How to Heal From Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | Dr. Victor Carrión

Andrew Huberman

Sep 23, 2024

Episode description

In this episode, my guest is Dr. Victor Carrión, M.D., the Vice-Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford School of Medicine and a world expert on the understanding and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children, adolescents, and adults.

We explain why, as children, we are particularly vulnerable to PTSD and how stress and trauma affect the developing brain. We also discuss how PTSD is related to attention-deficient hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and vice versa.

Dr. Carrión shares effective therapeutic interventions for PTSD, including cue-centered therapy (CCT) and how to create a custom “toolbox” to help you identify triggers and manage stress. We discuss an emerging curriculum that combines yoga and mindfulness to help people with PTSD improve their stress resilience, mood, and sleep.

The episode will provide listeners of all ages with a clear understanding of PTSD and effective strategies to heal from it.

Access the full show notes for this episode: https://go.hubermanlab.com/aTALcMs

Use Ask Huberman Lab, our chat-based tool, for summaries, clips, and insights from this episode: https://go.hubermanlab.com/y2fb9n

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*Dr. Victor Carrión*
Stanford academic profile: https://stan.md/3zELetj
Stanford Health Care profile: https://shc.is/4e9xZzZ
Early Life Stress and Resilience Program: https://stan.md/4gCLNo7
Books: https://amzn.to/4gxYosS
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victor-carrion-3291b813

*Timestamps*
00:00:00 Dr. Victor Carrión
00:01:56 Sponsors: Eight Sleep, BetterHelp & Waking Up
00:06:19 Stress, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Avoidance
00:11:41 Stressors, Perseverate; Children & PTSD
00:16:13 Transgenerational Trauma
00:19:20 Post-Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI); Children, Dissociation & Cortisol
00:27:17 Cortisol & Brain, Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms
00:31:48 Sponsor: AG1
00:33:19 PTSD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
00:40:17 PTSD & ADHD; Identifying Cues, Triggers & Interventions
00:47:49 PTSI, Autonomic Nervous System Seesaw; Sleep
00:53:11 PTSD, Brain Development & Kids; Cue-Centered Therapy
01:02:37 Sponsor: Function
01:04:25 Limbic Pathway, Inner Dialogue, Therapy Toolbox
01:12:34 Agency & Control, Deliberate Cold Exposure, Narrative
01:18:11 Custom Toolbox Development; Energy
01:26:32 Tool: 4-Corner Square Response, Understanding Cues
01:32:59 Tool: “Creating Space,” Feelings Thermometer, Analyzing 4-Corners
01:38:47 Social Media, Boundaries
01:46:07 School, Yoga & Mindfulness Curriculum
01:55:31 Implementing School Mindfulness Programs, Sleep
02:00:52 Barriers to School Programs
02:06:08 Redefining Success, Identity
02:10:33 Resilience & Adaptation; Organoids, Epigenetic Treatment Response
02:21:42 Listening to Kids & Adults
02:24:19 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

#HubermanLab #Science #PTSD

Disclaimer & Disclosures: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer

Mindsip insights from this episode:

Recognize neutral cues that trigger trauma responses

The cues that trigger a traumatic response are often neutral sensory inputs, like a specific color or the sound of rain, that were present during the original event.

#trauma

Manage evening cortisol to improve sleep in PTSD children

Children with PTSD often have elevated cortisol levels before bedtime, which can disrupt sleep and may be neurotoxic to key brain areas like the hippocampus over time.

#cortisol

#PTSD

Differentiate PTSD from ADHD through hyperactivity patterns

Hyperactivity in children with ADHD is often persistent, whereas the hyperarousability from PTSD is typically an 'on and off' phenomenon triggered by specific cues.

#ADHD

#PTSD

Confront trauma to prevent PTSD complications

Pretending a traumatic event did not happen or that treatment is not necessary is the primary way that PTSD becomes more complicated and harder to treat.

#PTSD

#trauma

Reframe PTSD as post traumatic stress injury for better understanding

PTSD can be reframed as a 'Post Traumatic Stress Injury' (PTSI), viewing it as a dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system rather than a permanent disorder.

#nervous-system

#PTSD

Utilize mini-brains to investigate trauma and resilience genes

Scientists are using lab-grown 'mini-brains' (organoids) to study how trauma-mimicking levels of cortisol impact neurons, helping identify genes related to resilience.

#resilience

#trauma

Incorporate yoga to boost children's sleep by 73 minutes

A school-based yoga and mindfulness program was found to increase children's sleep by an average of 73 minutes per night.

#sleep

#yoga

Deconstruct stress response using four-corner system

A stress response can be deconstructed using a four-corner system: what you're thinking (cognitive), feeling (emotional), feeling (physical), and doing (action).

#emotion

#stress

Practice positive thinking like mastering a musical instrument

Negative thoughts are automatic for survival, so positive thoughts must be deliberately practiced, much like learning a musical instrument, to become strong.