Thursday, April 14, 2016

How We Become Programmed Before Birth


You know, we are in a very different position from where we were just a few years ago.  I used to write about the traumas embedded in our systems during gestation but we had few ways to prove it.  Now we do.  And we can show how a smoking mother adversely affects her baby for a lifetime. Actually, we did have proof but it was clinical, not the statistical kind, so it did not count.   And we could never call anything “proof” because we did not abide by the rules of the game.  Those rules do help us remain objective so it is not a bad thing.

But now we can measure the traces on the gene that trauma leaves.  We can undo trauma and change it.  We can undo neurosis and pain. The caveat that I have maintained for decades: to resolve the buried pain we must arrive deep in the brain and we must relive it exactly as it was laid down. If it were laid down with no words there must be no words during the primal reliving. We get to deep brain sites by the opposite of willfulness, by allowing the neuronal chain of pain to take over and guide us.

What we are learning is how experience is more important than genetics and weighs more heavily in determining our sicknesses and later behavior.;  and how we can pinpoint the damage, where it lies and how crucial it is.  In other words, our social life changes our biology and our neurology. It can change his genetic make-up.

Let me say that again; your life on this planet, your very early life, overrides genetics.  A carrying mother who smokes, damages her baby, perhaps for lifetime. (Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research  (2016). Their research states that these babies are susceptible to serious diseases later on. It affects their immunity. It is a very bad start in life. There are precise epigenetic changes that endure, not the least of which is lung disease later on.   There is no escape.  I had a patient who felt suffocated all of the time.  She moved to Arizona to escape, thinking she needed clean air.  She did but way back when.   She was trying to escape an old imprint, and there is no escape from it; it is YOU.

In current research they have found that those infants who underwent a smoking mother during gestation seem to light up the same genes as  the adult who smokes.   So are both are just terrible for the child and adult, unless they prefer shortening their lives.   The fetus is not breathing but there is a blood-borne effect.   It all passes through the placenta.   What is diabolic is that the maternal effects on the fetus that embed pain can cause chronic smoking in the adult who slowly kills himself in trying to make it through life. He wants to live but without pain.  Hobson’s choice.   It is no choice at all. He is using the genes he used at the start to get out of  pain but alas…….If your mother smoked you are on your way to smoking; all for the same goal; to get out of pain.  Why?  She is killing pain and the fetus’ body is learning that it kills pain too.

 Hello addiction, which also begins deep down in the brain.  Hey, check the blood from the umbilical cord.   Smoking mothers produce a different kind of baby, and he is vulnerable.   (see the PACE consortium.  Also, Cell Press).  Do the addiction centers know what they are dealing with?  We are programmed almost from day one.  Free will?   Where?

Important:  (American,  J. of Human Genetics.   March 31, 2016) smoking in the mother damages the fetal  DNA.  And here the  newly developing genes can begin, I suggest, their voyage to later cancer.  It is a stealth but sure enemy.  And it has a long lifespan.   One reason that voyage to disease carries on unabated, is that trauma lowers the development of natural killer cells of the immune system that can search out and destroy newly developing cancer cells.   Our research with Primal Therapy showed a doubling of them (NK Cells) after one year of our therapy.

In one study (Univ. of Wisconsin.  Journal of Child Development), Examined 50 young children who had been physically abused.  There was a marked amount of methylation in them (the glucosteroid centers) as compared with non-abused children.   Why do we fall ill from cancer later in Life?  Check Primal Pain through methylation.   Same for Alzheimers.

