When tests come back “normal” and fatigue will not lift, the trail often leads not only to viruses or immunity, but to trauma. PTSD and chronic stress act as systemic conditions: they alter stress hormones, keep inflammation smouldering, disrupt our cells’ mitochondrial energy production, and leave the autonomic nervous system stuck on high alert. We get symptoms from all of this, such as fatigue, aches, pains, sleep and appetite disruptions.
We know that people who report trauma are far more likely to develop functional somatic syndromes, including chronic fatigue. Studies now show ME/CFS, long Covid, PTSD and some autoimmune illnesses converging on shared immune, metabolic and stress-response circuits.
Body pains and tensions
This is the mind–body link in biological terms. Threat is not only remembered; it is embodied. Connective tissue, nerves and cells stay braced. Trauma affects the very fibre of your being—the fascia that wraps muscle and organ, the cellular networks that decide how energy is spent, the fibres of habit that keep the body scanning for danger long after the event has passed. Of course, this explains the muscle pains, exhaustion, and headaches and backache from muscular tension I commonly see in cases of long Covid and chronic fatigue.
Polyvagal theory helps explain the cause. After overwhelm, the vagus nerve may fail to restore a felt sense of safety; the system remains in fight, flight, or freeze, draining energy and amplifying pain and fog. I’ve spent much time training in the technique called “Somatic Experiencing”, one of the world’s leading trauma therapies. Somatic Experience works directly with those incomplete survival responses, helping the nervous system complete what was interrupted by trauma and return toward regulation.
There are many methods to help the physical symptoms associated with horrible conditions such as long COVID. I have seen rapid improvement in Brain fog, cognitive ability, energy, and exercise tolerance after just a few Energy Psychology sessions. Methods such as “Emotional Freedom Technique” can work quickly in cases like long COVID, even when the patient doesn’t realize trauma may be part of the issue; even if it’s only 10% of the overall condition, addressing it helps. Trials and meta-analyses report large reductions in PTSD symptoms, often in few sessions, with gains in sleep, anxiety, and some bodily complaints.
For illnesses with neither a tidy label nor a solution, the work is double. Investigate and eliminate physical causes, and then work on the trauma, PTSD, or any emotional triggers that may be part of the larger picture.
If you are suffering from any of these, or unexplained symptoms, please book here: https://drsusanjamieson.com/product/quantum-light-personal-transformation-session/