Mind, Brain and Body in the Transformation of Trauma
Hardcover, 464 pages
Published Oct. 29, 2014 by Viking.
Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world’s foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments—from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga—that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain’s natural neuroplasticity. Based on Dr. van der Kolk’s own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal—and offers new hope …
Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world’s foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments—from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga—that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain’s natural neuroplasticity. Based on Dr. van der Kolk’s own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal—and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.
Trauma is a major unrecognised public health issue. Talk therapy and drugs are not effective; emotional & social engagement has to be revived. Not as useful as I hoped for my own issues, but neurofeedback and EMDR are intriguing.
Reading time 24 days, 18 pages/day
Gave me many aha-moments, about the mind boggling behavior some obviously damaged people put on.
This is probably worthwhile for introduction and experts alike. Read this if you want to get a better idea, what's going on with all those traumatized people.
A thorough look at the current research on trauma with a focus on non-pharmaceutical treatments. Due to the nature of the field it is littered with some truly horrific records of what some of his patients have suffered through, so be careful if you are sensitive to that sort of thing.
The key insight is that traumatic experiences can fundamentally change your biochemistry and neurology, but there are an array of techniques that can help mitigate this, from well established activities like martial arts, yoga, meditation and theatre through to more novel techniques like EMDR.
It has the common flaw for these sorts of books where everything is seen through the lens of trauma and other fields are dismissed or minimised but as long as you come to it with a critical mind there's still a lot to be gleaned here.
What a ride this was. Definitely stirred up some shit and got me thinking. I'm glad I'm actively seeing a therapist.
An amazing book for recovering from trauma though.
Remarkable book that gave me many insights in trauma and its longtime effect.
Really helped me to work on my CPTSD on a daily basis.
