"The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel Van der Kolk MD

[Liliuokalani]

Hello all. I've gotten a lot of great resources from this website and this forum. Just wanted to share a resource I found. I listed to this great podcast, I listen to a lot of podcasts in general, this one is called Shrink Rap Radio. This psychologist Dr. Dan talks to someone each week, addressing different psychology topics. It's mostly geared toward psychologists, so as a possible future psychiatrist it interests me and I get a lot out of it. Not long ago he interviewed a psychiatrist, Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk, and he talked about his book called The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. It's on Amazon and I got the free audible audio book trial. He addresses how many medications and types of psychotherapy have not been very effective in treating PTSD. He also talks about how veterans only account for about 10% of all PTSD cases, that most of the cases are from family violence, sexual abuse, and people that are all around us every day. I am one of those people, as I'm sure many of us are. This book is a bit neurology heavy and is more geared toward medical professionals, but if you're really interested in learning about the disease as it affects the brain, and want to learn perhaps show it to your therapist to discuss, or are a very curious person such as myself, I think it works well to explain a lot of the things going on in your mind.

It all makes sense to me, I'm about 1/3 of the way through the book and listened to the whole hour long interview about the book. Sometimes when talking to my therapist, it doesn't seem to matter how much we reason through and think about things I've been through, my fears and anxieties never really go away. I often describe it as "my mind knows what's going on but my body isn't listening." Your higher brain functions, they actually can only take you so far. You can't ignore that most reptilian, basic part of your brain, because that's where the experiences go first. It talks about training your subconscious and unconscious feelings and reactions to no longer be stuck in this fight-or-flight, or even worse, blank out and freeze cycle you are constantly in. It's true. I feel like I'm constantly in survival mode. I get very irritable, I panic at things that aren't really worth panicking about. When I get in a very emotionally threatening situation, my body freezes. It's trying to save itself, it's beyond the point of even fighting or running away. It shuts down. It would do that when my dad would start to posture at me when my mom would cry at my tiniest attempts at a real conversation, or experiencing real emotions in front of them. So when attendings or residents start to get fired up that way in medical school, I shut down, get very jumpy, irritable, I cry for hours after I get home. I'm so, so tired of being that way.

Listening to the book brings up a lot of emotions, and it's sometimes really difficult to listen to. But I consider it part of the therapy. I'm re-teaching my body to feel and honestly, it hurts. It's very unpleasant, they come back strong. But today, after a rough night of remembering things and relating all to well to the patients he speaks about in this book, I actually feel a lot better today, and a lot more motivated to do things. I even complained about my neighbor to my landlord, something I tend to keep myself from doing because I always try to convince myself not to make waves, it's not a big deal, that sort of thing. No one wants to hear my whining, I tell myself. Well, not today.

Anyway, just thought I'd share. Identifying what's going on is sometimes a huge step in the right direction. It's a relief to think I don't have to intellectualize everything, that something as simple as meditation, mindfulness, tapping techniques, etc. can be even more helpful, and very simple.

[Spring Butterfly]

Great topic! Thanks so much. Heard about this on cPTSD.org and have been meaning to check into. Good to,know there's audio format.

[kayjewel]

Thanks for posting this review, Liliuokalani. I hadn't heard about this book yet. I'll be heading over to Amazon to check it out.

I often describe it as "my mind knows what's going on but my body isn't listening." Your higher brain functions, they actually can only take you so far. You can't ignore that most reptilian, basic part of your brain, because that's where the experiences go first.

[Liliuokalani]

Thanks guys! I continue to listen to the audio book and continue to understand myself more and more, and I already feel much more relaxed and sure of myself. Every little bit helps. My body is starting to understand. I hope I can find more resources and support groups that help to make life a little easier each day.

[AuroraKaslow]

I love this book as well, it's very thorough and, if you have a bit of biology knowledge, really very fascinating.

