The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
[{'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2016', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Of all the non-fiction books I\'ve read, this is by far the best one ever. I grew up in a tough way. Lots went wrong. My brother and I believed we were unwanted and we had plenty of evidence to back up our sentiment. We suffered shared abuse and individual abuses of every kind imaginable. When I became an adult, I subscribe to the concepts of people like Rush Limbaugh and drove around listening to his radio show proclaiming that there is no such thing as post-traumatic stress disorder. I believed I could gut it out, that the past was the past and that only weak people needed to talk through their problems. I believed only losers behaved badly as adults due to anything in their childhood or past and that claiming you were affected by any past problem was a crutch to allow you to embrace failure. Frankly, for a time, that approach worked for me. I got married, had some great children (still have them thankfully), built a company. But it didn\'t take too long until it all came crashing down. And, when it did, I spent nearly 1.5 decades down. The anxiety that was always in my throat and chest was, to put it mildly, a distraction. It\'s very hard to be kind to people, to focus on your work, to love others when all your power is spent trying to pretend you don\'t feel like s***. When you can\'t sleep because your heart is beating so forcefully that the entire bed is vibrating - at least it feels that way - you not only lose the joy of sleep, but you feel hopeless and miserable and even more so when you\'re not able to understand why you feel this way. When you see everything you have go away and can only occasionally find the strength to take care of yourself and your business and need others in your life to carry you from time to time (much to your embarrassment) and yet you think you\'re smart and capable and have no understanding of why you are where you are, life becomes a slog. You trudge through it wishing you were dead or that something would kill you even if, like me, you\'d never kill yourself. Literally, when I was a believer, I went to bed every night and my prayers went something like this, "Dear Jesus, please have a bus run over me. I will never kill myself but I\'m miserable. Please let me die so my family won\'t hate me for killing myself but so that I can stop hating the sun coming up. In Jesus name, Amen." If you\'re like I was (and it\'s hard to tell you how I was and hold the tears down even now), this book will help you change all that. It will describe in detail what you\'re going through and it captures so many of those subtleties as to make it absolutely amazing. For the first time, I don\'t have depression (and I don\'t take pills). I don\'t have anxiety (it still bubbles up on occasion but using mindfulness, it goes nearly as fast as it comes). My life is pointed in the right direction, my business future is hopeful, my love-life is stabilizing, I know I\'ll no longer lose friends. I\'m finally on track to getting what I want in every area of my life from women to money to friends and deep connections with my family. While I can\'t attribute every part of my success to this book alone as it takes many things to get where you want to go (mostly you), I can absolutely attest to the power of this book. If you\'ve suffered any sort of major and/or persistent trauma in your life, please buy (and read) this book. You will one day thank yourself for doing so.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2017', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'It was the title “The Body Keeps the Score Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma” that caught my attention. Having been a survivor of childhood onset trauma who has been striving to live a life beyond my past, this book really resonated with me.\n\nDr. Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D., who has been in the field of psychiatry since the 1960’s, chronicles his experience working with veterans with PTSD, survivors of child sexual abuse, and adults with other body related trauma. From traditional talk therapy to medications for depression and anxiety, to yoga and neurofeedback, Dr. Bessel gives case study examples of the effectiveness of various types of treatment with the focus being on the nervous system, the brain, the mind, and the body combined.\n\nOver the past 20 + years I have utilized many forms of therapy for the trauma I experienced with moderate success. Despite the time and energy I have applied, there have been areas that have proven to be resistant to letting go, and despite my best efforts, have been unresolved. I found myself feeling very frustrated until I read “The Body Keeps the Score”. At long last, I feel like someone heard me, understood my deepest inner conflicts, and could give me answers as to why I was thus far unable to let go and move on. In chapter 3 under the section “Speechless Horror,” Dr. Bessel describes an area in the left hemisphere called Broca’s area (speech center) that shuts down when trauma is experienced. In fact, according to Dr. Bessel, trauma shuts down most of the left hemisphere which controls out logic and being in the present while the right hemisphere where our emotions live, goes unchecked putting both hemispheres in conflict. It’s like walking several large dogs (the right hemisphere) whom all want to go a different direction at the same time while the dog walker (the left hemisphere) tries to maintain control; chaos ensues. Having this new understanding of how my brain was affected by the trauma, I now can consciously be aware of when the dogs won’t follow my commands.