Posted , 7 users are following.
I understand that stress can bring aggrevate the symptoms of HS and I wondered if stress early on in life could be a cause of it, So, doing a bit of detective work myself, do any "sufferers remember or know that they did have a very stressful time early on in life,
1 like, 16 replies
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jay13548 Valerie19955
Posted
When I was 15 my dad died and my mum was in a coma. I'm had to grow up fast and it caused a lot of stress. I'm now 20
hypercat Valerie19955
Posted
Interesting post this. I have suffered a lot from stress all my life and find it very hard to deal with. I also had severe acne in my teens. I guess as HS is an autoimminue disease stress might well play a major part in it.
I found when I was working and stressed I got a lot more outbreaks. Now I am retired and don't have to work it has virtually stopped. Stress is always a big trigger for me. x
jay67962 hypercat
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hypercat jay67962
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jay67962 Valerie19955
Posted
This is interesting. i started getting HS in my early 30's, and I can honestly say I've had a very stressful life. my adult and working life has been very stressful, however I had a very unhappy childhood too, and I think that the stress response, and living with it, was something that just carried on into my adult life - like being stressed and "surviving" was the only way I knew of living.
?It would be very interesting to see if other sufferers have had early stress events. We know that the body's physical response to stress is to be flooded with the stress hormones and that too much of this can cause a lot of problems and illnesses, so it's quite possible it could trigger something like HS.
hypercat jay67962
Posted
This could have been me writing this Jay. I too had an unhappy childhood and only knew stress and survival. I think stress does cause many physical problems and maybe for people with a 'weakness' in one part of the body will develop physical symptoms.
I know my dodgy sebacious glands caused my acne and stress could have made this worse by developing HS. x
jay67962 hypercat
Posted
Hi Hypercat. i really agree with what you say. Going off the thread, I know my childhood, and the way I learned to survive emotionally, have really affected me as an adult in the way I live. The way I respond (or don't respond) to people and situations, my constant feelings of being stressed even when there's not much happening, constant anxiety and always looking for that elusive "something that's missing".
So it makes sense that if it has affected me emotionally/mentally, then it's likely there have been physical effects too. I also have under-active thyroid, another auto-immune problem.
hypercat jay67962
Posted
Me too Jay, I get stressed very easily and even CBT didn't help at all. I have been depressed from the age of around 7/8. I was always a very happy bouncy childl when very young but I remember feeling like I had a huge stone weighing me down when I got a bit older. I can't remember much of my childhood past around 7/8 years old and it's interesting I got acne around the age of 11. I never wondered before if they could have been related. Mind you I didn't get HS until my mid 40's, so maybe not?
As far as I know I don't have any other autoimmune diseases though and I am grateful for that. Got me thinking now... x
jay67962 hypercat
Posted
That's sad, it's hard to think of a young child being depressed. I had a very abusive childhood and I try to not dwell on it too much, I know I was always aware of just watching and waiting for the next bad thing to happen, and each time it did, trying to deal with the terrible feelings that accompanied it. I remember always wanting to be grown up so I could get away. If only it were that simple!
I started getting HS in my early 30's; looking back, it started after I put on a lot of weight during one year. I've always thought the problem was probably there lurking in my system, and maybe the big weight gain was the trigger that brought it out.
?But I did have a very unhappy childhood and I do think it's possible there is a link between stress and HS.
Valerie19955 jay67962
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jay67962 Valerie19955
Posted
I did a reply earlier today but it is being "moderated". I wasn't aware I'd said anything contentious, but obviously did!
?I had a wretched childhood, and I now know that I was in a permanent state of fight or flight, or more accurately i was in a permanent state of "freeze" because that's all I was capable of. Fighting wasn't an option, nor was flight, so I did the other option, that of freezing. But whatever anyone wants to call it, I was never able to relax or drop my guard, so my body was constantly flooded with stress hormones.
I think this is a really interesting line of discussion.
c02819 Valerie19955
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HSmeg Valerie19955
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I've had anxiety and panic disorder since I was 3. I'm 33 now.
Voidrunner Valerie19955
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hypercat Voidrunner
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Valerie19955 Voidrunner
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I do think everyone is different, some are affected more quickly whilst others dont for some years, the degree of "tunneling" could also mbe different in different people.