Reviews tagging 'Torture'

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

52 reviews

wrackcity's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Drug abuse, Abandonment, War, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Drug use, and Domestic abuse

mandi4886's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Trafficking, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Sexism, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Drug use, Incest, Suicide, Torture, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Medical content

Minor: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Bullying, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Cancer, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Pregnancy

jennifer_vars's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

"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."

This is a hard book to "recommend". It's a book about trauma and there are really graphic examples that almost make this book unbearable. Serious content warning here for anyone who has experienced PTSD, violence or SA.

I've been working through it for about a year, I had to put it aside a few times. A good part of this book consists of very clinical terminology so I think it was really targeted for mental health professionals. However, I thought the chapters towards the end were accessible and gave an interesting look into how trauma marks bodies in ways that we don't consciously notice. 

I especially connected with the sections where the author writes about how theater, stories, music, and sports foster competence and collective bonding. 

The author writes about Ubuntu, a Xhosa principle that means "My humanity is inextricably bound up in yours." Trauma breeds further trauma; hurt people hurt other people.

Maybe the world is becoming a more traumatic place but maybe we are just more conscious of the implications of trauma on ourselves and our families. Maybe more people are working to break the cycle.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Torture, Sexual violence, Self harm, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gaslighting, War, Sexual assault, Rape, Incest, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, and Addiction

fruzsina_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional informative

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, War, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse

raekra's review against another edition

It’s was way too heavy. The book goes into detail about different types of really traumatic experiences different people have had in their lives.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Torture, and Medical trauma

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

fenny_42's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

This book was absolutely transformative to read. I learned so much about trauma’s lasting effects on the brain and body, and many of the ways that we can go about healing the trauma and lessening the damaging effects of it. As a result of reading this book, I was inspired to seek help regarding my own childhood trauma. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Violence

tracey1981's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, War, Child abuse, and Torture

carlitabeth's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, and War

itsy719's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Trafficking, Mental illness, and Suicide