EP:15 Dr. Steve on Trauma, Healing, and Your Overall Health

How Trauma Rewires the Brain and Practical Ways to Heal the Body

On the Irene Podcast, Dr. Steve with Kaizen Health (family medicine and obesity medicine) explains that abuse and trauma create biological brain changes, especially a hyperactive amygdala and downregulated prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, which can make past trauma feel present and drive PTSD-like physical responses. He discusses chronic stress and cortisol effects such as insomnia, pain, inflammation, anxiety, depression, attention issues, and coping behaviors including substance use and overeating, noting links between adverse childhood events (ACEs) and obesity while acknowledging genetics can be influenced by lifestyle. Dr Steve emphasizes neuroplasticity and improving vagal tone through exercise (about 150 minutes/week), deep breathing, humming, vibration, and cold water exposure, and describes heart rate variability. He advises patients they don’t need to disclose trauma details to seek help, encourages finding the right provider, and highlights foundational health pillars, gut-brain connection, therapy modalities, mindset, and self-compassion to release guilt and support healing.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
01:11 Why Trauma Runs Deep
01:39 Brain Changes From Trauma
04:23 PTSD and Body Reactions
05:28 Neuroplasticity and Healing
07:20 Chronic Stress Symptoms
08:14 Coping Behaviors and Food
09:21 ACEs and Obesity Genetics
11:47 Vagus Nerve Basics
13:21 Heart Rate Variability
15:07 Breathwork and Humming
18:10 Cold Plunge Recovery
21:06 Longevity Docuseries
21:27 Cold Plunge Benefits
21:44 Trauma Care Advocacy
24:15 Finding the Right Doctor
25:10 Lifestyle Medicine Basics
26:24 Gut Brain Connection
27:52 Somatic Therapy Modalities
29:26 Mindset and Placebo
30:29 Exercise for Mental Health
36:37 Self Compassion Healing
38:06 Growth Through Resistance
41:26 Final Takeaways Thanks

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Transcript

Welcome back to the Irene Podcast. Today we have with us Dr. Steve Baum, and he's gonna go over some things that happen to you when you're involved in trauma or in abuse. And then he is also gonna talk about some ways that we can be healthy and some things that we can do personally for our physical health.

After abuse and trauma, but let's have him introduce himself first.

Cool. Dr. Steve. So yeah. Dr. Steve Baum, BAUM, German for tree. I'm a Pacific Northwest native. Grew up near Seattle, Washington and went to University of Utah for exercise physiology, the Ohio State University for medicine. And then I did my residency at Utah Valley Regional in Provo in family Medicine.

Before I went to med school, I volunteered for about a year with the Children's Justice Center as a child advocate. So I worked with kids. Who had suffered abuse as a mentor and a friend. So abuse and trauma is, is kind of near and dear to my heart. Did a couple rotations during medical school at Nationwide Children's for child abuse as well.

So, yeah, it's a, it's a, it's a good topic to cover. That's good. I'm glad. 'cause I think that we don't realize a lot of times like how deep it can run. Like we think of it kind of surface and when you're out of it, you're out of it. But. I've said this before, but I feel like physical abuse is easier to heal from than emotional abuse.

Sure. So I really wanna talk about that. So I'm glad that we have you as a resource. Absolutely. So the first thing I wanna touch on is understanding the physical impact of abuse on, on the body and on. On the mind. Yeah. Yeah. That's a good, it's a good topic. So a lot of people think that trauma or abuse is just memories.

It's just in the head. When actually there are physical, biological, structural changes, if you will, that really occur in the brain. So. Trauma isn't just memories, it's actually wired into the nervous system, so to speak. So there's three main areas, functional areas of the brain that are affected by trauma, physically changed if you will.

You have your prefrontal cortex, you have your amygdala, and you have your hippocampus. The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that's associated with logic, reasoning, and impulse control. Your amygdala is the part of the brain that's associated with emotion. The alarm center fight or flight, and your hippocampus is where memories are stored.

And so. When you talk about how trauma affects these areas of the brain, it's important to understand how they develop in a, in a person. Mm-hmm. So for example, the prefrontal cortex logic reasoning, that doesn't fully mature until we're in our mid twenties, which is why a lot of us can make silly decisions all through our adolescence.

Right. Especially guys. Not just guys. Not just guys. Yeah. Yeah. We all do. Yeah. The amygdala again, that that emotional part of the brain actually matures pretty rapidly. A lot of that's done while we're in the womb. And then even in the first few months of life for females, a lot of that maturation occurs by age four and then males somewhere between four to 18.

But if you think of a child, typically a lot of emotion. Not a lot of reasoning, right? Yeah. And that's exactly why, because all that emotional area of the brain's already already matured. Whereas that prefrontal cortex, the logic reasoning, hasn't hippocampus somewhere in between. You know, early teens, adolescent, so to speak.

It'll mature. So when we suffer trauma, the neuro structural changes that occur is you get a hyperactive amygdala, that emotional part of the brain. Why? Because that's the part of the brain that triggers fight or flight, right? And trauma, a lack of safety. You think of fear, anxiety those types of feelings.

