For nearly three decades, Waking the Tiger has reshaped how we think about—and heal from—trauma. Dr. Peter A. Levine, the visionary behind Somatic Experiencing® (SE), introduced a revolutionary concept: trauma is not a flaw, but a natural process that, when properly supported, can help us self-regulate and lead to profound healing.
Dr. Levine invites us back into the natural intelligence of our body, showing how we can use the model of animals in the wild to understand—and rediscover—our own innate ability to heal from trauma. Animals frequently experience events that threaten their lives, safety, and kin—yet they don’t suffer from trauma in the same ways that we do. Instead, they instinctively respond to life-or-death situations by releasing survival energy. When we don’t process our own fight-flight-or-freeze hormones, we can stay “stuck,” locked into a trauma response that can wreak havoc on our bodies, lives, decision-making, and relationships. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Dr. Levine shows:
