Reviews tagging 'Rape'

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

342 reviews

alsoapples's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative fast-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, and Car accident

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Antisemitism, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

sallyjofrench's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Medical content

whitecalliee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, and Medical trauma

fiveredhens's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

3.25

favorite quotes:

A stern schoolteacher may be an intimidating presence to an average kid, but for a child whose stepfather beats him up, she may represent a torturer and precipitate a rage attack or a terrified cowering in the corner.

I remember being surprised to hear this distinguished old Harvard professor confess how comforted he was to feel his wife's bum against him as he fell asleep at night. By disclosing such simple human needs in himself he helped us recognize how basic they were to our lives. Failure to attend to them results in a stunted existence, no matter how lofty our thoughts and worldly accomplishments.

For now I want to emphasize that emotion is not opposed to reason; our emotions assign value to experiences and thus are the foundation of reason.

...traumatized parents, in particular, need help to be attuned to their children's needs. Caregivers often don't realize that they are out of tune. I vividly remember a videotape Beatrice Beebe showed me. It featured a young mother playing with her three-month-old infant. Everything was going well until the baby pulled back and turned his head away, signaling that he needed a break. But the mother did not pick up on his cue, and she intensified her efforts to engage him by bringing her face closer to his and increasing the volume of her voice. When he recoiled even more, she kept bouncing and poking him. Finally he started to scream, at which point the mother put him down and walked away, looking crestfallen. She obviously felt terrible, but she had simply missed the relevant cues. It's easy to imagine how this kind of misattunement, repeated over and over again, can gradually lead to chronic disconnection.

Many of them hold tight to the memory of that one teacher, neighbor, shopkeeper, coach, or minister who showed that he or she cared, and that memory is often the seed of learning to reengage. We are a hopeful species. Working with trauma is as much about remembering how we survived as it is about what is broken.

If Margaret shouts, "I hate you!" in the middle of an argument, Joe probably thinks she despises him—and in that moment Margaret might agree. But in fact only a part of her is angry, and that part temporarily obscures her generous and affectionate feelings, which may well return when she sees the devastation on Joe's face.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, and Grief

Minor: Fatphobia

downsophialane's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad slow-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

curiouserandcuriouser's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Drug use

whittenholmes's review against another edition

It's a very dense read, not inaccessible, but with very heavy themes discussed openly throughout. I'd like to get a paper copy so I could examine the treatments section and skim over any triggering content. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, and Car accident

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Medical trauma

This book is very important to trauma therapy and can be used by those seeking treatment but with caution, as much of the medical and psychiatric research detailed is illustrated with graphic descriptions of trauma.

christinecc's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

So. I don't know how to talk about this book. I also don't know if I would recommend it. 
Here are some things for this review:

-The first half of this book is (in my opinion) better than the second, probably because the first part seemed to focus on describing the impact of trauma rather than the treatment. There was a quote in this part that I kept for later. It's not groundbreaking or anything, but it's true. "After trauma the world becomes sharply divided between those who know and those who don't." And that was really sad. It's strange how powerful it can be to read something like that. The context wasn't anything I've experienced, obviously, because the specific example was about a former military unit.

-This book has some very graphic (often triggering) content, and not all of it is necessarily helpful. Sometimes trauma was glossed over, other times it was described in minute detail. I couldn't tell which approach the author would take every time he brought another patient up.

-About the author: Well, on the one hand, he certainly has a lot of experience in trauma treatment. On the other hand, he's... not a perfect person, which is maybe an understatement. A few years ago he was fired from his Trauma Center following allegations of employee mistreatment. As far as I can tell, the details of this are not available. It's a disquieting thing to learn about someone who is supposed to help people. 

All in all, it's a really interesting read, but maybe not everyone's best choice of book. I don't know how to review it on its merits, unfortunately, but there are some much better reviews than mine available on GR. 

Recommended? Maybe, but I'd check some other, more qualified reviewers' opinions first. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, and Murder

mirandamem's review against another edition

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Trafficking

emmakay's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

The Body Keeps the Score is one of those books that will change you once you have read it. As an individual who is actively processing her own trauma this book has given me insight into my own history and current behaviors. We all have either experienced trauma, or know someone who has. Everyone should read this book to better serve themselves and those they love. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical trauma, and Car accident