Re-Air: Childhood Trauma Can Lead to Disease | Here’s How to Heal Now! | Dr. Aimie Apigian
Episode of Mayim Bialik's Breakdown · October 23, 2026 · 2 h 13 min
Physician Aimie Apigian tells Mayim Bialik and Jonathan Cohen how unresolved trauma affects cells, the nervous system, and chronic diseases, and how somatic work can help.
Summary
In this re-aired episode, hosts Mayim Bialik and Jonathan Cohen interviewed physician Aimie Apigian, author of The Biology of Trauma. Apigian described how fostering and adopting a son with a history of neglect, and finding trauma in her own body, led her to separate the biology of stress from the biology of trauma. She said adrenaline, not cortisol, drives the stress response, and that cells shut down once demands exceed their capacity. In her view, people in this "functional freeze" often seek adrenaline through caffeine, procrastination, sugar and gluten.
Apigian argued that no amount of alcohol is healthy for the nervous system. She described how trauma, birth hypoxia and head injuries "prime" microglia, the brain's immune cells, so they trigger inflammation and brain fog more easily. She linked irritable bowel syndrome to early swings between stress and shutdown states. She described depression as a state in which action no longer seems possible, and said familiarity, even with chaos, is what feels safe to the nervous system.
On healing, Apigian said her own talk therapy initially made her worse. She proposed "microdosing safety" through somatic exercises, such as placing a pillow over the stomach, which she guided Bialik through. She said that in her addiction-medicine work, somatic exercises shifted physical symptoms faster than medication. She also discussed purpose, presence and productivity. She tied autoimmunity in high-functioning women to anger turned inward and early attachment wounds, said she had reversed her own autoimmune markers, and called perimenopause an opportune time for trauma work.
After the interview, Bialik and Cohen debated whether creativity needs pain or distraction. Bialik said she used work to distract herself from emotional pain, while Cohen described using coffee strategically. They also criticized a treatment system they called far removed from root causes.
Chapters
- 0:04
Introduction and re-air framing
Bialik and Cohen introduce the re-aired episode with Dr. Aimie Apigian and its themes.
- 1:15
What trauma is and why the body holds it
Apigian recounts adopting her son and discovering her own stored trauma, and explains neuroception and incomplete survival responses.
- 7:56
Cellular biology of stress versus trauma
Apigian describes how adrenaline drives the stress response and how cells shut down past a breaking point.
- 19:26
Early warning signs and adrenaline-seeking
Apigian discusses functional freeze, morning thoughts, procrastination, coffee, gluten and nicotine as ways people push through exhaustion.
- 33:49
Alcohol and primed microglia
Apigian argues alcohol harms the nervous system and explains how trauma, birth hypoxia and head injuries prime microglia toward inflammation.
- 50:02
IBS, depression and the safety of the familiar
The group discusses common diagnoses, Apigian's nervous-system model of IBS and depression, and why chaos can feel safe.
- 1:04:33
Healing through presence and somatic exercises
Apigian describes microdosing safety and walks Bialik through a pillow-on-the-belly exercise used with addiction patients.
- 1:25:04
Purpose, presence and productivity
Apigian links a lack of purpose to depleted energy and argues presence makes people more productive.
- 1:37:09
Emotional patterns in autoimmune disease
Apigian connects autoimmunity to attachment wounds and anger turned inward, discusses daycare and resilience, and describes reversing her own autoimmunity.
- 1:57:02
Perimenopause, menopause and trauma
Apigian explains how stored trauma disrupts menopause and why perimenopause is a good time for trauma work.
- 2:02:30
Hosts' post-interview breakdown
Bialik and Cohen discuss work as distraction, creativity and pain, caffeine dependence, and a treatment system far from root causes.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- Aimie Apigian
Apigian argues that stress and trauma have distinct, identifiable biologies.
“And that's when I saw, actually, there is a very specific biology of stress. and a biology of trauma, and they are very different”
- Aimie Apigian
Apigian contends that adrenaline, not cortisol, is the primary driver of the stress response.
“People like to say that cortisol is the stress hormone. No, no, no, no. Adrenaline is the real hero of the stress response”
- Aimie Apigian
Apigian says chronic procrastinators often have a trauma-related functional freeze and use the adrenaline of deadlines to act.
“So people who procrastinate, they're often the ones who have this functional freeze in our story and trauma because they need the adrenaline”
- Aimie Apigian
Apigian claims that eating gluten is partly an unconscious way to numb exhaustion because gluten proteins bind opiate receptors.
“your body knows that those proteins in gluten bind your opiate receptors so that you can help to numb yourself”
- Aimie Apigian
Apigian argues that caffeine and even microdosed nicotine can be strategic tools if timed to the body's rhythms, but most people use them to push through.
“Nicotine, microdosing nicotine. is a powerful strategic tool when used in the right way”
- Aimie Apigian
Apigian cites recent research as showing that no amount of alcohol is healthy for the nervous system.
“Even a study earlier this year showed that no amount of alcohol is now healthy for the nervous system”
- Aimie Apigian
Apigian explains that after a priming event, microglia permanently have a lower threshold for unleashing brain inflammation.
“from here on to our death, these primed microglia now have a lower threshold to activate and unleash that inflammation again”
- Aimie Apigian
Apigian says helping patients shift their inner state did more good than prescribing medication, supplements or diets.
“when I could help my patients learn to shift their inner state in the moment, I was doing them more good than writing the prescription for any medication, supplement, or diet”
- Aimie Apigian
Apigian claims IBS results from early childhood swings between the stress and shutdown survival states.
