24 Seven November 2019

FROM THE EDITOR
—
We all experience trauma in one form or another. It
may be at the hands of an abuser, a relationship breakup,
a health diagnosis, or the death of a loved one. No
one is immune.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Dr. James
Gordon, author of the book, The Transformation: Discovering
Wholeness and Healing After Trauma. Dr. Gordon
is a world-recognized authority and acclaimed mindbody
medicine pioneer. He is former researcher at the
National Institute of Mental Health, chair of the White
House Commission on Complementary and Alternative
Medicine Policy, and the founder and executive director
of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington,
DC.
In our conversation, we spoke about his evidence
based program for reversing the biological and psychological
damage resulting from trauma. Dr. Gordon
believes that we can use tools of self-awareness and selfcare
to heal our trauma and become healthier and more
whole than we have ever been.
According to Dr. Gordon, when we go through a traumatic
experience, two basic biological reactions occur:
The fight or flight response, which is the process that enables
us to fight and survive a threat, and the freeze response,
a kind of collapse in which we detach to protect
ourselves emotionally. Each response has an important
job in our survival, but the problem occurs when these
reactions continue and become the dominant forces in
our lives.
To begin the healing process after trauma, Dr. Gordon
advises that we deal with and quiet these two powerful,
ongoing biological reactions. The techniques that we
discussed, among others, can bring us back into balance
and will jumpstart the healing process.
Listen to my conversation with Dr. Gordon: https://
soundcloud.com/cyacyl/jamesgordonmd
— Joan Herrmann