That's why you get the hyperactive amygdala, you know, emotional response. And then you get a downregulated or a, a shrinkage, if you will, of the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus. Those two parts of the brain counterbalance the amygdala, right? So someone who suffered trauma maybe in their early childhood, 10, 20 years later.

Because the hippocampus where their memory was affected has essentially shrunken. They can't perceive that trauma as if it was in the past. To them, it feels very present. Still. Still happening. Yeah, still happening. And then again, with that prefrontal cortex, the logic, the reasoning, Hey, this isn't a threat anymore.

This happened a long time ago. That person is, you know, far away or, or whatever the, the incident was. It's also not. Reasoning Right. With the amygdala because it's been, you know, downregulated. So would that be like somebody who suffers from PTSD kind of that, where everything comes back like it just happened?

Is that what that is from? Yes. Yes, exactly. And, and, and in PTSD, one of the hallmark features is that these. Experiences or these memories, which again, are not just memories. They are wired into the nervous system. They will elicit a physiologic response. So you get night sweats, right? Yeah. You get elevated heart rate, you get the temperature increase.

I mean, it, it's a very, you know, physical reaction. Physical reaction, yeah. From an emotional. Event that's going on. Yeah, that's, it's interesting to talk about because on the other side of healing, like that's where I am is on that other side. 'cause I was abused when I was younger in my first marriage and being on the other side of it, like I just.

I went through all of that, but then I'm, now, I'm on the part where I've done the work to heal that part of me. So I no longer have those reactions when I think of certain situations or yeah, or things that had happened to me. I'm able to handle it a lot better because I did the work to like kind of heal that, I guess.

And well, and, and with that, yeah. So, so, you know, trauma there's the, have you heard of the concept or the idea of neuroplasticity? Mm-hmm. Right? So your brain can, you know, actually physically change structure. Yeah. So if trauma can cause the brain to adapt by some of those things we just talked about, then healing, you know, with safety can cause it to readapt.

Right? Right. So there's hope for people Yeah. Who've gone through stuff. Hope. Yeah. Because the brain, yeah. If it can be rewired from trauma, it can be. Re rewired. Right. You know, from healing. So that's, that's exactly what I wanted to say too, is like, it's beautiful that even though something happens and, and I was speaking to a woman one time and she was telling me how she was in a very abusive relationship.

So much so that she was almost like, like, you know, Pavlov's dog, they'd ring the bell, the dog would Sal salivating. Yeah. So she would almost like that kind of like. I mean, it's different, but that kind of thing where when she would be in a similar situation to when she was being abused, she would have the same physical response.

That conditioning, even though she was safe. Yeah, absolutely. Because she had been conditioned to think, oh, when this happens, it's not safe. For sure. So her body had that physical reaction, but she was starting to learn also from herself. She's like, oh, but I am safe and I know that I'm safe. So I just have to let it go up and then come back down.

And she said every time it just gets a little easier because she's being conscious and working through that. So I want people to know that part of it too. Like you don't have to be stuck where you are the rest of your life. Absolutely. You can do things to heal and and to move on. Yeah. Yeah. There's a quote I just read the other day.

It's, you can acknowledge your pain while still moving forward. Yeah. And, and that's important. It doesn't take away from what happened. No. You know, to you at all. Not at all. Right? No. And you'll never forget it. No. But you can not have those reaction, those physical reactions to it anymore. Absolutely.

Which I think helps you feel more empowered going down the road because a hundred percent you're not being abused anymore and you are safe and you do have control over being safe or not too. You bet. Awesome. So, what are some common physical symptoms and health issues that come up with people who maybe have unresolved abuse or trauma that they never really.

Like went to therapy or anything to heal. Sure, yeah. I think, you know, so when, I mean chronic stress is essentially what. Results from, from trauma that isn't, you know, resolved and, and healed because again, that amygdala, the alarm center of the brain's constantly firing, fight or flight, you get release of cortisol.

And cortisol just, you know, too much of it causes chaos. Right? Correct. And so when you're thinking about. Chronic issues that result. You can think of, you know, pain insomnia, inability to sleep, chronic inflammation, which can lead to all sorts of things. You have mental health issues, anxiety, depression even attention deficit, right?

Inability to focus. That's that prefrontal cortex not firing on all cylinders. So yeah, a lot of issues. And then more importantly. Not just, you know, what results from the chronic stress in the fight or flight, but how people try to cope with those things. Right? Yeah. Because when you're constant con, constantly anxious, you know, you might turn to certain substances Yeah.

To, to regulate, whether that's alcohol or, you know, marijuana or, or whatever. So substance abuse results that leads to other things. Overeating, right? So we'll talk about, you know, binge eating and, and things like that. Food eating disorders, interestingly enough, it's. You know, the lack of impulse control in the prefrontal cortex that leads to an inability to, you know, control what you're eating.

Yeah. But also people who have suffered trauma eat as a form of regulation. Right. Because I can control the food I'm eating. I couldn't control what happened to me. Yeah. But I can control or so to speak, make the food my bi, right? Yeah. And so, so I'm going to eat it and show it who's boss. Yeah. So to speak.

