Podcasts about Aimie

Your labs confirmed the autoimmune diagnosis. The hardest symptom turned out to be the one nobody prepared you for. Dr. Aimie goes solo on depression and autoimmunity, and which one actually comes first. The answer is less orderly than the one most people are given, and it changes what to do about it. ➡️ Full show notes and research: CLICK HERE Most people are told depression is a reasonable response to being ill. Dr. Aimie interrupts that conclusion with what the research shows: each condition carries close to double the risk of the other, depression turns up in the two years before a diagnosis is made, and roughly a quarter of the link between early adversity and autoimmune disease appears to travel through mental health on the way. She also walks through why this depression rarely feels like sadness, and why the medication may have underperformed. She was on two of them herself, and the hardest part was not the depression. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: 0:00 The hardest symptom of an autoimmune diagnosis 02:41 — Why is depression treated as the reasonable response to a diagnosis? 04:49 — What does double the risk actually mean for you? 07:58 — What is a dose-response pattern and why does it matter? 09:45 — Where does the childhood adversity evidence stop? 12:19 — What does it mean that depression mediates part of the link? 13:54 — What happens when your cells stop responding to cortisol? 15:55 — Why does this feel like the flu rather than sadness? 20:48 — Why has working on your thoughts not moved it? 22:55 — Why do antidepressants underperform here? 24:54 — What does the infliximab trial actually prove? 28:48 — Where do you start when both are running? "Depression is part of the road from I was healthy to I now have an autoimmune diagnosis." — Dr. Aimie Apigian If the antidepressant did not do much and you quietly concluded something was wrong with you, this episode is for you. RESOURCES: Take the FREE 2-Minute Assessment for Discovering Your Pattern of Stored Trauma: You cannot change a pattern you cannot see. Find your primary pattern of responding when life becomes too much, then see how the other four show up. Get The Biology of Trauma: Disease is one of the five patterns of stored trauma. Nothing in this episode is a recommendation to change or stop a medication. Talk to the prescriber who knows your history. This episode is educational and is not medical advice. Please work with your own qualified healthcare provider for decisions about your care.

Time doesn't heal trauma. The damage accumulates until your body pays the price.Dr. Aimie Apigian is a Preventive and Addiction Medicine physician and bestselling author of The Biology of Trauma. Her path in this work involved a failed adoption and an autoimmune diagnosis.We talk about why fear stored in the body creates the sickness you're trying to biohack your way out of. Aimie breaks down the difference between suppression and repression, and why the latter costs you more physically. It turns out the reason cognitive approaches keep failing addicts and high performers alike has to do with what happens in the nervous system before we form our first thoughts..Finally, Dr. Aimie breaks down the five core skills of self-regulation every human needs to know.If you've been chasing supplements, protocols, and cold plunges hoping something will work, this conversation might just shift what you try.Join the Seven-Day Guided Somatic Healing for Stored Emotions course at lukestorey.com/somatichealingVisit lukestorey.com/calm to join the 21-Day Journey to Calm Aliveness course. Use code LUKE200 to save $200. You'll learn:[0:00] Introduction[7:05] The core abandonment wound shared by so many people in recovery[14:47] Suppression and repression damage your health in different ways[25:18] Mind, body, spirit, and biology, the fourth layer most healing models miss [31:17] Healing your nervous system requires energy you may not have[49:47] The difference between everyday stress and stored trauma[57:10] Turning every coping mechanism into a tool by asking one question[1:06:16] The five core skills every human needs to become resilient[1:13:02] Detoxing addicts kept relapsing until she taught them to feel safe[1:20:01] The missing body piece in the 12 Steps and why plant medicine reached deeper[1:27:45] Three teachers who shaped her work, from Tian Dayton to Gabor Maté to Jeffrey BlandResources Mentioned:Attachment Parenting | WikipediaRead: A Horse Named Lonesome: Tales and Teachings to Reclaim Connection, Transcend Separation, and Discover the Divine Within by Luke Storey | BookCal Callahan, The Great Unlearn | WebsiteTian Dayton, Relational Trauma Repair | WebsiteRead: Emotional Sobriety: From Relationship Trauma to Resilience and Balance by Tian Dayton | BookDr. Gabor Maté | WebsiteRead: When the Body Says No: Exploring the Stress-Disease Connection by Gabor Mate M.D. | BookDr. Jeffrey Bland | WebsiteThe Institute for Functional Medicine | WebsiteRead: The Language of the Heart: Bill W's Grapevine Writings by Bill W. | BookFull show notes at lukestorey.com/draimieRelated The Life Stylist Episodes:Dr. Gabor Maté: Breaking the Epidemic Cycle of Trauma & Addiction To Find True Healing & Liberation | Podcast Find more from Dr. Aimie:Dr. Aimie Apigian | Website | Instagram | Facebook | X | TikTok | YouTubeRead: The Biology of Trauma: How the Body Holds Fear, Pain, and Overwhelm, and How to Heal It by Dr. Aimee Apigian here.Find more from Luke:Luke Storey | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube | LinkedInThe Life Stylist is Brought To You By:ACTIVATION PRODUCTS | Visit activationproducts.com/luke and use code LUKE for 15% off your order.BIOPTIMIZERS | Visit bioptimizers.com/luke and use code LUKE15 to save 15% off sitewide. Plus, get a free bottle of MassZymes while supplies last.LEELA QUANTUM | Go to lukestorey.com/leelaq and use code LUKE10 for 10% off your first order.NUCALM | Visit lukestorey.com/nucalm to start your free seven-day trial and save 15% on your subscription.

Most trauma has a place you can avoid. Medical trauma lives inside your body, so there is nowhere to go. Dr. Aimie sits down with Dr. James Jackson for the second half of their conversation on medical trauma. What will surprise you is how much recovery is available while the symptoms are still present. This is Part 2 of a two part conversation. Part 1 is here. ➡ Full show notes + resources: https://bit.ly/BOT190 Dr. Jackson works with people recovering after critical illness, and he is direct about something most clinicians avoid saying. Patients have been taught that recovery means every symptom is erased. That standard fails most bodies. He offers a different measure, along with the markers that actually move. Dr. Aimie also shares why she left general surgery residency after four years, and the one question she started asking her patients that changed everything about how she practiced.   WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: 02:55 — Why do you carry the source of a medical trauma with you? 05:35 — What is acceptance and commitment therapy? 06:37 — How can you be fine right now? 07:09 — Why did Dr. Aimie leave general surgery residency? 08:17 — What happens when you ask a patient what their diagnosis means to them? 11:40 — Why should no one else decide what counts as a big trauma? 13:33 — Why is overselling recovery a problem? 14:46 — What does a rich recovery actually look like? 15:32 — What are the objective markers that recovery is happening? 17:02 — How should we talk about post-traumatic growth? 20:22 — Why can no one recover from medical trauma alone?   "If the trauma happened in your body, you're carrying that around. You're carrying it around, and you can't avoid it. It's always there." — Dr. James Jackson   If you have quietly decided you are not recovering because something still hurts, this episode is for you.   RESOURCES: Take the free 2-Minute Assessment for Discovering Your Pattern of Stored Trauma. You cannot change a pattern you cannot see. Find your primary pattern of responding when life becomes too much, then see how the other four show up. Get The Biology of Trauma. Avoidance and the pattern of disconnection are on page 117, chapter nine, The Patterns of Pain: Recognizing Stored Trauma in the Body. Reclaiming Your Life from Medical Trauma by Dr. James C. Jackson, PsyD. This episode is educational and is not medical advice. Please work with your own qualified healthcare provider for decisions about your care.

A hospital saved your life, and now you plan your route so you do not drive past it. That has a name, and the name is medical trauma.  Medical trauma is a trauma response that comes from a medical experience. It can follow an ICU stay, a hard surgery, or an emergency C-section. Post-intensive care syndrome, or PICS, describes new or worsened problems in thinking, mood, and physical function after critical illness.  Full show notes: https://www.biologyoftrauma.com/post/why-do-i-avoid-the-doctor-now-medical-trauma-and-post-intensive-care-syndrome-with-dr-james-jacks Dr. James Jackson of Vanderbilt co-founded one of the first clinics in the country for survivors of critical illness. He sat on front porches across the South asking people what their life was like after the ICU, and he heard the same story hundreds of times. In this Part 1 conversation with Dr. Aimie, he names the one sign he watches for above all others, why so many doctors have never heard of PICS, and how long recovery actually takes.  This is Part 1 of two. Part 2 is here:  Take the free 2-minute assessment for stored trauma at biologyoftrauma.com/quiz. Find your primary pattern of responding when life becomes too much. You cannot change a pattern you cannot see.  The Biology of Trauma book: biologyoftrauma.com/book  Reclaiming Your Life from Medical Trauma, by Dr. James C. Jackson, PsyD.  Full show notes: https://www.biologyoftrauma.com/post/why-do-i-avoid-the-doctor-now-medical-trauma-and-post-intensive-care-syndrome-with-dr-james-jacks This content is educational and is not medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition. Always consult your own qualified health provider.

A new mom was losing weight without trying. Her heart raced. Waves of panic arrived without warning. Her doctor congratulated her on the weight and offered her something for the anxiety. Her anxiety had been doing its job the whole time. It was a message from her thyroid. In Part 2, Dr. Aimie and Dr. Nicole Cain, author of Panic Proof, walk through the last six of the nine body systems that can produce anxiety. Nervous system, endocrine, immune system, depressive, anger, and trauma anxiety. Each one leaves a different signature, and each one asks for something different. You will hear why anger rises as you come out of chronic functional freeze, and how trauma work shifted one woman's biology down to what showed up on objective testing.   In This Episode You'll Learn: 01:00 — What is nervous system anxiety?  02:53 — Which herb supports a nervous system worn down by stress?  03:42 — What blood work should I ask for?  04:37 — How did Charlotte's anxiety turn out to be her thyroid?  07:17 — What is immune system anxiety?  08:35 — Why does an antihistamine sometimes settle anxiety?  09:07 — How does inflammation in the brain create anxiety?  11:33 — Can my gums be affecting my anxiety?  13:01 — What is depressive anxiety, and what can an SSRI set off?  17:07 — What is anger anxiety, and how do I cool it down?  18:57 — Why am I angrier as I come out of freeze?  20:36 — Can trauma work change a condition like PCOS?   Resources/Guides: Get the free guide, Is It Stress or Trauma? Discover your primary pattern of responding when life becomes too much. Read Panic Proof by Dr. Nicole Cain. All nine types, with quizzes and checklists. The Biology of Trauma book. The biology underneath these anxiety types. Part 1 of this conversation covers cardiac, gut, and thought anxiety.   This episode includes a description of a child being physically hurt by a parent, and discusses SSRIs, benzodiazepines, and herbs. This podcast is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult your own qualified health provider before changing any medication, supplement, or herb.   ➡️ Full show notes with links and resources: 

Tonight, on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Aimie Hines and Alan McElroy. First up, power prices have overtaken housing as New Zealander's biggest financial concerns, according to a new report from Consumer NZ. Then, it's official: Auckland's City Rail Link will open on September 13th. Greater Auckland director Patrick Reynolds joins the show.