As to further underscore the point: a study in Nature, Dec. 2015, indicates how early trauma can lead to psychosis/schizophrenia.  It is always the earliest that is most deleterious.  And nearly always pre-natal (before birth).  They found  close association between methylation traces and later mental illness/psychosis.   So when doctors look at childhood trauma to understand depression and anxiety, they are already far off the mark.    One key problem is that the person does not know about his prenatal life, since it did not contain words, but we know because we travel back on the neuronal train that is not equipped with words. …..sensations and feelings, and that is a lot and enough.  And we never ask; they tell.   The body tells and we listen.  Any therapy that is word dominated cannot ever get to the truth.
,
Andrew Jaffe, of the Lieber Institute for Brain Development (Baltimore. Md.), found crucial information:  Methylation was “most pronounced” between pre and post-natal periods, meaning again, early, early trauma is the most devastating and enduring of what happens to us.  Something I have found in my clinical work for 50 years.  And because I saw it and measured it, it should count.  But now we have confirming science at work to tell us again that very early trauma is the most embedded and the most harmful.  It is the most lasting and the hardest to shake; and we can only shake it by traveling back on the neuronal train to where it lives and is engraved.  There is no other way. We lock into feelings in the present, “I saw a father at the part hugging his son and the son kissed him back, and I start to cry.”  We burrow into that feeling and then let go; he is on the feeling track that will take him back slowly and safely for months to where the primal imprint is located, with its load of pain.  It has to be lived because it was never fully lived at the start;  far too painful for a fetus.  We let biology and feelings be our guide and never interfere with its trajectory.  It is our precise history being run off and it must travel all of the way toward completion.  That is when we get better and eventually, cure.   If not, we get what we got originally, partial completion and a residue of pain to be acted out for a life-time. Neurosis really means we are partial beings, not fully developed. And that means we must mature slowly, reliving early life until we are whole, until we get back all of ourselves.   We need to get our childhood back with our needs and feelings. They disappeared long ago and we don’t even know they re done. A tragedy. The depressive often feels, something is missing.  But what?   Him.


There is more evidence that the hurt begins early;  methylation shows itself soon after birth.  Jaffe emphasizes prenatal life is critical what I called the CRITICAL PERIOD. And it is.  And there is a discussion by them of in utero life,  as well which they find important for the development of schizophrenia. Another group(Mills), studied the brains of deceased fetuses  and found early widespread methylation changes in their brains.

Ayayay.  Is anyone out there?  Are you listening?

There is study after study who say pretty much the same thing:  Genes and epigenes shape how we develop and mature.  (Tel  Aviv University.  March 28, 2016.)  They found that parents who underwent stress can have lasting effects on new generations.   And “Memories of traumatic events often last a lifetime because they are so difficult to treat.”    Really?   Oh yes, they said through behavioral methods alone.   Now they are talking.  Why can’t they take the next easy step and say, Primal Therapy.     They adhere too closely to “facts.” And need to extrapolate to the solution.   Sadly, it is a giant emotional leap!! To do that, they need an intellect heavily propelled by feelings.  Ayayay. Where are those feelings? Buried under mountains of intellect that forces them away from the leap.  They stick close to facts.

Now look at this:  “Drugs that weaken traumatic memories hold promise for PTSD treatment.” (Science Daily).    Wha????   That will kill off all  their chances of cure.
We want and need the memory; it is the key to liberation. But they somehow know we need access to feelings. I say “Imprint,” while they say “memory”. A big difference.  It is not just cerebral. It is neurobiologic.  It is everywhere and yet nowhere.   There is not on spot we can focus on.  It is in the hormones, muscles, and brain.   That is why we have to focus on the central nervous system that orchestrates the whole mess.  Not just the  blood supply to the heart or brain. Not just the tension in the muscles. …….. EVERYWHERE. I call it the imprint because it is exactly that:  an imprint deep in the system and ramifies to the whole system.  In fact, what we can remember it is usually what we don’t want.  We are after  unconscious memories; they do the most damage and are the hardest to access.

They lost their infancy and the facts it contains.  It would have told them so much.  Don’t hug those facts too closely. You need to rely on feelings too.  Yes, facts do help keep us away from feelings but do not think they are the only objective truth.   You are not a better scientist because you stick to facts; you may be an unfeeling scientist that will help you avoid truths. So do not accept facts in lieu of truths.   It has happened for decades; “scientists’” pleading for Behavior and Cognitive therapy despite the truth that there is a deeper world we must deal with.   All this because facts has had a bad name, since Freud they were considered beneath us smart people, who “knew” that they were dangerous and unhealthy. OH.  He is so emotional.    If parents knock the feelings out of us we can become unfeeling objective scientists  who can state fact after fact in their papers and never draw the logical conclusions from them.  That means that they have to apply facts to human life and human interaction.    Did I already say, ayayay?