But oftentimes those foods that you're doing that with are comfort foods. They're not healthy. Right. And that leads to, because they taste good, they taste good, then you feel good, and then feel good. You taste. Temporarily, you feel good, right? Yeah. And we'll talk about the gut brain connection. Oh yeah. But yeah, and, and so it's kind of paradoxical there that, that it leads to eating disorders.

I'm board certified in obesity medicine in addition to family medicine. And one of the things we look at with people who suffer from obesity or, you know, deal with that is ACEs adverse childhood events. And the more a person has ace, you know, more ace as a person has, the more likely they are. To lead to obesity actually, because of that lack of impulse control or the way to regulate.

So explain ACEs again. Adverse childhood events. Okay. So like, so traumatic events that occurred in childhood. Yeah. So you may, may not be overeating or whatever as a child, but as you grow up, sometimes you develop those, it it becomes your, your coping strategy. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. And there's a lot of science behind that.

So I saw. I dunno how to say a name. I saw somebody say something about having an obesity gene. Is that even a thing? Yeah, so you can definitely, obesity is genetic. There's genetics that play a role. Doesn't mean that it, but just like any genetics, can't you override that with your lifestyle? Yep.

Yeah, you bet. Right? So yeah, the the stars, I just wanna make that clear because somebody very famous recently said there's an obesity gene, and that's why they were overweight their whole life. Oh, they can't do anything about it. And they couldn't, like they did all the diets and all, but. As somebody who's lost 50 pounds myself through diet and exercise.

Yeah. I don't think I have an obesity gene, but I had gained weight and I know that no matter what, I think it's hard to lose weight. Sure. Especially if you've been a comfort eater or whatever reason it was. It's all about changing your habits, right? Like changing part of Yeah, absolutely. But I mean, there's people that no matter what they do everything right, you can still have dysfunctional biology.

That has to be addressed with biology. Okay. So yeah, the, the four foundational pillars of, of obesity treatment, you know, exercise, nutrition, medication, and then cognitive behavioral therapy. And this just goes back to a lot of times that trauma Yeah. Is what's causing behaviors that lead to. You know, being overweight or a Yeah.

And if you don't address that right, nothing's ever gonna get better. That makes sense. That makes sense. Back to the ACEs that you were talking about. Yeah. You know, something that happened and it's not even just necessarily when we're children too. 'cause it can happen when we're adults and cause us to Correct.

Absolutely, yeah. Cope whatever way. A hundred percent. Because food is okay. Drugs and alcohol aren't, you know, in the brain. That's what we think. Right, right. But food can be just as detrimental as drugs and alcohol think and addicting. Yeah. Yeah. People can be addicted to food and it's hard 'cause you can't just stop eating.

You can stop drinking and you can stop using drugs, but you can't just stop eating. No eating is necessary for survival. Yeah. Okay. So, how about what are some medical interventions and support for the people who are healing from abuse, medical interventions and support? Yeah, that's a good, that's a good question.

I think it's important to understand, you know, we talked about how the brain. Adapts structurally right to trauma and how it can readapt. And a lot of that happens through the vagus nerve, which is cranial nerve 10. And the vagus nerve is this long nerve that runs from our brainstem through our lungs and our heart, and all the way down to the gut.

So when you talk about gut brain connection, think of the vagus nerve. Okay? And so the vagus nerve, unlike the amygdala. That stimulates the fight or flight response. The vagus nerve stimulates rest and digest. Okay? It's the counterpart to the, the fight or flight people that are in a chronic stratas, a chronic state of stress, whether that's from trauma or you know, or whatever.

They have what's called poor vagal tone, or think about your parasympathetic nervous system is not in good shape. That's it. It's out of shape. That leads to a lot of health and, you know, issues, chronic inflammation insomnia cardiovascular issues. Digestive issues, you know, all sorts of things. And so vagal tone and increasing that, getting your parasympathetic nervous system in better shape is kind of the overarching goal.

And there's a lot of ways to do that. Did I bring something? Is there a little, little case there? A little blue thing? Oh like a, like a.

Yeah. Sweet. Thank you. So, ways to increase your vagal tone. There's this thing called heart rate variability. And so let's say your heart beats 60 beats per minute. Okay, that's good. That's, that would be great, right? But your heart, a lot of people say, okay, if it beats 60 beats per minute, then it probably just beats every second, right?

One second, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds. That necessarily, but it doesn't, right? Our hearts aren't metronomes, right? So you have a heartbeat. The next one might be 0.9 seconds later. Then the next one might be 1.1 seconds later, right? 1.3, et cetera. Right? That's what heart rate variability is. The more heart rate variability a person has.

The better that their parasympathetic nervous system is in shape, the more vagal tone they have. This leads to longevity, resilience to stress, and all kinds of good things. It's, it's kinda become this area of focus. So first and foremost, to increase vagal tone, you've gotta exercise, okay? Right? Aerobic exercise, moderate intensity, which is the kind of exercise you can do while comfortably carrying on a conversation.

Brisk walking, walk with your friends, talk to 'em. You're not getting outta breath, but you're still getting good exercise. Pickleball, tennis, you know, whatever, 150 minutes a week. That is the best way. One of the most powerful things you can do to increase your vagal tone. Okay, so exercise, minimum one fifty, a hundred fifty minutes.