In part two, the air around the controversial sale of the TSB Bank is heating up as opponents prepare a plan to stop the bid. Aorangi Bobbie Matsuda is a member of the Taranaki Community Accountability Society executive, and he explains the group's hopes to stop the sale. Then, radio host to firefighter isn't a typical career path, but that's what Andy George from Lincoln has done.

You feel anxious. Nothing has happened. Nothing is wrong on paper. Dr. Aimie learned in the emergency room that anxiety is never one thing. Someone would come in and say the word, and her job was to work out why. It could be a hard week. It could be a heart attack. Same word, two entirely different bodies. She still runs that checklist on herself. Then she read Dr. Nicole Cain's book Panic Proof and found the same approach mapped into nine types, each one named for the body system driving it. In this Part 1 conversation, they cover the first three. Cardiac, gut, and thought anxiety. You will learn how to tell fear from anxiety from panic, why the first place you feel it is your best clue, and why the same word describes both high energy activation and shutdown. This is Part 1 of two.    WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: 03:15 Why anxiety gets treated as one condition 06:33 Fear, anxiety, and panic as three different states 08:07 The green, yellow, and red zones 09:31 How your body measures how much danger you are in 11:08 Your canary, and why the first signal matters 12:25 High energy anxiety or shutdown 13:27 Flop, fawn, fracture, and perimenopause 15:24 The therapeutic order 17:09 Cardiac anxiety, and when to see a cardiologist 19:28 Gut anxiety and the gut-brain axis 21:11 What a food and mood journal revealed 22:34 Thought anxiety and looping thoughts 25:07 Parts work, and the moment it landed for Miguel RESOURCES: Get the free guide, Is It Stress or Trauma? For working out whether what you carry is ordinary stress, or something past that line. Get The Biology of Trauma book. Read Chapter 3, on our critical line and our capacity. It covers how the body reads danger. Panic Proof by Dr. Nicole Cain Dr. Nicole Cain's website Full show notes:  This episode includes a personal disclosure about thoughts of suicide connected to a food reaction. Content here is educational and is not medical advice.

You know the thing that would help. You have known for a while. You still have not done it. Dr. Aimie recognized herself in the research on learned helplessness. For a long stretch of her life she expected everything to be hard, expected to fail, and quietly stopped trying without ever deciding to. It is not laziness. It is a body that learned effort did not matter and powered the effort down. In this Part 2 conversation, recorded in Josh Trent's Austin studio, they talk about what separates resting from escaping, why the drive built on your own wound eventually stops working, and how a little safety is enough to take the next step. This is Part 2 of two. Part 1 is here: https://www.biologyoftrauma.com/post/why-do-we-escape-instead-of-rest-josh-trent-on-emotional-epigenetics WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: 02:04 How to tell resting from escaping 04:25 The three questions behind your purpose 06:48 Why the fuel of your own wound stops working 07:58 Grieving the old identity 10:05 Why showing up takes borrowed energy 13:24 Conditioned happiness and the opposite he found 17:18 The Seabiscuit story and learned helplessness 21:45 Recognizing the pattern in someone else 26:49 What most people misunderstand about a leader 30:20 Freedom fuels flow, fear fuels force 31:27 Why curiosity needs safety first   RESOURCES: Take the free 2-Minute Assessment for Stored Trauma. Discover your primary pattern of responding when life becomes too much, then see how the other four show up. Get The Biology of Trauma book. Read Chapter 13, on why the body will not rest until it feels safe, and how to start building that safety. Josh Trent hosts the Wellness + Wisdom Podcast   Full show notes: https://www.biologyoftrauma.com/post/why-is-not-trying-a-survival-response-not-a-weakness-with-josh-trent-part-2 

You finally have an evening with nothing in it. Twenty minutes later you are on your phone. Josh Trent spent most of his life in a body that did not know how to rest. A clench in his stomach. A breath that stayed high in his chest. His first memory is of being a boy watching the adults around him be angry, unable to change it and unable to leave. The bracing stayed for thirty years. Dr. Aimie and Josh talk about why stillness can feel unsafe, what separates real rest from escape, and why so many practitioners hold grief in a diaphragm that will not drop. This is Part 1 of two. Part 2 releases July 30. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: 01:22 How one question from childhood shaped an entire life 05:11 What happens when you know something is missing 09:24 How patterns get passed down through a family 13:49 The moment feeling became the way back in 17:12 Feeling an emotion in your body for the first time 18:38 Why practitioners carry grief in their bodies 19:31 What worries a wellness leader most about his own industry 23:57 Why social media makes it harder to feel 26:20 The difference between rest and escape RESOURCES: Take the free 2-minute assessment for stored trauma. Find your primary pattern of responding when life becomes too much, then see how the other four show up. Is it stress or is it trauma? The guide that walks through the difference. Josh Trent hosts the Wellness + Wisdom Podcast.  Full show notes: https://www.biologyoftrauma.com/post/why-do-we-escape-instead-of-rest-josh-trent-on-emotional-epigenetics 

Most of us were told to grieve, to rest, to be present. Nobody taught us the skill. In Part 2, Dr. Aimie and neuroscientist Dr. David Rabin get into heart rate variability and resilience, why anxiety masks itself as focus, and why grieving is a skill your body has to learn. Feeling safe enough to feel is where the work begins. ➡️ Full show notes: https://www.biologyoftrauma.com/post/why-grieving-is-a-skill-what-hrv-reveals-about-resilience-david-rabin  01:03 — Why is heart rate variability the key marker for resilience? 03:08 — What is intention, and what is it in the nervous system? 04:08 — Where does intention fit if you have lived in hypervigilance? 08:18 — What practices in therapy get in the way of healing? 11:28 — How do you apply these principles in a full, busy life? 16:33 — How do you grieve a loss, and why is grieving a skill? Listen to Part 1 here. Resources/Guides: Get the "Is It Stress or Trauma" Guide. Know whether what your body is carrying is stress or something deeper. ➡️ Full show notes with links and resources: https://www.biologyoftrauma.com/post/why-grieving-is-a-skill-what-hrv-reveals-about-resilience-david-rabin

Today's podcast guest is Dr. Aimie Apigian, a physician who has become one of the leading voices in helping us understand the biology of trauma. Dr. Aimie is double board-certified in Preventive Medicine and Addiction Medicine, with advanced training in biochemistry, public health, and functional medicine. She earned her medical degree from Loma Linda University, where her education also included behavioral health, child psychiatric therapy, play therapy, and addiction family counseling. Before medical school, she studied Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Washington, where she worked in the laboratory of renowned cancer researcher Dr. Larry Loeb. She is the national bestselling author of The Biology of Trauma, featuring a foreword by Dr. Gabor Maté. The book has appeared on the USA TODAY Best-Selling Book List and has received multiple national book awards. What makes Dr. Aimie's work unique is her ability to bridge neuroscience, functional medicine, attachment science, and trauma therapy into a practical framework that explains how our bodies store survival patterns after stress and adversity. Rather than viewing trauma as simply a psychological experience, she teaches that it is a biological state—one that can be identified, measured, and, importantly, healed. She is the creator of the Biology of Trauma® framework, which integrates somatic therapies, parts work, nervous system regulation, and targeted biological interventions into a structured sequence designed to restore the body's innate capacity for healing. She is also the founder of Trauma Healing Accelerated™ and the host of the popular Biology of Trauma® Podcast, where she has educated thousands of clinicians and individuals around the world. Today, we're going to explore what trauma actually is from a biological perspective, how it influences immune function, metabolism, chronic disease, and childhood development, and perhaps most importantly, what it truly takes to move from surviving to thriving. Dr. M

In this episode of Keeping Abreast, Dr. Jenn Simmons sits down with Dr. Aimie Apigian, a physician with a master's in biochemistry who left surgical training to study the biology of trauma after her own health collapsed. Together they make the case that unresolved trauma, including the kind you'd never check a box for, is not a side note to breast cancer but part of the terrain it grows in. This is the conversation conventional oncology skips entirely.Dr. Aimie didn't recognize her own trauma until it nearly destroyed her health. Raised to be her adopted father's emotional stability, she carried a burden she never named as trauma, until a failed adoption after six years left her with chronic fatigue she couldn't get out of bed from one month later. She knew the research linking adversity to disease. She still didn't see it in herself. If you've ever told yourself your childhood "wasn't that bad," this episode will give language to what your body already knows.What You'll LearnWhy the women most likely to carry hidden trauma are the ones who'd swear they had a happy childhoodWhat the famous ACE study found when it looked at wealthy women, and why it shocked the medical worldWhy trauma isn't a feeling you can think your way out of, but a physical loop your body keeps runningWhat a review revealed about childhood adversity and breast cancer riskWhy the state you were in before your diagnosis matters more than the diagnosis itselfHow to tell if your body is still holding trauma, without digging into your pastWhy feeling safe feels terrifying to a nervous system that survived on controlHow healing can start with just two seconds at a timeWhy no retreat or single psychedelic trip will do what small daily habits canWhy most people start their trauma work in the wrong place, and pay for itGuest Dr. Aimie ApigianWhere to find her: biologyoftrauma.comInstagram: www.instagram.com/draimie/To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working privately with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-callTo get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuideTo purchase the auria breast cancer screening test go here https://auria.care/ and use the code DRJENN20 for 20% Off.Connect with Dr. Jenn:Website: https://www.jennsimmonsmd.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmonsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons

Tonight, on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Aimie Hines and Andie McCombs. First up, to the UK, where Keir Starmer is leaving Downing Street as the shortest-serving Labour prime minister in history. Dr Mark Bennister of Queen Mary University of London brings his reaction. Then, if police are paid for their training hours, why shouldn't doctors, nurses, midwives or teachers be? Midwifery student Sòrcha Carr explains how paid placements would change her life.

In part two, while NZ weighs up election year tax policies being proposed by political parties, Australia's changes to its Capital Gains Tax might have businesses looking across the ditch. Then, get your skates on for the high-speed spectacle sport: Roller Derby. North Island are heading to Rotorua soon for a tournament. Sulphur City Steam Rollers coach Layla Robinson has the details.

