Podcast 1312: From Trauma to Enlightenment: 4 Steps to Healing by Dr. Brian Alman

·56 min·5 clips

Dr. Brian Alman describes his 5 a.m. breakthrough that transformed his pain management and launched his career.

The episode begins with host Greg Voisen introducing Dr. Brian Alman, a clinical psychologist and author of over 15 books, who joins from Encinitas, California. Dr. Alman shares his personal background, including being born with a congenital back condition that led him to explore self-hypnosis and mind-body techniques. He recounts writing a letter to Dr. Milton Erickson for training, which required him to earn a PhD first, and describes a pivotal 5 a.m. epiphany during his training that redefined his approach to healing. Dr. Alman discusses his collaboration with Dr. Vincent Felitti on the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study, which involved over 17,000 participants and found links between childhood trauma and adult health risks like heart disease and depression. He explains the development of the ACE treatment solution and its expansion into a 12-question assessment. The conversation shifts to the Enlighten app, which Dr. Alman created after a trip to India where a guru defined enlightenment as unconditional self-acceptance. He details how the app, originally called TrueSage, was renamed and now offers personalized techniques for trauma healing. Dr. Alman cites a UCSD analysis showing the app reduced medical visits by 35% and saved nearly $2 billion in one year for Kaiser Permanente. He outlines the four steps from his book: awareness, understanding, release, and integration, emphasizing that awareness alone is insufficient. Dr. Alman introduces practical techniques like the 'committee meeting' journaling method, which involves writing with the non-dominant hand to release emotions and integrate inner critics. He shares the story of Judge Mary Elizabeth Bullock, who had an ACE score of 10 and overcame multiple health issues through his methods. The episode concludes with Dr. Alman encouraging listeners to start with the book and then use the app, noting benefits for both personal healing and organizational ROI, including a case where a company's valuation increased dramatically.

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