Okay, so that's 30 minutes, five days a week, whatever you wanna do. Okay? But that's a good way to increase your vagal tone, which is going to. Counteract the trauma and that chronic stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system. Yeah. Okay. Is that why when you're working out, you feel like this rush of, I mean, I know there's, there's hormones that give you that little boost, but is that also, does a vagus nerve when it's working properly, does that.

It also give you that like feeling kind of euphoric feeling, or that really good feeling, feeling? Oh yeah, absolutely. Neuro-transmitters, like dopamine norepinephrine, right? Yeah. They're released in the brain and that's, you know, that's good. That's a good thing. So I'll do a little experiment here, because often people talk about breath work.

You know, why do they tell me to do deep breathing and, and, and all these things. Why? Because. It stimulates your vagus nerve, the parasympathetic nervous system, right. We'll do a little experiment here and I want you to check out my arresting heart rate when it comes up there at the bottom. Any second now?

Okay. This one? Yeah, the bottom. Okay. Yeah. So it's a little high right now, so watch what happens. Okay. So it's about a hundred, 190, a hundred. I'm talking right now. Watch what happens when I take a breath and hold it.

Oh, wow.

So, what's that number? 55. Right? 55. So we just went from a hundred beats per minute to 55 by taking a deep breath and holding it. So deep breathing, slow breaths really do stimulate the vagal nerve, which lowers the heart rate. Lowers anxiety, lowers stress, yeah. And kind of resets you. Yeah. So yeah, deep breathing.

Is absolutely essential. One of those cool things you can do instantly anywhere you are. No, and that's the thing, right? Yeah. You can literally do that anywhere. Yeah. You're at the office no matter where you are. Take a breath, step back and just, you know, so deep breathing and reset. Yeah. Mean if you wanna do it by yourself somewhere, you can step in the bathroom and Yeah.

Yeah. You go in the stall so nobody stares at you. Yeah. And, and thinks you're a weirdo or you know. Yeah. Why are you holding your breath? I'm just resetting, regulating stuff. Stimulating I'm regulating, right? Yeah, exactly. Another thing that's well studied is humming. Hmm. You know? Right. That type of stuff that also shakes the, the vagus nerve and stimulates it.

That's interesting you say that. 'cause sometimes when I'm, you know how sometimes you're just going about your day and then all of a sudden you're starting to feel like a little stressed? Yeah. Always. I'll like, typically by 9:00 AM for me, I'll just like naturally take a deep breath and then I just kind of hum as I let it out.

Just like not consciously. It's just kind of something I started doing. Yeah. And I feel like I can. Bring myself down quicker with the hum than just the breath. Yeah. So you Simultaneous dual action. Yeah, like, yeah. Yeah. That's good. That's, I kind of like, that's great. Like breathe out like that. And one day I was thinking about it, I'm like, I wonder if that there's some science.

There's so to behind that. Yeah, absolutely. There. That's interesting you said that. Yeah. So these shaker boards have become a new thing. The vibration plates. Vibration plates. Yeah. Most people use 'em for lymphatic drainage or whatever, but that's another way too. Stimulate the, the vagus nerve and you know, and kind of same way that humming.

And does it really help with, with, what did you just say? Lymphatic drainage. Yeah. Yeah. But so does muscle contraction and, and walking and exercise. So, so lifting weight does too? Yeah. Oh yeah. A hundred percent. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Anything that you're contracting muscles or squeezing on vessels. That's my favorite way.

Good. I don't have a vibration plate, but I do have a gym every day. Yeah. No, you don't need one. You know, obviously exercise is, is king, but just one of those things, you know? Yeah. And then cold water. So there's this thing called the mammalian. Dive reflex. And so that's a thing where if you stick your face mm-hmm.

In cold water, then your symp parasympathetic nervous system is activated, your heart rate slows down blood flow to the extremities decreases. Mm-hmm. So that it can be conserved mm-hmm. For your internal organs and brain and then your brain. Your body is now conserving oxygen and energy usage, which allows from evolutionary perspective humans to stay underwater longer.

And so sticking your face in cold water or even cold plunges are another way to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system and, and build resilience and threshold. So I've heard, you know, everyone has an opinion on everything that's healthy. Yeah. Yeah. I've cold plunged before. I've heard different things.

I've heard it's not good for women. I've heard it's good for men and women. I've heard all kinds of things. So from your research, understanding knowledge of, of cold plunging. 'cause I like cold plunging. Mm-hmm. I think I like it because it's a way for me to be able to take control. I don't know, I can control my body when I get in the water, if I focus on my breathing and just like.

Sit in the discomfort for a minute. Yes, exactly. It feels really empowering, but it also feels like it's something that just like, it really feel, it makes me feel like grounded and, and put back fully in my body. Mm-hmm. If that makes sense. A hundred percent. Well, yeah. 'cause you're, you're, you're focused on it, right?

I can feel all the cold because, because we had one in our backyard in the winter time and I would, my husband and I would get in and I would always do it before I worked out. Yeah. Because I read that it was better before than after, because after it kind of stops your muscles from. From repairing. Or building something like that.