Attachment is a survival imprint that lives in the body, encoded before you had language. In this episode, Dr. Aimie Apigian walks through the 6 hidden attachment pains, the adult symptoms each one creates, and why inner work alone cannot reach where the pattern lives. ➡️ Full show notes: https://www.biologyoftrauma.com/post/episode-177-6-attachment-wounds-chronic-symptoms In This Episode You'll Learn:  02:54 — How did Dr. Aimie's adopted son become her wake-up call to attachment biology? 10:12 — How does attachment loss connect to chronic fatigue and autoimmunity? 12:27 — Why doesn't awareness or inner work change attachment patterns? 15:24 — What is autoimmunity at the level of attachment biology? 25:06 — What is Hold Me attachment pain and how does it form? 31:36 — How does Hold Me pain become IBS, autoimmunity, and fibromyalgia? 40:11 — What is Support Me attachment pain and how does it shape the brainstem? 46:58 — What is See Me attachment pain and how does it shape self-worth? 47:47 — What is Understand Me attachment pain and which chronic conditions does it create? 50:20 — What is Love Me attachment pain and how does it shape adult relationships? Resources/Guides: Attachment Pain Guide — A complete map of all 6 attachment pains, the adult symptoms linked to each, and entry points for repair.  ➡️ Full show notes with links and resources: https://www.biologyoftrauma.com/post/episode-177-6-attachment-wounds-chronic-symptoms

Trauma is stored in our body and our nervous system more than just in our minds. In this interview we discuss the biology of trauma and PTSD. Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership:https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership In this conversation, Dr. Aimie discusses the biology of trauma, emphasizing the physiological responses that occur in the body during traumatic experiences. She explains the differences between stress and trauma, the role of the nervous system, and how chronic trauma can lead to various health issues. The discussion also covers practical steps for healing and regulating the nervous system, including the importance of safety, nutrition, and somatic practices. Looking for affordable online counseling? My sponsor, BetterHelp, connects you to a licensed professional from the comfort of your own home. Try it now for 10% off your first month: https://betterhelp.com/therapyinanutshell Learn more in one of my in-depth mental health courses: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com Support my mission on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/therapyinanutshell Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.therapyinanutshell.com Check out my favorite self-help books: https://kit.co/TherapyinaNutshell/best-self-help-books  Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health. In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger Institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction. And deeper than all of that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ orients my personal worldview and sense of security, peace, hope, and love https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe If you are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or your local emergency services. Copyright Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC

What if trauma is more than a psychological experience? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Aimie Apigian, a Preventive and Addiction Medicine Physician and founder of Trauma Healing Accelerated™, to explore how trauma becomes stored in the body and influences the nervous system, metabolism, immune function, and overall health. Together, we challenge the conventional view of trauma and examine why unresolved survival responses can contribute to chronic symptoms, fatigue, dysregulation, and disease. We discuss the differences between stress and trauma, the body's survival adaptations, the five patterns of stored trauma, and the critical role of the autonomic nervous system in recovery. Dr. Aimie shares her Biology of Trauma® framework, explaining how healing goes beyond mindset and requires creating safety within the body to restore resilience, regulation, and lasting health. If you've ever wondered why some patterns seem impossible to change, why chronic symptoms persist despite doing everything "right," or why healing often feels incomplete, this conversation may completely transform the way you think about trauma, health, and recovery.   Key takeaways: Trauma is not limited to psychological impacts but involves complex biological adaptations that affect the entire body system. Stress and trauma are distinct, with trauma representing an overwhelming threat that triggers a different survival response. Unresolved trauma can lead to chronic health conditions, including autoimmunity and fatigue, highlighting the need for integrative healing methods. Healing from trauma requires creating an environment of safety before addressing deeper emotional and physiological issues. Effective trauma therapy should incorporate mind work, body somatic work, and biology for comprehensive healing.   More About Dr. Aimee Apigian: Dr. Aimie Apigian is a double board-certified physician in Preventive and Addiction Medicine, with advanced training in biochemistry, public health, and functional medicine. She is the national bestselling author of The Biology of Trauma (foreword by Gabor Maté), featured on the USA TODAY Best-Selling Booklist and recipient of multiple book awards. She is known for making trauma healing both precise and deeply human, bridging functional medicine, attachment science, and trauma therapy to show how the body stores survival patterns and what it specifically needs to heal. Through her Biology of Trauma® framework, she integrates somatic work, parts work, and targeted biology to identify where the system is blocked and restore its capacity for healing through a structured, measurable sequence. Dr. Aimie is the founder of Trauma Healing Accelerated™ and host of the Biology of Trauma® Podcast, where she trains individuals and practitioners worldwide to move beyond insight into real, lasting change. Website Instagram Connect with me! Website Instagram Facebook YouTube

Tonight, on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Aimie Hines and Ed McKnight First up, a Budget 2026 debriefing this time looking at the politics of it all: is this an election winning budget? The panel is joined by political commentator Grant Duncan. Then, children with parents in prison are serving an invisible sentence. That's the stark callout from a organisation which provides support to some of the 25 thousand or so children in that category. They say that hardship starts from the moment a parent is sentenced - and they've come up with a plan to change that. The panel is joined by Corrina Thompson who leads youth advocacy at Pillars.

In part two, Dame Lynda Topp was fired up at the music awards and attacked the government's spend on the arts. The panel discusses the issues at play with Jesse Austin-Stewart, lecturer at Massey University in the School of Music and Screen Arts, also a composer and music producer. Then, does anyone remember the glory days of the workingmen's club? The cheap pints, the cover bands, the darts. In Hamilton, those days are being reignited with an evening of Pub Olympics. It's a round robin of pool, giant Jenga and more all designed to entice younger members back to the working man's club. The panel talks to Nathan Hartley, manager of the Hamilton Workingmen's Club.

Metabolic syndrome, long-haul syndromes, hypersensitivity, and autoimmunity are four ways the immune system adapts to a nervous system living in fear. Each one is the immune system adapting to a fear-driven nervous system. These are adaptations. The body is doing what bodies do. In this solo episode, Dr. Aimie walks through all four immune adaptive patterns. The fear pattern behind each one. What your diagnosis is actually telling you. And why hope lives in a simple fact: most immune cells turn over every three days. She also shares her own experience with all four. This is also her own story. Her work in repairing the Biology of Trauma®  started here. ➡️ Full show notes: https://www.biologyoftrauma.com/post/what-fear-does-to-your-immune-system-biology-of-trauma In This Episode You'll Learn: [01:00] Why our nervous system always adapts (and our immune system follows) [03:00] The first immune adaptive pattern: metabolic syndrome [06:00] What the lab markers actually point to (it lives upstream) [08:00] The second immune adaptive pattern: long-haul syndromes [11:00] Pre-existing nervous system state matters more than the exposure [13:00] Dr. Aimie's college mono-like illness and the decade-long pattern [15:00] The third immune adaptive pattern: hypersensitivity [18:00] Why some people don't know they're hypersensitive [21:00] The three-day window: how fast the immune system can shift [22:00] What changed in three days with adopted children [24:00] The fourth immune adaptive pattern: autoimmunity [27:00] Fear that turned inward as anger (and why) [29:00] Having all four patterns: Dr. Aimie's own story Resources/Guides: Read Chapter 10 of The Biology of Trauma — Dr. Aimie's book takes you deeper into all four immune adaptive patterns and the shared root in nervous system dysregulation. When You're Ready to Begin the Work, The Foundational Journey is the six-week online program where the Essential Sequence begins. Safety, Support, and Expansion in the order the body needs them. Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 133: Autoimmunity and Childhood Trauma: How Your Immune System Reflects Your Past Episode 164: Could Your Trauma Be Disrupting Your Metabolism? The Weight Health Conversation Episode 75: Fear, Attachment & Relational Trauma: Solutions For The Hyper-Sensitive Gut

Send us Fan MailMy guest today is Aimie K. Runyan, author of Mademoiselle Eiffel, listed in the Visual Arts category on Art In Fiction.View the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_JcFmRQ4PcQWhy Aimie chose to write about Claire Eiffel rather than her more famous father, and the surprising role Claire played in running Gustave's household, social life, and business from the age of 14.The wax figure of Claire at the top of the Eiffel Tower, alongside Gustave and Thomas Edison, and the historical meeting it commemorates.How clothing functions as armor and identity in the novel, particularly Claire's corset as a symbol of constraint reframed as protection in a world not built for ambitious women.The invisible female labor at the heart of the story, and what Claire sacrificed, including her art and her choice of husband, to secure her place at her father's side.The opposition to the Eiffel Tower from artists, architects, and Gustave's own friend Garnier, and what the contrast between the Opéra Garnier and the tower reveals about two competing visions of modernity.Aimie's research trips to Paris and the Musée d'Orsay archives, where the Eiffel family correspondence, party menus, and letters from admirers have been preserved since 1981.What Aimie gained by returning to the archives after the story was already written.The Panama Canal scandal, Gustave's complicated legacy, and why writing through Claire's adoring lens required Aimie to be deliberately even-handed with a man who was "no more of a villain than your average rich man used to getting his own way."The oldest daughter narrative and why Claire's story resonates today, including a frank conversation about the undervaluing of women's labor and the difference between "emotional labor" and plain old mental load.Aimie's advice to writers on research: travel if you can, use Google Earth if you can't, never hesitate to contact museum curators, and know that one good research trip can fuel three books.Reading from the scene in Portugal where 14-year-old Claire organizes a workers' dinner and earns her first public acknowledgment from her father.Read more about Aimie K. Runyan on her website: https://www.aimiekrunyan.com/Are you enjoying The Art In Fiction Podcast? Consider giving us a small donation so we can continue bringing you interviews with your favorite arts-inspired novelists.  Click this link to donate: https://ko-fi.com/artinfiction.Also, check out Art In Fiction at https://www.artinfiction.com and explore 2500+ novels inspired by the arts in 11 categories: Architecture, Dance, Decorative Arts, Film, Literature, Music, Textile Arts, Theater, Visual Arts, & Other.Want to learn more about Carol Cram, the host of The Art In Fiction Podcast? She's the author of several award-winning novels, including The Towers of Tuscany, A Woman of Note, The Muse of Fire, and The Choir. Find out more on her website....

Grieving without getting stuck is possible. But most people don't know what that actually looks like from the inside. In this personal episode, Dr. Aimie shares seven principles she is living right now — attachment grief, heart shock, body holding, and toxic positivity. Not the theory of grief. The actual practice from inside it. If you have ever wondered how to grieve without shutting down — or why grief and the nervous system are inseparable — this episode is the most personal answer Dr. Aimie has given. ➡️ Full show notes: https://www.biologyoftrauma.com/post/episode-174-7-principles-for-feeling-grief-in-your-body-after-loss In This Episode You'll Learn: 04:45 — What is the difference between grief and heart shock?  07:40 — Principle 1: Why does your grieving style depend on your attachment style? 15:00 — Principle 2: What does it mean to let your body be held during grief?  21:50 — Principle 3: How do you anchor to life when the shock wears off?  27:36 — Principle 4: What is the difference between feeling grief and feeding grief? 36:00 — Principle 5: Why does choosing not to numb matter in grief?  39:40 — Principle 6: How do you move from your thoughts into your body during grief? 45:40 — Principle 7: Why does riding the biggest waves require the right person?  Resources/Guides: Read The Biology of Trauma, Chapter 5: The Whole-Body Experience of Overwhelm. Goes deeper into the vagus nerve, diaphragm, breath, and gut shutdown referenced in this episode. This is the biology underneath every principle Dr. Aimie shares. ➡️ Full show notes with links and resources: https://www.biologyoftrauma.com/post/episode-174-7-principles-for-feeling-grief-in-your-body-after-loss

