The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk

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.

this book was great. I think it's extremely important for everyone to read. If you have had a traumatic experience/childhood, then this book will help you understand yourself and your trauma responses. If you have never really had any traumatic experiences, then this book will help you become more sympathetic and understanding of other people.

Kolk deals with the ‘what' and the ‘why' of trauma really well. What exactly does trauma do to your brain, and why your body reacts the way it does. Without going into my own personal trauma, I can say that it's helped me become kinder to myself and my body because I now understand that all the things I might dislike about myself is simply the way my body has adapted to trauma. My body has worked its hardest to keep me alive and survive through trauma.

It has helped explain certain things about myself such as my adhd, why I find it difficult to put into words exactly what I'm feeling (alexithymia), my social anxiety, and even my sexual experiences.

Kolk also addresses the ‘how' - how to deal with trauma and the trauma induced behaviours. He does so by going through the various forms of healing trauma, from meditation & yoga to neurofeedback to acting! Although I wish he went a bit deeper into the meditation/yoga I like that he doesn't try too hard to talk about the things that are out of the scope of his experience. That being said, because his experience is more in the medical field, there are no concrete suggestions on how you can deal with trauma when you can't really go to therapy.

This book is very extensive and science based, but told through lots of anecdotes. It's a little bit too anecdotal for my personal liking but nothing too extreme. Very accessible and easy to read.

There's so much packed in here I think I'd need to read it again in order to retain it all. Definitely recommended for those interested in the subject matter.

I think that Dr. Judith Herman's quote on the front of the book is an excellent summary, and she's a giant in the field of trauma as well: “A masterpiece that combines the boundless curiosity of the scientist, the erudition of the scholar, and the passion of the truth teller.” Van Der Kolk has many strengths as a clinician and writer, including humility, a willingness to look for and test alternative hypotheses, and a refusal to put any tribal allegiance to a particular treatment above “do what works for the patient.” This book would be interesting for the non-clinician, I think, but is a must-read for any clinician who does work with trauma. For people who are far enough in their trauma recoveries to tolerate reading about those of others, this book can also be healing for them (I have several patients who have found it very helpful). The bad news is that many people are traumatized. The good news is that there is an increasingly integrative body of knowledge on how to holistically treat them.