This month’s book recommendation is The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D. This book is a must-read for anyone who has experienced trauma. It goes into depth explaining the science behind how our bodies continue in a stress response after a traumatic event, hyper-aware of danger, which can ultimately end up affecting our physical health.
If you suffer from a chronic health condition like fibromyalgia, chronic pain and fatigue, or irritable bowel syndrome, it is possible that these symptoms are related to untreated trauma or stress. Often, people try to stuff away and ignore unpleasant feelings. Eventually, they tend to come out in some way whether that is uncontrolled outbursts of anger or sadness or more somatic symptoms like migraines or digestive issues.
There is far too much to great information in the book to summarize here in a few short paragraphs. Van Der Kolk has been a leader in the field of trauma for many years and this is a book that I suggest reading with a pen because you will likely find yourself wanting to underline many fascinating points.
If you have experienced trauma, conflict, or stress that you feel like you haven’t thoroughly processed and you also feel somewhat disconnected from your body or that you have trouble regulating things like sleep, eating, exercise, physical intimacy, unexplainable chronic health conditions, or self-care, this book might shed some light on your experience.
To find out more about the book, you can visit Bessel Van Der Kolk’s website here.
