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My mother committed suicide 8 years ago, and this is something I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about and trying to understand (in part to ensur
by sbenitoj 8y ago
My mother committed suicide 8 years ago, and this is something I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about and trying to understand (in part to ensure I never suffer the same fate).
For anyone who has struggled with depression or severe anxiety, if you haven’t read the book The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, I encourage you to read it as soon as possible — it’s one of the best, most approachable, resources out there to understand not only many of the roots of depression, but many strategies to actually overcome it (it’s very different from traditional talk therapy, which is mostly focused on getting people to cope with their past trauma rather than resolve it).
https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/0143127748/ref=nodl_ https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/01...
- dgzl 8y agoAs someone who's currently going through a wave serious depression, I'm curious about this book. Thanks for sharing.
- njoro 8y agoI remember finding this talk quite insightful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOAgplgTxfc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOAgplgTxfc
- betterworldb 8y agoI'm definitely going to check this book out. Thanks for the recommendation.
- mindgam3 8y ago+1 for The Body Keeps the Score. One of the most useful books on overcoming trauma I've ever read. The idea of Developmental Trauma Disorder is so much more constructive than other models. So many of the things we call "diseases" can be traced to trauma. "Mental injury" may be a more useful construct than "mental illness". In the same way that your body can heal from a femur fracture, your psyche can heal from a trauma-induced mind fracture.
- sbenitoj 8y agoAny modalities in particular you found beneficial from The Body Keeps the Score?
- mindgam3 8y agoMore than any specific modality, what I got from the book was confirmation that the way to heal developmental trauma is to create a safe space and then to engage with it. As opposed to seek to hide it or cover it up pharmaceutically as recommended by Big Pharma. Practices I have found to be useful in dealing with childhood physical abuse and chronic emotional abuse: - sauna/cold plunge (incredibly useful way to trigger fight or flight and learn to deal with conditioned fear response) - pushups, pullups, yoga - breath awareness and compassion meditations - metric shit-tons of journaling - reading stories of trauma survivors - psychoanalysis, up to a point - talking to friends (the right ones)
- sbenitoj 8y agoThanks! I’ve been doing yoga, EMDR, and Somatic Experience and have found all helpful in different ways.