Using facts to obscure truths.  Ayayay.


19 comments:

  1. Dear Art!

    Fantastic to hear about your new book... it gives me feelings about my loneliness as you're talking about scientific content!

    Can you send me a copy of the book I would really need it for what SBU here in Sweden is now in the process of determining what to undertake research around? It is urgent!

    "Using facts to obscure truths". I do not think they use facts to hide the truths they just do not know better and how would they know better than their ability allows them... they are actually killing them self without feeling it!!! They think that it favors their own operations... but it is the same as believing in the truth without feeling it... they do not reach the cause of it! So they do not feel... and it creates their opinion... opinion is without feelings! This is the reason that a legal process must take place so that we can prove that their opinion no longer prevail. They are in their catch-22 for what primal therapy proves its science.

    Your Frank

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Frank You can get the book from Reputation Books art

      Delete
    2. Hi Frank

      It's also available on Amazon for pre order now. I got my order in already. Can't wait to read it.

      Steve

      Delete
    3. Hello Art!

      I'm sorry to disturb you about this... but it does not look like I can order the book now!

      When I order the book "Beyond Belief" by "Reputation Books" so I am switched over automatically to Amazon where they write "This title is avsilabele to UK customers only"? So I can not order it!

      To you in UK!
      Is there anyone in UK that could help me?

      Your Frank

      Delete
    4. Frank

      I ordered Art's new book from Amazon but I noticed they are selling only the kindle version of the book. Are you able to download the kindle version from Amazon?

      Steve

      Delete
  2. Yes Art I am listening to every single word, every time you write and your wisdom will beat on in my heart forever.

    ReplyDelete
  3. maybe we all come from the Moon. and then, we forgot that sterile, barren world. it is just an obvious fact hanging up there. a fact where only Lunatics walk, estranged from our planet and hunted by the dark side.
    the whole process of Sun eclipse lasts about 2 hours. getting in, then total eclipse and getting out. it can be anxiety provoking for us on Earth. for those who get sucked by the Moon, it is not. they can feel total dark side illumination. a new experience that now needs integration. back on earth.

    now science would probably say that it is foolish to be afraid of the eclipse. religion would maybe make some mystic authoritative atmosphere about it. to eclipse the unease.

    hmmm what i am talking here? ))

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. vuko,

      maybe you are talking about separation trauma. The very thing we cannot endure. . . To be merely a satellite, stuck in a vacuum, out there, forever orbiting the focus of our attention. . . devoid of sound, of touch and of an atmosphere to breath. . . Forever eclipsed by our need, or shaded or reflecting a larger light. . .

      Paul G.

      Delete
    2. Paul,
      Your comment suddenly gave sense to vuko's. I can imagine feeling like an object, orbiting among other space objects, planets, attached to nothing, all alone. Thanks.

      Delete
    3. i thought i was talking generally about trauma and primal resolution. two natural events that i thought might have things in common. these worlds apart... different... making this phenomena.

      i am familiar to a degree on what you described. maybe separation of an infant. only cosmic proportions can describe it. maybe affects my imagination. )

      Delete
    4. Vuko, cosmic is the right word. art

      Delete
    5. Hi,

      there is an obscure Sufi myth that the moon was 'struck off' Earth by a comet and this 'shock' totally changed the destiny of life on earth. I think some of the Sufi's were on their way to understanding the Human Condition very well. They have many aphorisms and metaphors which seem to say something of value. And frankly, speaking in riddles is not limited to the 'past' voices of obscure visionaries either. Our scientific language is just another version, another set of riddles. The human neocortex trying to explain the feelings and sensations within and trying to make sense of a senseless world. These 'ancient wisdoms' are still alive in poetry and philosophies today.

      In the Northern Sufi school ("the way of total annihilation"), it has been said that God does not exist on this planet because it's too dense. . . Sounds right to me.