\n\nIn chapter 19 Dr. Bessel writes about neurofeedback. The type he refers to is different from the Low Energy Neurofeedback Sessions I have received. Traditional neurofeedback is interactive where LENS is passive, however, both are very effective for trauma, anxiety, and depression.\n\nWhat a relief it has been to read this book and apply some of his suggestions. Dr. Bessel speaks about “top down and bottom up” regulation in Chapter 5 whereby focusing on breathing while engaging the left hemisphere of the brain, one can learn to consciously manage their anxiety. I have applied this concept with great success. That something so simple could have such a profound impact on me is wonderful. I have also incorporated yoga and neurofeedback. And again I have experienced tremendous results. I feel more aware and able to identify when my past neural patterns are influencing my present and then make a choice as to whether or not I want to follow the past or move forward into the present.\n\nI highly recommend this book for therapists and survivors of trauma. The insights Dr. Bessel has put into this book are enlightening and helpful, especially to those who are not familiar with the persistent aspects of trauma.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2017', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "I have read close to 20 self-help books in the last 4 months. This book is the best book I have read about emotional issues due to childhood trauma, including emotional trauma that did not involve physical abuse. Van der Kolk's message that many diagnosed mental health issues, like depression and anxiety, and ADHD, are really just the results of and reactions to childhood trauma, stored in the body and the brain, was like getting hit by lightning. No more do I believe that there is something wrong with how my brain was wired from birth, or the chemicals in it. No longer do I have to feel despair that talk therapy has never helped me after 20 years. No longer do I worry that I am hopeless because meds or herbs or acupuncture or exercise haven't helped me. Now I know there are concrete things I can do to help heal my wounds, such as meditation, neurofeedback, and the right kind of therapy (not plain vanilla talk therapy). I have learned more about myself in the last 3 months than I have in 20 years of therapy, and already feel like I have improved my ability to interact with other people. Thank you, Dr. van der Kolk. The other book I would highly recommend is: https://www.amazon.com/Adult-Children-Alcoholic-Dysfunctional-Families/dp/0978979702/"}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-1 review-rating', 'review_body': 'First of all, he mentions everyone and everything except he huge body of pioneering, ground breaking work by Dr. Alice Miller, a German doctor and author who produced her evidence in her 1980’s book "The Body Never Lies". She alone was the first to say we attempt to silence our childhood trauma\'s by addictions yet that they remain trapped in the body until shared with a credible, listening, compassionate witness. Toward the end of his book, Bessel states this exact sentence without credit to her. He also states "after three days of yoga so-n-so began to feel better" bc she moved her body around. I\'ve been an athlete all my life and was unable to heal until Dr. Miller\'s book, The Drama of the Gifted Child, came into my life. Bessel has no new answers for experiencing trauma, mostly bc he himself has never gone through anything remotely traumatic. Dr. Miller, abused as a child, is the reason we now look to our childhoods for the causes of our adult problems today. She advocated for making parents responsible for the trauma they inflict on their children and while Bessel does mention girls\' lives after they\'ve been abused by fathers and brothers, never once does he wonder WHY and WHAT would make a father sexually abuse his daughter or WHY a brother would sexually use his sister. NO ONE has ever looked at THEIR mental states !! Bessel acts like that part is normal but the girls\' attempts at a healthy life after childhood abuse in the dark by their family is interesting and worth study. Much rather someone study the depraved men and boys who sleep with their daughters and sisters! Society never mentions them though, ever. I\'m glad I didn\'t go all the way to Boston to hear Bessel; I\'m way ahead of the game having read every book by Dr. Alice Miller years ago.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-1 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Probably an excellent book but he talks about the research done on defenseless dogs trapped in a cage that are repeatedly shocked. I am a dog/animal lover and this is such an atrocity. When will this cruelty stop? 😢'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-3 review-rating', 'review_body': 'OK - so this is really a 4 or 5 star book, but I need to make sure any future reader is ready for the level of discussion — this book is NOT for the faint at heart.\n\nAs a retired veteran, I was intrigued on the topic; especially in light of so many teammates who are struggling, and a suicide rate that is off the charts. I was eager to learn more and hopefully be better armed to talk with friends. That said, so much of the life trauma discussed in this book was regarding children who had been abused. Some of the sections were really HEAVY.