Trauma marks - Prof. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk

Trauma marks - Prof. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk -

The recovery of the body, brain and mind after overwhelming experiences

This deeply human book offers illuminating insights into the causes and consequences of trauma, offering hope and clarity to anyone who has encountered the devastating effects of traumatic experiences. Trauma is one of the greatest health problems of our time, not only because of its impact on victims of accidents and crimes, but especially because of the often less visible toll taken by domestic violence, sexual abuse, maltreatment, neglect, and addiction.

Drawing on over thirty years of research and clinical experience at the forefront of his field, Professor Bessel van der Kolk demonstrates how the fear and isolation at the core of trauma literally alter both the brain and the body. He explains why traumatized people are repeatedly plagued by incomprehensible fear, numbness, and uncontrollable rage, and how trauma negatively impacts their ability to concentrate, remember, build trusting relationships, and feel at home in their own bodies. Having lost control of themselves and become frustrated by previous unsuccessful treatments, they often fear they have been irreparably damaged.

Traumasporen inspiringly describes how a group of therapists and scientists—along with their courageous patients—struggled to integrate new advances in brain science, attachment research, and body awareness into treatments that can free traumatized people from the tyranny of the past. Based on regulating and synchronizing body and mind through yoga, mindfulness, EMDR, neurofeedback, theater, and other methods, he reveals new pathways to recovery, gradually regaining the ability to "know what you know and feel what you feel." Moreover, they create experiences that directly challenge the powerlessness and invisibility that accompany trauma, enabling both adults and children to regain control over their own bodies and their own lives.