What happens in your body when you experience trauma? Why do some seemingly minor events leave lasting emotional and physical scars while others don’t?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Waking the Tiger<\/em>, Peter Levine challenges traditional views about psychological healing. He presents a groundbreaking approach that focuses on the body’s natural ability to process and release trauma<\/a>. His method, called Somatic Experiencing<\/a>, offers hope for anyone carrying the weight of past experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read on to explore Levine’s revolutionary insights into healing trauma through the wisdom of our own bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Most of us think of \u201ctrauma\u201d as psychological scars that require psychological intervention to heal. But what if the key to healing trauma doesn\u2019t lie in your mind, but in your body? In his 1997 book Waking the Tiger<\/em><\/a>, Peter Levine argues that trauma isn\u2019t just a psychological disorder but a deep-rooted physiological<\/em> one.<\/strong> Based on this understanding, Levine has developed a therapeutic approach called \u201cSomatic Experiencing,\u201d which he believes has the potential to reverse trauma symptoms and transform the lives of trauma survivors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Levine<\/a> is a psychologist and trauma expert who has been active in the field for nearly 50 years. He\u2019s the founder of the Ergos Institute<\/a>, which teaches trauma survivors ways to heal themselves, and Somatic Experiencing International<\/a>, which trains practitioners to guide trauma survivors through the healing process. He taught at schools including the University of California, Berkeley and Mills College, and he served as a stress consultant for NASA during the early days of the space shuttle program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The type of trauma Levine primarily addresses is shock trauma<\/em>: symptoms that appear after one or more specific threatening, overwhelming events. He contrasts this with developmental trauma<\/em>, which results from ongoing abuse or neglect during childhood. Developmental trauma shapes an individual’s psychological development over time, leading to deeper psychological issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Levine states that the healing methods he outlines in Waking the Tiger<\/em> are most effective at treating shock trauma, and people may be able to use them to facilitate their own healing. In contrast, he urges people with developmental trauma to always seek professional therapy, as their issues typically require more intensive guidance to resolve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ll begin this overview by further explaining how trauma works<\/a>: What is it? What causes it? Next, we\u2019ll detail some of the most common symptoms of trauma<\/a>. Finally, we\u2019ll walk through Levine\u2019s original therapeutic process and explore what you can do to heal your trauma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s clearly define what trauma is. Then, we\u2019ll use biology to explain how people get traumatized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Levine, trauma is a chronic disorder that someone develops after experiencing a deeply distressing event.<\/strong> He emphasizes that trauma isn\u2019t just a psychological disorder: It\u2019s a condition that affects a person\u2019s entire being\u2014body and mind. Trauma can cause many wide-ranging symptoms, including flashbacks, anxiety, depression, physical ailments, and behavioral issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Levine contends that trauma is far more common than most people realize\u2014he asserts that <\/strong>everyone<\/em><\/strong> has been traumatized to some degree.<\/strong> One reason for this is that major traumatic events are common. War, natural disasters, and physical and sexual abuse are frequent occurrences around the world, and they often cause major trauma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another reason trauma symptoms are so common is that seemingly minor threats can cause major trauma if they happen to someone who\u2019s particularly vulnerable.<\/strong> People who are less capable of protecting themselves, have weaker physical health, or believe themselves to be helpless are easily traumatized. For instance, a child may be traumatized by the minor scare of getting lost at a shopping mall if they\u2019re very young, malnourished, or feel helpless<\/a> because they were raised by abusive parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Levine argues that trauma isn\u2019t the result of irreversible damage to any part of a person\u2019s body or mind. Rather, a person suffers from chronic trauma symptoms because their body hasn\u2019t completed its physiological stress response<\/a> to the original traumatic event<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Levine explains that, when threatened, animals (and humans) generate a burst of stress energy and instinctively choose from three possible responses: fight, flight, or freeze. The freeze response\u2014the most relevant to human trauma\u2014serves as a last-ditch survival mechanism<\/strong>, allowing prey animals to play dead and potentially escape when a predator’s guard is down. It also induces a dissociative state where pain is not experienced, sparing the animal from needless suffering as it\u2019s being eaten. This frozen yet high-stress state is temporary\u2014animals naturally unload excess stress energy after a threatening event, often shaking or trembling to get it out of their system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Levine, humans (like animals) enter a \u201cfreeze\u201d state in response to highly stressful events. However, unlike animals, humans resist and suppress their natural stress recovery response. The process of exiting the freeze response and releasing trapped energy typically involves intense physical sensations, including trembling, shaking, and sweating. These sensations are often frightening or uncomfortable, so people attempt to suppress them. Humans\u2019 highly developed neocortex allows them to do so, shutting down the stress recovery response<\/strong> (which occurs in more primitive parts of the brain) before it reaches its natural conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Levine explains that, when humans suppress their stress response, a vicious cycle begins: They become frozen in this trauma-response state, leaving them trapped in a state of constant stress.