Food cravings are not a willpower problem. They are messages from a nervous system trying to survive. In this episode, Dr. Aimie Apigian maps the cortisol, blood sugar, and inflammation patterns behind cravings, why menopause makes them louder, and how stored trauma in the body keeps the loop running. ➡️ Full show notes: EP 173: What Sugar, Bread, and Salt Reveal About Your Nervous System in Menopause In This Episode You'll Learn: 01:00 — What does it mean that cravings are a survival strategy? 02:30 — Why do hormone shifts in menopause make cravings louder? 03:30 — How does blood sugar trigger the nervous system's danger response? 05:30 — What is actually happening at 3 PM when sugar cravings hit? 07:30 — Why does cortisol stop following its normal rhythm? 10:00 — Why does gluten bind the same receptors as opiates? 12:30 — How did Dr. Aimie's own bread cravings reveal childhood programming? 16:30 — How does gut inflammation reach the brain through the vagus nerve? 18:30 — What do salt cravings reveal about adrenal function? 22:30 — Why did Maria's grandmother's cookies become a craving in midlife? 27:00 — What is the neural pathway behind comfort foods? 28:30 — Why does food become emotional regulation when other tools are missing? 30:30 — Why does everything biological get louder in menopause? 34:00 — Why is chronic stress different from a chronic trauma response? 36:30 — How do leptin, ghrelin, and sleep loss feed the craving cycle? 38:00 — What is the path forward when cravings are running the show? Resources/Guides: Read The Biology of Trauma, Chapter 14: Support: Building Regulation Through Repair. Goes deeper into the neurotransmitter, blood sugar, and gluten science discussed in this episode. Program: Foundational Journey — A six-week online process working directly with the nervous system. Where course members practice the exact survival-strategy awareness, somatic tools, and pacing skills that have to come first before the deeper work with stored trauma can hold.  Steps to Identify and Heal Trauma — A Roadmap for Healing. A 23-page guide and assessment quiz to help you recognize whether your body is carrying stored trauma. Use cravings as one of the windows. Download the guide Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 171: Is Your Chocolate Holding Your Marriage Together?  |  With Luis Mojica Episode 168: What Stored Trauma Does to Your Hormones? Episode 164: Could Your Trauma Be Disrupting Your Metabolism? The Weight Health Conversation

Dr. Aimie Apigian comes back to unpack the biology of trauma and how unresolved overwhelm lives not just in the mind, but in the body and cells. Together, we will explain why you can't simply “think your way out” of stress patterns, and how true healing requires addressing the nervous system, cellular health, and subconscious beliefs.From mitochondrial shutdown to learned helplessness, this conversation bridges science and lived experience—offering a new lens on fatigue, burnout, fertility challenges, and emotional resilience. The key message: healing isn't about pushing harder—it's about restoring safety and capacity in the body.Key Takeaways:Trauma isn't just psychological—it's stored in the body and biology.You can't think your way out of survival mode; the nervous system must feel safe.Chronic stress + overwhelm reduces cellular capacity, especially in mitochondria.Many people are stuck in a loop: high stress (gas) + shutdown (brake) at the same time.Healing requires a holistic approach: mind, body, and biology working together.Where to find Dr. Aimie Apigian:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/draimie/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-aimie-apigianYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DrAimieApigianWebsite: https://biologyoftrauma.com/Podcast: https://biologyoftrauma.com/biology-of-trauma-podcast/Book: https://book.biologyoftrauma.com/landing-pageDr. Aimie Apigian Bio:Dr. Aimie Apigian, MD, MS, MPH, is a double board-certified physician in Preventive and Addiction Medicine with advanced degrees in Biochemistry and Public Health. She is the founder of The Mind-Body-Biology Institute and creator of The Biology of Trauma®, a pioneering framework that integrates medicine, neuroscience, and somatic therapies to address how trauma is stored in the body—and how to heal it. Inspired by her personal journey as a foster and adoptive mother, Dr. Aimie blends rigorous science with deep compassion to help individuals and practitioners achieve lasting transformation. Her book, The Biology of Trauma, reveals the cellular and emotional roots of fear, pain, and overwhelm, and offers a practical path to true mind-body-biology healing.

Mother hunger is what the body carries when it missed one of three essential elements of maternal care: nurture, protection, or guidance. On this Mother's Day Bonus Episode, Dr. Aimie sits down with Kelly McDaniel — author of Mother Hunger — to map the biology underneath. They walk through how unmet nurture shapes adult eating patterns, how unmet protection leaves a nervous system that never learned to settle, and how unmet guidance can leave a daughter inheriting the wound her mother could not heal. This is not about blaming any mother. It is about giving language to what the body has been holding so the work of repair can begin. ➡️ Full show notes: Mother Hunger: What the Body Carries When Nurture, Protection, and Guidance Are Missing In This Episode You'll Learn: [00:00] Why a high-functioning life can still carry a hunger for maternal love [02:00] Why is the biological mother described as your 'first home'? [09:00] What are the three essential elements of maternal love? [15:00] How does unmet nurture show up in adult eating patterns? [22:00] What does protection actually mean for an infant nervous system? [28:00] Why does the embodiment of rejection persist into adult life? [32:00] What is guidance, and why does it look different for daughters than for sons? [36:00] What happens when a daughter becomes her mother's confidant? [41:00] What does it mean to reclaim the tender parts of yourself? [44:00] Why mother hunger requires relational repair to heal Resources/Guides: Mother Hunger: How Adult Daughters Can Understand and Heal from Lost Nurturance, Protection, and Guidance — by Kelly McDaniel Free Guide: Attachment Trauma Roadmap — Dr. Aimie's free guide on how the nervous system shapes attachment and where repair begins · The Biology of Trauma by Dr. Aimie Apigian — the underlying science of how attachment patterns become biology Kelly McDaniel's website  Related Podcast Episodes: EP 69: How Attachment Shapes Our Biology and Behavior with Dr. Aimie Apigian EP 167: Did Attachment Trauma Start Before You Had Memories? EP 171: Is Your Chocolate Holding Your Marriage Together?  |  With Luis Mojica

 ➡️ Get the full show notes and episode breakdown at Biology of Trauma® Podcast - The 3 Hidden Costs of Being the Strong One - Burnout's Real Biology You've been the strong one. The one who keeps everything running. The one others lean on when things fall apart. Your body has been keeping score. And the bill has three items. There is a specific biology behind the pattern of holding everything together. It is not a personality trait. It is a nervous system response — and it carries three hidden costs most people never connect to the same source. In this episode of The Biology of Trauma® Podcast, Dr. Aimie Apigian — double board-certified physician and author of The Biology of Trauma — takes you inside the biology of what actually happens when a nervous system crosses from stress into overwhelm, and names the three hidden costs of a body that never resets back to safety. One is the reason you cannot rest, even when you are exhausted. One is the reason you no longer recognize yourself. And one is the reason your body has stopped repairing the way it is built to repair. The episode ends with a map. Three phases. A sequence. And the reason the sequence matters more than any single tool. In This Episode You'll Learn: [01:00] What happens inside the body when a lifetime of holding everything together becomes the default setting? [02:22] What is the body's full response to danger — from startle to stress to the critical line of overwhelm? [04:31] What is the specific threshold where the body shifts from stress into shutdown — and why is that line so important? [06:56] Why does the body lock into a survival loop when no full reset to safety occurs? [08:49] How does the body signal that it is stuck in the Body-Trauma Loop — and what does that feel like from the inside? [13:00] What is the first hidden cost — and why can't the body access real rest in survival mode? [23:20] What is the second hidden cost — the survival strategies that quietly replace who you really are? [29:23] What is the third hidden cost — and why do survival mode and repair mode block each other at the biological level? [37:57] What would actually happen if you stopped holding everything together — and what is the body protecting against? [42:12] How does the Recognize → Reasons → Repair framework apply to the pattern of over-functioning? [46:00] What are the three phases of the healing journey — Safety → Support → Expansion — and why does the sequence matter? Resources/Guides: Free Guide: Steps to Identify and Heal Trauma by Dr. Aimie Apigian — This 23-page guide includes the quiz Dr. Aimie references in the closing of this episode. A starting place for recognizing stored trauma in the body. Book: The Biology of Trauma by Dr. Aimie Apigian — Chapter 9 covers neuroception. Chapter 11 covers how attachment and early life shape neuroception. Chapter 12 lays out the Safety → Support → Expansion sequence referenced in this episode. Program: Foundational Journey — A six-week online process working directly with the nervous system. Where course members practice the exact exercises and sequence that establish a biology of safety that has to come first before anything else can hold. Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 48 — How to Heal Bracing and Hypervigilance with Cat Dillon Episode 68 — Struggling with Sleep? How to Regain Restful Nights with Suzie Sink Episode  79 — How Chronic Health Challenges and Your Work Impact Each Other with Sally Riggs Episode 126 — Neuroception Explained: How Your Nervous System Decides What's Safe and Why It Matters for Healing Episode 127: Why Your Body Is Wired for Danger: Understanding Trauma's Impact on Your Nervous System Episode 129 — Why You're Still in Survival Mode (Even After Years of Therapy and Healing Work) Episode 134 — The Biology of Overwhelm: Why Small Demands Feel Impossible Episode 135 — The Hidden Difference Between Stress and Trauma in How the Body Keeps Score Episode 138 — Why Your Body Holds On When Your Mind Has Healed with Dr. Aimie Apigian

We are excited to host Monika Aimie Greenfield on this episode of the Mangu.tv podcast.Monika is a Women's Empowerment Coach, Somatic Therapist & Feminine Embodiment Guide. She works with women around the world to overcome wounds around their self-worth and come home to their full power and potential, through childhood trauma resolution, somatic healing and embodied belief and behaviour change.Monika takes a woman-centred lens to transformation and, in her work, explores themes of self-worth, childhood trauma, embodiment, and the female experience. She is an ACC Accredited Coach, Wild Feminine Facilitator®️ and has completed professional training with world-renowned trauma expert, Dr Gabor Maté, in his revolutionary approach to trauma healing, Compassionate Inquiry®️. This modality is woven into her practice, alongside transformational coaching, self-esteem development, and feminine embodiment, to create truly transformational experiences for women seeking to reclaim their full power, agency and expression.Monika shares the story of her upbringing in London, and speaks about key moments during her childhood that influenced the work she does today: her father's emigration to Australia and the loss of her brother. Monika discusses the various practices and years of self-discovery that she endured, as well as the route and training that led her to somatic therapy, coaching, and working with women.Giancarlo and Monika explore the intersection of psychotherapy and coaching, discussing healing, empowerment, self-actualisation, and the interplay between career ambition and the pursuit of purpose for mental well-being.

