What is trauma? The author of “The Body Keeps the Score” explains | Bessel van der Kolk | Big Think

Summary

Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, a renowned psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and author of 'The Body Keeps the Score,' explains the profound difference between stress and trauma. He emphasizes that while everyone experiences stress, trauma is a deeply distressing event that continues to affect the body and mind long after it has occurred. Trauma is not just the event itself but the individual's response, which can lead to a state of constant danger perception, impacting brain function and physical health. Dr. van der Kolk highlights the importance of social support in mitigating trauma's effects and stresses the need for societal changes to address the root causes of trauma, such as poverty, racism, and unemployment. He advocates for a trauma-informed society where individuals can recover and thrive, underlining the significance of community and interpersonal support.

Takeaways

• 🧠 **Understanding Trauma vs. Stress**: Trauma differs from stress as it continues to affect the body even after the event has ended, causing the person to relive the experience.
• 👤 **Author's Background**: Bessel van der Kolk, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, has extensively studied trauma and its effects on the body and mind.
• 🌟 **Trauma's Prevalence**: Contrary to initial beliefs, trauma is extremely common and not limited to military experiences; it also includes child abuse and domestic violence.
• 🤝 **Social Support's Role**: The presence of supportive individuals during a traumatic event can significantly mitigate the potential for long-term trauma.
• 🧐 **Trauma's Subjectivity**: Trauma is a subjective experience, varying from person to person based on individual personalities and past experiences.
• 🧬 **Biological Impact**: Trauma can alter the brain, particularly affecting the primitive survival parts, leading to a constant state of perceived danger.
• 🛡️ **Survival Responses**: Traumatic events can trigger automatic survival responses like fight, flight, or freeze, which are not based on cognitive assessments but on primitive brain functions.
• 😔 **Emotional Consequences**: Traumatized individuals often struggle with experiencing pleasure and joy due to the ongoing physiological stress on the body.
• 🏥 **Physical Health Impact**: The stress of trauma can lead to immunological and endocrine abnormalities, sometimes resulting in longer-lasting physical health issues than mental ones.
• 🌱 **Community and Recovery**: A sense of community and mutual support is vital for individuals to recover and thrive after experiencing trauma.
• 🌐 **Societal Factors**: Societal issues such as poverty, racism, and unemployment can exacerbate the effects of trauma and highlight the need for societal rearrangements to address these issues.

Q & A

What is the primary difference between trauma and stress as described by Bessel van der Kolk?

Trauma is an event that continues to affect the individual even after it has ended, causing the body to relive it, whereas stress is a response to unpleasant situations that dissipates once the situation is over.

What was Bessel van der Kolk's first encounter with trauma?

Bessel van der Kolk's first encounter with trauma was on his first day working at the Veterans Administration in 1978, where he met Vietnam veterans who were deeply affected by their experiences.

How did the initial definition of PTSD contribute to a narrow understanding of trauma?

The initial definition of PTSD described it as a response to extraordinary events outside of normal human experience, which later was recognized as a narrow view since trauma is actually quite common and can occur in various everyday situations.

What are some common examples of trauma experienced by children in America?

Examples include witnessing physical violence within their parents, being beaten severely by their caregivers, and experiencing unwanted sexual encounters.

How does the presence of supportive individuals during a traumatic event affect the likelihood of becoming traumatized?

Supportive individuals can mitigate the effects of trauma by providing a sense of safety and help, which prevents the foundation of a person's safety from being destroyed.

What is the 'cockroach brain' referred to by Bessel van der Kolk, and what role does it play in trauma?

The 'cockroach brain' is a term for the primitive survival part of the brain that detects danger and safety. After a traumatic event, this part of the brain can become overactive, continuously signaling danger and causing the person to react as if they are still in threat.

Why do traumatized individuals often struggle with experiencing pleasure and joy?

Traumatized individuals struggle with pleasure and joy because their bodies are constantly in a state of fight or flight, mobilizing for survival, which disrupts normal emotional experiences.

What are some of the physiological effects of trauma on the body?

The physiological effects of trauma include immunological and endocrine abnormalities, which can lead to long-lasting physical health problems.

How does societal structure and support impact the recovery from trauma?

A society with less income inequality, universal healthcare, and universal childcare is more trauma savvy and better equipped to support individuals in recovering from trauma by addressing the antecedents of certain pathologies.

What is the broader issue that Bessel van der Kolk identifies regarding trauma?

The broader issue is a political one, concerning how society can be rearranged to understand and address trauma, allowing those who grow up under extreme adverse conditions to become full members of society.

Why is the sense of community important in surviving and thriving after trauma?

The sense of community and having people there for each other is critical for survival and thriving post-trauma because it provides the necessary social support and interconnectedness that can aid in the healing process.

How does trauma affect a person's cognitive and emotional functioning?

Trauma can impair a person's ability to engage, learn, understand others' perspectives, and coordinate their feelings with their thinking due to the automatic survival responses triggered by the 'animal brain.'