Trauma disrupts the brain's processing and regulation of emotions, emphasizing the need for therapies that address somatic and sensory aspects of trauma.
In times of crisis, fostering a sense of community and taking collective action is crucial for healing and resilience.
Yoga plays a significant role in healing trauma by activating areas of consciousness and rewiring critical brain areas affected by trauma.
Deep dives
The Importance of Spirituality in Understanding Ourselves and Taking Action for the Common Good
Spirituality plays a vital role in shaping our understanding of ourselves and others, as well as inspiring us to take action for the betterment of society. A recent study conducted by the Fetzer Institute reveals that spirituality informs our perspectives and influences our actions towards creating a loving world. This study highlights the significance of spirituality in building a strong foundation for personal growth and contributing to the common good.
The Impact of Trauma on Mental Health and Well-being
Trauma researcher Bessel van der Kolk emphasizes the profound impact of trauma on mental health. Traumatic experiences, especially those inflicted by individuals meant to provide care and safety, can lead to the distortion of memory and the inability to integrate traumatic experiences into a coherent narrative. Van der Kolk explains that trauma disrupts the brain's ability to process and regulate emotions, impairs cognition, and hinders self-observation. This understanding challenges traditional therapy approaches that focus solely on talk therapy, highlighting the need for therapies like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) that address somatic and sensory aspects of trauma.
The Need for Action and Support in the Wake of Tragic Events
In the face of tragic events such as natural disasters or acts of violence, it is essential to foster a sense of community and take collective action. Van der Kolk discusses the importance of using the energy generated by stress hormones to engage in physical activities that promote healing and resilience. He stresses the significance of providing immediate relief and support to those affected by trauma so that they can actively cope with their experiences. Moreover, he acknowledges the role of media in disseminating information and urges responsible reporting that focuses on the resilience and compassion displayed by communities in times of crisis.
The Two Separate Brain Parts and Rational Behavior
The podcast explores the idea that our brains have two separate parts: the animal brain and the rational brain. These two parts are not strongly connected, and when we experience strong emotions, our rational thinking becomes suppressed. This explains why people tend to hold firmly to their beliefs, even in the face of rational arguments to the contrary. The podcast also highlights the challenge of verbal psychotherapy since it is difficult to access and change the primitive part of the brain.
The Role of Yoga in Trauma Healing
The podcast discusses the role of yoga in healing trauma. Yoga is seen as a method to measure the integrity of the primitive brain by analyzing heart rate variability, which indicates calmness and mindfulness. Traumatized individuals often have low heart rate variability. It was discovered that many yoga styles claim to improve heart rate variability. Yoga helps traumatized people reclaim their bodies, become more self-aware, and regain ownership over themselves. It activates areas of consciousness and rewires critical brain areas affected by trauma, making it an important component in the healing process.
Krista interviewed the psychiatrist and trauma specialist Bessel van der Kolk for the first time in 2013, as his book The Body Keeps the Score was about to be published. He is an innovator in treating the effects of overwhelming experiences. We call this “trauma” when we encounter it in life and news, and we tend to leap to address it by talking. But Bessel van der Kolk knows how some experiences imprint themselves beyond where language can reach. He explores state-of-the-art therapeutic treatments — including body work like yoga and eye movement therapy — and shares what he and others are learning on this edge of humanity about the complexity of memory, our need for others, and how our brains take care of our bodies.
Bessel van der Kolk is the founder and medical director of the Trauma Research Foundation in Brookline, Massachusetts. He’s also a professor of psychiatry at Boston University Medical School. His books include Traumatic Stress: The Effects of Overwhelming Experience on the Mind, Body, and Society and The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma.
This interview is edited and produced with music and other features in the On Being episode "Bessel van der Kolk – Trauma, the Body, and 2021." Find the transcript for that show at onbeing.org.
This show originally aired in July 2013.
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