<\/strong> The persistent feelings of anxiety and fear that accompany this state further drive them to suppress their stress response. Over time, this stress energy continues to build, manifesting as trauma symptoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that we\u2019ve established what trauma is<\/a> and what causes it, let\u2019s take a closer look at its most common symptoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Levine, trauma symptoms are extensions of the body’s immediate stress response to a traumatic event.<\/strong> Since people suppress the recovery response that would relieve their stress, the bodies of traumatized people essentially act as if<\/a> they\u2019re continuously experiencing a threatening situation. This causes many problems throughout their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Levine identifies four primary symptoms of trauma, each of which is a chronic form of the original stress response: <\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ll explore these four symptoms in detail. We\u2019ll also discuss repetition compulsion<\/a><\/em>, a common symptom in which a traumatized person feels unconsciously driven to destructive behaviors<\/a> as a misguided attempt to process their trauma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Levine asserts that traumatized people suffer from heightened physiological arousal.<\/strong> When in danger, the body stimulates the nervous system, increasing alertness and strengthening its ability to identify specific immediate threats. However, when this stress energy becomes trapped, this heightened arousal becomes chronic. Consequently, traumatized people continue searching for threats at times when none exist.<\/strong> As a result, they\u2019re often plagued with irrational fears and persistent feelings of anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Levine, another common symptom of trauma is tightening<\/em>\u2014a traumatized person\u2019s physical and mental processes become more restrictive.<\/strong> Physiologically, their bodies readily tighten up to deal with an immediate threat: Their muscles tense and their blood vessels constrain, reserving blood for strenuous muscle activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Levine explains that mentally, traumatized people suffer from a tightened focus<\/em>. In the presence of immediate danger, this perceptual tightening helps people filter out unimportant details and focus solely on the threat. However, when this narrow focus<\/a> becomes chronic, it can leave trauma survivors involuntarily fixated on anxiety-provoking threats and traumatic flashbacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During a traumatic event, a person\u2019s nervous system triggers dissociation, making them mentally disengage from their body. Levine states that in chronic form, dissociation is a lifelong unconscious habit: Trauma survivors\u2019 self-awareness will frequently diminish or disappear completely<\/strong>, especially as a response to intense situations or traumatic memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Levine explains that another common form of dissociation is denial<\/em>: Traumatized people are often disconnected from the intense feelings brought on by the traumatic event, so they act as if it didn\u2019t affect them. In severe cases, trauma survivors firmly deny that the traumatic event ever occurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Levine contends that physically, chronic dissociation manifests as reduced sensation or total numbness in various parts of the body. <\/strong>This numbness causes some traumatized people to struggle to discern what emotions they\u2019re feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Levine also asserts that dissociation can cause physical issues like headaches or back pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, Levine asserts that inaction<\/em> is a common symptom of trauma.<\/strong> People tend to freeze in threatening situations. When this freeze reaction becomes chronic, trauma survivors frequently find themselves unable to move, especially in stressful situations. The powerlessness experienced in these moments isn\u2019t just anxiety\u2014it’s a physiological state where action is impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Levine, the chronic form of the freeze response also causes long-term inaction: Trauma survivors often feel unable to improve their lives or escape stressful life circumstances (even when escape is possible).<\/strong> Thus, they\u2019re more likely to live unhappy and consistently stressful lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to describing the four primary symptoms of trauma, Levine details another symptom that occurs when the body\u2019s natural psychological healing process goes awry: repetition compulsion<\/em><\/strong>, or a trauma survivor\u2019s unconscious drive to repeatedly act out the incident that originally traumatized them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This compulsion comes from an instinctual drive to process the traumatic event. Unfortunately, if someone lacks the awareness necessary to allow their body to finish processing their trauma, this drive can cause them to play out the traumatic event in the real world rather than internally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Repetition compulsion can lead to dangerous or self-destructive behaviors. For example, someone who experienced emotional abuse in childhood might repeatedly seek out romantic partners who are critical and demeaning, unconsciously recreating their childhood dynamic. Or, a person who experienced food scarcity in their early years could develop an eating disorder as an adult: They might alternate between periods of binging food and intentionally starving, reenacting the cycle of feast and famine from their past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Levine explains that this kind of repetition offers a way for the body to release some of its pent-up traumatic energy. For this reason, it can make a person feel better\u2014but only temporarily. Ultimately, unless they fully complete their body\u2019s natural trauma recovery<\/a> process, they\u2019ll unconsciously chase the relief of repetition and reenact the traumatic event for the rest of their life.