The Biology of Trauma® With Dr. Aimie

Dr. Aimie Apigian
  • 4.8 (26)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated weekly

People are done dancing around the topic of trauma. They're ready to face this square-on. None of the current systems are getting to the root of the issue in the current model. Their biology has been affected on a cellular level, and that is now what's preventing the important work that they're trying to do. The Biology of Trauma® podcast is the missing piece to that puzzle. It's a practical living manual for the human body in a modern, traumatizing world. Join your host, Dr. Aimie Apigian—a medical physician and expert in attachment, trauma, and addiction—as she challenges outdated trauma paradigms and introduces a new model for healing.

  1. 4 days ago

    I don't ask about your past. Here's what I ask

    I do not ask about your past. I do not get out the checklist of adverse childhood experiences. I am not calculating your ACE score. And I know how strange that sounds coming from a physician who works with stored trauma. Full show notes What I look at is the impact of your past on your today, because that is where it is still leaving its footprint. In this episode I walk you through the assessment I teach practitioners, so you can run it on yourself. Three domains, one repeating pattern, and the equation that decides whether a stressor stays a stress or tips you into overwhelm. Then I take you to the part that surprises people most. Trauma work runs on energy. If your body does not have the capacity, the work cannot integrate no matter how willing you are. Which means the most useful place to start is sometimes sleep, or brain inflammation, rather than the trauma itself. That is still trauma work. I also tell you about the pattern I carried for thirty years, and how it changed without me ever going looking for the reason. In this episode: Why the word trauma gets in the way of finding traumaThe three domains I ask about, and the one pattern that runs through all of themYour capacity against your stress load, and what happens when capacity is smallWhere stress ends and overwhelm beginsWhy perimenopause costs more capacity than most women expectThe nervous system dashboard, and the three things that feed itWhy I sometimes tell someone not to do the trauma work yetHow to find your biggest block without handing yourself the whole listFind your pattern: Take the free 2-Minute Assessment for Stored Trauma  The book: The Biology of Trauma by Dr. Aimie Apigian Full show notes This podcast is educational and is not medical advice. Consult your own physician about your health.   Grab your copy of The Biology of Trauma

    I don't ask about your past. Here's what I ask

  2. 25 Aug

    Why Depression May Be an Early Sign of Autoimmunity

    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. Grab your copy of The Biology of Trauma

  3. 20 Aug

    Gut or thyroid first in chronic freeze? Dr. Amie Hornaman

    You have been doing the work. The therapy, the somatic practices, the self-care. And your body still will not come online. You have also been doing the gut protocol. Months of it. And the exhaustion has not lifted. Here is what almost nobody tells you. The thyroid governs gut motility. When it runs low and slow, the bloating and the constipation you have been treating from the gut end may have been downstream of the thyroid the whole time. So you can do everything right, in the right order, and still be working the wrong end of the problem. This is Part 2 with Dr. Amie Hornaman, known as the Thyroid Fixer. She was misdiagnosed six different times in her twenties before anyone found it. In this episode she gets practical about selenium, about which system to start with, and about why she thinks adrenal fatigue is overdiagnosed. She also gives a number for how long before your energy and stress resilience actually shift, with the caveat that belongs beside it. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: Which to treat first when your gut and thyroid are both struggling How a slow thyroid produces constipation, bloating and SIBO The foundational nutrients she starts everyone on, and why selenium leads Why one morning cortisol reading cannot tell you what you think it does How long before energy, mood and stress resilience begin to move The full show notes have the research behind the SIBO connection, every quote from the episode, the chapter list, and the optimal lab ranges to ask about. Read the full show notes: https://www.biologyoftrauma.com/post/gut-or-thyroid-first-when-you-are-in-chronic-freeze RESOURCES:Get the Stress or Trauma GuidePart 1 of this conversation By listening to this podcast, you agree not to use it as medical, psychological, or mental health advice to treat any condition in yourself or others. This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. Always consult your own qualified health provider. Grab your copy of The Biology of Trauma

  4. 18 Aug

    Stuck in Freeze? The Thyroid Piece Nobody Checked

    You have been doing the work. You understand your patterns. And you are still waking up unable to face the day. When the body decides survival is the priority, it stops converting thyroid hormone into the form your cells can use. It produces an inactive version instead, called reverse T3, and that version blocks the active hormone at the cell door. The result is a body running low and slow. It is the same physiology I call chronic functional freeze. Dr. Amie Hornaman ranks reverse T3 as the single most important thyroid marker, ahead of free T3, and it is a marker almost nobody orders. She also holds that stress and trauma on their own can raise it. This is Part 1 of a two part conversation. ➡️ Full show notes, research and timestamps: https://www.biologyoftrauma.com/post/can-a-thyroid-problem-keep-me-in-chronic-freeze WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: Why a normal TSH does not settle the question of whether your thyroid is involved What reverse T3 is, and why Dr. Hornaman ranks it above free T3 How stress and trauma can shift thyroid function directly Why the hibernation state and chronic functional freeze are the same physiology What happens to the thyroid in the year after an injury or accident Why you cannot think your way out of a decision the body made below thought RESOURCES: Take the free 2-Minute Assessment for Stored Trauma: https://biologyoftrauma.com/quiz Stress or Trauma Guide The Biology of Trauma: https://www.biologyoftrauma.com/book The Thyroid Fix by Dr. Amie Hornaman Part 2 releases August 20, 2026. Grab your copy of The Biology of Trauma

  5. 13 Aug

    Can I Recover From Medical Trauma? Dr. Jim Jackson (Part 2)

    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. Grab your copy of The Biology of Trauma

  6. 11 Aug

    Medical Trauma Has a Name, with Dr. Jim Jackson (Part 1)

    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. Grab your copy of The Biology of Trauma

  7. 6 Aug

    What Type of Anxiety Do I Have? Dr. Nicole Cain (Part 2)

    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:  Grab your copy of The Biology of Trauma

  8. 4 Aug

    Why Do I Feel Anxious for No Reason? with Dr. Nicole Cain (Part 1)

    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. Grab your copy of The Biology of Trauma

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4.8
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About

People are done dancing around the topic of trauma. They're ready to face this square-on. None of the current systems are getting to the root of the issue in the current model. Their biology has been affected on a cellular level, and that is now what's preventing the important work that they're trying to do. The Biology of Trauma® podcast is the missing piece to that puzzle. It's a practical living manual for the human body in a modern, traumatizing world. Join your host, Dr. Aimie Apigian—a medical physician and expert in attachment, trauma, and addiction—as she challenges outdated trauma paradigms and introduces a new model for healing.

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