In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with physiatrist and pain management specialist David Clawsen, MD. He explains the concept of threat load and its role in the healing process. He details how threat - accumulated over a lifetime from physical, emotional and social sources - can interfere with the body’s immune response to disease, make us more vulnerable to disease and impede the healing process.

Dr. David Clawsen is a Physiatrist, based in Seattle, with backgrounds in neurologic, cancer, spine and sports rehabilitation, and pain management. He is interested in the different physiologic states that underpin illness and disease versus wellness and health, as determined by whether we are in threat versus safety.