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve gained a clear picture of the symptoms we\u2019re trying to alleviate, but how is it possible to do so? Let\u2019s explore Levine\u2019s original healing method: Somatic Experiencing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Levine emphasizes that although this method sometimes yields sudden breakthroughs, healing trauma is generally a gradual process that takes time. Don\u2019t push yourself<\/a> too hard.<\/strong> If any part of this process makes you feel unsettled, take a break and try again later. If the process triggers extremely intense emotions, stop and seek professional help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, we\u2019ll provide an overview of how Levine\u2019s healing method works, then we\u2019ll walk through it step-by-step. Finally, we\u2019ll detail the psychological rebirth trauma survivors can expect to experience after this kind of healing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Levine, you can heal your trauma by allowing your controlling, rational mind to step aside so the body and primitive parts of the brain can heal.<\/strong> This way, you can complete the body\u2019s original stress response and unload all the pent-up stress energy that you\u2019ve carried since the traumatic incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this process, you may arrive at intellectual insights about you and your trauma, but they\u2019re largely incidental. What matters is that your body processes the trauma on a physiological level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve organized Levine\u2019s explanation of Somatic Experiencing into three steps: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Levine warns that when you allow your traumatic memories and energy to come to the surface, you risk getting swept up in overwhelming emotions or intense flashbacks to the traumatic event. It can be counterproductive if you reexperience the traumatic incident without activating your body\u2019s natural healing response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Levine, the primary tool you\u2019ll use to avoid this pitfall when processing your trauma is your felt sense<\/em>. This is your awareness of the physical sensations <\/em>you feel throughout your body when thinking about a specific occurrence or person.<\/strong> By focusing on your felt sense, you can channel and engage with traumatic memories in a less overwhelming form. Your physical sensations act as a grounding focal point you can use to calm down when your experience gets intense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Levine explains that many people\u2014especially trauma survivors\u2014lack a felt sense at any given moment. If you intentionally build this awareness, you can more easily access your felt sense when you need it, strengthening your ability to process trauma<\/a>.<\/strong> Levine offers an exercise to help you do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, get into a comfortable position, and try to maintain awareness of all the physical sensations you\u2019re feeling. Notice the points of contact between your body and whatever surface is supporting you, and recognize how this pressure feels. Next, pay attention to the sensation of your clothes on various parts of your skin. Gradually, shift your focus inside your body: Are there any sensations there?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stay with these sensations for a few minutes and watch how they change. Sensations might intensify, diminish, transform, or vanish. Simply notice this activity without judgment or interpretation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Levine contends that, once you\u2019ve developed your felt sense, you can use it to start gradually processing your trauma. If you wait and pay attention to your felt sense, powerful images and sensations related to your trauma will naturally arise.<\/strong> The flow of sensations may involve real memories from your past or dreamlike images that never really happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of these sensations may be unpleasant. However, Levine asserts that, if you observe your felt sense for long enough, positive images, sensations, and ideas that make you feel excited and capable will rise into your awareness. Sometimes, even images and ideas that were originally traumatic will turn into empowering positive forces. These empowering images, sensations, and ideas are tools you\u2019ll use to keep yourself from getting overwhelmed<\/a><\/strong> as you unload increasing amounts of traumatic energy. <\/strong>For example, someone who was trapped in a burning building as a child might discover that focusing on the sensation of being carried to safety by a firefighter makes them feel safe and invincible.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOverview of Waking the Tiger<\/em> by Peter Levine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How Trauma Works<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Defining Trauma<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
How People Become Traumatized<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Humans Interfere With Their \u201cFreeze\u201d Response<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Common Trauma Symptoms<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Symptom #1: Heightened Physiological Arousal<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Symptom #2: Physiological and Perceptual Tightening<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Symptom #3: Dissociation<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Symptom #4: Inaction<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Repetition Compulsion: Failed Attempts to Process Trauma<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
How to Heal Your Trauma<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How Levine\u2019s Healing Process Works<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Step #1: Develop Your Felt Sense<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
How to Train Your Felt Sense<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Step #2: Unlock Empowering Internal Forces<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n