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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
Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D. • The Body Keeps The Score
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
Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D. • The Body Keeps The Score
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.
Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D. • The Body Keeps The Score
We can speak of trauma when that system fails: when you beg for your life, but the assailant ignores your pleas; when you are a terrified child lying in bed, hearing your mother scream as her boyfriend beats her up; when you see your buddy trapped under a piece of metal that you’re not strong enough to lift;
Bessel van der Kolk • The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
Trauma and Memory: Brain and Body in a Search for the Living Past: A Practical Guide for Understanding and Working with Traumatic Memory
amazon.com
We compartmentalized the stress and ongoing trauma, flattening it into something survivable, but we nonetheless ate it for breakfast, and lunch, and dinner. We swam in that stress. We slept in it. We swallowed it in gulps. We lived through it, and we told ourselves stories of resilience, because what other choice did we have. But the body is bad at... See more
Anne Helen Petersen • That's a Stress Response
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.
Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D. • The Body Keeps The Score
The Body Keeps The Score
besselvanderkolk.com
Maybe the most difficult part of having been traumatized is dealing with the triggers that reside inside. The trauma is a thing of the past, but your body keeps reacting as if you still are in imminent danger.