➡️ Get the full show notes and episode breakdown at Biology of Trauma® Podcast - Why Menopause Is When Your Stored Trauma Finally Surfaces  What if the anxiety, the depression, the rage, and the emotional floods did not begin with perimenopause and have been there all along? And menopause is simply when the body can no longer hold them? What if your childhood ACE score is one of the strongest predictors of how severe your menopause experience will be? In this episode, Dr. Aimie talks with Dr. Betty Murray, hormone metabolism expert and functional medicine PhD, to connect two things medicine has kept separate for too long: stored trauma and hormonal health. Estrogen has receptors on every cell in the body except two. When it declines, every cell registers it — and for women carrying decades of chronic stress and stored trauma, that decline removes part of the biological buffer that was holding everything together. Dr. Aimie brings the trauma biology (as referenced in the ACE research, the PTSD and estrogen study) and the Biology of Trauma® framework that explains why menopause is the moment when what the body has been holding finally surfaces. Dr. Murray's hormone science confirms what that framework predicts: how a trauma-informed approach can actually help, why bioidentical hormones and the right labs matter, what the 10-million-woman study actually found, and how the Women's Health Initiative misrepresentation changed women's care for decades. This episode is for every woman who has been handed a prescription instead of a conversation about her hormones. In This Episode You'll Learn: [00:00] Why are hormones, buried emotions, and stored trauma connected — and why is menopause when it all surfaces? [04:45] What is the new lens for reading hormone labs — and why does dosing one-size-fits-all fail 75% of women? [08:00] What is actually happening biologically when a woman in perimenopause feels rage, anxiety, brain fog, and emotional sensitivity? [8:49] How do estrogen's receptors on every cell in the body explain the scope of menopause symptoms? [10:51] What did a 6,000-woman PTSD study reveal about the relationship between estrogen levels and trauma symptom severity? [14:14] What labs should be tested, when should they be tested, and why does the phase of perimenopause change what you are looking for? [21:21] Is the depression diagnosed during menopause actually depression — or a hormone picture being handed an antidepressant? [22:36] How do adverse childhood experiences raise the risk for first-episode major depression during menopause? [27:35] What is the difference between bioidentical and synthetic hormones — and why does delivery mechanism matter? [31:44] What does the 10-million-women retrospective study actually show about hormone replacement and all-cause mortality? [36:41] What did the Women's Health Initiative actually find — and how was a non-statistically significant finding turned into a 25% headline? [38:42] What does Dr. Betty Murray want every woman to know before she leaves this conversation? Resources/Guides: Dr. Betty Murray — Hormone metabolism expert and functional medicine clinician with over 20 years of experience in women's hormonal health, host of the Menopause Mastery podcast, and founder of The Menrva Project — an AI-powered telemedicine platform personalising menopause care across all 50 states. Free Guide: Steps to Identify and Heal Trauma by Dr. Aimie Apigian to help you understand what your body has been holding and how to begin working with it. The Biology of Trauma Book by Dr. Aimie Apigian — Where you can read Chapter 11 on how early life experiences become the preexisting filter through which every subsequent stress — including the hormonal shifts of menopause — is experienced. Foundational Journey — If this episode made you realize that stored trauma may be part of what you are experiencing in perimenopause, the Foundational Journey® is where we begin. A six-week online process working directly with the nervous system — building the biological foundation that has to come first   Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 69 — How Attachment Shapes Our Biology and Behavior Episode 135 — The Hidden Difference Between Stress and Trauma Episode 146 — How Attachment Affects Us for Life

➡️ Get the full show notes and episode breakdown at Biology of Trauma® Podcast - What Did Your First Year of Life Teach Your Body About Safety? What if the patterns you've called personality — the distrust, the hyper-independence, the certainty that your needs are too much — were never personality at all? What if they are the nervous system doing exactly what it learned to do before you had a single memory to show for it? Attachment trauma persists in the body as implicit survival programming — not as memory, but as an operating assumption the nervous system keeps running long after the original environment has changed. In this episode, Dr. Aimie Apigian traces the attachment and trust cycle — the precise biological sequence in the first year of life that either builds or disrupts the nervous system's capacity for safety and connection. When that cycle breaks down, the body adapts. Those adaptations don't feel like adaptations. They feel like identity. Using the Biology of Trauma® framework, Dr. Aimie unpacks why attachment trauma patterns feel like personality rather than learned survival strategies, how children lose themselves to preserve the bond — the attachment vs. authenticity tension — and what that costs the body decades later. She also addresses why adrenaline, not cortisol, is the real driver of the stress response, and what the biological link between early attachment trauma and adult chronic illness actually looks like in the nervous system. This episode is for anyone whose body has been holding patterns that predate any story they can tell about themselves. In This Episode You'll Learn: [00:00] What does it mean when your body learned danger before you had words? [02:00] What happens to a nervous system that doesn't get held enough — and what does a baby's body conclude about the world? [02:59] What does being born premature, adopted, or with a cord around your neck do to a nervous system that has no words yet? [06:18] What is the attachment and trust cycle — and is your first year of life still running your relationships today? [09:00] What does it do to a nervous system when needs are met with joy — versus met with burden? [13:49] What are the five steps the body takes into a trauma response — and how do you know which one you're in? [18:31] What is the attachment versus authenticity tension — and what does a child abandon to stay connected? [22:00] What does it look like when a nervous system loops between stress and overwhelm — and never actually feels safe? [25:45] How did Dr. Aimie recognize her own stored trauma — even when she didn't think she'd had any? [29:00] What is the difference between stress and trauma — physiologically, not just emotionally? [33:17] What does cortisol actually do in the stress response — and why is targeting cortisol the wrong place to start? [38:33] Where do you go from here — the Attachment Trauma Roadmap, the book, and what your nervous system needs next? Resources/Guides: Free Guide: Attachment Trauma Roadmap — Learn how your nervous system's early attachment experiences affect your sense of safety in relationships now, and where to begin. Book: The Biology of Trauma Book by Dr. Aimie Apigian — Chapter 9 covers the patterns of stored trauma; Chapter 11 explores how attachment becomes the lens through which we see the world. Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 69 — How Attachment Shapes Our Biology and Behavior Episode 59 — How to Parent Adopted Children with Early Life Trauma with Robin Karr-Morse Episode 135 — The Hidden Difference Between Stress and Trauma In How The Body Keeps Score

➡️ Get the full show notes and episode breakdown at Biology of Trauma® Podcast - Is the Need to Always Be “Good” a Trauma Response? What does your body do with guilt it can never undo?  Have you ever done everything right — and still felt something unresolved living in your body? Maybe it's not a dramatic story. Maybe it's just a moment you can't stop replaying. A decision you can't forgive yourself for. A version of you that acted against your own values — and your nervous system never got the memo that it's over. That's what this episode is about. Gregg Ward accidentally took someone's life at 18. For 46 years, it lived in his body — flushed skin, tense shoulders, a loop that no amount of success, service, or self-improvement could stop. In this conversation with Dr. Aimie, he shares what moral injury actually is, why the body keeps reliving a story with no ending, and how movement became his nervous system's path through what therapy alone couldn't reach. This is not a story about grief resolved. It's a story about grief metabolized. And the moment the burden finally lifted — not when the pain disappeared, but when the purpose stopped being about him. If something in you has never fully quieted — no matter how much work you've done — this conversation was made for you. Gregg Ward is the founder and Executive Director of the Center for Respectful Leadership. He is a global speaker, thought leader, and bestselling author. Gregg's TEDx San Diego talk has been selected for TED Global publication. Resources/Guides: Centerforrespectfulleadership.org — Gregg Ward — Center for Respectful Leadership Confessions of An Accidental Killer — Gregg Ward — TEDx San Diego hyacinthfellowship.org —  Hyacinth Fellowship The Biology of Trauma®Book by Dr. Aimie Apigian — Where you can read Section 2 —  starting with chapter 6 which explains the mechanism by which the body keeps score, even of regret. Free Guide: Steps to Identify and Heal Trauma by Dr. Aimie Apigian Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 35: 5 Ways How Polyvagal Theory Helps With Trauma Work with Stephen Porges Episode 76: Polyvagal Theory: Become an Active Operator of Your Nervous System During Grief with Deb Dana Episode 114: The Science Behind Why We Can't 'Get Over' Loss And How to Grieve with Dr. Mary-Frances O'Connor Episode 124: Grief and Gut Health: Is It Just Emotional or Something More? Episode 126: Neuroception Explained: How Your Nervous System Decides What's Safe and Why It Matters for Healing Episode 127: Why Your Body Is Wired for Danger: Understanding Trauma's Impact on Your Nervous System Episode 135: The Hidden Difference Between Stress and Trauma In How The Body Keeps Score Episode 138: Why Your Body Holds On When Your Mind Has Healed with Dr. Aimie Apigian

➡️ Get the full episode breakdown at Biology of Trauma® Podcast – Episode 164: Could Your Trauma Be Disrupting Your Metabolism? The Weight Health Conversation What if the reason your body is holding onto weight has nothing to do with what you're eating — and everything to do with hormones you may not have heard about?  In this episode, Dr. Aimie talks with registered dietitian and author Ashley Koff to unpack the hidden world of weight health hormones: GLP-1, leptin, ghrelin, and more — and why optimizing them matters for everybody, not just people trying to lose weight. What you'll hear will change how you see your body — not as something failing you, but as a sophisticated ecosystem sending you signals worth decoding. Ashley reveals why 93% of Americans are metabolically dysregulated, how trauma and chronic stress directly suppress the hormones that regulate metabolism and body composition, and why "weight loss" as a goal is actually working against your biology. Whether you're curious about GLP-1 medications, perimenopause weight changes, or just why the scale never seems to match your effort — this conversation will shift everything. In This Episode You'll Learn:  (00:00): Introducing the connection - weight, metabolism and GLP-1 (03:06): The weight-trauma connection: Why the body holds on despite every effort (04:04):  What “weight health” means biologically — and why weight loss as a goal misses the point (07:17) The incretin discovery: How GLP-1, leptin, ghrelin, and seven other weight health hormones regulate your biology (10:53).Why 93% of Americans show signs of suboptimal metabolic health — and what that actually means for you (11:36) Ashley's pizza framework: The right sequence for assessing your metabolic ecosystem (16:00) How to assess your weight health hormones — and why a blood test alone won't tell you what you need to know (24:03) Perimenopause and menopause: Why digestion fails first — and how that drives belly fat and brain fog (31:25) Learned behaviors vs. hormone imbalance: How to tell what is biology and what is a survival strategy from childhood (38:33) Where to start: Ashley's first step for anyone wanting to optimize weight health (41:52) The deliciousness signal: Why a “seven or above” is a physiologic mechanism, not a preference (45:08) Ashley's final message — where to find (her book) Your Best Shot and her clinical resources Resources/Guides: Your Best Shot by Ashley Koff, RD: The Personalized System for Optimal   Weight Health — GLP-1 Shot or Not Ashley Koff's website — For more on digestive, metabolic, and hormone health optimization The Biology of Trauma®  Book by Dr. Aimie Apigian — Where you can find the framework for finding your block in Chapter 12 Free Guide: Steps to Identify and Heal Trauma by Dr. Aimie Apigian Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 56 — Hormones: A Portal Into Our Stored Trauma with Dr. Aimie Apigian Episode 75 — Fear Stored in the Gut: Attachment, Relational Trauma & Solutions for the Hyper-Sensitive Gut Episode 82 — Using Biological Rhythms to Recover From Trauma with Dr. Leslie Korn Episode 138 — Why Your Body Holds On When Your Mind Has Healed Episode 151 — Why Healed Trauma Returns in Perimenopause: Chinese Medicine Lens with Dr. Lorne Brown