      I think it's fair to say that on the eve of the publication of "Beyond Belief" (hard copy not yet available by all accounts), that Art Janov stands at the head of a long queue of 'visionaries' stretching back into our distant past history. Like Art, none of them were particularly revered in their own lifetime, though they did have their followers. I must say that of all the 'cults' the Northern Sufis seemed to be the most realistic. They demanded of pupils that they become independent and learn to think and feel for themselves, not merely follow a script and certainly believe in nothing until they tried it for themselves. Many of these people embraced science. But didn't have molecular biology. Nor did they have a sufficiently large enough captive audience of neurotic people presenting 'such serious symptoms' that 'the work' could actually arrive at the origins we are learning about on this blog. I think the Primal Revolution is partly fueled by the huge number of neurotics (like me) who centuries ago simply would not have survived infancy. Thus these 'origins' then were obscured more than they are now by the huge infant mortality rate then.

      No matter how fractured our own lives are, evolution is a continuum;(life will survive). I am pretty sure, I have a hunch that several of these past seers would be very interested to know what Art has discovered and developed had they lived to witness it. Certainly ideas of 'God' and reverence for this that or the other were not necessarily 'carved in stone' in their minds.

      Perception is a lot like an onion. Those who's defenses include religious or spiritual figures are not necessarily more deluded than atheists; life is not really like that is it? Humans need defenses; Art has said this many times. Infact the attempt to tear down defenses either in oneself or in others merely strengthens them. But our modern culture seems to continually erect new false ones and that is something our ancestors were very familiar with, that is part of the Human Condition for sure.

      So, on this eve of publication I feel it's worth warning that we must sincerely NOT make a new religion or cult out of Primal. That surely will be the main criticism emerging out of 'Beyond Belief'. . .

      Paul G.

      Delete
    6. Ok, I'm on a roll:

      I have noticed that those who are most susceptible to obscuring truth with facts, or making a cult out of science are those who suffer (as I still do) with 'associative thinking'. . . We've knocked words, knowing words can be merely a defense and we've touched on grammar by mentioning 'manipulation'. So I have first hand experience of how I have deceived and been deceived by the use of associative thinking. It tends to start with a very 'black / white' initiation. Driven by the desire to 'confirm' one's bias. Then having locked onto the internally driven association it continues to assemble words using grammar to maintain and develop the defense. Thus 'manipulations' emerge and soon we need a third party to keep the game going. . .

      A number of tactics emerge but because there is actually nothing to defend apart from Pain, the conversations we can have so often become merely tactical expressions of our ideology, both aggressive & defensive. If this is the case then there is no linguistic strategy at all. The words merely are used tactically to avoid or to attack. Thus for me and anyone else in Pain who seriously wants to keep themselves sane and open to friendship; well we could do well to notice these things about the way any of us use words and ideologies as a defense; or an attack.

      I admit I'm terrible; I can swing all over the place with words and only afterwards realise I was caught in pain and using my beliefs as a 'prop' to avoid greater intimacy.

      Strangely I have learned a huge amount about myself (and others) from having engaged in social media;(can you believe it)? If there ever was a value to farcebook surely it is as a way to discover how we use words and images to defend ourselves from Pain?

      I love being on this blog; my feelings, my beliefs and insights have been twisted all over the place for the better. I owe that to ALL the people who have contributed.

      Thanks to all.

      Paul G.

      Delete
    7. Hi,

      ok, this is the last bit. It seems to me that it is the intellectuals and the intelletualised (me for example, but I do have a big heart inside) who suffer the most from 'associative thinking'. Contrary to popular (middle class) belief that the working class are stupid and thus can easily be manipulated. . . But it's those 'theorists' who fall into their own defenses and become a 'prop' in their own 'associative thinking'! They have lost touch with any feedback from their own prejudice or bias. Seamless reasoning is an expression I have heard on this blog to describe the condition. Associative thinking as an expression of bias becomes their only job and the result is pure reductionism. It's like the policeman turned detective who believes you are guilty until proven innocent. I have often become attracted to the intellectuals, not as an intellectualised child (at boarding school) but because so many of them are so needy and they make themselves very attractive with their exquisite powers of listening and feeding back. . . But I tell you from many hard experiences that until you get to know these types off by heart (!) You will find they have seduced your need to be attended to, whilst merely collecting information on you. They have actually not been listening to you but been on 'reconnaissance'. It's very seductive.

