julesadventurezone's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring slow-paced

4.5


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mx_flint's review against another edition

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Very triggering for people with trauma (me), too long winded and unnecessary, sympathises with rapists more than rape victims and the long and descriptive traumatic events were unnecessary and triggering. Do not reccomend it, thank god I didn't spend money on it

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yaelm's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective sad tense

3.0

מבינה מה הכותב אומר ובסה״כ מדובר בספר עשיר במידע וקולח, אבל השפה בה הוא משתמש מאוד בעייתית (אנשים נורמליים לעומת אנשים עם פוסט טראומה, למשל) ולפעמים כואבת.

יש לו גם כל מיני הבחנות מכאיבות מאוד לגבי הורות עם פוסט טראומה. אני לא הורה בעצמי אבל זה כאב לי בכל הגוף. היו עוד כל מיני כאלו לאורך הספר.

מעבר לזה, מבוסס (בחלקו) על מדע שכבר אינו עדכני ולדעתי גם בתקופת הכתיבה של הספר לא היה מדויק (הצד הימני של המוח הוא היצירתי והשמאלי הוא השכלתני וכו׳).

מלאאא בטריגרים כמובן, כל דבר שיכול לגרום לפוסט טראומה. כמה מהמקרים שהוא מציג כטראומטיים מאוד מקוממים (אדם שביצע פשעים נוראיים כלפי נשים וילדים וחזר מהמלחמה עם טראומה, למשל. אין לי ספק שהוא באמת חזר בטראומה, אבל זה עבר בלי ביקורת בכלל. ברור לי שכפסיכיאטר התפקיד שלו הוא לא להפעיל שיפוט מוסרי, ועדיין אפשר היה לכתוב איזו מילה וחצי כמו שהוא עשה במקרים אחרים ופחות שחורים מוסרית)

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emsemaroo's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative slow-paced

4.0


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l1brarygirl's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

This was such a difficult book to read - all the trigger warnings for various traumas, please be forewarned. It was so very insightful though. There were many different types of therapies included and discussed and it was impactful to see what coping techniques traumatized people exhibit to survive (and may not realize). The power of the pharmaceutical companies and our [American] health care system that wants to prioritize over-medicating and treating symptoms instead of curing what ails us was also discussed.  There's no money to made when you can sell someone a pill  ...

My actual rating: 4.5 stars - I'm rounding up because I think this book is going to stay with me for a long time. I would recommend it to anyone that wants a deeper understanding of trauma and how it effects your physical body as well as the mind.  

I also recently read [book:Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art|48890486], which may be a very good companion read.

Impactful quotes:
“Many of our patients are barely aware of their breath, so learning to focus on the in and out breath, to notice whether the breath was fast or slow, and to count breaths in some poses can be a significant accomplishment.”

“We have learned that trauma is not just an event that took place sometime in the past; it is also the imprint left by that experience on mind, brain, and body. This imprint has ongoing consequences for how the human organism manages to survive in the present. Trauma results in a fundamental reorganization of the way mind and brain manage perceptions. It changes not only how we think and what we think about, but also our very capacity to think.”

“The greatest sources of our suffering are the lies we tell ourselves.”

“Over the years our research team has repeatedly found that chronic emotional abuse and neglect can be just as devastating as physical abuse and sexual molestation.”

“Talking about painful events doesn’t necessarily establish community – often quite the contrary. Families and organizations may reject members who air the dirty laundry; friends and family can lost patience with people who get stuck in their grief or hurt. This is one reason why trauma victims often withdraw and why their stories become rote narratives, edited into a form least likely to provoke rejection.”

“I wish I could separate trauma from politics, but as long as we continue to live in denial and treat only trauma while ignoring its origins, we are bound to fail. In today’s world your ZIP code, even more than your genetic code, determines whether you will lead a safe and healthy life. People’s income, family structure, housing, employment, and educational opportunities affect not only their risk of developing traumatic stress but also their access to effective help to address it. Poverty, unemployment, inferior schools, social isolation, widespread availability of guns, and substandard housing all are breeding grounds for trauma. Trauma breeds further trauma; hurt people hurt other people.”

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mitziatratum's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

3.75


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delery's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.25

this book was... a lot. i don't think i was necessarily in the right headspace to read it at this time. but it covered so many interesting issues, and i liked how it discussed different treatment methods. but also this book made me nauseous so... idk. 

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novella42's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad slow-paced

5.0


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stevia333k's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

PS: i've learned since reading this book that the author got fired for harassing his employees. because of the contradictions i noted in this book, with this review, it made sense. i've cut it down to 3 stars instead of 5 because i think maybe he was trying to trigger people instead of relate to traumatized people. it's 3 instead of 1 because it makes me question the family as organizing praxis when incest has historically if not also currently so normalized.

---

the book is helpful. it contains several graphic examples of trauma, so be careful & take your time. like this book has advanced my therapy & such a ton, so that's why it's 5 stars because it explains how my body works, how trauma works, suggestions for healing from it, etc. also the discussion of the history of psychiatry & getting recognition for diagnoses was helpful too, including how anti-psychotics got rid of the mental institution as a place of imprisonment.

he also works a shitload with veterans, which personally sucked for me since i associate soldiers (especially usamerican ones) with genociders & war rapists. that being said, i know the military is surprisingly a major component of pop culture. 

so yeah. anyways, I think this centering of USA's military makes him reformist & it shows when he tries to argue things from a budget or cost-savings perspective in ending child abuse while not getting how businesses & employers rely on vertical ethics & abuse.

i'm looking back on my notes & it seems chapter 12 or 13 triggered the hell out of me that i didn't make reading progress for a month. i also stopped taking notes around the 56% mark, like i just wanted to get it done. he cites transphobe germaine greer around that point in the book to talk about how war makes troops sick not sick troops went to war (which like dude couldn't you have cited anybody else!).

so basically get some physical exercise involved that make you conscious of where your body is holding pain. this is important since body contact with certain parts can be related to certain traumas. 

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tangleroot_eli's review against another edition

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