“Unlike other forms of psychological disorders, the core issue in trauma is reality.” — Bessel A. van der Kolk Copy Share Image
“When you have a persistent sense of heartbreak and gutwrench, the physical sensations become intolerable and we will do anything to make… — Bessel A. van der Kolk Copy Share Image
“The scientific study of suffering inevitably raises questions of causation, and with these, issues of blame and responsibility. Historically, doctors have highlighted… — Bessel A. van der Kolk Copy Share Image
“BEFRIENDING THE BODY Trauma victims cannot recover until they become familiar with and befriend the sensations in their bodies. Being frightened means… — Bessel A. van der Kolk Copy Share Image
“If your parents’ faces never lit up when they looked at you, it’s hard to know what it feels like to be… — Bessel A. van der Kolk Copy Share Image
“While trauma keeps us dumbfounded, the path out of it is paved with words, carefully assembled, piece by piece, until the whole story can… — Bessel A. van der Kolk Copy Share Image
“. I was often surprised by the dispassionate way patients’ symptoms were discussed and by how much time was spent on trying to manage… — Bessel A. van der Kolk Copy Share Image
“In April 2013, a few weeks before DSM-V was formally released, NIMH director Thomas Insel announced that his agency could no longer support DSM’s… — Bessel A. van der Kolk Copy Share Image
“The brain-disease model takes control over people’s fate out of their own hands and puts doctors and insurance companies in charge of fixing their… — Bessel A. van der Kolk Copy Share Image
“It was early in my career, and I had been seeing Mary, a shy, lonely, and physically collapsed young woman, for about three months in weekly… — Bessel A. van der Kolk Copy Share Image
“Unlike other forms of psychological disorders, the core issue in trauma is reality.” — Bessel A. van der Kolk Copy Share Image
“Beneath the surface of the protective parts of trauma survivors there exists an undamaged essence, a Self that is confident, curious, and calm, a… — Bessel A. van der Kolk Copy Share Image
“trauma produces actual physiological changes, including a recalibration of the brain’s alarm system, an increase in stress hormone activity, and alterations in the system… — Bessel A. van der Kolk Copy Share Image
“The brain-disease model takes control over people’s fate out of their own hands and puts doctors and insurance companies in charge of fixing their… — Bessel A. van der Kolk Copy Share Image
“The ACE study group concluded: “Although widely understood to be harmful to health, each adaptation [such as smoking, drinking, drugs, obesity] is notably difficult… — Bessel A. van der Kolk Copy Share Image
“Like so many survivors of childhood abuse, Marilyn exemplified the power of the life force, the will to live and to own one's life,… — Bessel A. van der Kolk Copy Share Image
“The internal system of an abuse victim differs from the non-abuse system with regard to the consistent absence of the effective leadership, the extreme… — Bessel A. van der Kolk Copy Share Image