Am I off on that? I've never, is it better that, is it better for you to cold plunge before or after a workout? After a workout? Oh yeah, for sure. Yeah. It's a good recovery, yeah. Right after. Or should you wait time after? I mean, either one Right after. I usually cold plunge right after. Okay. Yeah. I'll be at Summit and then can go hop in.

After a workout and, you know, temperature decreases, inflammation decreases the body and it doesn't matter, men or women, there's studies been done, done on both. Haven't, yeah, I haven't. Yeah, it's good for both. I mean, and and why, why do professional athletes get in a, a bath of ice afterwards? Right. The, the, they perform at the highest level in the world so that my boys played rugby, so they would cold plunge all the time after rugby, because, especially on tournament weekends.

'cause it would just kind of get them ready for the next game the next day. So Yep. And that's why they're the best of the best because they. Are able to recover. Yeah. Quicker, you know, than most, they have all the resources, you know, to the best stuff. So what, what is it about the cold plunge that helps the body to recover?

I think it's, again, it's, it's this activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, rest and digest. Obviously cold temperatures decrease inflammation as well. Have you seen the move the show limitless with Chris Hemsworth? My man crush Thor. He's pretty good looking, right? I mean, yeah, I mean, you're not wrong, but I have not seen Limitless.

Okay. So it's on Disney Plus or Hulu. It's a National Geographic, and he did like a few episodes on different concepts of longevity. Oh, okay. Really, really cool. You should watch it. Okay. What, what prompted him to do it was the fact that his Alzheimer's ran in his family. He doesn't want to, you know, become that person and, and forget who he is, who his family is.

Yeah. He is like, how can I escape this? Anyway, it's really cool. But yeah, cold plunging is, is one of the things that he does in that, that show. So you should, yeah, you should check it out. And he talk, they talk about cold culture. Oh, the, yeah. And the science and, and the benefits. Oh, okay. And, and things like that.

I'll have to check that out for sure. Yeah. Okay. So let's talk about advocacy and empowerment in healthcare. Like what are some things that can make somebody feel empowered with their healthcare provider? Yeah, I mean, it's a tough, it's a tough thing to talk about traumatic experiences, right? Yeah. Especially if, if you're meeting someone for the first time, right?

And from a physician standpoint, I mean, nobody, we're not trained. In, in trauma, you know, and it's not a standard, you know, part of training, like I told you, I did some electives, you know, by choice. Because it's just a subject that it's more of a psychology Yeah. Definitely. Side of it, right? Yeah, absolutely.

So, you know, I think it's important for patients to understand that. You know, a, when you go into a medical doctor or provider or you know, or whatever, maybe just don't assume that they're trained to do that. 'cause you might be disappointed. Right. Right. Just kind of. And and then b you don't have to give details to get.

Care. Right, right. I think maybe that's what holds people back. It's like, I don't wanna go tell somebody and relive this. Yeah. You absolutely don't have to. And if you ever have someone that makes you feel like they're prying or forcing things out of you, they're not, they're not the ones for you. Exactly.

Right. And so one of the ways you can do this. You know, seek care for trauma without feeling like you have to get into the details is just tell someone like, Hey, I struggle with sleep, or I struggle with anxiety, or I struggle with digestive issues or chronic pain. You know, whatever it is that you know is directly affecting your trauma.

Or, sorry, whatever it is that's, you know, resulting from your trauma. Right, right. Just tell someone. I've had something that happened to me in the past and it's affecting the way IXY, Z sleep or something's happening to Matt to me now. Something's happening to me right now. Right. Yeah. Yeah. And, and, and you can say, I'm not comfortable getting into the details yet, but I wanna know, you know, how to get help.

Yeah. And I was like talking about this to this with my wife this morning is, you know, you can ask someone, you know, straight up front. Yeah, I have some trauma. Do you feel like you're qualified or, yeah. You know something, this is in your wheelhouse. Yeah. Because A, people probably aren't qualified and B, people probably aren't comfortable.

Right? Yeah. Talking about that stuff or treating someone. Yeah. And then just get that established. Like, are you someone that I could work with? And if not, do you have someone that you could refer me to? Right. And then you won't lead to some long, you know, beat around the bush. A disappointing conversation, lack of help.

So, I think that's really important is just know you don't have to get into details to find the help, and you can ask someone straight up, you know, do you feel like you're good for this? Yeah. But I think it's also important to remember like, I'm a doctor shopper. I don't just go to whatever, like I will shop and go to a doctor where I feel completely comfortable with that doctor because I wanna be able to share anything that I need to share with that doctor.

Right? And I'm fortunate that I did find a doctor here that she's amazing. Like as a. Sometimes as a female, it's easier to talk to another female. Sure. When you're in abuse. I don't, for men, I don't know. I know that it's harder for men to talk about being abused like this because I think that just in general Yeah.

That it's just maybe culturally, it's, it's taboo. I don't know. Yeah. But I think it's important for you to try to find somebody that you trust, that you feel would feel comfortable talking about this kind of stuff with. 'cause I think there are doctors out there that you could at least. Be comfortable enough to share enough that they could get you the right help.

