Trauma and Addiction - Peter A. Levine

 Vegas nerve is 80% afferance, sense from the gut.  Then send signal to the brain (efference) and got amplify and come back down.

chanting - with abdomen - learn to sooth themselves, rather than using addiction to release pain (release is not a discharge.  it release the tension, but it will come back).

connect with heart, and other body parts together - co-regulating with some breathes together - to allow deep contact (connection).

Have you find in your experience that addition of toxi shame... 

Shame has many dimensions. it is like a cancer. it starts as a tumor, then start to spread to different parts of the body, drag us down - co-regulation to dis-regulation

shame and disgust are companions.  Once guided them to breath slowly (symentic therapy) be more mindful of how their postures are feeling - contraction/expansion/contraction/expansion - you will see the person's spin is elongated - ventilation - mindfulness - bodifulness... when thoughts come up during the exercise.

I have the thoughts that it is not going to last ---oh may be that's not the reality. may be that's not who I am, may be that's just a though.

strategies for addiction

Trauma is the force, the bridge that protective barrier that leading to an overwhelming feeling of helplessness.

whenever there is an vertex, anboother vertex in opposite direction 

You have to do both - 

each time you moved to the inner vertex, you have a piece of experience

Red constriction one hand, and blue the expansion the other end.

everytime you come back, you come back with more energy, more aliveness

now, come back to the main stream

I am alive, and  i am real

always working towards integration

Tibet buddhism a traditional thats very consistent of what Peter has put together.

Earlier at stone age religious temple - have to pass thru the paired vertexes to go in (to be inner)



Stream of life

above tools - having someone be your mirror (like children who are more calm and creative) - connect with children - trauma proofing your kids


Why do we find that people with trauma histories usually have some level of addiction? So often, trauma leads to states of dysregulation. Without other support, many people turn to substances to address the dysregulation they experience. Unfortunately, this approach offers only a temporary fix, and what’s more, actually increases the dysregulation over time. In this session, Dr. Peter Levine helps us understand the connections between trauma, addiction, and shame, providing tools and body-based practices for breaking the cycles.

Session Highlights:

  • An overview of the different types of substances different personalities tend to be drawn to
  • The physiology and role of the vagus nerve in our bodies, and what occurs when we experience trauma
  • The role of toxic shame in feeding addictive behaviors
  • How working with the breath is a powerful way to regulate the nervous system



Peter A. Levine, PhD
Founder of Somatic Experiencing® trauma recovery

Dr. Peter Levine received his doctorate in medical biophysics from the University of California, Berkeley, and also holds a doctorate in psychology from International University. He has worked in the field of stress and trauma for over 40 years and is the developer of the Somatic Experiencing method. Dr. Levine’s original contribution to the field of body psychotherapy was honored in 2010 when he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy. That same year, he also received the honorary Reiss-Davis Chair in Child Psychiatry for his innovative contribution to therapy for children and adolescents.

Peter A. Levine, PhD

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