Skip to content

Affect-regulation Quote by Bessel A. van der Kolk

“When you have a persistent sense of heartbreak and gutwrench, the physical sensations become intolerable and we will do anything to make those feelings disappear. And that is really the origin of what happens in human pathology. People take drugs to make it disappear, and they cut themselves to…” quote by Bessel A. van der Kolk
Download Open image
““When you have a persistent sense of heartbreak and gutwrench, the physical sensations become intolerable and we will do anything to make those feelings disappear. And that is really the origin of what happens in human pathology. People take drugs to make it disappear, and they cut themselves to make it disappear, and they starve themselves to make it disappear, and they have sex with anyone who comes along to make it disappear and once you have these horrible sensations in your body, you’ll do anything to make it go away.””

Bessel A. van der Kolk

3.3 out of 5 (10 ratings)

More by Bessel A. van der Kolk

Explore all 29 Bessel A. van der Kolk quotes

More Affect-regulation quotes

Browse all 5 Affect-regulation quotes