The Body Keeps the Score : Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma (urspr publ 2014; utgåvan 2014)

This was a really enlightening book in terms of what I learned. So my star rating is more reflective of trying to cope with too much detail via an e-book and a writer who wanted to tell us all about his training.

To be fair, the point Kolk makes is really excellent in explaining that 'trauma' is any situation that impacts our memories. This imprint registers in our brains to either be processed or to elicit and re-elicit the actuality of the event. The book's factual content is certainly in a five-star range, I simply believe it could have been delivered more pointedly. ( )

"We are on the verge of becoming a trauma-conscious society," thankfully for books like this one.

Van der Kolk's The Body Keeps the Score is a profound work of non-fiction for at least three reasons: 1) He offers an incisive critique of the DSM along with an explanation of the factors behind the current opioid crisis and exploding healthcare costs. 2) He provides an ever widening lens of empathy for those among us, likely those most marginalized and hurting. 3) He provides decades of experience and cutting edge research for how we heal from trauma. In short, I will no longer see people (or life) in the same way. It is an important, essential work for all who work in the service industry - ministers, teachers, social workers, and therapists.

He summarizes the overall argument of the book well in the closing two sentences of the book: "Trauma is now our most urgent public health issue, and we have the knowledge necessary to respond effectively. The choice is our to act on what we know.” Throughout the first half he details the neuroscience of trauma and how it affects people. In the second half he gives practical steps in how people are finding healing of their trauma. ( )

This book is packed with information on trauma and important ways to deal with it. There’s a lot that’s hard to listen to as the author worked with veterans as well as survivors of childhood and sexual abuse. I think though that even someone not having experienced such hardcore abuse has likely still had more moderate traumatic experiences, and this book explains many different methods for help. ( )

"We have learned that trauma is not just an event that took place sometime in the past; it is also the imprint left by that experience on mind, brain, and body. This imprint has ongoing consequences for how the human organism manages to survive in the present. Trauma results in a fundamental reorganization of the way mind and brain manage perceptions. It changes not only how we think and what we think about, but also our very capacity to think."
- Bessel A. van der Kolk

I'm not going to delve too deep into this, I was recommended this incredible book by my wonderful psychologist. It's an incomparable and invaluable source of information, containing 30 years of condensed knowledge from one of the leading experts of trauma research, diagnosis and treatment.
It took me some time to read and digest all the information this book contained and I can't really put into words how much it has helped me finally make sense of my thoughts and to start putting processes into place to start dealing with the complex trauma I experienced. For those of you who are also battling trauma please, please get your hands on a copy of this, it's an absolute must read!
♥️ ( )

So glad I read this book. It's given me a whole new perspective which, as someone suffering from the effects of trauma, is incredibly precious. ( )