated on the fact that the situation is not good for you — and you are unable to forget that.

Often, traumatic memories are repetitive; people cannot get them out of their minds. But if you try to avoid them, you ignore the alarm system, which in turn only causes the alarm to go off more. That does not work. The proper antidote to the desire for unconsciousness in the face of the vicissitudes of life is a conscious willingness to advance in the face of tragedy and malevolence.

Instead, confront the memory. Ask yourself exactly what happened and exactly what part you played. Is there anything you could have done earlier or differently? If you allow yourself to make contact with the rough edges of the natural and social world, the probability is rather high that you can learn incrementally how to map the world and your actions in it; the probability is much reduced that you will be pathologically prone to catastrophe and betrayal."

Thanks Rufus, but some of his suggestions go against what modern traumatologists are teaching, and many who have suffered severe trauma, have amnesia over much of their childhoods, like me, where I only have snapshots and no continuing narrative.It is very important, when there has been severe trauma, to have tools in place for when one is retraumatized by flashbacks and going into dissociation.

I have learned to trust my mind bring forth the things that it can deal with and my therapist respects that.

It is true, that we need to confront the memories, when they come up, with a therapist when necessary.

Asking yourself what you could have done differently is a problem area when one is still beating oneself up about things. We need to know that we did the best we could under the circumstances with the resources at our disposal.

​ ​

 

[Gijs]

Hi Brenda, i jus wanted to say that i take people with a trauma very serious. I don't want you or other people feel offended by misunderstanding my first reply. Have a good day!

 

[brenda]

Hi Brenda, i jus wanted to say that i take people with a trauma very serious. I don't want you or other people feel offended by misunderstanding my first reply. Have a good day!

Perhaps you might enlarge on what you said and show you know the difference between cPTSD and PTSD thanks.

 

[Wayne]

Neuroinflammation and glial activation (seen in both chronic stress and ME/CFS) can impair brain function and increase pain sensitivity.

I just asked if this sentence could be expounded on, and got the following reply:

This sentence captures one of the core biological disruptions behind ME/CFS, Long COVID, chronic pain, and even stress-induced cognitive dysfunction. Here's what each part means:

---

What is Neuroinflammation?​

Neuroinflammation refers to inflammation within the central nervous system (CNS) — specifically the brain and spinal cord. Unlike systemic inflammation, this happens inside the blood-brain barrier and is driven largely by glial cells, not immune cells like white blood cells.

Neuroinflammation can be triggered by:

• Viral infections (e.g., EBV, COVID-19)
• Mold or environmental toxins
• Chronic psychological stress
• Traumatic brain injury
• Autoimmune processes
• Gut-brain axis disruption

---

What is Glial Activation?​

The CNS has two main types of glial cells relevant here:

1. Microglia– brain’s immune cells; when activated, they release:
   • Pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6)
   • Reactive oxygen species (ROS)
   • Glutamate (can cause excitotoxicity)
2. Astrocytes – help regulate neurotransmitters, blood flow, and synaptic function. Under stress, they can become reactive and worsen inflammation.

When these glial cells become chronically activated, they stay in an “on” state and begin harming neurons and synaptic function — especially in areas like the prefrontal cortex (thinking), thalamus (pain), and hippocampus (memory).

---

How This Impairs Brain Function​

Chronic glial activation can result in:

• Cognitive fog / poor word recall / slowed processing (due to synaptic disruption)
• Emotional instability / anxiety / low resilience (due to changes in neurotransmitter tone and HPA axis signaling)
• Sensory hypersensitivity (light, sound, touch)
• Sleep dysregulation (due to cytokine interference with circadian centers)

This is why many with ME/CFS or post-viral illness describe it as “brain on fire” — it literally is.

