How to Heal Trauma through Your Body
Are you experiencing physical or emotional symptoms that no one is able to explain? If so, you may be suffering a traumatic reaction to a past event, teaches Dr. Peter A. Levine. Medical researchers have known for decades that survivors of accidents, disaster, and childhood trauma often endure life-long symptoms ranging from anxiety and depression to unexplained physical pain and harmful ''acting out'' behaviors reflecting these painful events. As a young stress researcher at the University of California at Berkeley, Levine found that all animals, including humans, are born with a natural ability to rebound from these distressing situations. On Healing Trauma, this respected therapist and teacher brings you face to face with his effective new treatment - not a ''talking'' cure, but a deep physiological process for releasing your past traumas and instilling a harmonious awareness of your body.
Biological Clues from the Wild
''When we are confronted with a life-threatening situation,'' begins Dr. Levine, ''our bodies respond with an enormous surge of metabolic energy - the 'fight, flight, or freeze response.''' But animals in the wild undergo a second process following such an event: a dramatic physical discharge of excess energy that releases them completely from the symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Shamanic healing rituals bear a striking resemblance to this phenomenon, but Western medicine has yet to take advantage of this forgotten biological mechanism.
Physiological Approach to Healing Trauma
Healing Trauma distills over 35 years of Peter Levine's pioneering work into a detailed course for awakening your body's innate ability to heal. Drawing on nature's lessons, Dr. Levine teaches you of the essential principles of his four-phase process. You will learn how and where you are storing unresolved distress; how to become more aware of your body's physiological responses to danger; and specific methods to free yourself from trauma. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, over 23 million Americans suffer from anxiety disorders - many as a direct result of trauma. Now, you can learn how to address these and other symptoms at their source - your body - and return to the natural trauma-free state that you were meant to live in.
Dr. Levine's Somatic Experiencing is a practical, body&mdashoriented, naturalistic approach developed by Dr. Peter Levine to assist in resolving the effects and aftermath of trauma through a 3 &ndashphase somatic process that addresses emotional trauma at its source&mdashthe body.
From AudioFile:
What the author achieves here is a remarkably complete lesson on how the human organism can recover from trauma by physiologically releasing the experience. Through references to mythology, animal behavior studies, some fascinating anecdotes, and current mental health practices, Levine weaves a case for his theory that makes intuitive sense. The program integrates this physiological approach with a thoughtful consideration of interpersonal and emotional approaches to healing. Recovery can't be done alone, he says. The author's reading is slow, and it's a long program; but there's no excess content, and one adapts quickly to the pace. The author is genuine, knowledgeable and clearly focused on helping his listeners benefit from the program.