Device-related complications aren't just physical. They're wrapped up in every message you ever received about your body, your worth, and whether you're enough. Dr. Aimie Apigian reveals why the decision to extract devices from the body brings old trauma screaming to the surface and why patients find themselves at war with their own minds. From job pressure to childhood bullying to Baywatch reruns, the reasons folks get cosmetic devices run deeper than anyone wants to admit. And when it's time to remove them, that original wound reopens. This conversation explains why you change your mind every three days, why you can't think straight in consultations, and why your nervous system treats this decision like a life-or-death situation. Because to your body, it is. Get Dr. Aimie's book Biology of Trauma: https://www.biologyoftrauma.com/book IN THIS EPISODE WE'LL: Unpack why device extraction activates old wounds about body image, worthiness, and belonging Explore the real reasons folks get prosthetic devices, from workplace pressure to media programming to adolescent trauma Understand why patients freeze in consultations, change their minds repeatedly, and feel at war with themselves Learn how the nervous system shifts between survival mode and recovery mode and what that means for restoration Discover practical tools to track your trauma responses and aid your body's restorative capacity CHECK OUT THESE EPISODES: When Bigger Breasts Makes You Invisible: One Mom's Journey from Shame to Healing | Regina Steele My Breast Implant Illness and Explant Story with BII Survivor Casey Araujo and Dr. Robert Whitfield From Breast Implant Illness to Wellness: Allie Janszen's story of Explant with Dr. Robert Whitfield Let's Connect Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/breast-implant-illness/id1678143554 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@robertwhitfieldmd/videos Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1SPDripbluZKYsC0rwrBdb?si=23ea2cd9f6734667 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drrobertwhitfield?_t=8oQyjO25X5i&_r=1 IG: https://www.instagram.com/breastimplantillnessexpert/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/DrRobertWhitfield Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-robert-whitfield-md-50775b10/ X: https://x.com/rob_whitfieldmd Read this article - https://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/surgery/breast-reconstruction/types/implant-reconstruction/illness/breast-implant-illness Shop: https://drrobssolutions.com SHARP: https://www.harp.health NVISN Labs - https://nvisnlabs.com/ Get access to Dr. Rob's Favorite Products below: Danger Coffee - Use our link for mold free coffee - https://dangercoffee.com/pages/mold-free-coffee?ref=ztvhyjg JASPR Air Purifier - Use code DRROB for the Jaspr Air Purifier - https://jaspr.co/ Echo Water - Get high quality water with our code DRROB10 - https://echowater.com/ BallancerPro - Use code DRROBVIP for the world's leader in lymphatic drainage technology - https://ballancerpro.com Ultrahuman - Use code WHITFIELD10 for the most accurate wearable - https://www.ultrahuman.com/ring/buy/us/?affiliateCode=drwhitfield

➡️ Get the full episode breakdown at Biology of Trauma® Podcast - Episode 163: Growing Up With Addiction Left a Trauma Your Body Still Carries What happens when a child has to become the adult in the family? Dr. Tian Dayton, clinical psychologist and author of Growing Up with Addiction, joins Dr. Aimie for one of the most personal conversations on the podcast. Both share their own childhood stories of reading the room, managing a parent's emotions, and the unspoken rules that shaped their nervous systems for decades. This episode reveals how children in unpredictable families redirect their brain's resources from play to survival, how addiction's rhythms become the child's operating manual, and why chronic survival physiology leads to digestive dysfunction in midlife. Whether addiction was part of your family or not, these dynamics may be running your body today. In This Episode You'll Learn: (00:00) What happens when a child has to become the emotional manager of the family (02:58) What chaos actually looks like in a family that appears organized on the surface (05:00) How a child's brain shifts from play and curiosity to strategizing and operating (07:23) The different physiological states of a parent in addiction: sober, craving, and under the influence (10:22) Why addiction spills beyond substances into food, process addictions, and mood cycles (14:55) The connection between protein deficiency, neurotransmitter production, and craving cycles (22:16) How the insula processes conflicting emotions and body sensations during overwhelming moments (27:51) Why chronic survival physiology leads to digestive issues, bloating, and gut inflammation (29:33) The perimenopause tipping point: when the body stops adapting to decades of unresolved stress (52:17) The Al-Anon principle that changed everything: love the person, separate the disease Resources/Guides: Growing Up with Addiction by Dr. Tian Dayton — How Adult Children of Addicts Can Heal Family Trauma, C-PTSD, and Codependency Dr. Tian Dayton's website — Relational Trauma Repair resources and training The Biology of Trauma by Dr. Aimie Apigian Songs of the Inner World — Dr. Aimie's YouTube music channel Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 92: How Chaos of Early Childhood Trauma Affects Our Adult Nervous System with Dr. Tian Dayton Episode 146: How Attachment Affects Us For Life: 6 Childhood Pains and How to Repair

Dr. Aimie Apigian returns to explore how unresolved trauma and chronic survival stress can evolve into fatigue, autoimmune symptoms, digestive issues, and brain fog. This conversation dives into why high-functioning, driven individuals often feel depleted despite appearing “fine,” and how nervous system dysregulation keeps the body stuck in a state of danger.Learn how restoring safety, regulating the nervous system, and repairing biology can reverse chronic symptoms and build true resilience from the inside out.Key Takeaways:Autoimmune symptoms may reflect a nervous system stuck in chronic danger mode.High-achieving, perfectionist personalities are more prone to trauma-driven depletion.Emotional overwhelm can trigger immune activation and brain inflammation.Digestive dysfunction and fatigue often stem from vagus nerve shutdown and metabolic stress.Healing begins with restoring safety and regulating the nervous system before processing trauma.Dr. Aimie Apigian Bio:Dr. Aimie Apigian, MD, MS, MPH, is a double board-certified physician in Preventive and Addiction Medicine with advanced degrees in Biochemistry and Public Health. She is the founder of The Mind-Body-Biology Institute and creator of The Biology of Trauma®, a pioneering framework that integrates medicine, neuroscience, and somatic therapies to address how trauma is stored in the body—and how to heal it. Inspired by her personal journey as a foster and adoptive mother, Dr. Aimie blends rigorous science with deep compassion to help individuals and practitioners achieve lasting transformation. Her book, The Biology of Trauma, reveals the cellular and emotional roots of fear, pain, and overwhelm, and offers a practical path to true mind-body-biology healing.The Biology of Trauma: Your Issues are Stuck in Your Tissues with Dr. Aimie Apigian

➡️ Get the full episode breakdown at Biology of Trauma® Podcast — Episode 162: Why Fixing Someone You Love Is Destroying Your Nervous System When someone you love is struggling with addiction, your nervous system absorbs what theirs numbs out. Relational trauma repair therapist Karen Moser joins Dr. Aimie Apigian to explain why the families of substance users often carry deeper nervous system dysregulation than the users themselves. This episode reveals the biological cost of trying to control another person's healing and what it takes to reclaim the parts of yourself that got lost along the way. In This Episode You'll Learn: (00:00) Why helping someone you love may be destroying your nervous system (02:00) What Relational Trauma Repair (RTR) is and how it works with the body (06:30) How Karen Moser brought Relational Trauma Repair (RTR) into addiction treatment and family work (08:00) Why the family's nervous system is often more dysregulated than the user's (11:00) Why sobriety alone does not resolve the family's nervous system patterns (15:00) Where relational trauma repair starts with families and self-relationship (19:00) How floor checks help name and locate emotions in the body (22:30) Why anger, shame, and even joy are emotions people learn to avoid (28:00) How childhood survival roles create adult role fatigue and burnout (38:00) A practical exercise to reconnect with the alive, strong parts of yourself Resources/Guides: The Biology of Trauma book — Get your copy here Songs of the Inner World — Dr. Aimie's YouTube channel for real, raw, honest words for your inner world. Nervous System Journal — Download at biologyoftrauma.com/book. Track how often you are in a survival state. Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 136: How Chaos of Early Childhood Trauma Affects Our Adult Nervous System with Dr. Tian Dayton Episode 158: Marijuana, Addiction, and the Body: What We've Been Getting Wrong with Kevin Sabet

Aimie Rigas is an audience engagement and growth expert. She is the Director of Audience Growth for Nine Publishing, which includes The Australian Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times and all associated brands such as Good Food. In this role, Aimie is responsible for audience engagement, consumer subscription revenue and marketing.She is a board member of the Fairfax Foundation, which provides financial support to advance the health, education and welfare of people who work in, or have previously worked in, the media industry in Australia and their families.

What if the breaking point so many of us are feeling right now is actually the beginning of profound healing and purpose?  In this episode, returning guest and trauma expert Dr. Aimie Apigian helps you understand why so many conversations feel triggering—and how unresolved trauma, not just current events, may be at the root.  We explore the difference between resolved and unresolved trauma, and why being activated is a sign your body is asking for deeper safety and support.  We're talking about shifting pain into meaningful action—whether that's healing your body, setting boundaries, or standing up for change in a grounded way.  Dr. Aimie breaks down her sequence of healing and explains the science behind how trauma is stored and how it can truly be resolved.  Tune in here to go from overwhelmed to empowered! Aimie Apigian, MD  Dr. Aimie Apigian is a double-board-certified physician in Preventive and Addiction Medicine with double Master's degrees in biochemistry and public health. She's the leading medical expert on how trauma becomes our biology and what to do once it creates a chronic health condition. She hosts a podcast, a YouTube channel, and online Summits, working with experts in the health and trauma space. She also leads groups through her programs to address stored trauma in the body, and teaches practitioners to do the same in her Biology of Trauma online Training. IN THIS EPISODE Discovering new layers of unresolved trauma  Creating safe spaces to ask the hard questions How to make your children feel safe to share their feelings   The biology behind why we can feel re-triggered Creating safety & mentally supporting yourself through hard times Resetting your nervous system to feel safe in your body  How to support & show up for each other through uncertain times Dr. Aimie's guide on healing stored trauma & more resources for you  QUOTES “Don't do anything alone. This is where a tribe, a group of people, can make a tremendous difference in the world.” “Healing is not staying small to stay safe. It's finding that safety, but then layering in the support on a biology level, on a somatic level, on a mind level. Those are all the three levels that allow our mind and body to have the energy to actually process.” “When we've had this past trauma, our brain likes to put things into those kinds of boxes. so being able to step back and learn over time that while it's important to speak up, it's also important to choose who I share those things with because it's not meant for everybody.” RESOURCES MENTIONED Order my latest book: The Perimenopause Revolution ⁠Dr. Aimie's book: The Biology of Trauma https://a.co/d/09grbJrF⁠ Dr. Aimie's Socials:  ⁠Dr. Aimie's Website ⁠ Instagram Facebook LinkedIn  YouTube RELATED EPISODES  681: The Biology of Trauma: How Stress Gets Stored in Your Body (and Passed On to Your Kids) and How You Can Start To Heal with Dr. Aimie Apigian 720: Why No One Talks About Loneliness in Midlife—And Why It's Not Just You 717: “I Don't Feel Like Myself Anymore”: The Mental & Emotional Reality of Perimenopause 702: How to Heal Trauma and Rebuild Trust Through Connectability with Anna Runkle 

