Understanding the Biology of Trauma with Dr. Aimie Apigian: From Cellular Stress to Healing

In this episode of the IRH Clinician's Corner, Margaret Floyd Barry sits down with Dr. Aimie Apigian, who discusses how childhood adversity leaves an imprint on our biology, outlining the five-stage progression from acute stress to trauma and how this fundamentally alters our body's energy systems. We discuss why conventional approaches may overlook deeper trauma roots of chronic health issues—and what clinicians and clients alike can do to start addressing trauma at the cellular level.

In this interview, we discuss:

• Dr. Aimie's personal story and entry into trauma work
• Reframing chronic disease through the lens of trauma
• How to identify patterns of stored trauma
• How a stress response is different from a trauma response
• The physiological and cellular mechanisms of trauma
• Strategies for trauma recovery and nervous system repair

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Connect with Dr. Aimie Apigian:

Website: https://biologyoftrauma.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/draimie/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/draimie/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-aimie-apigian

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DrAimieApigian

Check out her new book, The Biology of Trauma: https://book.biologyoftrauma.com/book

Timestamps: 00:00 "Dr. Amy: Trauma & Healing"

04:48 "From Fostering to Forever"

08:50 Understanding Trauma and Healing

13:10 "Recognizing Trauma Through Patterns"

14:15 Breaking Free from Chronic Freeze

17:30 Nervous System: Relaxation to Alarm

20:34 Stress vs Trauma: Cellular Impact

25:16 Trauma Response: Shock to Collapse

28:45 Body's Innate Survival Mechanism

32:49 "Restorative Health Dive-In Opportunity"

34:28 "Stress, Trauma, and Energy"

40:09 Survival Instincts: Freeze and Hide

41:22 "Modern Struggles vs. Survival Instincts"

44:19 "Stored Trauma and Relationships"

50:04 "Overcoming Trauma Responses"

51:56 "Magnesium: Boosting Biology Safely"

54:48 Clinician's Corner: Join & Share

Speaker bio:

Aimie Apigian, MD, MS, MPH, is a trainer, speaker, and physician, double board-certified in preventive and addiction medicine with masters degrees in biochemistry and public health. Beyond her conventional medical and surgical training, Dr. Aimie has training in Psychosomatic Medicine, Functional Medicine, and Mental Health Nutrition. Her extensive training in trauma therapies, including the Instinctual Trauma Response Model, Somatic Experiencing, NeuroAffective Touch, and Relational Trauma Repair with Psychodrama, have formed her knowledge and services in attachment, trauma, and addictions, focusing on trauma at a cellular level. Her original inspiration came from her experience as a foster-adoptive mom during medical school. Dr. Aimie is also the host of the Biology of Trauma® Podcast. She has spoken at Oxford University, Institute for Functional Medicine, Psychotherapy Innovations, Integrative Medicine for Mental Health and has been featured on The Trauma Therapist Project, Therapy in a Nutshell, The Healing Trauma Podcast, and more. You can find her on YouTube and Instagram.

Keywords:

functional medicine, trauma response, adverse childhood experiences, attachment trauma, chronic disease reversal, fatigue, anxiety, autoimmune disease, psychosomatic medicine, mental health nutrition, trauma therapies, instinctual trauma response, somatic experiencing, neuroaffective touch, relational trauma repair, stress physiology, startle response, sympathetic nervous system, vagus nerve, dorsal vagal shutdown, cell danger response, mitochondria, energy production, chronic stress, burnout, magnesium supplementation, trauma recovery, nervous system regulation, childhood adversity, functional freeze, biological mechanisms of trauma

Disclaimer:

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