Book review: “The Body Keeps The Score”
This one took me quite a long time to get through. One, because my life became fuller (all with good things but things nonetheless), and two, because the content was heavy at times.
I like to think that trauma doesn’t scare me. It used to. I used to be so immensely terrified at the thought of emotional pain that I disassociated and numbed as much as I could. I am no longer in that place. As I hold space for my own trauma and care for myself through it, I am able to do that for others now. Reading this book excited me.
I was quickly confronted with the heaviness of trauma. The dead weight of it. Its suffocating, diminishing qualities. How it can completely transform a once vibrant person into a shell of a human being in a mere matter of seconds.
What I loved about this book was the science behind it. It’s one thing to know how your trauma affected you; it’s another thing to see it in a brain scan. Dr. Van Der Kolk’s research literally showed how your brain responds to trauma. It explains so many things that people find “illogical.” I had so many revelations while reading his book, from “Wow, that explains it!” to “OMG I don’t want it to be true, but there it is.”
Takeaways
Our brains are a beautiful, complex piece of machinery, designed ultimately for one purpose: to keep us safe. It does a REALLY good job at it.
Everything your body has done (from the moment the trauma occurred to the aftermath) has been to protect you. It is 100% normal and natural. I’m starting to see discussions around using the word “disorder” when identifying a normal response to trauma. I like where the conversation is heading.
There are qualities of life that we are all entitled to: health, happiness, imagination, productivity, connection. True healing is not the absence or eradication of the trauma symptoms but a return of those qualities of life.
Prescription medication and talk therapy are not always the right or sufficient ways to truly treat trauma. That’s not to say that they don’t help; I have done both, and both were immensely helpful for me. But EMDR and moving my body were the key treatments for my healing.
For any budding psychologists or psychiatrists out there: your best textbooks are your patients. Not what you read in school. Not what your professors tell you. Your patients will be your best teachers. Their stories will always be more important than what any institution tells you.
I do not recommend this book lightheartedly. I believe it’s reserved for those who are truly interested and ready to dig deep; otherwise, it can very easily be discarded. I know I had to read it at the right time for me to truly get as much from it as I can.
The review on the front cover really sums it up quite beautifully to me:
“A masterpiece that combines the boundless curiosity of the scientist, the erudition of the scholar, and the passion of the truth teller.” - Judith Herman, M.D.