Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk will probably be the last book (for now) of my foray into what I intended to be healthcare but ended up being mostly psychiatry. I have learned a lot about the practice and myself. This book is focused on traumatic stress: what it is, who can have it, how it affects people, and how to heal. Psychiatry has been an interesting topic to learn about because much of it is intuitive and relatable, but intricately related physiological health, too. This book touched on ACEs, which I read about in The Deepest Well and very briefly on pharmaceutical drugs. It was interesting to frame the context of the author's disappointment that EEGs had sort of gained popularity until pharmacology became a powerful market force...thanks Arthur Sackler. Van der Kolk even cited examples of LEGOs in pediatrician's offices printed with "Risperdal" on them. The author made it clear he preferred not to support medication where unnecessary.
Understanding trauma: the root cause of a lot trauma is the sense of immobilization- a lack of self-efficacy and empowerment. Then, "when a circuit fires repeatedly, it can become a default setting" (p.71). This recipe for shut-down or hyperarousal reduces quality of life and can remove a layer of protective action that comes with feeling worthy of defense. Furthermore, many traumatic experiences are not processed because of a lack of a sense of safety. "Being able to feel safe with other people is probably the single most important aspect of mental health," (p.96).
This is particularly true during childhood, where one study showed "the more secure the attachment, the less painkiller was needed," (p.142) for kids in physical pain. "Receiving a sympathetic response cushions infants (and adults) against extreme levels of frightened arousal. But if your caregivers ignore your needs, or resent your very existence, you learn to anticipate rejection and withdrawal...and your body is likely to remain in a state of high alert," (p.145). I also learned about child development and how separation from mothers at birth can have epigenetic implications to tend towards "impulsivity, aggression, sensation seeking, suicide attempts, and severe depression," (p.185). Furthermore, that sense of danger, emotionally or physically, leaves adults "likely to have a childlike part living inside...that is frozen in time, still holding fast to this kind of self-loathing and denial," (p.332) making it even harder to heal.
The author spent a significant piece of the book explaining different therapies: experimental drugs like MDMA; Internal Family Systems Therapy, EMDR, neurofeedback, theater as therapy, and how dreams really process trauma. It was fascinating to learn how the brain and the mind can be so different.
Overall, I really liked this book. It was empowering and engaging to read. Thank you to my fiancee and a future psychiatrist, Josh, for this recommendation.