      Thus knowledge gets reduced to information and truth obscured by facts. I have heard Art say that these types have suffered very early and difficult to access gestational trauma. This makes sense to me and I am interested to try to understand these types. They are not necessarily 'psychos' with personality disorders, though you could of course be forgiven for becoming extremely frustrated by their secret obsession with 'facts'. Many of these types have big heart's too but they seem incapable of focusing their attention and efforts there; ie: unaware that they actually have feelings, even though they do. A 'disconnect' beyond the usual is operating and studying these types seems essential to a Primal understanding.

      I wonder if it's true that the earlier the trauma the less likely the victim is to need a religious belief system because their later development is ALL about their own adaption to such an early trauma? They become their own belief system. Science is the perfect umbrella for this isn't it? Many different therapeutic interventions have noted that these types rarely present for therapy. So, how do we deal with that? This theme keeps on cropping up on this blog.

      Paul G.

      Delete
    8. Paul, are you talking about being charmed by a narcissist? They can't empathize with anyone. You are just a tool to them. I hear they are nonetheless quite capable of being happy in their own way. Also there are others, who are detached who work well within institutions following rules and making sure everyone else does too.
      You can kinda tell who is more helpful in the day to day interactions, right? I really appreciate it when I'm waited on by a kind person.

      I'm hoping there are enough people with heart around to be friends with and avoid the ones who are only out for themselves.

      Delete
    9. Sheri,

      If I use the word narcissist I have to admit I have behaved narcissistically on occasion, acting out from un met need. But what the concept has missed in most previous psychological interpretations Primal offers an exact understanding. It's 2nd line wounding and it's very common.

      Digging deeper, we are really talking 'narcissistic wounding' and the inevitable act outs that follow.

      I know this isn't a politics blog but the New World Zeitgeist of Cognitive Behaviouralism and Neo Liberalism basically allows for anyone to act out their unmet need on anyone else, just as long as you use the right words (or multiple choice questionnaires) to railroad your 'victim' into doing / saying something that only benefits the 'interviewer'.

      Most psychologists / psychiatrists are doing this aren't they? Just 'listening and giving feedback. . . Thanks, that will be $100, see you next week. . .

      Those you refer to as 'following the rules' are no longer aware of the rules but only the information gathering systems they operate. Thus these 'pen pushers' in institutions have become narcissists by proxy. They rarely benefit the public they serve but get paid by the public.

      The same applies to the vast hordes of government paid psychologists. . . sociologists. . . Smiling sweetly, thanks for your time, have a nice day. . .

      Paul G.

      Delete
  4. Hi, more of science fiction ))

    total sun eclipse is possible because of a curiosity that the moon i relation to earth is the same size as the sun.
    its dramatic event on earth, in our present environment, is a glimpse of another world that in some circumstances can pull us and show us what is all about. a chance to see the other side, not visible from our usual standpoint. a possible primal?

    or just a spectacle. something scientifically predictable. misticaly fascinating. symbolically interesting )).earthly.
    it is also interesting that in the late sixties science (allegedly) willingly send a human on that world. but dressed him (of course) in a thick protective suit. very expensive and dangerous way to search for origins of life. Art wrote that even after all the reprogramming that present and future science will be able to do, the repression stays*. will we ever be able to objectively distinguish a primal patient? if we do, will it help humanity or science? or both.

    it is because of separation that separation trauma is traumatic. it shapes our everyday life on earth because now we think it is from earth. but its nature is from another world. separation could be another word for neurosis?

