Success is never just a product of one person, one thought and one plan.
It is a complex web of beliefs, values, relationships and actions that evolve as we move through life.
The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk explores how our mind-body connection impacts our ability to be our imaginative, confident and empowered selves.
Kolk is a psychiatrist, author, researcher and educator who specializes in post-traumatic stress.
He uses extensive research and neuroscience to articulate how trauma and adverse experiences occupy space in our bodies and affect us on a very profound, subconscious level.
PTSD can develop from a myriad of life experiences including but not limited to fighting in war, surviving a natural disaster and childhood dysfunction.
In The Body Keeps the Score, Kolk illustrates how such experiences stay with us on a cellular level, whether we’re conscious of it or not. And how unprocessed emotions can develop into physical and mental symptoms that hinder our growth.
A greater awareness of these parts of ourselves, along with the skills to heal them, can break down harmful patterns and beliefs that hold us back.
5 key takeaways from The Body Keeps the Score:
1. Trauma confuses our survival mechanisms
Our brain’s alarm system is the region called the amygdala, or the “smoke detector”, as Kolk calls it.
The amygdala responds to immediate and perceived threats by triggering our survival responses: Fight, flight, fawn, flop and freeze.
Our frontal lobes act as a “watchtower” and help us observe and analyze the threat, determining false alarms from true danger.
A history of trauma and PTSD can compromise our brain’s ability to do this and blur legitimate and empty threats together, prolonging our stress response. Therefore, we remain in a state of hypervigilance and high alarm — which is exhausting.
Core neurochemical aspects of PTSD include abnormal regulation of:
- Catecholamine, triggering high blood pressure
- Serotonin, critical for mood-balancing
- Amino acids, required for the synthesis of body protein
- Peptides, responsible for digestion, hunger/fullness signals and hormonal function.
- Opioid neurotransmitters, which dictate affective processing, including pain, pleasure, and reward.
All of these neurochemicals are found in brain circuits that regulate and integrate stress/fear responses. Of course, each one is complex and heavily impacts our ability to function day-to-day.
From sleep issues to digestive problems, poor focus, and musculoskeletal pain, past traumas extend well beyond the confines of our minds and into our bodies.
2. Reflecting on the past is productive
In your pursuit of self-improvement, you’ve likely come across blogs, articles, books and other pop culture media that say “Don’t look back. Don’t live in the past. The time is now. Forward thinking only”, etc.
Those statements contain a powerful sentiment: Don’t let past mistakes define your future or keep you stuck in a muddy, bottomless rut.
However, doing so is more complicated than simply reading and thinking those words at face value. Unfortunately, those messages can create a narrative of self-avoidance and repression.
Reflecting on the past, working through unresolved trauma and processing trapped emotions is critical to developing into a healthy and successful person.
Looking to the past and self-reflection is invaluable to understanding ourselves, where we’re at and where we want to go. And of course, how to get there.
No, we do not want to overindulge in the past and get trapped in a cycle of regret, longing or hindsight. But we must allow space for the feelings that came with critical life experiences to breathe and release.
Pent-up emotions almost always translate into strained relationships, unhealthy social bonds, anxiety & depression and difficulty thriving in a professional capacity.
Sadly, there is a very real stigma attached to emotional struggles, even though they’re a natural and normal part of being human. The unnecessary and added shame on top of the experience of trauma can be further isolating and exacerbate symptoms.
If this resonates with you, we encourage you to seek resources to manage your well-being. Here is a comprehensive list of where you can get started in Canada.
3. Healing leads to self-actualization
Understanding your trauma responses and how they’re affecting your daily life takes patience.
As with entrepreneurship and any professional pursuit, healing is not a linear process. It is also not a sunny, peachy experience, as often depicted in the media.
Getting out of your comfort zone can mean trying to escape a zone of perpetual discomfort.
We adapt to a life of anxiety, hypervigilance and guardedness. And often adopt habits or other mental health conditions to keep hard emotions at bay, such as:
- Workaholism
- Substance abuse
- Addiction
- Eating disorders
- Compulsive exercise
- Internet dependence
- Hoarding
- Compulsive decluttering
- Self-isolation
We begin to believe that these unhealthy coping mechanisms soothe us when they’re really keeping us in a very uncomfortable, unpleasant and exhausted state of being. But they can be very hard to let go of.
Leaving the discomfort zone is uncomfortable in itself. This makes finding the safety and support we need to heal challenging yet very empowering.
Developing constructive coping mechanisms and making peace with our trauma is critical to self-actualization.
Our brains and bodies need to do that to chemically re-balance, whether that is or is not with the support of medication as well.
This type of self-work can help us get to a place of greater focus, mindfulness, creativity and confidence.
4. Effective therapy is intersectional
Whether it’s a bad breakup, job loss or the passing of a loved one, people in tough situations are usually asked “Well, are you seeing a therapist?” or “Aren’t you seeing a therapist?”, the assumption being that the individual should be feeling and doing better.
Yes, seeing a therapist is a positive step in the right direction. However, healing is not that straightforward and therapy is not a cure-all.
Firstly, finding the right therapist and blend of effective therapeutic practices can be a bumpy journey.
Kolk explains that an intersectional approach to therapy and learning to feel safe within your own body is key to healing.
For some, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), or “Talk Therapy” isn’t the best fit. Or, it’s a splash of colour in a mosaic of methods.
Play and self-expression are often a large component of therapy. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, proven therapeutic methods include neurofeedback, theatre, meditation and yoga.
While trauma profoundly shapes the brain, we can rewire our neuropathways with time, experimentation and self-compassion.
Therapy isn’t always sitting down and having intense conversations with a mental health professional. It can also include walks with a friend, playing with a puppy, taking a boxing class, etc.
5. We need community
In The Body Keeps the Score, Kolk explains that positive relationships are core to our mental health and well-being.
It may seem like a no-brainer. But it’s entirely possible to feel isolated and alone despite being surrounded by others.
Strong relationships are proven to reduce anxiety and depression, boost self-esteem, enhance empathy, and improve our immune systems.
A traumatic past can hinder our ability to safely attach and connect with others in a secure and fulfilling way.
On top of that, emotional regulation issues can damage and, quite frankly, destroy important relationships.
Kolk asserts that we recover in the context of relationships with family members, in group therapy sessions, dance classes, Veteran’s organizations and beyond.
These connections give us the strength and sense of safety to accept, process and move on from the reality of what we’ve lived through.
Kolk is not saying that our healing is dependent on the actions of others. Rather, it is the actions we take to create healthy relationships with others.
To learn more about Dr. Bessel van der Kolk’s research and writings, click here.
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