The Biology of Trauma® With Dr. Aimie

You know it's not good for you. You do it anyway. Then you ask yourself why.
Late-night scrolling when you promised you'd sleep. Sugar after dinner when you said you'd stop. The fight you picked that you didn't need to pick. We call it lack of willpower. But willpower isn't the problem.
This is the biology behind the main episode this week with addiction policy expert Dr. Kevin Sabet. He shared what we've been getting wrong about marijuana and addiction. Now I'm taking you deeper into what's actually happening in your brain when you can't stop doing what you know is harming you.
In this episode you'll hear more about:
(01:00) Why "why am I doing this to myself" is a dopamine question.

(02:30) The truth about dopamine — it's not just high or low. It's both.

(03:00) How drama and interpersonal chaos become dopamine sources.

(04:30) Why the more you push the lever, the less dopamine you get.

(05:00) Dopamine isn't about pleasure. It's about remembering what's important.

(07:00) How early attachment wires dopamine to connection — or to danger.

(09:00) The definition of addiction: going somewhere other than safe human connection to feel okay.

(10:30) The three biochemical imbalances common in addictive patterns.

(11:00) How brain inflammation lowers dopamine and raises glutamate — the double whammy.

(12:30) Why bribes actually work for dopamine-driven behaviors.

The craving isn't a character flaw. It's a signal. When dopamine is low at baseline, your nervous system will find ways to get it. The question is whether we repair the biology or white-knuckle through life.
Resources/Guides:
Download the 3 Most Common Biochemical Imbalances Guide — The biochemical imbalances Dr. Aimie mentions that disrupt normal dopamine activity. 

Biology of Trauma book — Available everywhere books are sold. Get your copy

→ Watch the video version on YouTube
→ Check out the main episode -  Episode 158: Marijuana, Addiction, and the Body: What We've Been Getting Wrong with Dr. Kevin Sabet
Try this practice this week: Notice when you're reaching for something to take the edge off. Before you act, pause. Ask: "Is my baseline dopamine low right now? What is my body actually looking for?" Awareness interrupts the automatic loop.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. It helps others find trauma-informed care.

➡️ Get the full episode breakdown at Biology of Trauma® Podcast - Episode Marijuana, Addiction, and the Body: What We've Been Getting Wrong
If you've watched a family member struggle with addiction, you know how helpless it can feel. Treatment programs that don't work. Policies that seem disconnected from reality. Debates about legalization versus criminalization that never address what actually helps someone recover.
Dr. Kevin Sabet has spent decades advising three presidential administrations on drug policy—watching decriminalization debates, marijuana legalization, and the opioid crisis unfold. He started asking a different question: What if we looked at what actually works? His book One Nation Under the Influence examines why current addiction policies are failing—and what Iceland, Portugal, and Hawaii figured out that we're missing.
In This Episode You'll Learn:
[01:00] Why marijuana is the most misunderstood drug in America
[04:00] How today's marijuana is genetically bred to be far more potent
[08:00] The critical difference between decriminalization, legalization, and commercialization
[12:00] Why the promises of marijuana legalization haven't materialized
[17:00] How addiction responds to incentives unlike any other brain condition
[20:00] What "harm reduction" actually means—and why there's so much confusion
[24:00] Why some addiction physicians recommend marijuana for opioid recovery—and what the research shows
[30:00] What Iceland's prevention model actually did differently
[33:00] How Portugal's system works—and why it's not legalization
[35:00] Hawaii's HOPE program: why 2 days in jail changed behavior when years of probation didn't

Can you do all the therapy and still have brain fog? Yes. Can you talk through your past and still have chronic fatigue? Absolutely.
Here's the tension. We've been told that processing trauma means talking about it. That resilience means surviving hard things. But what if your body is still holding what your mind thinks it released?
I go deeper into this with Marie Demasio in Episode 157. She shared how she'd done so much work after losing her son. She thought she was past it. Then she visited our mutual friend, Dr. Bryce Applebaum. He told her that her vision was a mess. Her brain was inflamed.
This was never just about the mind. It's about what the body holds.
In this episode you'll hear more about:
(01:45) Why brain fog is one of the most common blocks to living from safety.
(03:22) What neuroception is and how your body's dashboard works.
(04:48) How brain inflammation sends ongoing cues of danger.
(06:15) Why dissociation and fog are survival strategies, not dysfunction.
(08:30) The cycle of caffeine, sugar, and pushing through brain fog.
(10:05) Why I assess brain inflammation first in my program.
(11:42) The specific supplements that reduce brain inflammation.
The body holds what the mind thinks it released. When we address brain inflammation, we remove a cue of danger. Then the nervous system has a chance to believe it's safe.
Resources/Guides:
Get Dr. Aimie's Brain Inflammation Supplement Protocol — The exact supplements mentioned in this episode including N-acetylcysteine, Neuro-Mag, turmeric, resveratrol, and apigenin. Access the protocol
Download the Brain Inflammation Assessment
Biology of Trauma book — Available everywhere books are sold. Get your copy
Free Guide: The Essential Sequence - Discover why doing the right things in the right order is key to releasing trauma. 
→ Watch the video version on YouTube 
→ Check out the main episode this follows: Episode 157: Soul Contracts and the Biology of Grief with Marie Demasio
Try this practice this week: Notice your brain fog. Before reaching for caffeine or sugar, pause. Ask: "Is my body sending me a danger signal right now?" That awareness is the first step.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. It helps others find trauma-informed care.

