This week we will learn about trauma, how the body holds onto trauma and how to heal from it in new and effective ways! Most of what we will discuss comes from the groundbreaking book The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma. By Bessel Van der Kolk. Here is what Good Reads has to say about him and his book:
"A pioneering researcher and one of the world’s foremost experts on traumatic stress offers a bold new paradigm for healing.
Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Such experiences inevitably leave traces on minds, emotions, and even on biology. Sadly, trauma sufferers frequently pass on their stress to their partners and children.
Renowned trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he transforms our understanding of traumatic stress, revealing how it literally rearranges the brain’s wiring—specifically areas dedicated to pleasure, engagement, control, and trust. He shows how these areas can be reactivated through innovative treatments including neurofeedback, mindfulness techniques, play, yoga, and other therapies. Based on Dr. van der Kolk’s own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score offers proven alternatives to drugs and talk therapy—and a way to reclaim lives."
I made an introductory video for you to watch first and then I encourage you to watch one, some or all of the videos I will link to below about how to heal in a better way. They are INCREDIBLE summaries of Bessel's amazing work with great tips on how you can start to heal from trauma and help others heal as well. All of us have been touched in some way by trauma and it's effects, and behaviors that stem from these massive unhealed wounds. I hope you will love yourself enough to really dig deep this week.
Give yourself a point for each day that you either
* study about healing from trauma in these new ways
* try some of these new ideas (yoga, breathing exercises, dancing, acting, being held by someone safe, and more) or
* help someone who is struggling!
Here is my intro video!
