The Biology of Trauma - by Aimie Apigian (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

This groundbreaking book breaks down the latest research to reveal how trauma impacts our bodies on a cellular level and offers an empowering path to whole-body healing.

Today, we know more about mental health than ever before, but traditional medicine still mistakes subtle signs of trauma for stress, anxiety, or chronic disease--sometimes even retraumatizing patients with outdated and misguided methods. Treatment plans that focus on the mind are only addressing the downstream effects. Likewise, common medical approaches to manage symptoms fail to explore root causes and promote genuine recovery.

If we want to truly heal, we need to understand trauma as something happening inside of the body--not as a singular external event. Gaining clarity on how our bodies hold onto experiences, impacting both our physical health and our ability to maintain healthy behaviors and relationships, is crucial. That's where Dr. Aimie Apigian's integrative, revolutionary approach comes in.

With a decade of clinical research, approachable storytelling, and real-life examples, The Biology of Trauma will show you:

How the body absorbs scarring experiences and overwhelm Ways to identify commonly overlooked trauma symptoms like lethargy, fogginess, and unexplained worry Recognize how emotional pain stored in the body affects overall health on a cellular level, even for people with functionally successful lives Prevent trauma-induced changes in your biology that suppress the cycle of recovery Work with your nervous system to safely heal--without risk of retraumatization

Perfect for both individuals seeking personal growth and health professionals improving their practice, The Biology of Trauma will help you gain deep insights into your own mind, body, and healing journey.

Review Quotes

"As healthcare providers, we are trained to treat what we can see and measure, but Dr. Aimie's groundbreaking work on The Biology of Trauma illuminates what has long remained invisible. By meticulously mapping how trauma manifests in our cells and systems, she has created not just a new framework for understanding the internal human experience of trauma, but a practical road map for healing."
--Dr. Richard Hart, MD DrPH, president of Loma Linda University Health and Adventist Health International

"Dr. Aimie's The Biology of Trauma brilliantly illustrates what I've emphasized throughout my career--that health emerges from the dynamic interaction between our genes, environment, and experiences . . . This work represents a significant advancement in our understanding of the matrix of factors that influence health and disease, offering both clinicians and patients a pathway toward genuine transformation."
--Jeffrey Bland, PhD, the "father of functional medicine" and founder of Big Bold Health

"Dr. Aimie translates complex science into practical guidance, helping readers reframe their symptoms, access the body's innate capacity for healing, and reconnect with the biology of safety. This book provides a compassionate and scientifically grounded road map for transforming trauma into a journey of regulation, resilience, and restored connection."
--Stephen Porges, PhD, founder of Polyvagal Theory, distinguished university scientist at Indiana University, and founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium

"What makes this book particularly valuable is how it translates complex science into practical strategies that families and schools can implement to support children affected by adverse experiences. This book equips our community with both the knowledge and the tools to create environments where children affected by trauma can heal, learn, and reach their full potential."
--Yvonne Johnson, National Parent Teacher Association president

"Dr. Aimie Apigian explains, in clear, accessible language, just how the accumulation of stress and trauma can often be the cause of such physical suffering. This book goes beyond the limits of psychosomatic medicine and shows just how these stressors can affect mind, body, and spirit. In The Biology of Trauma, Dr. Apigian leads readers, whether physicians, therapists, other healers, or laypeople, on a road of discovery and healing, armed with the vital knowledge presented in these pages."
--Peter A. Levine, PhD, developer of Somatic Experiencing(R) and author of Waking the Tiger, In an Unspoken Voice, and An Autobiography of Trauma

"This isn't just another book about trauma; it's a scientifically grounded road map for reclaiming your future by healing your biology. For anyone serious about sustainable personal transformation, this work provides the missing piece between intention and lasting change."
--Dr. Benjamin Hardy, organizational psychologist and founder of Scaling.com

"I am deeply moved by the honesty, hope, and healing that permeates every page of this important book. As a practicing physician, I see countless patients carrying emotional pain in physical ways. If you've ever felt stuck, shut down, or unseen due to unresolved trauma, Dr. Apigian's work offers a lifeline. It is essential reading for our time."
--Partha Nandi, MD, FACP, New York Times bestselling author of Heal Your Gut, Save Your Brain and president and chief medical officer of Pinnacle GI Partners

"Having spent decades documenting how early trauma shapes child development, I recognize this work as a landmark contribution that makes biological mechanisms accessible, personal, and genuinely practical. Here is the comprehensive understanding we've been missing--one that offers real hope and deep healing."
--Robin Karr-Morse, therapist and author of Scared Sick

"As a spine surgeon who has witnessed the profound connection between unresolved trauma and physical pain, I find Dr. Aimie's The Biology of Trauma to be revolutionary . . . This book should be required reading for every healthcare provider who has ever been frustrated by patients who don't respond to standard treatments."
--David Hanscom, MD, leading spine surgeon, author of Back in Control, and mind-body chronic pain specialist

"I instantly connected with Dr. Aimie's explanation of the impact of early experiences on our life, from our subconscious to our relationship with our body. She nails why so many health programs fail--they ignore how the body is storing emotional pain that has contributed to real biological barriers to change . . . For anyone battling unexplained weight resistance, food sensitivities, or chronic inflammation, this book delivers the tools to address emotional trauma to allow true healing on all levels."
--JJ Virgin, CNS, CHFS, celebrity nutrition and fitness expert and four-time New York Times bestselling author

"Dr. Aimie provides a masterful synthesis that bridges our understanding of attachment, cellular function, and healing. Her work beautifully complements decades of research on how our early bonding experiences shape our physiological responses to stress and trauma . . . This book offers a scientifically sound and deeply compassionate framework for understanding how trauma disrupts our biological systems and, more importantly, how we can restore them."
--C. Sue Carter, PhD, behavioral neurobiologist, distinguished university research scientist, and executive director and Rudy Professor Emerita of the Kinsey Institute

