Elizabeth Smart on Surviving Kidnapping & Painful Memories, Plus Healing & Post Traumatic Growth

[@Godisgreat-7777]

From what I have learned, people with a traumatic childhood, would be more traumatized with Elizabeth’s horrific experience… than someone who had a decent or great childhood. The fact that she is doing so well… does that show she had a fairly healthy childhood? I have seen another doctor talk about this with PTSD, in war veterans. Depending on their childhood, depends on how severe their PTSD or C-PTSD would be, after their war experience. I have a ton of experience and knowledge on this because of my own traumatic childhood, along with traumas in adulthood. I have worked extremely hard to heal and have FINALLY started to thrive. God is good! Thank you!

[@krrlykween]

Hi do you remember the doctor talking about ptsd in veterans? Quite interested in hearing more... Thank you

[@veronicanewmiller8775]

What an amazing interview. Elizabeth is definitely a very strong person with a beautiful soul. Thank God she survived. The world needed her. And thank you Dr. Amen for your care.

[@Ttingey01]

Love this!! Elizabeth is such a wonderfully resilient and beautiful human being!! So glad she was reunited with her family! Thx for what you do Dr. Amen! I find such great value in your work! ❤❤

[@AmenClinic]

Thank you for the support, and for watching! 🧠

[@mariedrevalliv2436]

Very interesting interview! She seems like a fantastic strong willed person. Would’ve loved some more in depth discussion about her brain.

[@AmenClinic]

Thank you for watching, and sharing your feedback

[@maidomaidonaidekka]

I'm rooting for you Dr. Amen! I'm rooting for you I'm rooting for you Elizabeth!! 🥰

[@AmenClinic]

Thank you for watching 🧠

[@vscarante]

'Where is the rage?' This question in the interview is so relevant. There must be so much justifiable rage there that had to be suppressed for her survival. I think we can see her rage as she contemplates about her kids going through a similar situation, but not so much about herself, perhaps due to internalized indoctrination about lack of worth related to toxic purity culture? Having come from my own traumas I can relate to some of it. In my experience the religious indoctrination does not help with the healing. It is amazing how much she accomplished despite all this trauma, only praise to her.

[@noana9365]

Very interesting. Good that you took up about d vitamin, multi vitamin, and fish oil. I am the most interested about when looking at the brains.

[@AmenClinic]

Thank you for watching!

[@barbaramosley9081]

What is MDR mentioned at end of video. Acronyms are confusing to non professionals.

[@gypsytraveler2099]

Looked it up, 82 different meaning. Maybe Multi-drug resistant.

[@angiems93]

It’s called EMDR… it’s a form of trauma therapy.

[@sonja_rademacher]

EMDR is a form of trauma therapy. The eyes are moved right and left, sometimes up and down and other ways. During that the patient thinks of a certain situation. You need a very empathetic and careful therapist to be successful.

[@AmenClinic]

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is an interactive psychotherapeutic technique that can be very helpful for people who have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related symptoms or conditions. Research suggests that traumatic events can interfere with how the brain processes information. Consequently, the experience and memories can get “stuck” in the brain and make a person vulnerable to conscious or unconscious triggers from recollections, images, sounds, smells, and feelings that are reminiscent of the traumatic experience. EMDR therapy uses bilateral hemispheric brain stimulation in the form of left to right eye movements, hand-held pulsating devices, headphones, or tapping on the knees to reduce or remove the emotional charges of traumatic memories. This therapy doesn’t block a memory, but rather it activates mechanisms in the brain that help you process the memory and emotions it evokes.

[@susansunflower]

I'm wondering if she is still a practicing Mormon. Her parents divorced? I'm shocked.

[@kendrajohnstun1410]

Her parents divorced years after she was found. Her father came out as gay.

[@susansunflower]

@kendrajohnstun1410 Wow! That is shocking.

[@AmenClinic]

Thank you for watching!

[@truthislight2526]

Thansk for this interview. I wonder if this lovely lady has Stockholm syndrome. It’s obvious her predator has NPD and a sociopath. Thanks God he is locked.

[@AmenClinic]

Thank you for watching!

[@Stellar0930]

I wish you had asked her what made her not try to scream or run away to her parents while she was still in her home…

[@rebekahpotter3633]

I would assume shock and fear from being so young but it would be interesting to hear what she was thinking.

[@asmrmissspicy2817]

He told her if she screams or try to run he will kill her entire family and she believed him and was terrified.

[@prettynaturestuff]

Shock. Trauma response. It's hard to understand if you haven't been there. I always thought I would scream... But was chased and never thought to scream in the adrenaline of it all. He had a knife to her throat.

[@Kf-qf6hw]

The freeze response is more normal in predatory situations then the flight response. Literally in those moments your body takes over for survival, there is no reasoning. It is hard for people to understand these types of situations and what they think the victim should do. What the victim should do and usually not what they instinctively do. This predator was extremely dangerous. Her body and mind took over in that moment and calculated in seconds the scenarios. Her body chose to freeze and comply to save her life.

[@ashleygetz6314]

Her abductor threatened the safety of her sister and parents. As a child, you may understand why she would have believed that the fate of her family was in her hands at that severely traumatic moment and that she couldn’t risk their lives.