What do people think of the book "Body keeps the score" ?

IndiMarshall

IndiMarshall

Well known member
Hi TMS community,
I'm curious to hear your thoughts on The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk. I haven’t read it yet, but it’s been highly recommended by several people.
Personally, I’ve had some powerful experiences with TMS where I was able to mentally able to control my pain —once even shifting intense pain (a solid 9 out of 10) from one side of my spine to the other as bizarre as that. These moments convinced me that it is only mind that plays a central role in pain, and they make me question the idea of the book that the body itself “stores” or “holds” pain. That perspective doesn’t really align with what I’ve learned from Dr. Sarno’s teachings either.

Whenever I hear someone claim that pain is stored in the body, it just doesn’t resonate with me. It feels like a direct contradiction to the mind-body approach many of us here follow. In fact, I often find it hard not to speak up when this idea comes up in discussions.

That said, I wonder—am I missing out by skipping this book? Do you think it's worth a listen? I have a few Audible credits and am considering using one on it, but I’m still unsure. Thanks. Interesting to hear your views.
 
I read it and if you’ve had any kind of serious trauma as a kid —it will trigger you. I do think it’s really possible that pain is stored in your body. You might also want to check out a book by Peter Levine https://a.co/d/godzl5P
He’s another big name in this perspective. I’ve never been able to get anything to work in that healing method (yet). There are also people that focus on healing in the body with yoga— trying to get at the vagus nerve. I think it’s called somatic yoga. https://drarielleschwartz.com/vagus-nerve-yoga/ (Vagus Nerve Yoga - Arielle Schwartz, PhD)
 
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Diana-M said:
I read it and if you’ve had any kind of serious trauma as a kid —it will trigger you. I do think it’s really possible that pain is stored in your body. You might also want to check out a book by Peter Levine https://a.co/d/godzl5P (Amazon.com)
He’s another big name in this perspective. I’ve never been able to get anything to work in that healing method (yet). There are also people that focus on healing in the body with yoga— trying to get at the vagus nerve. I think it’s called somatic yoga. https://drarielleschwartz.com/vagus-nerve-yoga/ (Vagus Nerve Yoga - Arielle Schwartz, PhD)
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I never finished it. It was definitely an uncomfortable read.
 
I saw it in our local book mobile and I just started it. But I have too many books starting but not finishing, lol. Prior to that, I plan to reread Nichol's new book.
 
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