Book Review - The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
The Book in 3 Sentences
Bessel van der Kolk presents in this book the result of his years of experience in studying trauma and the results of his clinical experience on how trauma is stored not only in the mind but also in the body
The book makes references to various veteran patients who were back home and were struggling with PTSD but he also talks about other forms of trauma.
He explains several approaches that are used to treat trauma. The basic premise for a person to heal from trauma is getting in touch with their own body through various activities such as yoga.
My Impressions
The book is deep and detailed. I have no medical background and that made me read the book slower than I normally would because I had to check some words in the dictionary. I wouldn’t be able to articulate a lot of the information but I know I can always come back to it for the details.
The constant use of practical examples helps a lot to understand ideas and research findings.
Who Should Read It?
People who have experienced PTSD would definitely from reading this book but also people who have experienced some event that they may consider traumatic or may not want to remember.
It’s not only for those who experienced the trauma in their body but also for witnesses of traumatic events.
People who are planning to have kids.
How the Book Changed Me
This book gave me a broader perspective about how people react to certain stimuli with anger, fear, addictive behaviours, withdrawal or violence. It invited me to become an observer of my own behavior too.
Being curious about these behaviours can open doors to finding help, living a more fulfilling life and connecting more with other human beings instead of judging them.
An important premise in the book is that in order for a person to heal from trauma they need to know what they feel in their body. Attempting to suppress emotions related to the event/s will result in unexpected behaviour or illness.
My Top 3 Quotes
Trauma results in a fundamental reorganisation of the way the mind and brain manage perceptions. It changes not only how we think and what we think about, but also our very capacity to think.
Isolating oneself into a narrowly defined victim group promotes a view of others as irrelevant at best and dangerous at worst, which eventually only leads to further alienation. Gangs, extremist political parties, and religious cults may provide solace, but they rarely foster the mental flexibility needed to be fully open to what life has to offer and as such cannot liberate their members from their traumas. Well-functioning people are able to accept individual differences and acknowledge the humanity of others.
The need for attachment never lessens. Most human beings simply cannot tolerate being disengaged from others for any length of time. People who cannot connect through work, friendships, or family usually find other ways of bonding, as through illnesses, lawsuits, or family feuds. Anything is preferable to that godforsaken sense of irrelevance and alienation.