I deal with complex Potsdam myself, along with bipolar disorder. I struggle with chronic pain every day, particularly in my neck and back, and I deal with chronic, debilitating migraines. I take an all-around, holistic, integrative approach to my care. I wanted so bad, when I first started dealing with the migraines, not to have to use any medical treatments, as I already take Meds for the bipolar disorder. I changed my diet by eliminating foods I found to be triggering some migraines...but after eliminating over 60% of my diet and no change in the migraines I needed to figure something out. I looked into seeing a functional medicine doctor who had me on bio identical progesterone, and I started a dietary purification cleanse. That didn't help either. So I began seeing a neurologist, who tried me on all the standard medications for migraines. They all either didn't work, made things worse or I was allergic to them. After 1 1/2 years, I got in with a specialist and started getting Botox injections for the migraines. They have really helped.
Now, I say all this for a purpose. Once I started getting the Botox injections for the migraines and they got under some control, I was able to start EMDR therapy for the complex ptsd. (I lived daily at a pain level of 5 out of 10 constantly, and then when a migraine would hit, the pain would shoot up to 10+. I had a migraine every week of every month, usually lasting 3-5 days. My longest migraine was 2 weeks, with a consistent pain level above 8). During migraine auras I would hear horrible screaming and feel so tense and have what I know now are flashbacks to traumas in my past. But I wasn't able to connect the dots between the pain of my migraines and my traumas until I started EMDR. Once I started that, it all started to flood in, all the flashbacks, but with the buzzers in my hands I was able to keep calm and talk through it and cry and feel it and process it all with my therapist. Since then, whenever I start to have pain even in my neck or back (the other areas I have chronic pain), I breathe, close my eyes, and let myself feel any feelings, sensations, and emotions that may come up. 9 times out of 10, I have some kind of memory or emotion or feeling I start to process during that time. And as I just let myself, my body feel the stuff it needs to feel, I start to feel better.
Some helpful tips: After, and sometimes during this process, it is very helpful for me to journal...it helps me to get stuff out of my head and sorted out. Also, I do some regular self-help forms of energy balancing based off of ancient Japanese methods. Another thing I have found very helpful is seeing my chiropractor once a week for adjustments. Last, my most favorite and most helpful thing I do is taking time to center myself on my God and spend time praying to Him and allowing Him to fill me with His peace.

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