➡️ Get the full episode breakdown at Biology of Trauma® Podcast - Episode 160: How Creativity Rewires Your Nervous System with Adam Roa What if the key to healing isn't more therapy—but creativity? Adam Roa's poem "You Are Who You've Been Looking For" reached over 250 million people. But before that poem existed, Adam spent 25 years emotionally shut down. He didn't remember his childhood sexual abuse until age 30. His journey reveals why creativity creates neurological safety for emotions that were once too overwhelming to feel. Creativity isn't about talent—it's about pattern disruption. When you turn pain into a poem or painting, you force your brain to view that experience differently.  This episode explains why safety must come before expression and how the creative process rewires neural pathways when talk alone can't reach what's stored in the body. In This Episode You'll Learn:  (01:00) What poetry has to do with your nervous system's capacity to heal (03:45) Why Adam's viral poem reached 250 million people (05:30) How childhood trauma stayed hidden for 25 years (08:00) Why acting became Adam's first safe space to feel emotions (12:00) The moment poetry became a survival mechanism after heartbreak (17:00) How creativity rewires neural pathways associated with traumatic events (22:00) Why one poem can play multiple roles in your healing journey (27:00) What happens when you write for yourself but release for others (32:00) Dr. Aimie shares her song "Letter to the Me" publicly for the first time (47:00) Adam performs "You Are Who You've Been Looking For" (54:00) The journey from viral success to learning what self-love actually means Resources/Guides: The Biology of Trauma book — Get your copy here Adam Roa's New Book — Crazy Love explores the journey of learning to truly love yourself. Available May 2025. Adam's Websites — adamroa.com Dr. Aimie's Music Channel — Songs of the Inner World on YouTube Free Guide: The Chronic Freeze Response — Understanding why your body stays stuck even when you want to move Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 82: Using Biological Rhythms to Recover From Trauma with Dr. Leslie Korn Episode 119: Transforming Trauma Into Joy & Purpose with Gregg Ward  

Why Won't My Body Heal? Could It Be Holding Trauma? In this episode, we go deeper than ever before on this podcast.I sit down with Dr. Aimie Apigian, double board-certified physician and author of The Biology of Trauma, to uncover something most people — and even most health professionals — completely overlook:

You know it's not good for you. You do it anyway. Then you ask yourself why. Late-night scrolling when you promised you'd sleep. Sugar after dinner when you said you'd stop. The fight you picked that you didn't need to pick. We call it lack of willpower. But willpower isn't the problem. This is the biology behind the main episode this week with addiction policy expert Dr. Kevin Sabet. He shared what we've been getting wrong about marijuana and addiction. Now I'm taking you deeper into what's actually happening in your brain when you can't stop doing what you know is harming you. In this episode you'll hear more about: (01:00) Why "why am I doing this to myself" is a dopamine question. (02:30) The truth about dopamine — it's not just high or low. It's both. (03:00) How drama and interpersonal chaos become dopamine sources. (04:30) Why the more you push the lever, the less dopamine you get. (05:00) Dopamine isn't about pleasure. It's about remembering what's important. (07:00) How early attachment wires dopamine to connection — or to danger. (09:00) The definition of addiction: going somewhere other than safe human connection to feel okay. (10:30) The three biochemical imbalances common in addictive patterns. (11:00) How brain inflammation lowers dopamine and raises glutamate — the double whammy. (12:30) Why bribes actually work for dopamine-driven behaviors. The craving isn't a character flaw. It's a signal. When dopamine is low at baseline, your nervous system will find ways to get it. The question is whether we repair the biology or white-knuckle through life. Resources/Guides: Download the 3 Most Common Biochemical Imbalances Guide — The biochemical imbalances Dr. Aimie mentions that disrupt normal dopamine activity.  Biology of Trauma book — Available everywhere books are sold. Get your copy → Watch the video version on YouTube → Check out the main episode -  Episode 158: Marijuana, Addiction, and the Body: What We've Been Getting Wrong with Dr. Kevin Sabet Try this practice this week: Notice when you're reaching for something to take the edge off. Before you act, pause. Ask: "Is my baseline dopamine low right now? What is my body actually looking for?" Awareness interrupts the automatic loop. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. It helps others find trauma-informed care.  

Can you do all the therapy and still have brain fog? Yes. Can you talk through your past and still have chronic fatigue? Absolutely. Here's the tension. We've been told that processing trauma means talking about it. That resilience means surviving hard things. But what if your body is still holding what your mind thinks it released? I go deeper into this with Marie Demasio in Episode 157. She shared how she'd done so much work after losing her son. She thought she was past it. Then she visited our mutual friend, Dr. Bryce Applebaum. He told her that her vision was a mess. Her brain was inflamed. This was never just about the mind. It's about what the body holds. In this episode you'll hear more about: (01:45) Why brain fog is one of the most common blocks to living from safety. (03:22) What neuroception is and how your body's dashboard works. (04:48) How brain inflammation sends ongoing cues of danger. (06:15) Why dissociation and fog are survival strategies, not dysfunction. (08:30) The cycle of caffeine, sugar, and pushing through brain fog. (10:05) Why I assess brain inflammation first in my program. (11:42) The specific supplements that reduce brain inflammation. The body holds what the mind thinks it released. When we address brain inflammation, we remove a cue of danger. Then the nervous system has a chance to believe it's safe. Resources/Guides: Get Dr. Aimie's Brain Inflammation Supplement Protocol — The exact supplements mentioned in this episode including N-acetylcysteine, Neuro-Mag, turmeric, resveratrol, and apigenin. Access the protocol Biology of Trauma book — Available everywhere books are sold. Get your copy Free Guide: The Essential Sequence - Discover why doing the right things in the right order is key to releasing trauma.  → Watch the video version on YouTube  → Check out the main episode this follows: Episode 157: Soul Contracts and the Biology of Grief with Marie Demasio Try this practice this week: Notice your brain fog. Before reaching for caffeine or sugar, pause. Ask: "Is my body sending me a danger signal right now?" That awareness is the first step. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. It helps others find trauma-informed care.

Have you ever felt like no matter how much talk therapy you do, you're still stuck in the same cycles of anxiety, burnout, or chronic fatigue? According to Dr. Aimie Apigian, that's because trauma isn't just a psychological story we tell ourselves—it's a biological reality stored in our cells. In this deep-dive episode, we sit down with Dr. Aimie Apigian, MD, MS, MPH, a double board-certified physician and the leading medical expert on the Biology of Trauma®. Dr. Aimie explains why traditional healing models often miss the mark by focusing only on the mind, while ignoring the physiological "stuckness" of the nervous system. We explore the concept of the "trauma body"—the physical manifestation of past overwhelm—and how our biology actually dictates our emotional and mental capacity. In this episode, we cover: Stress vs. Trauma: Why stress can be growth-promoting, but trauma acts as a biological injury that requires a different roadmap for repair. The 5 Stages of Trauma Response: Moving beyond "fight or flight" to understand the full spectrum: startle, stress, the wall, freeze, and shutdown. The "Functional Freeze" Trap: How many high-achievers are actually living in a state of "high-functioning freeze" and why their "drive" might actually be a survival response. Moving to "Calm Alive": Dr. Aimie's signature framework for shifting the body out of survival mode and into a state of authentic safety and vitality. If you've been told your symptoms are "all in your head" or you've reached a plateau in your healing journey, this conversation will give you the science-backed tools to partner with your body and finally move from surviving to thriving. For more information on Dr. Aimie's book go to: The Biology of Trauma To connect with Dr. Aimee Apigian: Instagram: @draimie LinkedIn: Dr. Aimie Apigian  YouTube: @DrAimeeApigian Website: Biology of Trauma Podcast: Biology of Trauma Podcast Follow us on Instagram: @every.body.talks @jenngiamo @schully Subscribe to our YouTube channel! Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening. Apple Podcasts Spotify Be sure to leave a 5 star rating! It really helps grow the show. If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing!

➡️ Get the full episode breakdown at Biology of Trauma® Podcast - Episode 157: Why Spiritual Insight Alone Can't Heal Trauma with Marie Damasio She understood her grief completely. After her son Tristan died from brain cancer, Marie Damasio dove deep into spiritual work—soul contracts, Akashic records, the meaning behind her loss. She found peace. And her body stayed stuck. You'll hear more on: [00:00] Soul contracts and capacity for resilience [01:12] Cellular energy and critical line of overwhelm [03:32] When spiritual insight arrives but the body stays stuck [10:34] Why we stay frozen in identities that no longer serve us [18:47] Why understanding alone doesn't create change [20:03] Dr. Aimie's five agreements for trauma work [27:13] Viktor Frankl on meaning and struggle [35:05] For practitioners: Insight without embodiment [40:16] The alchemy of transmuting pain into purpose [46:30] Vision therapy and integrative care Resources/Guides: Free Guide: The Essential Sequence - Discover why doing the right things in the right order is key to releasing trauma. If you've tried therapy, spiritual work, and self-help but your body stays stuck, this guide explains why sequence matters—and what to do about it. The Biology of Trauma book - Get your copy here  Foundational Journey - The 6-week program to lay the foundation of safety and skills for self-regulation to do the deeper work. Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 46: 5 Agreements to Keep Group Trauma Work Safe with Dr. Aimie Apigian Episode 134: The Biology of Overwhelm: Why Small Demands Feel Impossible

Why do so many people with depression struggle to stop their antidepressants? What if the answer isn't about willpower — but about missing nutrients your brain needs to function?  Dr. James Greenblatt has spent 30 years in inpatient psychiatry. He watched patients go from one medication to two, then three, then five. Suicide rates kept climbing. And he started asking: What if the brain is simply missing what it needs? His new book Finally Hopeful explores the biological causes of depression most doctors never test for. Get the full episode breakdown at Biology of Trauma® Podcast - Episode 156: Can't Get Off Antidepressants? Ask for These Lab Tests In This Episode You'll Learn: [04:09] Why Dr. Greenblatt wrote Finally Hopeful after 30 years in psychiatry [12:50] Vitamin D as the foundation: Why nothing else works without it — not meds, not therapy [14:35] How vitamin D deficiency affects serotonin production in the brain [12:50] Dr. Aimie's personal story: vitamin D levels of 12, then only 20 with supplementation [17:06] Why vitamin D deficiency is one of the most common factors in people who can't stop antidepressants [18:48] The gut-serotonin connection: 90-95% of serotonin is made in the gut [21:00] The building blocks your brain needs: iron, B12, folate, zinc, magnesium [24:57] Brain inflammation and its connection to suicide risk [26:14] Why sleep deprivation creates inflammatory markers within hours [32:07] The simple labs to ask your doctor about — and why testing is the only path forward Resources/Guides: Free Guide: Top 3 Biochemical Imbalances That Affect Mood - a starting point for understanding the most common nutrient imbalances connected to depression The Biology of Trauma book - Available now everywhere books are sold. Get your copy Foundational Journey - The 6-week program to create inner safety and shift your nervous system. Build the foundation that allows your body to actually use the nutrients and support you give it. Dr. James Greenblatt - Get a copy of the Finally Hopeful book and find more resources at https://www.jamesgreenblattmd.com/ Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 41: Solutions for Low Serotonin and GABA in Trauma with Trudy Scott Episode 101: Brain Inflammation: Addressing The Overlooked Gatekeeper To Trauma Release with Dr. Austin Perlmutter

