Finally reading the book, “The Body Keeps the Score.” By, Bessel Von Der Klok, MD

[JadedLife82]

I’m discovering a lot more about the subject of childhood trauma, sexual trauma, etc., and how they have had a profound effect upon the way that my body is and functions (or lack there of). I have always felt compelled to tell people that I was born of chaos, and so I am not entirely affected by it when I am forced/involved in some form of difficult situations. However, after the fact is a different story. Sometimes, after these events are over and done I find myself thinking about “how can I help myself get back into my own body.” I often feel like I’m two different people and that is unnerving for a great many reasons. I know that my history of being a United States Marine has a huge influence in the way that I think of my being sort of compartmentalizing the two personas. The one that is more alert, attentive, brave, and levelheaded is the one who is most likely to handle emergency situations and crises, but the other one is more jumpy, sensitive to stimuli, gets increasingly anxious/distraught, and has trouble controlling their emotions. The two of them are very different, but they seem to be a tune to everything that is going on around me at any given time. I don’t think that they are different “personalities,” because I have been getting mental health care for over a decade. I would like to believe that if that was a possibility that someone would have at least addressed it. I am however so appreciative for this book and the individuals who were involved in the research studies that were part of the process of making this book possible. I highly encourage everyone, whenever you are ready to, to take some time to read it.

[Nathalie99 Partner]

Hi JadedLife82,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the book. I agree, it is a very good resource and he is very knowledgeable.

I have the book.

There are also different free podcasts, videos and articles with the author.

My experience is similar the way trauma impacted my body. I am doing somatic experiencing exercises with my therapist while processing.

New events link to past events.

I can relate to feeling different after the fact and during certain experiences.

Sometimes I react quickly in a traumatic situation but after the fact I have a lot of anxiety and trauma response.

It is good to have different resources to understand and make sense of things.

Thank you for sharing your experiences...

[Dolphin14 Moderator]

JadedLife82

Thank you for sharing a part of your story. I can relate to everything you are saying.

I just finished this book a couple weeks ago. It was interesting all research that went into the field of trauma. Those researchers looked beyond the surface symptoms. This is so key in working with trauma victims. We know all this now based on the hard work and persistence of these people.

I'm going to re read this at some point because there is so much depth and information there.

Our life reactions and symptoms all stem from the past. The work is hard but the rewards are many.

Thank you for your service to our country. Best wishes to you as you continue your journey to peace

🐬

[designguy]

I think trauma can put us on high alert and cause hyper-awareness of us and our surroundings in order to protect ourselves in case of another trauma and because of the past physical trauma and it may cause us to live in our head and not our body and cause us to think we have different personalities. In essence, we all do to some degree, we all have a dark shadow side that is our protective self and our light side, our healthy engaged with life side. Also our body can store the emotions of the trauma as per the book, so part of healing is to get in touch with them and process them.

I found Somatic Therapy helpful for getting back in touch with my body and also TRE Therapy (trauma release therapy) which is a form of physical therapy for releasing the trauma from the body by shaking. There are videos on how to do this yourself and you can also do it with a trained therapist. One of the best therapies I did was working with a trauma/c-ptsd specialist therapist who used emdr as part of the therapy. It helped me get in touch with the shame and pain and process it and no longer be triggered by it, it was very helpful.

[Oliveart11]

Thank you for your service. I haven't finished reading the book, but I have been learning so much. I wish you the best.

[BrainIsFull]

I have the book but I haven't read it. I haven't been able to focus long enough to read a nook in many years. Maybe I can listen to one of the podcasts about it.

I also feel like a different in various situations. I find it disconcerting. It can be very disorienting. For me, it seems to be the parts of me that were not allowed to develop "normally" during my childhood. Then there is the "healthy adult" part and the "critical adult". The goal is to get in touch with the healthy adult which can be done through therapy techniques.

I may be turnung all of the focus on me here. If so, I apologize. I almost deleted this bc of thatbut chose not to bc maybe it is not as bad as I think it is.