Exactly. Right. Yeah. Yeah. If, if you're not the one for me, I'm sure you know someone who could help, you know? Yeah. Yeah. I agree. Yeah, that's good. That's good. I love that. And then what are some things that people could do long term for their own health and to maybe help prevent them from being in an abusive relationship again?

Okay, so part one is so I, I really focus on lifestyle medicine. Yeah. And the, the foundational pillars of health. So everybody was always looking for the next greatest pill or injection or, you know, voodoo or whatever to get healthy. The magic. The magic. But it's like the magic is in the basics. Yeah.

Okay. Your body wants to be healthy. It was designed to do that and move and move and so Exactly. So you have your pillars of health, which include your exercise. Nutrition, not just calories, but actual nutrients. Sleep, you gotta sleep. Positive social connections. So your friends, your relationships, they make a huge difference.

Places you put yourself in, places you put yourself. Yeah, absolutely. Avoidance of risky substances. Mm-hmm. So, you know, again, talking, a lot of coping strategies end up making things worse even though they might feel better in the short term. And then stress management, those are the six pillars of health that people often overlook and, and dismiss.

And when you do those things foundationally. Everything else will fall into place over time. But if someone is specifically trying to heal from trauma, you can't dismiss those things and, and plan to heal. We talked about a little bit or alluded to the gut brain connection, right? So the vagus nerve connects your brain to your gut.

The brain and gut literally speak the same language, okay? So if what's going on in your head doesn't feel good. Guess what? Your brain tells the gut also. Yeah. You don't feel good. That's why you get that gut feeling. You get gut feelings. Yeah. You get IBS, your low bowel syndrome, digestive issues. Right. On the same token.

If you're eating crap and putting crap into your digestive system, guess what your gut's gonna tell your brain? Yeah. You don't feel good either, right? Yeah. And so it can become this self flicking ice cream cone where I don't feel good, I'm eating crap. The guts doesn't feel good. It tells the brains, you know?

Yeah. So, so nutrition will heal. Yeah. You have to, you have to trust, you know, trust that. So yeah, not dismissing the basics, those foundational pillars of health. We talked about some of the modalities, just really focusing on increasing your vagal tone. Get your parasympathetic nervous system in better shape.

And there's a lot of ways to do that that don't cost a ton of money naturally. We, you know, and so, and then in addition, we talk about finding the right person for you to help you, right? So, primary care physicians are often the first point of contact. You know, where insurance always demands referrals to go anywhere.

Where do you get 'em from your PCP? Yeah. You know, so they're often the first, their first point of contact. But if you don't like your PCP, well maybe get a new one to begin with. Yeah, but if you don't wanna wait for that again, you don't have to. Be, you know, super detailed with them to get referred to the right places.

Right, right. So I don't know you know, mend counseling Yes. And Jenny Pool, right? Yeah. Yeah. So what she does is absolutely amazing because you get all the modalities, you know, not just talk therapy Yes. But your somatic therapy, the physical stuff, all, it's, it's a comprehensive approach. Yes. It's not just one thing is gonna cure all, which I think is, is.

Beautiful because I don't think enough, I think a lot of people do talk therapy 'cause talk therapy is just what everybody's familiar with or knows. Sure. But 'cause I've had Jenny on the podcast before, and when you talk, when you learn more about how the. Like we know the mind and body are connected, obviously.

Yeah. In many, many ways. Not just your thoughts or whatever and making your body move, but like when you talk to her and she talks about how there's different parts of your body that might hurt or feel a certain way when you're dealing with certain emotions, that makes sense to me. Maybe not to everybody, but to me that really resonated.

And then so in order to heal from those things you do. Body work as, as well as talking about it. And I feel like I almost feel like it, like multiplies the effectiveness. I could be wrong. You're not wrong at all, but in my brain, in my brain, that's what it, what it does is like not just working on one, but like you said, multiple modalities, just, it increases that impact and that ability to heal.

And I feel like, I mean, it's not fast necessarily all the time and there is a process and some things have to, you have to go slow with. Sure. But I feel like if you can connect fully to your body. And really be intuitive with it. I think that you can really, really kind of fast track your healing too, if you're really all in like that and you really believe in all of that.

Yeah. 'cause again, it's a belief thing too. It is. Well, yeah, yeah. The P, yeah. Placebo effect or the power of, you know, positive thinking Yeah. Is, yeah. Is absolutely a form of medicine. Then on flip side, if you're like, nothing I do is gonna make me better, then nothing you do will make you better. You, right?

Yeah. No matter what the science shows, I've always told us, if you think you're wrong or you think you're, no, what did she say? You can't do something. Yeah. If you think you can, or if you think you can't, you're right. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. That's a good. Your mom's a smart person. Well, my parents were, they, they were very much about mindset.

They like to teach us about mindset. And, and you alluded to you know, physical and, and emotional and mental, like a lot of people don't realize that it's not just. We don't just say that like there's actually science behind that. The same areas in the brain that process emotion mm-hmm. Overlap with areas that process pain.

So psychological pain and emotional stress can be physically manifest as pain in the body. Yeah. You know? Yeah. And that's why a lot of people that have chronic pain can be, you know, flares can be exacerbated when you have the trauma that they're thinking about and dealing with, that's not resolved.

