Quotes from Peter A. Levine

I found that, if given appropriate guidance, human beings can and do shake off the effects of overwhelming events and return to their lives using exactly the same procedures that animals use.

I have worked to develop a safe, gentle, and effective way for people to heal from trauma. It works by understanding that trauma is primarily physiological. Trauma is something that happens initially to our bodies and our instincts. Only then do its effects spread to our minds, emotions, and spirits.

Children should never be forced to do more than they are willing and able to do.

What generally gets overlooked is that sexual energy and life-force energy are virtually one and the same.

Some things must be dealt with at the roots. Trauma is one of these things.

When the moral judgment is removed, individuals are able to acknowledge and experience their authentic life energy freely.

Animals do not view freezing as a sign of inadequacy or weakness, nor should we.

The right way to wholeness is made up of fateful detours and wrong turnings. —C. G. Jung

The other important focus is to realize that pain in and of itself becomes traumatizing.

Trauma is a fact of life. It does not, however, have to be a life sentence. Not only can trauma be healed, but with appropriate guidance and support, it can be transformative.

The paradox of trauma is that it has both the power to destroy and the power to transform and resurrect.

This shows up as symptoms of alexithymia (the inability to describe or elaborate feelings due to a deficiency in emotional awareness), depression and somatization.

The first truth, Buddha taught his disciples, is that suffering is part of the human condition. If we simply try to avoid confronting painful experiences, there is no way to begin the healing process. In fact, this denial creates the very conditions that promote and prolong unnecessary suffering.

The second noble truth states that we must discover why we are suffering. We must cultivate the courage to look deeply, with clarity and courage, into our own suffering. We often hold the tacit assumption that all of our suffering stems from events in the past. But, whatever the initial seed of trauma, the deeper truth is that our suffering is more closely a result of how we deal with the effect these past events have on us in the present.

When children are asked to "turn the other cheek," "put on a happy face," or "strike back" in situations where they are experiencing daily terror, they do not learn character. On the contrary, they lose self-confidence and a sense of safety necessary to succeed.

the chronically traumatized individuals generally show no change or even a decrease in heart rate. These sufferers tend to be plagued with dissociative symptoms, including frequent spacyness, unreality, depersonalization, and various somatic and health complaints. Somatic symptoms include gastrointestinal problems, migraines, some forms of asthma, persistent pain, chronic fatigue, and general disengagement from life.

When people have been traumatized, they are stuck in paralysis—the immobility reaction or abrupt explosions of rage. Because of this, they lack the healthy aggression that they need to carry out their lives effectively.

The fourth noble truth states that, once you have identified the cause of your suffering, you must find an appropriate path. I believe that the exercises I've developed and that you'll be learning in the Twelve-Phase Healing Trauma Program can serve as the path to lead you out of suffering and help you recapture the simple wonders of life.

Such experiences can act even on the unborn child. A recent study found that, at one year of age, the infants of women traumatized during their pregnancies by the 9/11 tragedy had abnormal blood levels of the stress hormone, cortisol.2 According to numerous human and animal studies, adverse early experiences may lead to permanent imbalances of essential brain chemicals that modulate mood and behavior.

His face is a stage on which heartbreaking emotions play out. Sometimes he looks lost, a boy alone. Other moments he seems sad, his gaze downcast. Other times, terror bolts across his face, like a child who wakes from a bad dream confused by what he has seen. He has not spoken much of his time alone.

This difficulty in normalizing ourselves is very important. I believe that the ability to return to equilibrium and balance, after using the "immobility response," is the primary factor in avoiding being traumatized.

If they have not trembled and breathed that way before they are released, they will not survive. They will die.

Without words, young children sometimes show parents the parts of their experience that have overwhelmed them.

help from a parent to move the play from repetition to resolution can relieve her distress.