One thing, he seems very skeptical of what he quotes as "so called personality disorders" and diagnosis under the DSM criteria, which is completely fair. He even recalls a study with BPD patients and their traumatic histories. In his research, those who suffer from CPTSD and PDs are two sides of the same coin - trauma victims. I think he's most likely correct, but when you're the victim of a person with a PD it can be hard to hear him almost negate their existence. I know the (un diagnosed) hypothesis of PD for someone in my life helps me to cope and find tools, and while I'd like to extend the emotional sympathy to my PD person in regards to their trauma, doing so would only be met with abusive behaviour.

Nonetheless, it's a great resource, and easily accessible on audible.

[Liliuokalani]

AuroraKaslow, I couldn't agree more. I think BPD is starting to come more into the mainstream, more people are hearing about it, I see an article every once in a while about a celebrity that has been diagnosed with and "suffers." It makes me furious. I hope you're enjoying your spotlight and pity party because I know that your family has been very hurt by you. It's so hard to feel empathy for these people when you have been one of the victims. I may never get to the stage in my life where I can empathize with them fully. But it does kind of seem like he wants to get rid of many diagnoses in the DSM. Actually CPTSD isn't an official DSM diagnosis either. How does he put it? If we were to put together all of the mental illnesses that are caused by childhood trauma, the DSM would be the size of a pamphlet. But the DSM also gets a lot of critisism, a lot of people want to make changes, and as someone studying to become a psychiatrist, I can tell you there is so much left to learn, really we don't know a whole hell of a lot of what we're doing. We're studying blindly in the world of diseases that are just now starting to be discovered in a biological manner by researching changes in hormones or changes in the brain as a psych disease progresses.

I guess I would like to keep all the separate diagnoses, because it just goes to show that trauma manifests in so many different ways. I think about it a lot. I go through a whole lot of pain, and very very strong emotions with my CPTSD flashbacks. If I didn't have therapy, medication, this support group, I could see myself turning to the dark side, pushing my emotions far away or letting them eat me up alive to the point I can no longer feel empathy for others. And things like therapy are still stigmatized, people think psychology and psychiatry is totally fake, which also makes me so angry!

If there weren't personality disorders identified separately, I would have never been able to find help and find this forum. My therapist told me that personality disorders may be removed in the next DSM and I think we're both upset about that, she also comes from a PD'ed family and knows the pain, I think that's why she and I are such a good fit. I would like PDs to be exposed as what they are, that the PD'ed person suffers, and that they just destroy the people around them. I want people to know about them so that there is no more FOG, and I can finally talk about this stuff with friends without launching into a long explanation about what a PD is. I will be the first to picket if PDs get removed from the DSM, believe you me!

[HealingMeFL]

It all makes sense to me, I'm about 1/3 of the way through the book and listened to the whole hour long interview about the book. Sometimes when talking to my therapist, it doesn't seem to matter how much we reason through and think about things I've been through, my fears and anxieties never really go away. I often describe it as "my mind knows what's going on but my body isn't listening." Your higher brain functions, they actually can only take you so far. You can't ignore that most reptilian, basic part of your brain, because that's where the experiences go first. It talks about training your subconscious and unconscious feelings and reactions to no longer be stuck in this fight-or-flight, or even worse, blank out and freeze cycle you are constantly in. It's true. I feel like I'm constantly in survival mode.

Wow, I need to get this book - that is exactly what happens to me.  Intellectually I understand what I'm doing, what has happened, etc.  Yet sometimes it's like I can't stop myself from triggering into a darker place.

I work with a massage therapist (deep tissue) and she ALWAYS comments how my shoulders are stuck in "fight or flight."  She can usually tell, before I say anything, what kind of week I have had.

Somehow I have to work on the reptilian part of my brain.

As an aside, my mother-in-law is in late stage parkinsonism, and it's awful.  IMHO she's always had HPD issues.  But it's like HPD on steroids now.  Eckhart Tolle says that aging makes you more of what you ARE, and less of what you are NOT.  So . . . to me it is imperative that we work on the reptilian brain because it will be the LAST thing to go.

[Celia]

Thanks for the recommendation! Definitely on my to-read list now. Van der Kolk is one of the leading authorities on trauma... have read some of his other works already.