EVEN MORE about this episode!Can trauma live in the body long after the story has faded—and even be passed down through generations? In this powerful episode, Julie Ryan sits down with trauma expert Dr. Aimie Apigian to explore how trauma is stored not just in the mind, but deep within our biology. Drawing on cutting-edge science and lived experience, Dr. Aimie reveals how inherited trauma can shape stress responses, health patterns, and emotional regulation through epigenetics and cellular memory.We also uncover the surprising links between food, movement, and trauma recovery—why certain foods feel comforting, why others leave us anxious or overstimulated, and how everyday choices like caffeine and inactivity quietly fuel adrenaline and stress. Dr. Aimie explains how gentle movement and intentional nutrition can help release stored stress and restore a sense of safety in the body.Through real-world stories, including a veteran who pushed beyond his limits, this conversation highlights the delicate balance between stress and rest, resilience and recovery. With practical tools and compassionate insight, this episode empowers you to listen to your body, rebuild trust from the inside out, and step into a more grounded, regulated version of yourself.Guest Biography:Dr. Aimie Apigian is a double board-certified physician in Preventive and Addiction Medicine with master's degrees in biochemistry and public health, known for revolutionizing trauma healing by revealing how trauma is stored in the body's cells—not just the mind. Her bestselling book The Biology of Trauma (with a foreword by Gabor Maté) reframes how we understand the physiological impact of trauma and the body's capacity for healing. Inspired by adopting a child during medical school, Dr. Aimie developed a science-based, integrative approach to trauma recovery, which she now shares through practitioner trainings, international speaking, her podcast, and YouTube channel—bridging functional medicine, attachment theory, and trauma therapy to demonstrate that true healing of mind, body, and biology is possible.Episode Chapters:(0:00:01) - Healing Trauma Through Science and Spirituality(0:17:07) - Foods That Discharge Adrenaline(0:33:22) - Understanding Stress, Rest, and Growth(0:37:15) - Understanding Trauma's Biological and Spiritual Impact(0:51:55) - Healing Trauma Through Ancestral Reincarnation➡️Subscribe to Ask Julie Ryan YouTube➡️Subscribe to Ask Julie Ryan Español YouTube➡️Subscribe to Ask Julie Ryan Português YouTube➡️Subscribe to Ask Julie Ryan Deutsch YouTube➡️Subscribe to Ask Julie Ryan Français YouTube✏️Ask Julie a Question!

What if the grief you've been pushing away is trying to tell you something? In this mini episode, I open the vault on my live Q&A with Biology of Freeze students. These are the real questions people ask when they're in the deep work. The answers might surprise you. A caregiver asked how to show up for her family while grief keeps pulling her under. A practitioner wondered why her autoimmune clients can't take action. I share the exact practice I use when grief hits like a wave. Spoiler: it's not positive thinking. It's not pushing through. It's pausing long enough to let that part of you feel heard. In this episode you'll hear more about: The grief practice no one taught us: Why ignoring emotions or "staying positive" abandons the hurting part. I share the phrase I say out loud when grief shows up. It starts with: "I'm having a feeling right now." How to stay present to pain without drowning: The physical gesture I use to stay connected instead of numbing. It's not about making it go away. It's about not leaving that part alone. What grief is really pointing to: Behind every wave is something you deeply value. Give it space. You'll get clarity on how you want to live. Generational trauma lives in the body: I break down how ancestral patterns show up in beliefs, sensations, and even DNA. The good news? All of it can be rewired. Why autoimmune clients can't take action: This isn't motivation. It's learned helplessness from early overwhelm. The roots often start before you could talk. Body work sending you into shutdown? If dental work or sauna leave you crashed for weeks, it might not be emotional. Your detox pathways might not keep up. Music as nervous system medicine: Not all calming music actually calms you. I explain what tempo range shifts your heart rate. Our grief isn't a problem to solve. It's a messenger pointing us toward what matters most.

What if the reason we can't say no isn't a willpower problem—but a nervous system problem? In Part 2 of this raw, unscripted conversation, Dr. Aimie Apigian and her friend Jalon Johnson go deeper into what actually happens inside our body when we try to set a boundary. This isn't theory—it's two people sharing what it felt like to rehearse conversations for days, to brace for rejection, and to genuinely believe the world might end if they said no to family. From the realization that we've been having hour-long arguments with people entirely in our heads, to the moment the sun still came up after saying "I'm not coming," this episode gets honest about why boundaries feel like pulling the pin on a grenade—and what changes when we finally let it go. In this episode you'll hear more about: The conversations we have that never actually happen: Dr. Aimie's revelation that she would spend hours—sometimes days—rehearsing both sides of a conversation with someone, anticipating their response, forming rebuttals, all before saying a single word out loud. The exhausting mental gymnastics of trying to manage someone else's reaction before it even exists. Why "no" feels like a threat to survival: Jalon's insight that if you've never been comfortable saying no, your nervous system treats it like danger. The activation, the bracing, the preparing for impact—it's not dramatic, it's protective. And it makes sense when we understand what we learned in childhood. "No with a period is a complete sentence": The reframe Jalon's first therapist gave him that he's carried ever since—and why most of us still struggle to say no without attaching explanations, justifications, and apologies to soften the blow we're sure is coming. The world didn't end—and that changed everything: Dr. Aimie's experience of finally setting the boundary, bracing for disaster, and then... nothing. The sun came up. The family moved on. And she was able to show up as the person she actually wanted to be instead of the drained, resentful version running on empty. Self-care feels frightening when you've never done it: Why taking care of ourselves can feel more threatening than burning out, and how building tolerance to rest—just like building tolerance to anything new—takes practice, not perfection. Asking "why" until you get the real answer: The technique both Dr. Aimie and Jalon use to get beneath the surface reason—asking why five, six, seven times until the truth finally shows up. Dr. Aimie's application of this to her emotional eating patterns and what she discovered underneath the hunger. Setting a boundary isn't about having the perfect words or the right explanation. It's about recognizing that the discomfort we feel isn't proof we're doing something wrong—it's proof we're doing something new. Our nervous system learned that saying no was dangerous. It will take time to teach it otherwise. And in the meantime, we can hold both: the part that's terrified and the part that knows we need this.

This week, trauma expert Dr. Aimie Apigian is here to change how we understand trauma. She shares how becoming a foster parent led her into trauma healing—and y'all, her story is powerful. Dr. Aimie explains the difference between stress and trauma, reveals how our bodies hold onto past experiences, and offers practical steps for us to start releasing them. Get ready for real talk, actionable tools, and hope—this episode is for all of us ready to heal from the inside out.In this episode:How becoming a foster parent shaped Dr. Amie's path to becoming a trauma expertThe three qualities shaped by trauma responsesHow the body recognizes and stores traumaCommon patterns of stored trauma in the bodyActionable steps to begin healing trauma in the bodyHere is my favorite quote from this episode:"The body does not allow us to leave our past in the past." - Dr. Aimie ApigianExperience Bible Life Guides: Forgiven and Free — a 21-day Bible-based journey to emotional freedom, available free at https://try.biblelifeguides.com/products/forgiven-free-with-kim-gravelTake the Quiz: Which Maribelle and the Manger character are you? Find out here: https://bit.ly/4pxUqF8If you want your questions answered then leave a comment or call me and leave me a voicemail at 404-913-6460There is BONUS CONTENT in our free newsletter so make sure to subscribe at https://www.kimgravelshow.comNEW! Order Kim's Holiday Children's BookEmbark on a magical adventure with five friends as they journey together to witness the birth of Jesus! It's a heartwarming holiday tale your whole family will love.Kim's brand-new storybook Maribelle and the Manger is available now: https://maribelleandthemanger.com/?utm_source=lwya.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=pre-order-kim-s-new-book&_bhlid=075a4287c5257cbe2d43cc23e857262cc9cf39cdConnect with Dr. Aimie Apigian:InstagramLinkedInYouTubeWebsitePodcast: The Biology of TraumaBook: The Biology of TraumaConnect with Me:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠New episodes of The Kim Gravel Show drop every Wednesday at 6pm EST.Support our show by supporting our Sponsors:Aura FramesThe holidays are almost here, and Aura Frames is the gift that brings memories to life. Aura is a digital photo frame with unlimited storage that can be updated instantly from any phone, anywhere. It's an easy way to share moments, keep traditions alive, and feel connected every day. You can't wrap togetherness, but you can frame it.For a limited time, visit https://on.auraframes.com/KIM and get $45 off Aura's best-selling Carver Mat frame with promo code KIM at checkout. This exclusive Black Friday/Cyber Monday offer is their best of the year—order before it ends!HERSMenopause can bring hot flashes, fatigue, brain fog, and other challenging symptoms—but getting help doesn't have to be hard. HERS now offers menopause care through their trusted online health platform. Complete a simple medical intake, and if eligible, a licensed provider creates a personalized treatment plan with access to FDA-approved options. Many women start feeling relief in 4–6 weeks, with better sleep, fewer hot flashes, and improved overall well-being.Visit https://www.forhers.com/kim to get a personalized plan. Not available in all 50 states. Perimenopause & Menopause by Hers includes hormonal health support, educational resources, digital tools, and prescription options, if appropriate. See website for full details, important safety information, and restrictions.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if your physical health issues actually stem from childhood trauma? Whether you're struggling with chronic fatigue, digestive issues, or autoimmune conditions, healing from your past might actually heal your body. In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Aimie Apigian, physician, trauma expert, and author of The Biology of Trauma. Dr. Aimie explains how trauma doesn't just affect your emotions—it impacts your physical health too. Fortunately, you can heal from the inside out by addressing the mind-body connection. Some of the things we talk about are: How trauma gets stored in the body and shows up as physical symptoms Why traditional approaches to trauma recovery might not be effective Why so many medical professionals don't ask about trauma The surprising role of safety in the recovery process Why small, consistent steps are the key to rewiring your nervous system How to create daily practices that help you feel safe and grounded By the end of the episode, you'll have actionable strategies to start healing your body and mind as you grow mentally stronger. Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mentally Stronger Premium⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for exclusive content like bonus episodes, signed books, and 30-day challenges that will keep you growing stronger. Links & Resources Aces Test BiologyofTrauma.com Biology of Trauma Connect with the Show Buy a copy of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Amy on Instagram — ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@AmyMorinAuthor⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Visit my website — ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AmyMorinLCSW.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sponsors Cowboy Colostrum — Get 25% Off @CowboyColostrum with code STRONGER at ⁠cowboycolostrum.com⁠. #CowboyColostrumPod HoneyLove — Save 20% Off Honeylove by going to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠honeylove.com/STRONGER⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ #honeylovepod CocoaVia — Get 20% off with code Amy2025 at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠cocoavia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. OneSkin — Get 15% off OneSkin with the code STRONGER at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.oneskin.co/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Quince — Go to ⁠⁠⁠Quince.com/stronger⁠⁠⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns! ZocDoc — Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Zocdoc.com/STRONGER⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today! Shopify — Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shopify.com/mentallystronger⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Life Kit — Listen to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Life Kit podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ from NPR. Mentally Strong App — Take your mental strength to the next level. Sign up at ⁠⁠⁠AmyMorinLCSW.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices