DeepSummary
In this episode, Dan Harris interviews Peter A. Levine, Ph.D., the creator of somatic experiencing (SE), a form of therapy focused on regulating the nervous system to reduce stress, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and trauma. Levine explains how SE works by helping people connect with and release physical sensations and energies trapped in the body from traumatic experiences. He demonstrates some SE techniques with Dan, such as a breathing and vocalization exercise, which Dan experiences as producing a feeling of warmth and aliveness in his body.
Levine discusses the key differences between SE and talk therapy, with SE taking a 'bottom-up' approach starting with physical sensations rather than just addressing thoughts and emotions. He also talks about how practices around body awareness have moved from the fringes into the scientific mainstream, supported by research showing the benefits of SE. Levine shares parts of his own traumatic childhood story involving violence and sexual assault, and how working through these experiences using SE was crucial for his personal healing journey.
The conversation touches on why some people feel afraid of re-occupying their bodies due to trauma, how SE can gradually help overcome this fear, and practices people can implement themselves to feel more embodied. Levine reflects on facing mortality and the mystery of what happens after death, expressing hope that the parts of himself filled with joy and aliveness can accompany him. He encourages listeners to tell their own stories as part of the healing process.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Somatic experiencing is a therapy that uses body awareness to regulate the nervous system and heal trauma by integrating fragmented physical sensations from traumatic experiences.
- Key practices include breathing, vocalizing, physical movements, and alternating between positive and difficult memories in a gradual, titrated way to avoid re-traumatization.
- Connecting to the body can help overcome the dissociation and shut-down responses characteristic of trauma, and restore a sense of vitality, presence and social engagement.
- Research supports the efficacy of somatic approaches in reducing trauma symptoms, and these mind-body practices are gaining mainstream acceptance.
- Healing one's personal trauma through embodiment can have ripple effects for relationships, communities and even societal change.
- Facing mortality may involve considering how to let joyful, alive parts of oneself accompany the great mystery of what comes after death.
- Sharing one's story, whether privately or publicly, can be a powerful part of the trauma healing journey.
- Simple practices like recalling positive memories of feeling loved and safe can help build somatic resources, even for those without identified trauma.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “When I first started on my path in the mid to late 1960s, early seventies, I had the advantage to not know that trauma, which would 14 years in the future, would be listed as an incurable disorder or even a brain disease that could at best be managed with medication and with helping people change their negative thoughts.“ by Peter A. Levine
- “I mean, of course it was frightening, but my guide knew not to expose me to this all at once, to just touch into it and also to go back and forth between, remember, those positive images that I had of being cared about, of being loved, of shifting back and forth between those and the other traumatic images.“ by Peter A. Levine
- “So I think this is an important thing to cultivate, to be able to know that when we're reactive, it's probably because there's some trauma that's being reactivated or activated. So how to work with those and how to use that to heal to our families, to our children, our families, to our communities, and even, maybe even to our countries.“ by Peter A. Levine
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Episode Information
Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris
Ten Percent Happier
5/6/24
The creator of somatic experiencing shows Dan how to heal trauma through the body.
Peter A. Levine, Ph.D., has spent the past 50 years developing Somatic Experiencing. He holds a doctorate in Biophysics from UC Berkeley and a doctorate in Psychology from International University. His work has been taught to over 30,000 therapists in over 42 countries. He is the author of the new book, An Autobiography of Trauma.
Content warning: This episode includes discussions of rape and violence.
In this episode we talk about:
- How to do somatic experiencing. You’ll see Dan play the role of guinea pig + make weird sounds
- The difference between somatic experiencing and talk therapy
- Somatic experiencing practices we can implement into our lives
- Why some people feel horror/terror at the thought of re-occupying the body and how to overcome those fears
- What the research says – and how these practices around body awareness have gone from the fringes to entering the scientific mainstream
- And how to move through ancient wounds – and enrich our lives (whether we have trauma or not)
- Practices to fortify us in times of difficulty
- Facing mortality
Related Episodes:
Become An Active Operator Of Your Nervous System | Deb Dana
How to Live with the Worst Things That Ever Happened to You | Stephanie Foo
An Ace Therapist Gives Dan A Run For His Money | Dr. Jacob Ham
How to Get Out of Your Head | Willa Blythe Baker
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