The Biology of Trauma® With Dr. Aimie

You push yourself through every day, and the push never gets easier.
What will surprise you is that the way out of functional freeze starts smaller than you think, and that safety itself can feel scary at first.
➡ Full show notes + resources
In this solo episode, Dr. Aimie explains why the body holds on to a freeze response, why we cannot think our way out of it, and the order the body follows to come back out: safety, support, then expansion.
She walks you through a one-minute microdosing safety practice, explains why too much safety too fast can bring rebound anxiety, and shares how to give your freeze short, planned time instead of fighting it.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
00:00 How do you get out of functional freeze?
00:59 What is functional freeze?
03:02 Why doesn't the freeze go away on its own?
05:32 Safety, support, then expansion
07:15 A microdosing safety practice
11:44 Why feeling safe can feel scary
15:31 Stop fighting the freeze
19:21 How to practice a full collapse
"For a nervous system that has been in fear its whole life, bringing it a moment of safety can feel scary." ~ Dr. Aimie Apigian
If you are always pushing through and can't seem to rest, this episode is for you.
RESOURCES:
Take the free 2-Minute Assessment for Stored Trauma and find out which pattern of stored trauma your body has been running.
Get The Biology of Trauma book. Chapter 12, "The Map and Framework for the Journey."
This episode is educational and is not medical advice. Please work with your own qualified healthcare provider for decisions about your care.



Grab your copy of The Biology of Trauma

You push through every day, and an exhaustion stays underneath.
What will surprise you is that the fear of the freeze is often what keeps you in it, and that the way out starts with letting the body move through it.
➡ Full show notes + resources
In this solo episode, Dr. Aimie answers a question she hears nearly every week: how do I get out of freeze when I'm afraid of it? She explains functional freeze, a trauma response that never completed, and how we override it with caffeine, busyness, sugar and stress.
She shares how she lived in functional freeze as a resident physician, why pushing through drains the tank, how she learned to stop fearing her own freeze, and what to do if you are in a shutdown right now.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
00:00 How do I get out of freeze when I’m afraid of it?
01:33 How to recognize functional freeze
03:17 The gas pedal and the emergency brake
07:22 Why we push through
09:00 How pushing through leads to chronic illness
10:54 The fear of the freeze
15:10 How I stopped fearing my own freeze
19:37 Uncoupling the fear from the freeze
24:32 What changes when you stop pushing
25:57 If you are in a shutdown right now
"Freeze is one layer. The fear of the freeze is a second layer. And that second layer is often what keeps us stuck." ~ Dr. Aimie Apigian
If you are always pushing through and always exhausted underneath it, this episode is for you.
RESOURCES:
Take the free 2-Minute Assessment for Stored Trauma and find out which pattern of stored trauma your body has been running.
Get The Biology of Trauma book. Chapter 12, "The Map and Framework for the Journey."
This episode is educational and is not medical advice. Please work with your own qualified healthcare provider for decisions about your care.

Grab your copy of The Biology of Trauma

You can feel lonely and still not want to be around anyone.
What will surprise you is that inflammation itself can create a feeling of disconnection, and loneliness feeds that inflammation back.
➡ Full show notes + resources
In this solo episode, Dr. Aimie answers a question from a participant in her practitioner training: why do I feel lonely, but also not want to be around people? She explains the difference between being alone and feeling lonely, why healthy habits did not offset the health cost of loneliness in a study of 277,489 adults, and how stored trauma creates a part that hides and a part that craves connection.
She walks through the loop between loneliness and inflammation, and what to do as the holidays come closer, whether you are with family, with friends or on your own: blood sugar, sleep, a containment hug and words of support for the lonely part of you.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
00:00 – 03:12 Being Alone vs Feeling Lonely
03:12 – 06:19 Why Healthy Habits Don’t Offset Loneliness
06:19 – 08:56 Stepping Back From Family
08:56 – 11:58 Low Energy, Inflammation and Disconnection
11:58 – 14:39 The Loneliness-Inflammation Loop
14:39 – 18:15 Blood Sugar and Comfort Foods
18:15 – 20:56 Sleep and the Containment Hug
20:56 – 24:23 What to Say to the Lonely Part
24:23 – 26:01 Stress Loneliness or Trauma Loneliness?
"I'm not trying to make the loneliness go away. I'm trying to make the loneliness know that it actually isn't all alone." ~ Dr. Aimie Apigian
If you feel lonely but too tired to be around people, or you have stepped back from family on your healing journey, this episode is for you.
RESOURCES:
Get the free Stress or Trauma Guide and learn whether your nervous system has been running a stress response or a trauma response.
Get The Biology of Trauma book. Chapter 9 describes the pattern of disconnection.
This episode is educational and is not medical advice. Please work with your own qualified healthcare provider for decisions about your care.