"In The Biology of Trauma, Dr. Aimie offers what as a psychologist using the experiential and embodied methods is vital: a clear, compassionate, and scientifically grounded map of how trauma lives in the body . . . Her contribution is helping to bridge the gap between somatic understanding and experiential healing in a way that feels timely and essential."
--Tian Dayton, PhD, TEP, author of Treating Adult Children of Relational Trauma and Sociometrics and senior fellow at The Meadows

"The Biology of Trauma is all that I could have hoped for. It puts the biological legs under attachment wounding, explaining what I have observed for many years: that neglect, while appearing to be 'nothing, ' leaves profound imprints that are neither visible nor easily articulated, yet shape our entire physiology . . . This book is an invaluable addition to our trauma- and neglect-informed knowledge, literature, theory, and practice."
--Ruth Cohn, MFT, CST, BCN, neglect-informed psychotherapist and author of Working with the Developmental Trauma of Childhood Neglect and Coming Home to Passion

"It is essential that parents and practitioners recognize the difference between stress and trauma, and the detrimental ripple effect of unresolved and unrecognized trauma on children's bodies, minds, immune systems, and future health. In The Biology of Trauma, Dr. Aimie clearly defines the whole-body impact of trauma and identifies a whole-body, evidence-based approach for healing from the inside out to rewire the biology of trauma to a biology of resilience."
--Elisa Song, MD, national bestselling author of Healthy Kids, Happy Kids

"In The Biology of Trauma, Dr. Aimie has created what those of us working with attachment have long needed--a comprehensive framework that explains how relational safety becomes cellular safety . . . For practitioners and clients alike, this book offers a revolutionary understanding of how we can repair the biological imprints of attachment trauma and restore our innate capacity for connection and aliveness."
--Dr. Diane Poole Heller, author of The Power of Attachment and Healing Your Attachment Wounds

"Dr. Aimie's The Biology of Trauma elegantly bridges somatic psychology and functional medicine, offering a comprehensive framework that illuminates why resilience requires biological repair . . . This book is relatable for any of us working through trauma, whether that is our own or that of our clients. Within these pages, you will find a sophisticated understanding of why somatic approaches succeed when cognitive interventions fall short."
--Dr. Arielle Schwartz, founder of the Center for Resilience Informed Therapy and award-winning author of The Post-Traumatic Growth Guidebook and The Complex PTSD Workbook

"Dr. Aimie's work is groundbreaking because she shows how trauma impacts everything from our energy production (mitochondria) to gut health to immune balance. She offers a practical path for healing--not just emotionally, but physically. This book is essential reading for anyone who has ever wondered why diet and supplements alone aren't working. The Biology of Trauma helps connect the dots between our past and our current health--and offers a new way to truly heal."
--Dr. Tom O'Bryan, author of The Autoimmune Fix and You Can Fix Your Brain

"It's easy to feel shame about things like freeze and shutdown, but Dr. Aimie reframes these as appropriate biological responses to life experiences, as well as your body's wisdom. I hope more teachers, therapists, and doctors read this book so they can understand their clients and patients through a new lens."
--Luis Mojica, somatic therapist and nutritionist

"In The Biology of Trauma, Dr. Aimie has created a bridge between ancient wisdom and modern science that honors both equally . . . Her work approaches trauma healing by bringing biology into its rightful place alongside emotional and spiritual dimensions of recovery. Anyone working with grief, whether personally or professionally, will find in these pages a compass for navigating the biological terrain of loss and restoration."
--Paul Denniston, founder of Grief Yoga(R) and author of Healing Through Yoga: Transform Loss into Empowerment

"I've spent the last decade studying and teaching the science of energy optimization, and one of the most common reasons people get stuck in chronic fatigue is trauma. But most people fundamentally misunderstand the nature of the mind-body connection and how something like past trauma can result in lack of physical energy. Dr. Aimie's work brilliantly illuminates this connection and clears up the confusion."
--Ari Whitten, MS, founder of The Energy Blueprint

"When you're on a journey, it helps to have a map. This book comes as close to a complete, step-by-step guide for recovering from traumatic stress as any. It provides a compelling case that understanding the biology of trauma not only reveals how we get stuck but also how we get through. If you're not sure where to begin, you might start here."
--Zach Taylor, MA, LPC, director of Psychotherapy Networker

"Trauma is the unwelcome guest that refuses to leave. Trauma changes your attitude, your rituals, your happiness, your life, because trauma changes your brain. And virtually everyone suffers from it. The only way to get rid of it is to understand it, and your psychiatrist doesn't, because it's biological not behavioral. In this book, Dr. Aimie Apigian, a brilliant surgeon whose operating career was cut short by trauma's impact, explains the cause, the mechanism, the treatment, and the aftermath, so you can finally experience the peace you deserve from life."
--Robert H. Lustig, MD, MSL, emeritus professor at the University of California, San Francisco and author of Metabolical

About the Author

Aimie Apigian, MD, MS, MPH, is a double board-certified physician in preventive and addiction medicine with masters degrees in biochemistry and public health. Beyond her foundational medical training, Dr. Aimie is a functional medicine physician with specialized training in neuro-autoimmunity, nutrition, and genetics for addictions, mental health, mood, and behavioral disorders. Her extensive training in trauma therapies, including the Instinctual Trauma Response Model, Somatic Experiencing, NeuroAffective Touch, and Sociometric Relational Trauma Repair, have formed her knowledge and services in trauma, attachment, and addiction medicine, focusing on trauma at a cellular level. Her original inspiration came from Miguel, who she adopted from the foster care system during medical school.