I've been listening to this as an audiobook to learn more how to support people in my life with trauma, since its widely regarded as an essential text in understanding PTSD. However, I'm a little thrown off by the first 2 hours of listening… i feel like Bessel van der Kolk is kind of just doing a trauma dump of all the awful shit he has internalized. Like, there is something important about discussing his learnings, but i feel like that could have been done without horrific anecdote after horrific anecdote. As someone with some trauma, I find myself often heightened while listening, and can't imagine what it would do to survivors of SA, war, or other violence or abuse. I'm confused why it was written this way, and I'm questioning whether or not I can get through it. Does it get any better?
by 0nTheRooftops
2 Comments
I dont think secondary trauma dump is quite the right term, but I do know that The Body Keeps the Score is semi-famously recommended to *completely* wrong people.
It was never intended as something for people who have experienced trauma. It was not intended to even be *healthy* for them to read. Its intended audience was primarily fellow medical practitioners and mental health services workers. Obviously some people with trauma can benefit from it, as everyone is different and some people will experience triggers differently, but as a rule of thumb The Body Keeps the Score is not going to be a healing read.
It was written to help people understand how trauma affects people through the anecdotes. It was not meant to heal those experiencing trauma. You are correct that those still suffering from SA, war, violence and abuse probably shouldn’t read it. I think people who are interested in working in mental health services or public services should.
No, it won’t get “better” at what you’re looking for because it’s an entirely different kind of book. I’d recommend just putting it down.
ETA: For clarity, I dont say any of this as a negative towards yourself *or* the book, or anyone who would struggle with it. Some books just aren’t for some people, and provider-audience texts are often triggering or harmful to patients.
[Better writers than I](https://www.motherjones.com/media/2024/12/trauma-body-keeps-the-score-van-der-kolk-psychology-therapy-ptsd/) have covered some of the issues with BVDK. [(More here.)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/08/02/body-keeps-score-grieving-brain-bessel-van-der-kolk-neuroscience-self-help/)His writing in essence persists as the same; he is a showman with a tendency to lean on shock and awe. This was also the style of *The Gift of Fear,* which I vastly preferred, and which was published about ten years earlier.
He likes to push the envelope and innovate, but in my opinion, you can cause a lot of harm when you’re doing that and seeking a pop culture following.