    *The mystery known as depression, chapter 6
    Activitas Nervosa Superior 2013, 55, No. 3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vuko, No no repression does not stay. Watch out you are getting far out. art

      Delete
    2. i was referring to second paragraph>

      "If you reverse the methylation chemically (perhaps
      with new drugs they are developing), one can still have repression. But remove the repression through therapy and you may see demethylation."

      Delete

Review of "Beyond Belief"

This thought-provoking and important book shows how people are drawn toward dangerous beliefs.
“Belief can manifest itself in world-changing ways—and did, in some of history’s ugliest moments, from the rise of Adolf Hitler to the Jonestown mass suicide in 1979. Arthur Janov, a renowned psychologist who penned The Primal Scream, fearlessly tackles the subject of why and how strong believers willingly embrace even the most deranged leaders.
Beyond Belief begins with a lucid explanation of belief systems that, writes Janov, “are maps, something to help us navigate through life more effectively.” While belief systems are not presented as inherently bad, the author concentrates not just on why people adopt belief systems, but why “alienated individuals” in particular seek out “belief systems on the fringes.” The result is a book that is both illuminating and sobering. It explores, for example, how a strongly-held belief can lead radical Islamist jihadists to murder others in suicide acts. Janov writes, “I believe if people had more love in this life, they would not be so anxious to end it in favor of some imaginary existence.”
One of the most compelling aspects of Beyond Belief is the author’s liberal use of case studies, most of which are related in the first person by individuals whose lives were dramatically affected by their involvement in cults. These stories offer an exceptional perspective on the manner in which belief systems can take hold and shape one’s experiences. Joan’s tale, for instance, both engaging and disturbing, describes what it was like to join the Hare Krishnas. Even though she left the sect, observing that participants “are stunted in spiritual awareness,” Joan considers returning someday because “there’s a certain protection there.”
Janov’s great insight into cultish leaders is particularly interesting; he believes such people have had childhoods in which they were “rejected and unloved,” because “only unloved people want to become the wise man or woman (although it is usually male) imparting words of wisdom to others.” This is just one reason why Beyond Belief is such a thought-provoking, important book.”
Barry Silverstein, Freelance Writer

Quotes for "Life Before Birth"

“Life Before Birth is a thrilling journey of discovery, a real joy to read. Janov writes like no one else on the human mind—engaging, brilliant, passionate, and honest.
He is the best writer today on what makes us human—he shows us how the mind works, how it goes wrong, and how to put it right . . . He presents a brand-new approach to dealing with depression, emotional pain, anxiety, and addiction.”
Paul Thompson, PhD, Professor of Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine

Art Janov, one of the pioneers of fetal and early infant experiences and future mental health issues, offers a robust vision of how the earliest traumas of life can percolate through the brains, minds and lives of individuals. He focuses on both the shifting tides of brain emotional systems and the life-long consequences that can result, as well as the novel interventions, and clinical understanding, that need to be implemented in order to bring about the brain-mind changes that can restore affective equanimity. The transitions from feelings of persistent affective turmoil to psychological wholeness, requires both an understanding of the brain changes and a therapist that can work with the affective mind at primary-process levels. Life Before Birth, is a manifesto that provides a robust argument for increasing attention to the neuro-mental lives of fetuses and infants, and the widespread ramifications on mental health if we do not. Without an accurate developmental history of troubled minds, coordinated with a recognition of the primal emotional powers of the lowest ancestral regions of the human brain, therapists will be lost in their attempt to restore psychological balance.
Jaak Panksepp, Ph.D.
Bailey Endowed Chair of Animal Well Being Science
Washington State University

Dr. Janov’s essential insight—that our earliest experiences strongly influence later well being—is no longer in doubt. Thanks to advances in neuroscience, immunology, and epigenetics, we can now see some of the mechanisms of action at the heart of these developmental processes. His long-held belief that the brain, human development, and psychological well being need to studied in the context of evolution—from the brainstem up—now lies at the heart of the integration of neuroscience and psychotherapy.
Grounded in these two principles, Dr. Janov continues to explore the lifelong impact of prenatal, birth, and early experiences on our brains and minds. Simultaneously “old school” and revolutionary, he synthesizes traditional psychodynamic theories with cutting-edge science while consistently highlighting the limitations of a strict, “top-down” talking cure. Whether or not you agree with his philosophical assumptions, therapeutic practices, or theoretical conclusions, I promise you an interesting and thought-provoking journey.
Lou Cozolino, PsyD, Professor of Psychology, Pepperdine University


