Dr Bessel van der Kolk presentation - The Body Keeps the Score

[Fen Starshimmer]

Explains the science of CPTSD, the changes to parts of the brain after trauma and responses to triggers, why CBT doesn't work, and his extensive studies of EMDR, which has been shown to work for some people. He also talks about the benefits of certain types of meditation...That's a just snippet. There's much more. He has a lovely calm, soothing voice, which makes all that info much easier to digest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53RX2ESIqsM

[woodsgnome]

There's also a radio interview with Dr. van der Kolk at:

https://onbeing.org/programs/bessel-van-der-kolk-how-trauma-lodges-in-the-body-mar2017/

To hear the audio, click on "play episode" at the right of the page. There's also a printed transcript of the 60-minute interview at the bottom.

[Fen Starshimmer]

Thanks for the link, Woodsgnome. I like that you can read the interview as well.

This is a good point that not many people get about CPTSD:

MS. TIPPETT: And also, that gets at the fact that it's not just cognitive, right? It's not just a story that you could tell. I mean, it may eventually become a story, but that it's body memory. It's a neural net of memory. It's not just about words that you can formulate.

DR. VAN DER KOLK: Yeah. It's amazing to me what a hard time many people I know have with that. This is not about something you think or something you figure out. This is about your body, your organism, having been reset to interpret the world as a terrifying place and yourself as being unsafe. And it has nothing to do with cognition, with — you can say to people, "You shouldn't feel that way," or, "You're not a bad person," or, "It wasn't your fault." And people say, "I know that, but I feel that it is."

[Blueberry]

Thanks so much, woodsgnome. I've just listened and it says a lot. Would need to listen again to make more impact.

[rbswan]

Thank you Woodsgnome.  Bessel van der Kolk is one of my heroes.