\n\nIn the end, I felt like I had a better appreciation for a range of things:\n\n- A better understanding of how rampant Psychological Trauma is, and the wide range of events that can cause it.\n- A better understanding of the treatments available as well as the history and progress for treating psychological trauma.\n\nI recommend this book to anyone interested in helping people who struggle and are interested in a deeper understanding of the causes, the struggles and treatments.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2021', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-1 review-rating', 'review_body': 'At no point was I prepared to open this book and amongst the first pages be slapped with a sob story about a Vietnam vet who admitted to murdering children and raping a young girl in retaliation for losing fellow soldiers on the crap show battlefield that was Vietnam. This ruined the entire book for me, and I have been made aware that there are better books out there for people who actually have PTSD and anxiety, and do not sympathize with a murdering rapist.\n\nAnd side note: at no point in history or future will the murder and rape of innocents be justifiable, even in foolish wars.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2019', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-1 review-rating', 'review_body': 'The first few pages of this book talk about PTSD and want you to sympathize with a man in the military who raped someone. It’s really hard to read the book and agree what the author is saying when they’re trying to get you to feel bad for this guy and his family. Kind of discredits the whole book in my opinion.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2014', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "This is the new Bible for anyone affected by trauma, or who works in the field. Van der Kolk has synthesized the most important new breakthroughs in neuroscience, psychology and body-centered therapies, to create a coherent blueprint for understanding and treating trauma. He writes simply and lucidly, and brings his deep insights to life with engaging anecdotes.\n\nI suffered PTSD and severe anxiety for many years, and tried all the usual therapies (CBT, medication, analysis, diet, exercise, acupuncture, vitamins, group therapy etc.). Frankly, nothing really worked until I discovered - and applied - the somatic (body) techniques espoused by van der Kolk, and other luminaries such as Peter Levine, Pat Ogden, and Eugene Gendlin. It took me a long time to understand – and accept – their message that trauma impacts the more ancient (reptilian) part of the brain where talk-therapies just can't reach, let alone affect.\n\nThe only way to ‘communicate’ with this pre-verbal system is through the body, which can signal to the brain stem that it is OK to begin the process of unfreezing the emotional paralysis that has plagued us for decades. So much depends on our willingness and capacity to feel and experience what is going on inside us - not just think about it.\n\nOf course, it is also important to understand what is going on at a cognitive level in order to make sense of things. So there is certainly a role for traditional talk therapy, but it is not the main game. By combining a bottom-up (somatic) and a top-down (cognitive) approach, as van der Kolk suggests, it is possible to move towards genuine healing - not just a suppression of symptoms. This is not theoretical for me. I have experienced it.\n\nThe other truly great book on this subject is Peter Levine’s ‘In an Unspoken Voice’, which explains his ‘somatic experiencing’ (SE) therapy. Levine’s book is arguably narrower in scope than van der Kolk’s, but his writing has such a poetic quality that it communicates more than the words themselves. The first time I read Levine’s book I felt my body respond to his truths at a visceral level. It is a deeply healing and magical work."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2017', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "I rarely write reviews, but this book has been so life changing for me that I feel the need to review it in the hope that others who are searching for answers might be led to read it. For decades I felt less-than, broken somehow, plagued by guilt, shame, and confusion about why I was so stuck in a paralyzing rut of self doubt that kept me from the sense of self I craved. Intellectually I understood that I felt the way that I did because of past and ongoing trauma, but I could never fully bridge the gap between knowing and actually FEELING. For example, no matter how many times I told myself that my traumatic feelings were valid, no matter if I knew it to be true, I couldn't stop the voice inside berating me as weak, too sensitive, dramatic, undeserving, etc. which was a source of constant stress and triggering. This book helped me to be able to detach enough to observe what triggered what emotional responses and enabled me to practice understanding self care in a manner that seemed impossible before. The book is also incredibly well written and interesting for just about anyone with an interest in body-mind connection and trauma. I recently sent a copy to a veteran with PTSD since the author has so much experience and knowledge with that population. This is a book I will keep and reread regularly. This is a book with great healing potential and I am truly and fully excited about my future for the first time in a long while."}]