In Life Before Birth Dr. Arthur Janov illuminates the sources of much that happens during life after birth. Lucidly, the pioneer of primal therapy provides the scientific rationale for treatments that take us through our original, non-verbal memories—to essential depths of experience that the superficial cognitive-behavioral modalities currently in fashion cannot possibly touch, let alone transform.
Gabor Maté MD, author of In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction

An expansive analysis! This book attempts to explain the impact of critical developmental windows in the past, implores us to improve the lives of pregnant women in the present, and has implications for understanding our children, ourselves, and our collective future. I’m not sure whether primal therapy works or not, but it certainly deserves systematic testing in well-designed, assessor-blinded, randomized controlled clinical trials.
K.J.S. Anand, MBBS, D. Phil, FAACP, FCCM, FRCPCH, Professor of Pediatrics, Anesthesiology, Anatomy & Neurobiology, Senior Scholar, Center for Excellence in Faith and Health, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare System


A baby's brain grows more while in the womb than at any time in a child's life. Life Before Birth: The Hidden Script That Rules Our Lives is a valuable guide to creating healthier babies and offers insight into healing our early primal wounds. Dr. Janov integrates the most recent scientific research about prenatal development with the psychobiological reality that these early experiences do cast a long shadow over our entire lifespan. With a wealth of experience and a history of successful psychotherapeutic treatment, Dr. Janov is well positioned to speak with clarity and precision on a topic that remains critically important.
Paula Thomson, PsyD, Associate Professor, California State University, Northridge & Professor Emeritus, York University

"I am enthralled.
Dr. Janov has crafted a compelling and prophetic opus that could rightly dictate
PhD thesis topics for decades to come. Devoid of any "New Age" pseudoscience,
this work never strays from scientific orthodoxy and yet is perfectly accessible and
downright fascinating to any lay person interested in the mysteries of the human psyche."
Dr. Bernard Park, MD, MPH

His new book “Life Before Birth: The Hidden Script that Rules Our Lives” shows that primal therapy, the lower-brain therapeutic method popularized in the 1970’s international bestseller “Primal Scream” and his early work with John Lennon, may help alleviate depression and anxiety disorders, normalize blood pressure and serotonin levels, and improve the functioning of the immune system.
One of the book’s most intriguing theories is that fetal imprinting, an evolutionary strategy to prepare children to cope with life, establishes a permanent set-point in a child's physiology. Baby's born to mothers highly anxious during pregnancy, whether from war, natural disasters, failed marriages, or other stressful life conditions, may thus be prone to mental illness and brain dysfunction later in life. Early traumatic events such as low oxygen at birth, painkillers and antidepressants administered to the mother during pregnancy, poor maternal nutrition, and a lack of parental affection in the first years of life may compound the effect.
In making the case for a brand-new, unified field theory of psychotherapy, Dr. Janov weaves together the evolutionary theories of Jean Baptiste Larmarck, the fetal development studies of Vivette Glover and K.J.S. Anand, and fascinating new research by the psychiatrist Elissa Epel suggesting that telomeres—a region of repetitive DNA critical in predicting life expectancy—may be significantly altered during pregnancy.
After explaining how hormonal and neurologic processes in the womb provide a blueprint for later mental illness and disease, Dr. Janov charts a revolutionary new course for psychotherapy. He provides a sharp critique of cognitive behavioral therapy, psychoanalysis, and other popular “talk therapy” models for treating addiction and mental illness, which he argues do not reach the limbic system and brainstem, where the effects of early trauma are registered in the nervous system.
“Life Before Birth: The Hidden Script that Rules Our Lives” is scheduled to be published by NTI Upstream in October 2011, and has tremendous implications for the future of modern psychology, pediatrics, pregnancy, and women’s health.
Editor