Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

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

19 reviews

randeerebecca's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, War, Alcohol, Car accident, Child death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Rape, Violence, Incest, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

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

yaelm's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Antisemitism, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Addiction, Grief, and Drug use

beklovesbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

An excellent textbook on trauma and the science-backed approaches to healing from it. Also an interesting journey through the author’s professional experiences that led to his outstanding knowledge on the subject. 

Read the trigger warnings and take them seriously. He often gives details about horrific abuse and sensitive information about patients, later illustrating their growth, but I would imagine it would be too much for many people with backgrounds touched by abuse, neglect, suicide etc.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Incest, Rape, War, Drug abuse, Mass/school shootings, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Grief, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Blood, Mass/school shootings, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Confinement, Dysphoria, Torture, War, Biphobia, and Eating disorder

brookerobbo's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Addiction, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, War, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Incest, Murder, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Violence, Car accident, Genocide, Gun violence, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Grief, Infidelity, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, and Medical trauma

emsemaroo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Rape, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and War

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Body shaming, Car accident, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Stalking, Trafficking, Vomit, Gore, Terminal illness, Drug abuse, Genocide, Ableism, Blood, Body horror, and Kidnapping

l1brarygirl's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Child abuse, Incest, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, and Abandonment

Moderate: Self harm, Eating disorder, Sexual harassment, Genocide, Ableism, Infidelity, War, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical trauma

_dear_reader_'s review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, War, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicide, Murder, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Car accident, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Genocide, Fatphobia, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Drug use, Child death, Bullying, Alcoholism, Rape, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Self harm, Cancer, Blood, Alcohol, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Incest, and Emotional abuse

chapstickdealer's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Medical content

Minor: Sexual violence, Incest, Genocide, Rape, Murder, Death, Colonisation, Alcoholism, and Torture

malachinelson's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

This is an incredible, empathetic, and intelligent book. However, I would only encourage you to read it if you are ready to be challenged. It would be good to have some emotional reserves while reading this book, and to be gentle with yourself while reading it. It may bring up some uncomfortable emotions which deserve to be navigated carefully.

I started it because I thought to myself, "I haven't dealt with too much trouble, but I know my life hasn't been perfect. I should probably read this to learn tips and tricks to make my life a little better." Well, reading this book was a good idea, but it also challenged me to examine the traumas and difficulties I had underplayed. The book challenged me to be empathetic toward myself and consider the pursuit of interventions which could help me get back in touch with my body. It has also given me greater compassion for those who have experienced a number of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences). I think this book has encouraged me to be a better person to myself and others.

However, it is a pretty dense book, too. The content is fantastic and well-explained by Dr. van der Kolk, but still quite academic. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Alcoholism, Suicide, Chronic illness, Car accident, Addiction, Pedophilia, Murder, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Abandonment, War, Sexual violence, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Death of parent, Death, Child abuse, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Self harm, Rape, Grief, Eating disorder, Drug use, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, and Bullying

Minor: Mass/school shootings, Vomit, Gun violence, and Genocide