The Body Keeps The Score

In order to overcome trauma people need to feel safe enough to open up their hearts and minds to others and become engaged with new possibilities. This can only be done if trauma survivors, and their communities, are helped to confront and confess the reality of what has happened and are helped to feel safe again. In many non-Western cultures this ... See more

Trauma affects the entire human organism–thinking, feeling, relationships, and the housekeeping of one’s body. Trauma survivors are vulnerable to a host of medical illnesses and chronic pain syndromes, insomnia, drug and alcohol addiction, depression, obesity, and other issues related to optimal functioning of the entire organism, and the capacity ... See more

One of the most devastating effects of trauma is that people’s biology changes into a biology of threat; this is expressed on multiple levels, in stress hormones, immunology and what the brain selects to pay attention to. The intrinsic reward system changes, as do “attractors”—what turns you on or leaves you cold. As a consequence, traumatized peop... See more

It is important to understand is how ubiquitous trauma is in our society, what devastating effects it has on family life, workplace productivity, the facility to learn and take initiative, the ability to stay calm and focused, and the capacity to be compassionate with one’s fellow man.

Trauma is ubiquitous in our society. Over 500,000 children are reported for abuse and neglect each year. One out of four Americans reports having been left with bruises after having been hit as a child, one out of five was sexually molested, one out of eight has witnessed severe domestic violence, and a a quarter grew up with alcoholism or drug add... See more

These experiences leave traces on people’s biology and identity and have devastating social consequences–medical illnesses, problems with school and work performance, drug addiction and a variety of psychiatric illness. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calculate that childhood trauma is our single largest public health issue—... See more

The impact of trauma is located in the survival part of the brain, which does not return to baseline after the threat is over. This part of the brain is by definition unreasonable—you do not stop being hungry by reminding yourself how fat you are, and it’s pretty difficult to talk yourself out of being angry, shut down, or in love.