Show notes
Dr. Aimie Apigian joins the show to explain how unresolved trauma can become embedded in the body's biology, shaping energy, digestion, sleep, pain, mood, and the ability to respond to stress. Drawing from her experience as a physician, adoptive mother, and trauma specialist, she breaks down the difference between healthy activation and nervous system overwhelm, including the shutdown state that can leave people feeling exhausted, disconnected, or stuck.
We dive into:
- How Dr. Apigian's personal health crisis changed the direction of her medical career
- The difference between stress, trauma, and nervous system overwhelm
- The three nervous system states: safety, activation, and shutdown
- Why high cortisol can coexist with fatigue, collapse, and low capacity
- How the body trauma loop keeps people moving between activation and overwhelm
- Why complex patients need precise, stage-appropriate nervous system support
- How somatic exercises can create a felt sense of safety in the moment
- The role of parts work in reducing inner conflict and supporting regulation
- Why healing must address the mind, the body, and biology
- What clinicians should understand before recommending trauma-focused therapies
🕒Chapters
00:00 Meet Dr. Aimie Apigian, MD
00:34 From Surgery Residency to a Personal Health Crisis
02:34 Finding Functional Medicine and Trauma Healing
04:41 When Talk Therapy Did Not Create Forward Movement
07:26 The Three States of the Nervous System
09:23 Stress vs. Overwhelm, Freeze, and Shutdown
13:07 The Critical Line of Overwhelm
15:43 Understanding the Dorsal Vagal State
18:07 The Body Trauma Loop
18:31 A Precision Approach to Nervous System Healing
21:45 Why Dr. Apigian Entered Addiction Medicine
23:45 The Power of Simple Somatic Exercises
25:21 What Changed in the First 21 Days
27:17 A Stomach Support Exercise for Felt Safety
30:13 Why Pressure and Weight Can Feel Regulating
33:13 Building Capacity Before Deeper Trauma Work
34:57 What Clinicians Need to Know
36:42 Somatic Work and Parts Work
39:23 Healing the Mind, Body, and Biology
42:33 Somatic Coupling and Complex Symptoms
44:39 Resources for Individuals and Practitioners
🔗 Dr. Alex Carrasco, MD
https://nourishmedicine.com/
https://www.instagram.com/dralexcarrasco/
🔗 Dr. Aimie Apigian, MD
https://www.biologyoftrauma.com/book
https://www.instagram.com/draimie
https://www.biologyoftrauma.com/
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