Can trauma cause bladder problems? A health psychologist reflects | How We Really Feel

It's really hard to heal a body that you hate or that feels like it's actively working against you. In this solo reflection following my conversation with Dr Lindsey McKernan and Saoirse Nash, I sit with what their stories and research reveal about trauma and the bladder. In one clinic, 42% of women presenting with interstitial cystitis or bladder pain syndrome met criteria for PTSD. But the more important finding is how past trauma and present stress interact and what that means for how we support the body now. What I reflect on: ✅ Which comes first - trauma or the pelvic condition - and why that's the wrong question ✅ How childhood trauma and recent stress combine to amplify pain and symptoms ✅ Allostatic load - the cumulative cost of never tending to what your body needs ✅ Why so many people with bladder and pelvic pain learn to push through until there's nothing left ✅ Moving from reacting to responding: gentle check-ins, not hypervigilance ✅ One question that softens self-expectation: would you ask this of a friend? This isn't about lowering your expectations of yourself. It's about softening how you respond to yourself and there's good evidence that when you do, your body starts processing things differently. This episode is made in partnership with Convatec Continence Care and their Me+ programme - a holistic emotional wellbeing programme for people using intermittent catheters. Find out more at www.howwereallyfeel.com/in-partnership-with-convatec 0:00 Trauma and the bladder: awareness and myths 2:00 The 42% finding: PTSD and bladder pain syndrome 3:35 Which comes first — trauma or the condition? 4:41 How past trauma and present stress interact 6:33 What stress does to the nervous and immune systems 8:23 Saoirse's story: bereavement, caring and symptoms 11:29 Healing a body you hate 12:32 The patient who never asked for leave 14:00 Self-subjugation and allostatic load 17:23 From reacting to responding 18:51 Gentle self-monitoring: where to start 21:10 Yoga and somatic ways back into the body 23:45 An invitation: take stock of what you're asking of your body 25:03 Seemira and final reflections 🎧 Listen to the full episode with Dr Lindsey McKernan and Saoirse Nash first if you haven't link in the show notes 📩 Mind body science mail: www.healthpsychologist.co.uk/subscribe 📸 Instagram: @the_health_psychologist_ 🎙️ Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | All major platforms 🌐 Show notes: www.howwereallyfeel.com