Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk

72 reviews

ahuggingsam's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Chronic illness, Addiction, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Medical trauma, Violence, Sexual assault, War, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Emotional abuse, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Incest

studeronomy's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

3.25

As Charles Darwin wrote in his notebook, "The mind is a function of body." And, as this book convincingly shows, the body keeps a vicious tally of the wounds inflicted on the mind. These physical tallies are most easy to detect in people who suffer from PTSD and its adjacent disorders, but the implications of this book is that all our bodies carry the suffering our spirits have endured in ways that are tangible and quantifiable.

I know "The Body Keeps the Score" has its detractors and, because Bessel van der Kolk wrote it for a popular audience, he necessarily simplified some otherwise complex studies and truncated some otherwise complex research conclusions. But van der Kolk's observations over a fifty-year career demonstrate a couple things to me:

First, the field of psychiatry is (or was, until recently) hopelessly siloed. Psychopharmacologists aren't talking to neuroscientists aren't talking cognitive scientists aren't talking to social workers and therapists. Communication between disciplines and subdisciplines is very poor. And this doesn't begin to address the different methods of treating trauma that van der Kolk describes, most of which developed in disparate subdisciplines without much coordination with other subdisciplines. The whole organization of psychiatry (like the organization of most fields of study) is very messy.

Second, psychiatry still lacks its "germ theory," an explanation for the prevalence and cause of most mental illnesses and mood disorders. And such a theory might be impossible, given the nature of the mind itself. As Darwin also wrote in his notebook, "Experience shows the problem of the mind cannot be solved by attacking the citadel itself." An attack on the "citadel" of the mind cannot be a direct attack. There may be no unifying theory of the varied experiences we associate with "mind," "brain," "cognition," "the soul," whatever. And certainly no single field or discipline or method will unlock the mysteries of those experiences. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Incest, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, War, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Addiction, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

angelfireeast24's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Incest, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Violence, War, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Drug use, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Self harm, and Sexual assault

This book is a must read for anyone dealing with trauma who dealing with people who have truama.

martasshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.75

Really deep dive into PTSD and brain/body function in relation to trauma and inter-relationships.
Important read on the holistic take on health - the book show's there's no way to separate menthal health from physical health.
It only slightly touches the topic of politics in the health sector here and there, which is part of the problem - since trauma and PTSD are a public health problem - but maybe that could be a whole other book.
Be aware of the content warnings, the book is explicit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Chronic illness, Incest, Medical content, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Sexual assault

laurynsbookshelf's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Vomit, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Suicide, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Incest, and Violence

stephaniemeyers's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

4.5

If you’re looking to learn a lot of trauma and therapy, this is a great book. It can be pretty upsetting though, given that most chapters feature 1-2 case stories about horrifyingly traumatic events. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Medical trauma, Murder, Car accident, Death of parent, Incest, Abandonment, Torture, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Pedophilia, Rape, and Self harm

drought_season's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Dysphoria, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Addiction, Bullying, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Incest, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt

redefiningrachel's review

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, War, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, Gun violence, Torture, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Violence, Rape, Classism, Alcohol, Addiction, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Medical trauma, Self harm, Infidelity, Bullying, Body shaming, Blood, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Animal death, Gore, Car accident, Cancer, Sexual harassment, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, Confinement, Child abuse, Grief, Death, Chronic illness, Child death, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Trafficking, Police brutality, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

ahhhreadzombiez's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, War, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Incest, Drug use, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Grief, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, and Physical abuse

ansmbc's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative tense slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death of parent, Drug use, Eating disorder, Grief, Body shaming, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Chronic illness, Genocide, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Child abuse, Hate crime, Gun violence, and Incest