Trauma Podcast With Dr. Levine

I ran across a great interview with Dr. Peter Levine about trauma and how it is stored in the brain and body. With all of the discussions about PTSD in the news these days I thought it would be a great thing to share. PTSD can be caused by the obvious traumas such as war or being the victim of a violent crime (school shootings come to mind), or it can also be a product of medical procedures. I have seen many cases of medically-induced PTSD in my 20 years of practice.  Most often situations where children were subjected to surgeries or other invasive procedures without adequate preparation or support. But I have also seen the phenomenon in adults. It's important to remember that our bodies do not distinguish between being cut open to remove an infected appendix and being cut open by some mad man who crawled through out window at night in search of a victim.  The body experiences both events as the same-- being cut and in danger of dying.  

So for a wonderful overview of trauma and PTSD from one of the originators of the field of study please listen to this interview with Dr. Levine.