[eyeofthestorm]

Thank you for this -- will check it out. Amazing the path that abuse can take -- starts as verbal and nonverbal, gets internalized as nonverbal (often because it has to), a book comes out -- verbal obviously,  with help that is both verbal and non.
Grateful for the evolving holistic approach -- indeed it has to be -- and even the title of the book helps to spur that along. Have to remember it's a process -- such imprinting happened over time so it takes time to reach, heal and change the "neural pathways" as my therapist calls them.

[JG65]

I looked for this book in book reviews because I just read it and I hope posting pushes this back into the current list.

If you think you have suffered trauma as a result of abuse from a parent with a PD, this is a fascinating book and I found it very helpful. 

I'm currently working to address PTSD as a result of being sexually abused by my dNPD father.  Just working through the denial was so hard and there's so much online claiming that there's no evidence repressed memories exist.  This book was very helpful to me because it provides a great deal of evidence to confirm that yes, repressed memories do exist and it also explains how the brain works to cause amnesia of traumatic events, particularly ones that occur in childhood.

The book also helped me understand my symptoms and in that I found great comfort.  It also provides information about various treatment approaches and the data to support them.

The author has a very nice style that is comforting, hopeful, and also respectful of people who have been through terrible things and developed a mental disorder because of it. 

It helped put a lot of my skepticism about therapy approaches that before I considered to be "new age" vs. scientific.  So, I'm doing yoga and mindfulness now as part of my therapy. 

I know that The Courage to Heal is considered to be the book for women survivors of childhood sexual abuse.  To me, this is another fundamental book that all survivors should also read. 

The author has some strong opinions about politics in medicine, social justice, and psychiatric medicines.  My opinion is if you write a book, you are entitled to share your opinion, and in this case, for an author who spent his life treating trauma, I'm interested in what he has to say.  But, it can be off-putting for some people, so know in advance that you'll find a lot of it in this book.   

[all4peace]

Does it talk about chronic pain? My friend's H grew up in an abusive household, and she believes his chronic pain is related to these repressed memories and feelings.

[JG65]

It does talk a little bit about pain from abuse.  The book I'm reading now goes much more into pain and other physical ailments from abuse and mistreatment.  That book is The Body Never Lies by Alice Miller.

[Fightsong]

I held off reading this for ages.  I knew it was about trauma. I danced around it and read it's reviews. Would reading it make me a trauma survivior?  One day I was okay with it, I am just reading it to see if it fits, and if it doesn't, fine, its just a book right.

This book cuts to the heart of trauma as experienced by children in dysfunctional families, there is some discussion of sexual abuse, but it is not all about that and goes a long way to discussing how non sexual abuses also cause  trauma.

I liked the evidence and the  easy explanations of it. And his honesty in his own talking about his experience of deepening understanding of trauma by being the therapist. Its not that self helpy really, but is really illuminating.

[SonofThunder]

Thanks for the review. Will look into it.  Is 'The body keeps the score' the title of the book?  Author?

Cheers
SoT

[Siren73]

Bessel van Der Kolk, MD. It's a long read. I liked it but thought it was way too long.

[Shell92127]

I am reading it now and it is great so far.

[newme_whodis]

Loved this! I listened to the audio book and learned so much-- especially on different approaches to treatment.

[Gladiola23]

I read this book after I finally held my parents responsible for the damage that happened. At the same time I had a mystery illness and was struggling with joint pain, fog, depression/anxiety, etc. The book was a God-send to me at that time. I was trying to figure what was going on. I also loved Pete Walkers Complex PTSD from surviving to Thriving, and CoDependant no more from Melody Beattie. Each book has turned the kaleidoscope a bit and helped me understand a little better.

[Mariposa]

can I relate to the book from a survivor of domestic abuse?

[Fightsong]

Mariposa -Yes . It covers a lot of things.  I think, as with anything, there is an attention bias and I certainly recall and relate to the bits relating to  childhood trauma more. But yes it does cover adult traumas as well - if that's what you mean. (Unless you are talking about witnessing DV between adults as a child? in which case yes too).  It is long but I found it  accessible and gripping.