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A review by davykent
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk
5.0
The Body Keeps the Score is an excellent overview of the origin of the PTSD diagnosis, how medicine and society view it, and how treatment of it has changed over the decades. Van der Kolk knows how to convey technical info without sounding drab, and the book is largely an enjoyable read.
The subject matter is personal. There were many occasions when it seemed like a passage was specifically about me, and those were sometimes uncomfortable to contend with as these passages were always about the poor expectations for recovery and being seen by loved ones and professionals.
However, that is not a malus against the book or its material. It's just reality. That the book can convey this while remaining respectful is a good thing.
There is one thing I don't like about The Body Keeps the Score, and it's that it pays very little attention to unconventional instances of PTSD, complex or otherwise. This is not necessarily a negative, as the material is dense and there's only so much one can say. Covering every base is impossible. In particular, van der Kolk is challenged by the fact that treatment of "stereotypical" PTSD is already maligned and isolated in the medical community and society. If even the common denominators can't receive or expect proficient care for their condition, what hope is there for someone who falls outside the mold?
This is not to say that van der Kolk does not make an attempt. He mentions people like me a few times, but it's never for any purpose except to say that some people are so complicated, so isolated, that their chances for recovery are so poor so as to be a null variable for even the most expert of trendsetters in the PTSD space. This is not heartening to hear, but again... it's reality. This doesn't actually contradict my experience. If anything, it's nice to see someone so influential and knowledgeable put into authoritative words what I've suspected for years. That the news is bad is a bit of a crap deal, but any news is worth something.
The majority of PTSD treatment, experimental or otherwise, focuses on sufferers who have a primary event in their history. A rape, an assault, a war crime, and so on. There is a specific memory, disjointed as it may be, that is the primary antagonist and the underlying cause of their triggers. What of those with PTSD who don't have a primary event? Van der Kolk doesn't know, and he admits as much. There are bigger fish to catch.
If you have PTSD, or if you know someone with PTSD, I'd highly recommend reading The Body Keeps the Score. The latter part of the book goes into treatments; some of these are intriguing, others seem a bit limited or woo-woo. Take your pick and see if there's any way you can get one of these treatments professionally done in your area. What do you have to lose? As van der Kolk points out, the tried-and-true treatments are rarely more effective than placebo, and some are specifically damaging. Trying out the treatments that have been buried by the pharmaceutical industry might be worth a shot.
The subject matter is personal. There were many occasions when it seemed like a passage was specifically about me, and those were sometimes uncomfortable to contend with as these passages were always about the poor expectations for recovery and being seen by loved ones and professionals.
However, that is not a malus against the book or its material. It's just reality. That the book can convey this while remaining respectful is a good thing.
There is one thing I don't like about The Body Keeps the Score, and it's that it pays very little attention to unconventional instances of PTSD, complex or otherwise. This is not necessarily a negative, as the material is dense and there's only so much one can say. Covering every base is impossible. In particular, van der Kolk is challenged by the fact that treatment of "stereotypical" PTSD is already maligned and isolated in the medical community and society. If even the common denominators can't receive or expect proficient care for their condition, what hope is there for someone who falls outside the mold?
This is not to say that van der Kolk does not make an attempt. He mentions people like me a few times, but it's never for any purpose except to say that some people are so complicated, so isolated, that their chances for recovery are so poor so as to be a null variable for even the most expert of trendsetters in the PTSD space. This is not heartening to hear, but again... it's reality. This doesn't actually contradict my experience. If anything, it's nice to see someone so influential and knowledgeable put into authoritative words what I've suspected for years. That the news is bad is a bit of a crap deal, but any news is worth something.
The majority of PTSD treatment, experimental or otherwise, focuses on sufferers who have a primary event in their history. A rape, an assault, a war crime, and so on. There is a specific memory, disjointed as it may be, that is the primary antagonist and the underlying cause of their triggers. What of those with PTSD who don't have a primary event? Van der Kolk doesn't know, and he admits as much. There are bigger fish to catch.
If you have PTSD, or if you know someone with PTSD, I'd highly recommend reading The Body Keeps the Score. The latter part of the book goes into treatments; some of these are intriguing, others seem a bit limited or woo-woo. Take your pick and see if there's any way you can get one of these treatments professionally done in your area. What do you have to lose? As van der Kolk points out, the tried-and-true treatments are rarely more effective than placebo, and some are specifically damaging. Trying out the treatments that have been buried by the pharmaceutical industry might be worth a shot.