Absolutely Pisces

Peter Levine argues that trauma can be the result of a suppressed response to a (perceived) outside threat. He closely observed nature and noticed how animals always ‘shake it off’ after they have been in a fearful situation. Think of deer after they have been chased by a Tiger. Or closer to home: observe cats after they got spooked by a sudden sound or unexpected movement.

If animals wouldn’t shake off their suddenly pumped up energy, like most humans, the fear and energy of the anxious moment gets stuck in our bodies. Our Amygdala, the parts of our brain that are responsible for the fight-flight-freeze response, fired us up into super high levels of readiness and adrenaline, but if we don’t properly unwind again, our bodies might not come to full relaxation again. With harmful consequences in the long run.

Where lack of movement is the cause of this harmful downward spiral, movement is the answer. The book brings forth various techniques to unlock old suppressed energies, and to free the body from old pain – and trauma.

It’s a very interesting theory to me. It makes sense to observe how animals deal with stress, as they react purely instinctively to it (rather than overanalyzing it, like I tend to do). And they seem to cope much better with threats and stress then we humans do. What can we learn from them? I myself would like to see more results of actual treatments following this theory but this book is definitely worth your time.