Yeah. And I've noticed, so probably. Three or four years ago, I did 75 hard for the first time because I was in a place where like I had gained a bunch of weight and I, and it was from sitting behind a desk and working and, and not. Being active like I had been in the past and I finally just got sick of it.

It was a Wednesday, and I'm like, I'm starting today. I don't care. I'm starting today. And it changed everything for me because it helped me to realize like, I actually do have more control over this than like, you know, you s. People think, oh, it, my genetics are that I'm X, Y, and Z. But once you take that lifestyle shift, make that lifestyle shift, and you start doing things, eating, eating better, moving your body and then consuming things that are good for you.

Yeah. Like I I, part of the 75 hard program is reading 10 pages in a book that helps you. I love self-help books because I love reading different perspectives on how people have bettered themselves and healed perhaps, and apply Yeah. And healed. And applying those in a way that like. Feels right for me.

That is, that will work for me. Yeah. And it takes time to create habits. Just like it took time to get out of the habit of working out maybe takes time to get back in that habit. But now at this point, I've realized that if I don't go to the gym five to six times a week, the first thing that suffers is my mental health.

Which it's kind of like, you don't feel, you don't realize how bad you feel until you feel good and then you don't wanna feel bad again. Yeah. So it's kind of like, you don't realize how much it affects you until you make it a habit. Yeah. And then you go, how, how do I live without this? I can't live without this.

This is just my life now. For sure. And it's, which is great. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No it is great. It's great to, to get to that point. But I it's funny 'cause the other day I was at the gas station and some, and I was kind of hopping around 'cause I was trying to stretch out and on my way to the gym. Get some blood, just get some gas.

And the guy next to me is like, I wish I had your energy. And I'm like, go to the gym. Yeah, you can if you do this. 'cause people don't understand, like it sounds counter counterintuitive to Yeah. Like work out really hard and then you have more energy. But that's how it works. Absolutely. That's how the body works.

That's how the mind works. And honestly, anybody who's going through anything heavy or hard, go for a walk. Yes. Just start with a walk, like you were saying. 30 minutes a day. I try to walk 45 minutes and it's just being outside. Oxygen, even if it's cold. Oxygen, air, oxygen, satellite exposure, oxygen. Yeah, and just like absolutely essential.

Being outside is so good for us. Yeah. I think people are too. Maybe it was COVID that really locked that in to stay in your house. Part of it, for sure. Yeah. I think we had a lot. That, but I think it's so important to move your body any way that you can right now. Yeah. Because most people can go for a 30 minute walk.

They can Oh yeah. Any, any case. And some, some people it might hurt Yeah. To go for that walk. But the more you do it, the easier it gets too. Absolutely. Consistency is is key. Yeah. So what's your favorite? Thing to do for your mental health? I lift. Yeah. Yeah. Exercise. Same. Me too. Same type of thing. It's like if I, if I go a couple days without, you know, whatever, I, I start to get pretty grumpy.

Yeah. So, yeah. My husband's very encouraging. Go to the gym. Go to the gym. Yeah. Because I come back Totally. And you better right. It's clear. Yeah. Not that I get crazy 'cause I go to the, I really do go to the gym six days a week. I didn't say it. No, no. But you know, we were thinking it. Yeah. So, not that I'm totally crazy, but he does, we all notice a difference when mom has been to the gym.

Sure. I'm, I'm just better. Well, when you're, when you're. Constantly exposed, exposed to the day-to-day stressors. Right. Those build up. Yeah. That's energy inside you that will literally work against you like a grenade, you know, blows up inside you. Yeah. If you don't have an outlet Yeah. To do something with it.

And we live in a world where technology advances are great but I think they also. Put a lot of stress on people because we know what's going on in everybody's village. Yeah. There used to be a time where we only knew what was going on in our village. Yes. You have to send a pigeon or a courier, you know, to hear anything else.

And now we know what's going on in everyone's village and there's absolutely nothing we can do to change it. Right, right. But we still get the stress of knowing all the crap that's going on in the world. Yeah. And it's just, I, our bodies were not. I don't think designed, you know, for that to have that much information, to have that much support information.

Right. It's over all the bandwidth. We don't have the bandwidth. So what happens, you get stressed, you get mental health issues. If they're not addressed, if you don't have that outlet, you know, you gotta have that outlet. Yeah. And I, I honestly think too, the days that I, because I'm a boarding workout person too, so the days that I work out, I could go to work after that and totally accomplish the tasks.

Yeah. Like. My car broke down a couple weeks ago and so I was having to wait till later in the day to go to the gym when I had a vehicle and my days felt so off and so chaotic. And maybe part of it is disruption in my routine. Yeah, for sure. Because I have a DH adhd, so if I don't have my routine, then I feel like I'm just thrown off going with the wind.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Instead of, you know, charging my old course structured and yeah. But there's something I was just gonna say.

It left me, but, oh, that's what I gonna say. I. I have a, I'm from a big family. I have 12 siblings, fun, and I lost my dad and my oldest brother in the last six years from cancer. And that was also a big driver to get in shape and take care of myself better because there is cancer in my genes, but it doesn't have to be me.

