Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

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

10 reviews

crunchycrystals's review against another edition

idk i just wasn't getting a lot out of it and it was getting a little too much for me to handle. i don't feel comfortable giving a rating but i will say i liked the chapter on language i thought that was really cool

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Death, War, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Car accident, Incest, Mental illness, Rape, Death of parent, and Self harm

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Abortion

this is a very heavy book please take all of these warnings to heart and know your limits there are so many descriptions of sexual assault (including of children)

tmaguire23's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Self harm, War, Violence, Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Suicide attempt

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

joey1914's review

emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Incest, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Addiction, Bullying, Rape, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, Miscarriage, Body shaming, Cursing, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug abuse, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and War

delery's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Grief, Incest, Medical content, Pedophilia, Ableism, Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Car accident, Child death, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Violence, Drug use, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Classism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, and Drug abuse

artsydarcy0's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Incest, Violence, and Abortion

vigil's review against another edition

informative reflective sad slow-paced

the body keeps the score is a dense text; small font on big pages full of scientific jargon and material. however, if you allow the book to be what it is it’s much more accessible than you’d think. 

bessel van der kolk has spent thirty years in practice which gives the book a somewhat academic, frank edge. it’s very insightful into traumatized individuals across the board, but i wouldn’t recommend it to any traumatized person off the bat due to kolk’s unrestrained tone throughout the book.

i have seen some question the ideas and theories he speaks of in here, but i’m (and probably them as well, if we’re being honest) not qualified to dissect that fully. nevertheless, i think everything in here is worth giving some thought to.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Car accident, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Abortion, Blood, Classism, Death, Medical content, Sexual assault, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Animal death, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, War, Chronic illness, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Eating disorder, Genocide, Gun violence, and Toxic friendship

junefish's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Child abuse, Incest, Domestic abuse, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Sexual assault, Misogyny, and Abortion

katekrauch's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad tense

4.5

As a neuroscience major and someone fascinated with psychology I found this book extremely interesting. It is, however, very dense and uses a lot of technical jargon. I also had to take it more slowly as I found parts of it difficult to read because of my own trauma. All in all, worth the read. Some of the ideas and lessons offered will stick with me for a long time 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Medical content, Incest, Grief, Drug abuse, Death, Child death, and Abortion

rini's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective tense slow-paced

4.0

This book was a LOT!!!

I initially started reading the dead tree version a couple of years ago, but was so put off by something described near the start that I just couldn't continue.

CW for war, murder, sexual violence

(The incident in question was about a Vietnam vet with PTSD who recounted that after his best friend was killed in combat, he went on a "revenge" rampage at a local village, murdering children, farmers, and raping a woman. All that detail was utterly unnecessary and, as a survivor of rape, hugely triggering and OMFG I don't give a fuck about this dude's PTSD.)

I'm glad that autistics only came up once in passing tbh (though the link between being autistic and being traumatised is well documented, this author would NOT have handled it well!!). It was bad enough hearing so much (ableist/cringey stuff) about ADHD!

Overall, I think it was a worthwhile read, and gave me more insight on trauma, but yikes it was a LOT!!
The author wasn't wrong when he called himself a trauma voyeur (or maybe he said someone else called him that and he had to agree.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Incest, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War

Moderate: Abandonment, Abortion, and Bullying

Minor: Cancer, Dementia, Homophobia, and Vomit