“IBS is a result of early childhood experiences where our nervous system would have fluctuated very quickly between the two survival states”
- Mayim Bialik
Bialik says that the evidence comparing SSRIs with other treatment modalities does not favor SSRIs.
“the evidence on SSRIs versus many other interesting modalities is actually not looking so good for SSRIs”
- Aimie Apigian
Apigian reports that in her addiction-medicine work, somatic exercises were the fastest way to relieve nervous-system-driven physical symptoms.
“the fastest way to shift these physical health symptoms driven by a nervous system dysregulation is somatic work”
- Aimie Apigian
Apigian rejects the idea that children are resilient if resilience means being left without lasting impact.
“One of the biggest lies that we have been told, our children are resilient. They are not. They developed the”
- Aimie Apigian
Apigian argues that a caregiver's emotional state matters more than food quality, preferring cake served with love over broccoli served with shame.
“I would rather them serve the most gluten-filled, sugar-filled cake, but with love, than a plate full of broccoli with shame”
Linked moment · 1:51:47Skip to 1:51:47 using a listen link in the info box.
Aimie ApigianApigian suggests that men get autoimmune disease less often because they direct anger outward, while autoimmunity reflects anger turned inward.
“that's why they don't get autoimmunity as much because autoimmunity is an internal attack”
- Mayim Bialik
Bialik defines codependency as prioritizing another person's thoughts and feelings over one's own experience, and says it can be deadly.
“what you just described, I care more about what you think and what you feel than what I'm experiencing, that's the definition of codependency”
- Aimie Apigian
Apigian says that through functional medicine and trauma work she reversed her own autoimmune markers and stopped thyroid support.
“What I've been able to do is get off all thyroid support, all autoimmune support, and my numbers are completely healthy in the normal range now”
- Aimie Apigian
Apigian argues that perimenopause is the best time for women to do trauma work because hormonal shifts bring buried trauma to the surface.
“it is actually the best time for a woman to do trauma work. Because it will surface traumas that have been stuffed pretty deep”
- Mayim Bialik
Bialik reflects that her stress-fueled productivity actually came from using work to distract herself from emotional pain.
“It's not so much that the stress was powering me. It was what the work was doing for me to distract me from the pain and stress”
- Jonathan Cohen
Cohen describes using coffee strategically, hours after waking and when sitting down to work, rather than first thing in the morning.
“I actually use it several hours after, and I usually use it when I'm sitting down to work and getting myself going”
- Jonathan Cohen
Cohen argues that the medical treatment system acts so late, through billable diagnoses, that it is far removed from the underlying problem.
“by the time you get into the system and there's something that is clinically viable to treat that has an insurance code that can be reimbursed for”
People
In the conversation
- Mayim BialikActress, neuroscientist and host of Mayim Bialik's Breakdown
- Jonathan CohenExecutive producer and co-host of Mayim Bialik's Breakdown, writer and energy worker
- Aimie ApigianPhysician and trauma expert, author of The Biology of Trauma and founder of Trauma Healing Accelerated
Discussed
- Gabor MatéPhysician and author on trauma cited by Bartlett
- Peter LevinePsychotherapist who developed Somatic Experiencing
- Stephen PorgesNeuroscientist who proposed polyvagal theory and the concept of neuroception
- Bessel van der KolkPsychiatrist and author of The Body Keeps the Score
- Vincent FelittiPhysician who co-led the Adverse Childhood Experiences study at Kaiser Permanente
- Joe DispenzaAuthor known for meditation programs
- RumiPersian Sufi mystic and poet who used wine as a metaphor for divine love
- Edgar Allan PoeAmerican writer about whom Stallone wrote a screenplay
- Dan HarrisJournalist and meditation podcast host
Topics
- Psychological trauma
- Stress response and adrenaline
- Autoimmune disease
- Somatic experiencing
- The Biology of Trauma (book)
- Adverse Childhood Experiences Study
- Microglia
- Alcohol and health
- Caffeine
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Depression (mood)
- Menopause
- Interoception
- Codependency and love addiction
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
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From the publisher
This week, we’re revisiting our very informative episode with Dr. Aimie Apigian: renowned trauma expert who helped us unpack how emotional wounds can silently rewire your nervous system and impact your health for years. Could your chronic fatigue, anxiety, or autoimmune symptoms be signs of unresolved trauma stored in the body? In this eye-opening episode, the founder of Trauma Healing Accelerated reveals: - The biology of trauma at the cellular level—and why it matters more than mindset alone - The difference between stress and trauma and how your body holds onto past pain - The hidden ways trauma affects women’s health, especially during perimenopause and menopause - How somatic trauma healing can reset your nervous system and restore emotional safety - How trauma responses show up as physical symptoms and coping habits you might not recognize - The powerful link between trauma, alcohol use, and stress hormones—it’s not just about cortisol - Why comparing your trauma story to others keeps you stuck - How resolving trauma can unlock your intuition, clarity, and life purpose This conversation with Dr. Aimie Apigian is a must-listen if you want to learn how to finally get unstuck from survival mode, reconnect with your body, and begin your path toward lasting emotional and physical healing. Find the fall pieces you’ll reach for most at Quince. Go to https://www.quince.com/breakdown for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Go to https://helixsleep.com/breakdown to receive 20% off your Helix mattress. Follow us on Substack for Exclusive Bonus Content: https://bialikbreakdown.substack.com/ BialikBreakdown.com YouTube.com/mayimbialik See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 24, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.