Sure. And I don't want my kids, I also don't want my kids to have to take care of me because of my poor life choices. So I have a lot of. Push behind me to be healthy. Motivation. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And, and, but a big, big, big, big, huge part of it is my mental health because I feel like my mental health has increased exponentially since I've made it a big habit to go to the gym every single day.

Good. And I think that that's something that a lot of people don't realize. Like the gym is not just for your physical body. I think for me, almost even more so, it's for my mental health. It's a huge, huge part. A hundred percent. Okay. One last question. What's the importance of self-compassion and how does it physiologically impact healing?

Hmm. Self-compassion. So I think of that as, you know, kind of like, giving yourself grace. Yeah. It's really sad, but a lot of times, as you're probably well aware of, victims of abuse often feel guilty, right? Like they're. Responsible. Somehow they caused it fault. They it fault by fault, their fault, whatever fault I stayed, whatever those reasons are.

Yeah. And that's so sad because not only were they a victim in the first place to someone else's choices, but now they're a victim, you know, to this belief that they're somehow responsible in that guilt. So, you know, self-compassion really is important to. You find a way to know that you're not responsible.

That's not your fault. Yeah. Because that guilt is just as bad as, you know, anxiety and this chronic stress and things like that. It, it doesn't do any good for your body. It's a burden. Yeah. To your body and to your physiologic system. So, you know, again, going back to the very beginning of our conversation, the brain is rewired, trauma is wired into the nervous system.

And in order for us to rewire what was wired from that, we have to let go of the guilt. Yeah. We have to, you know, come to grip, think differently, act differently, be differently. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. So, yeah. Yeah. And it's hard. It's not gonna happen overnight. It's, it can be very difficult. But, and you're gonna have ups and downs.

Yes, too. It's not this linear thing. Right? Yeah. You might take a couple steps forward, one step back, but I like to think about it like anytime I've been through something that's really hard or really challenging in my life. On the other side is a huge. Growth that has happened. Yeah. You level up. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So now I know this is gonna sound crazy to some people, but now when something's hard, I'm like, Ooh, what's happening? What's gonna happen? Because what am I gonna get outta this? Yeah. Because I, I want to shift, I wanted to shift my perspective when I started to notice the growth that I'm like, okay, now when something hard is happening, I'm gonna go, okay, what am I supposed to, what am I learning now?

Yeah. What am I, what am I gaining so that the next. Thing that I have to do isn't so hard, right? What am I, what's changing in my life or my mind or my body, or all of the above that is preparing me for what's to come? Because I think that life, like you said, life is always, you're gonna have ups and downs, but if you're always trying to get back up, I think that the trajectory of your life will just keep going up and.

I don't think we're ever complete. I think we're always a work in progress and I think the more that we can understand that about ourselves and about life, then the greater that we can become. Absolutely. And that starts with compassion for ourselves. Yeah. And having grace when we're, when things are hard, but knowing like, okay, just because this is hard doesn't mean it's wrong.

Sometimes it's hard because I'm. Leveling up. That's right. Yeah. Well, oftentimes, yeah. What's best for us or the, the right path is the path of most resistance. Yes. Right. So that's a good sign that you might not be doing what's right if things are too easy. Yeah. If you're just coasting alone. Yeah. Not Yeah, you're not, you're not.

How do you grow without resistance? You don't. You can't, you don't. It's just like you can't build muscles. Right, exactly. I was just gonna say that, you know, without that resistance, so once you've been to the gym, you, you, it kind of helps you understand that better because, I mean, I'm six feet tall too, so.

It takes a lot longer for me to see the muscle in my body than my five foot two friend. Right. Gotta grow long ways first before it can grow. That's not fair. Yeah. But also, if I gain 20 pounds, it's gonna sh not show as much as it is on my five foot two friend, so That's right. You there, so, you know, there's, there's plus and minus.

Yeah. But but that consistent work, it's just, I think of it like, the law of the harvest. Like if you plant a seed and you water the seed and the sun shines on it and it grow, it has to grow. Yeah. Because you've done everything to prepare it. So I think that our life is like that. If you do everything to get to the point where you.

You're growing and things are moving, and things are happening for you, it's inevitable that you're gonna reach your goal or you're gonna reach that, that healed point in your life. Not to say that there won't be things that pop up that make you feel some kind of way, but every time something comes up in my life that makes me like, go, Ooh, this doesn't feel good.

What is this? I look at it like, okay. Why am I feeling like this right now? Because that's the other thing that we can do. We can either go, oh, so and so made me feel this way. Or we can go check in with ourselves. Like, okay, why am I feeling like this right now? Why did something that this person said make me feel some kind of way A certain way?

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then I think when we can check in like that and then go, oh, okay, it's 'cause this in me is maybe still something I'm working on or, or trying to overcome. Yeah. So don't ever think that. You're it. That's it. You're stuck where you are. You can always heal. You can always get better. Thank you Dr.

Steve for coming on today. Yeah, absolutely. We really appreciate having you. Appreciate the opportunity and we'll probably have you back 'cause there's more I want to talk about with you. Sweet. So I'll be here. So I'll always remember that you're always a work in progress and if something is hard, try to find the lesson because there's always growth happening.

We love you and have a beautiful blessed day.