➡️ Get the full episode breakdown at Biology of Trauma® Podcast - Episode 157: Why Spiritual Insight Alone Can't Heal Trauma with Marie Damasio
She understood her grief completely. After her son Tristan died from brain cancer, Marie Damasio dove deep into spiritual work—soul contracts, Akashic records, the meaning behind her loss. She found peace. And her body stayed stuck.
You'll hear more on:
[00:00] Soul contracts and capacity for resilience
[01:12] Cellular energy and critical line of overwhelm
[03:32] When spiritual insight arrives but the body stays stuck
[10:34] Why we stay frozen in identities that no longer serve us
[18:47] Why understanding alone doesn't create change
[20:03] Dr. Aimie's five agreements for trauma work
[27:13] Viktor Frankl on meaning and struggle
[35:05] For practitioners: Insight without embodiment
[40:16] The alchemy of transmuting pain into purpose
[46:30] Vision therapy and integrative care
Resources/Guides:
Free Guide: The Essential Sequence - Discover why doing the right things in the right order is key to releasing trauma. If you've tried therapy, spiritual work, and self-help but your body stays stuck, this guide explains why sequence matters—and what to do about it.
The Biology of Trauma book - Get your copy here 
Foundational Journey - The 6-week program to lay the foundation of safety and skills for self-regulation to do the deeper work.
Related Podcast Episodes:
Episode 46: 5 Agreements to Keep Group Trauma Work Safe with Dr. Aimie Apigian
Episode 134: The Biology of Overwhelm: Why Small Demands Feel Impossible

Why do so many people with depression struggle to stop their antidepressants? What if the answer isn't about willpower — but about missing nutrients your brain needs to function? 
Dr. James Greenblatt has spent 30 years in inpatient psychiatry. He watched patients go from one medication to two, then three, then five. Suicide rates kept climbing. And he started asking: What if the brain is simply missing what it needs?
His new book Finally Hopeful explores the biological causes of depression most doctors never test for.
→ Get the full episode breakdown at Biology of Trauma® Podcast - Episode 156: Can't Get Off Antidepressants? Ask for These Lab Tests
In This Episode You'll Learn:
[04:09] Why Dr. Greenblatt wrote Finally Hopeful after 30 years in psychiatry
[12:50] Vitamin D as the foundation: Why nothing else works without it — not meds, not therapy
[14:35] How vitamin D deficiency affects serotonin production in the brain
[12:50] Dr. Aimie's personal story: vitamin D levels of 12, then only 20 with supplementation
[17:06] Why vitamin D deficiency is one of the most common factors in people who can't stop antidepressants
[18:48] The gut-serotonin connection: 90-95% of serotonin is made in the gut
[21:00] The building blocks your brain needs: iron, B12, folate, zinc, magnesium
[24:57] Brain inflammation and its connection to suicide risk
[26:14] Why sleep deprivation creates inflammatory markers within hours
[32:07] The simple labs to ask your doctor about — and why testing is the only path forward
Resources/Guides:
Free Guide: Top 3 Biochemical Imbalances That Affect Mood - a starting point for understanding the most common nutrient imbalances connected to depression
The Biology of Trauma book - Available now everywhere books are sold. Get your copy
Foundational Journey - The 6-week program to create inner safety and shift your nervous system. Build the foundation that allows your body to actually use the nutrients and support you give it.
Dr. James Greenblatt - Get a copy of the Finally Hopeful book and find more resources at https://www.jamesgreenblattmd.com/
Related Podcast Episodes:
Episode 41: Solutions for Low Serotonin and GABA in Trauma with Trudy Scott
Episode 101: Brain Inflammation: Addressing The Overlooked Gatekeeper To Trauma Release with Dr. Austin Perlmutter