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

bookfriend8's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.75

Really appreciate this book. I was worried about it being too medical and difficult to understand, but the author provides thorough and accessible explanations on what happens to the human body and mind after trauma, and also offers his opinion on how conditions such as (C)PTSD can effectively be cured. He supports his scientific descriptions with personal and patient anecdotes, and although these were often very graphic and distressing (trigger warning for everything), it helped to balance out the scientific information and to see how they manifest in real life. Understanding how distressing experiences can literally change a person forever really explains the origins of people’s behaviours and patterns. Overall, would give it 5/5, but some chapters were also long-winded and repetitive, and there was plenty of US-defaultism.
It was deeply enlightening for me to read this book and I’m glad I decided to pick it up. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Child abuse, Death, Self harm, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, War, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Medical content, Incest, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Car accident, Suicide, Medical trauma, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, Addiction, Abandonment, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Includes virtually all triggering topics, would not recommend to people who aren’t comfortable with difficult or graphic stories, particularly if they relate personally.

sugarwookiee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

If you're looking for a self-help book that will tell you how to overcome trauma, this is not it. If, like me, you were more interested in the ways that trauma manifests in the body and mind from a more clinical perspective, as well as the various treatments and their efficacy, it's great. There are plenty of books that accomplish the former and that's not what I was looking for here, so overall I enjoyed this. 

It is quite slow paced and the author is a bit pretentious at times. There is a significant amount of detail involving some of his patients' trauma (more than I feel is necessary in my opinion) but this is coming from someone who suffers from CPTSD; those reading from a clinical perspective without that may feel differently.

I found the first half of the book to be the most interesting because it showed me the ways in which I was holding onto trauma that I hadn't realized. The way that trauma can and does seep into every part of your existence and things that you may not realize were related were in fact a direct result. If that seems interesting to you and you're able to deal with some intense descriptions, it's a worthwhile read. If you're looking for self-help and a less medical, more talk-therapy type of book, this isn't it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Incest, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Medical trauma, and Body shaming

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Self harm, Rape, and Addiction

Minor: Confinement, Death, and Death of parent

lj_sophia's review against another edition

I didn't enjoy how filled up this book is with the author's inflated ego. He also picks and chooses who to provide sympathy to and it's usually the men he treated. It comes off as unfeeling and sometimes predatory. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Rape, Mental illness, War, Pedophilia, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Violence, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Medical content, Kidnapping, Incest, Addiction, and Alcoholism

kitty_golden's review against another edition

challenging dark informative medium-paced

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, and Sexual assault

emreads0's review against another edition

I had to dnf due to the nature of the work and the place I am at mentally, but it is still a great commentary on society and trauma. For years my random pains and anxiety have been given stupid labels like IBS or ADHD instead of CPTSD and I hope this book starts that conversation

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Child abuse, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Sexual assault, and War

authorbrittanibee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

I'm honestly not sure how to rate such a read, but I can certainly share my thoughts on it.

Going in, this book immediately caused the trauma I have been working on to resurface in a very strong way. I think I personally should have prepared myself more mentally for the first half of the book as the stories shared immediately upset me. If certain stories of trauma cause you distress, I highly recommend either mentally preparing yourself for them or skipping to the end of the book where it relates more to healing and recovery (there are still mentions of traumatic stories, but the frequency and intensity is less as this area is more focused on the observable benefits of different types of therapy). This is definitely a book that should be read in manageable chunks, with lots of breaks in between, especially if any of the inner stories resonate with you or your past experiences. 

I definitely felt more empowered as I reached the latter chapters of this book when the author discusses the advances and implications of specific therapies as applied to various trauma survivors. I was especially surprised to find that EMDR had such high rates of "cure" for lack of a better term, but that this did not translate to those with history of childhood trauma, such as myself. What I really appreciated was the extensive dive into each form of therapy (EMDR, Yoga, Physchomotor, Neurofeedback, IFS, etc) as I hadn't heard of many of them and they each offered a potential solution. There are even specific resources and websites listed at the back of the book in case you want to further explore options for yourself. 

Overall, this book was wonderful in helping me to feel seen and less upset about the symptoms I have experienced throughout my life. It even helped me to uncover possible explanations as to why I have such a lapse in memory with my childhood years, reasons I may have been acting out, and why I view the world in the ways I do now. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Blood, Child abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Chronic illness, Drug use, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Death, Excrement, Pedophilia, Grief, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Self harm, Violence, War, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Incest, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

emilydaniellew's review against another edition

challenging dark informative inspiring slow-paced

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Chronic illness, Child death, War, Suicide, Self harm, Physical abuse, Medical content, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Gun violence, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Cancer, and Alcoholism

mirificmoxie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Incest, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Child death, Car accident, Mental illness, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, War, and Chronic illness

Minor: Medical trauma, Abandonment, and Animal cruelty

_dear_reader_'s review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

---

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

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. 

---

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