---

How This Increases Pain Sensitivity​

In chronic neuroinflammation, microglia can sensitize the central pain system in the spinal cord and brain — a phenomenon known as central sensitization. This leads to:

• Pain in the absence of injury
• Exaggerated pain from mild stimuli (e.g. touch, temperature)
• Muscle aches, migraines, nerve pain

This is the core of fibromyalgia, which often overlaps with ME/CFS.

---

What Helps?​

To calm neuroinflammation and glial activation, you want strategies that:

1. Reduce glial priming:
   • Low-dose naltrexone (LDN)
   • PEA (palmitoylethanolamide)
   • Honokiol, luteolin, curcumin, and resveratrol
   • Minocycline (in some experimental protocols)
2. Increase brain repair:
   • mHBOT (mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy)
   • Deep sleep and circadian regularity
   • Fasting or ketones (fuel shift to reduce oxidative stress)
   • Neuroplastic tools (like BrainHQ or gentle cognitive rehab)
3. Reduce external triggers:
   • Mold or chemical exposures
   • EMFs (for sensitive individuals)
   • Chronic psychological load (which can also prime glia)

 

[Rufous McKinney]

What Helps?

I think the response regarding What Helps is a bit limited. I assume it's a big universe of information out there.

For instance, given the response above from ChatGPT, I was thinking about Plasmalogens for glial cells (which I am now trying). I asked if they can help improve health.

Google AI answered me:

Yes, there is evidence suggesting that plasmalogens, particularly when targeted at glial cells, can improve health, especially in the context of neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive decline. Research indicates that plasmalogens can enhance brain health by promoting neurogenesis, reducing neuroinflammation, and improving cognitive function, including memory.

 

[Wayne]

I think the response regarding What Helps is a bit limited. I assume it's a big universe of information out there.

I think you make some very important points. It seems clear AI assistance is going to be limited if we're not creatively interactive with it. Whatever niche we're asking it about, it can expound in great detail, and then can delve deeper into a particular topic if requested.

But it's our responsibility to take our experiences, what we know, what we're curious about, etc., to fine tune our queries, and eventually get the information that's likely to be helpful for our own particular health situation and health treatment preferences.

Interesting you asked about plasmalogens. I would never have thought about that myself. I liked its response, and found it helpful. Given my long-time interest in DMSO and fasting, I asked it about that. Like usual, I liked its response.

Might DMSO topical application around the neck, head, and spinal cord areas be helpful? Might some sort of fast (full, partial, or intermittent) be helpful?​

​

ChatGPT said:​

Yes — both DMSO and fasting could plausibly help with neuroinflammation and glial activation, though both must be used carefully, especially in people with ME/CFS, Long COVID, or neurological hypersensitivity.​

Let’s break them down:​

---

1. DMSO (Dimethyl Sulfoxide) – Topical Application​

Mechanism of Action:​

• Potent anti-inflammatory: Inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1, TNF-α).
• Reduces oxidative stress: Scavenges free radicals and reactive oxygen species.
• Penetrates deeply: Transports small molecules across skin and into tissues — including into the CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) when applied near the spine or skull base.
• Neuroprotective: In some studies, DMSO protected neurons from glutamate excitotoxicity and ischemic injury.

Considerations:​

• Purity matters: Use only 99.9% pharmaceutical-grade DMSO. Industrial grades contain toxins.
• Carrier effects: DMSO carries anything on the skin into the bloodstream. Skin must be clean (no lotions, toxins, etc.).
• Irritation & smell: Can cause burning, itching, or garlic-like breath odor.
• Neck/Spine Use: Applying to upper neck, base of skull, and along the spine may support CSF circulation and reduce inflammation in the glia-rich spinal cord and brainstem.