Grab your copy of The Biology of Trauma

A hard start in life can still be shaping your gut decades later.
What will surprise you is that your gut microbes can sense when you are stressed, and they change how they treat your gut wall.
➡ Full show notes + resources
Dr. Aimie speaks with Dr. Emeran Mayer, gastroenterologist, neuroscientist and Distinguished Research Professor at UCLA, about how early life stress reaches the gut, the immune system and the brain. He explains increased stress responsiveness, his term for how a difficult birth or childhood becomes biology, and why it does not mean you are doomed.
They also talk about why brain fog may start in the gut, the mucus layer that protects the gut wall, and the foods that help it, from diverse fiber to fermented foods.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
00:00 – 00:38 Introduction
00:38 – 02:44 The First 1,000 Days
02:44 – 06:31 Early Stress Doesn't Mean You're Doomed
06:31 – 08:44 Hard Births and Stress Responsiveness
08:44 – 10:56 How Early Stress Shows Up in the Gut
10:56 – 14:27 Your Gut Microbes Can Sense Stress
14:27 – 17:28 From Gut to Brain: LPS and Brain Fog
17:28 – 19:17 The Gut's Protective Mucus Layer
19:17 – 21:42 The Interconnected Plate
21:42 – 24:01 Why Food Diversity Matters
24:01 – 26:46 Foods That Protect the Mucus Layer
26:46 – 30:13 Dr. Mayer's Key Message
30:13 – 31:12 Closing Reflection and Stress or Trauma Guide
"When a gut microbe is exposed to the stress hormone norepinephrine, it changes its genes and becomes more aggressive toward the bowel wall." ~ Dr. Emeran Mayer
If you had a difficult birth or a stressful childhood and have lived with gut symptoms or brain fog for years, this episode is for you.
RESOURCES:
Get the free Stress or Trauma Guide and learn the physical difference between a stress response and a trauma response in under two minutes.
Get The Biology of Trauma book. Chapter 11 explains how early life shapes the filter through which the body meets every later stress.
The Mind-Gut Connection by Dr. Emeran Mayer.
This episode is educational and is not medical advice. Please work with your own qualified healthcare provider for decisions about your care.



Grab your copy of The Biology of Trauma

Emotions held down for decades are still shaping your body.
What will surprise you is that the way back can start very small, even with one finger.
This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Part 1 is here.
➡ Full show notes + resources
➡Trauma Pattern Quiz: https://draimie.co/4jIXc9V
Dr. Aimie continues her conversation with Dr. Howard Schubiner, internist, Clinical Professor at Michigan State and an early mentor of hers. He describes what changes in the body when an emotion held down for decades is finally felt and expressed, and why safety and self-compassion make that possible.
They talk about why neuroplastic symptoms are reversible, how compassion, curiosity and calm answer the question pain is asking, and where to start when your capacity is very low.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
00:00 What changes when buried emotions are finally felt?
01:14 What does it mean that neuroplastic symptoms are reversible?
03:36 How does the nervous system learn its default response?
04:31 What changes in the body when emotions are expressed?
07:15 How do you make it safe to feel buried emotions?
10:37 How can compassion, curiosity and calm change pain?
13:49 Where do you start when capacity is very low?
18:23 How do you train the nervous system with patience?
20:45 Why ask whether your symptoms are neuroplastic?
22:29 How can you see your own patterns of stored emotions?
"Sadness turns right into compassion. Anger gets expressed, and you let it go." ~ Dr. Howard Schubiner
If you have held your emotions down for years and wonder whether it is safe to feel them, this episode is for you.
RESOURCES:
Take the free 2-Minute Assessment for Stored Trauma and see which patterns of stored trauma are most active for you.
Get The Biology of Trauma book. Chapter 3 explains capacity and the critical line of overwhelm.
Unlearn Your Pain by Dr. Howard Schubiner.
The Foundational Journey, a clear path for stabilizing your internal state and nervous system.
This episode is educational and is not medical advice. Please work with your own qualified healthcare provider for decisions about your care.



Grab your copy of The Biology of Trauma