Potential Benefit:​

For ME/CFS or neuroinflammatory conditions, topical DMSO might reduce:​

• Occipital or upper cervical inflammation
• Brain fog or head pressure (indirectly)
• Spinal cord glial activation or stiffness

Anecdotal & Limited Clinical Use in:​

• MS, traumatic brain injury, CRPS
• Spinal cord injuries
• Inflammatory nerve pain

---

2. Fasting (Full, Partial, or Intermittent)​

Mechanisms Helpful for Glial/Neuroinflammation:​

• Reduces microglial activation and shifts toward a repair phenotype
• Boosts ketones(esp. β-hydroxybutyrate), which:
  • Cross the blood-brain barrier
  • Suppress NLRP3 inflammasome activity (in glial cells)
  • Provide clean mitochondrial fuel
• Enhances autophagy, clearing out damaged mitochondria and proteins
• Promotes BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) — vital for repair and mood

Types of Fasts:​

Type​	Description​	Potential Benefit​	Caution​
Intermittent​	16:8 or 18:6 daily eating window​	Easiest entry, lowers insulin, some ketone production​	Less intense effect​
Partial Fast​	Reduced calories for 3–5 days (e.g. Fasting Mimicking Diet)​	Mild autophagy & stem cell activation, safer for ME/CFS​	Requires supervision​
Water-only Fast​	No food, just water for 24–72 hrs+​	Deepest glial reset and repair potential​	Risky in ME/CFS; electrolyte issues, crash potential​

​

Special Note for ME/CFS:​

• Many people with ME/CFS have low cortisol, poor electrolyte balance, or POTS — fasting can unmask or worsen symptoms unless carefully prepared.
• Use electrolyte support (e.g. LMNT, Redmond Re-Lyte) and possibly bone broth during a fast if sensitive.

---

Bottom Line:​

Intervention​	Might It Help Glial Activation?​	Best Use Case​	Caution​
Topical DMSO (neck/spine)​	Likely​	Local inflammation, brainstem issues​	Purity and skin safety critical​
Fasting (partial/intermittent)​	Yes, with care​	Brain fog, pain flares, mitochondrial reset​	Electrolytes, pacing required​

​

---

Would you like a sample protocol for trying DMSO topically or a gentle fasting routine that prioritizes brain support and safety for ME/CFS?

 

[southwestforests]

and many who have suffered severe trauma, have amnesia over much of their childhoods, like me, where I only have snapshots and no continuing narrative.

That only having snapshots includes me.
And was just a few days ago talking with a friend about there are only scattered memories from my childhood and early teens and just barely more from middle and late teens.
Huge, immense, gigantic, blank and empty voids in the memories of my life.

While I do not recall direct severe trauma, what might the following add up to ...?

A child born with a couple mild birth defects.
A child born with a not exactly up to spec immune system.
A child born autistic, high-functioning, but in 1963 there was no way to know that.
A child who every 2 years was ripped away from their places and their people because the Navy transferred their father to a different duty station.
A child born what the Meyers-Briggs personality type thing terms INFP, which is a very rare personality type, and doubly rare in males, but that was never known until after a couple decades of life -- all that was known was people of the majority personality types demanded the child be just like them but whenever that was attempted it hurt the child who they then went and punished for not being like them.

Okay, yeah, I now know what I'm working with, but knowing you are dealing with an overcooked dinner does not un-overcook it, the damage is already done, the consequences have already happened.
All you can do is cope with it.

Some times, like right now this very moment I really, REALLY, loathe and resent human culture and society, it is by definition twisted and destructive, downright sadistic actually.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

Given my long-time interest in DMSO and fasting, I asked it about that. Like usual, I liked its response.

thank you for Continuing to Ask helpful and informative questions.

I like how the info is summarized and presented. The bullets, the bolding etc. THIS means I can get through the info. Is that ChatGPT or is that you, @Wayne?

I vaporize inside paragraphs, abstracts and Sci Publications.


I've used my DMSO for transport, but I had not taken the time to read more about its other values, which I stumbled on one day.

This reminds me of THAT. THANK YOU.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

Huge, immense, gigantic, blank and empty voids in the memories of my life.

I experience almost the opposite problem. I remember huge amounts of my childhood, including the traumas.

I remember in great detail, many many things. I enjoy many of these memories. My older brother seems to recall virtually nothing, and I am the person who tells his stories, to him.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

A child born what the Meyers-Briggs personality type thing terms INFP, which is a very rare personality type, and doubly rare in males, but that was never known until after a couple decades of life -- all that was known was people of the majority personality types demanded the child be just like them but whenever that was attempted it hurt the child who they then went and punished for not being like them.

That we get through childhood is sort of a miracle, isn't it? I was always impressed by the story that in certain cultures, children were ignored. Only much later, might one be a human.

It is hard to be "not the dominate personality type". Im an INFJ or something else, considered far less common. The I is only due to THIS illness.

I was an E. I was very extroverted. I'm super sensitive yet not hiding in my back room.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

A child who every 2 years was ripped away from their places and their people because the Navy transferred their father to a different duty station.

That is also a hard one. That happened to my big brother. My father was constantly being transferred to a new place. My very shy brother only got more shy.

That experience also really messed up my Mom, who concluded it was pointless to ever have a friend.

It finally stopped, when I was 10 he stopped moving.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

I"ve got reasonably good DMSO

But it's been in a plastic bottle.

DARN IT

I feel that I must find a new bottle in glass, and get it to southern Mexico.

SIGH

 

[southwestforests]

That experience also really messed up my Mom, who concluded it was pointless to ever have a friend.

That's sad.
And it is understood.
Unsure how long it has been since I've last had an in-person actual friend as opposed to an acquaintance.

 

[southwestforests]

That we get through childhood is sort of a miracle, isn't it?

Indeed.
Among the memories I do have, are several times telling adults that what they are telling me to do, the way they are telling me to do it, is not going to work for me, my brain is different from theirs.

Typically the response went something like, "That's enough of that nonsense, your brain is not different, everybody's brain is the same."

To this day at 61 years old there are times I am no fan of adults, nor am I a fan of children; children are abusers and adults are both abusers and ignorant.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

Unsure how long it has been since I've last had an in-person actual friend as opposed to an acquaintance.

yeah, its rather brutal to consider.

Everybody is so busy. So they are ALL TIRED, it seems like. Or that works, for me to explain it.

My best friend plans her massive birthday party in MY COUNTRY? and didn't invite me? And then she felt guilty about not "also" visiting me, while in said country. Now, I understand how that sounds easy but actually isn't. But please, can I at least be invited?

That's sad.
And it is understood.

My parents were very active in their church. My mom even worked as an employee there. My Father was often helping others. And then the day came they needed help, nobody was there.

My poor Mom was really not pleased about how any of that turned out, either.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

Typically the response went something like, "That's enough of that nonsense, your brain is not different, everybody's brain is the same."

wow, that would be a hard response to swallow. I'm sorry you had to hear such invalidation.

I find other people to be really fascinating. And I can handle being near one, for only a few minutes at a time.

Because other humans are the strangest things that exist in the universe.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

Everybody is so busy. So they are ALL TIRED, it seems like. Or that works, for me to explain it.

This is how I decided I would NOT write the novel, and that would be OK.

Because since I can' t really read paragraphs, or a series of them, leading to a, oh Chapter....I decided nobody else reads anything really anymore either.

 

[southwestforests]

I decided nobody else reads anything really anymore either.

Brings to mind after lunch today when I went over to apartment laundry room to do 2 loads.
Was busy for our 4 washers and 4 dryers.
I did my standard thing of taking some entertainment, and snacks, to pass the time there instead of running back and forth to apartment like someone younger and/or healthier might.
Prime among that entertainment was the 1951 spaceflight book Tom gave me at writers group Saturday.

After a bit there came an elderly black gal I didn't know.
She had 2 loads, and a book, and a snack.
We visited for a bit then went back to reading.

So we 2 grey hairs sat there with our books and snacks while the young whippersnappers ran in and out.

And it was fun.