Being able to feel safe with other people is probably the single most important aspect of mental health; safe connections are fundamental to meaningful and satisfying lives.Bessel van der Kolk
We have learned that trauma is not just an event that took place sometime in the past; it is also the imprint left by that experience on mind, brain, and body.Bessel van der Kolk
Trauma results in a fundamental reorganization of the way mind and brain manage perceptions. It changes not only how we think and what we think about, but also our very capacity to think.Bessel van der Kolk
The body keeps the score: If the memory of trauma is encoded in the viscera, in heartbreaking and gut-wrenching emotions, in autoimmune disorders and skeletal/muscular problems, and if mind/brain/visceral communication is the royal road to emotion regulation, this demands a radical shift in our therapeutic assumptions.Bessel van der Kolk
People can never get better without knowing what they know and feeling what they feel. But this is hard to do alone. The presence of an affirming community is a vital part of healing.Bessel van der Kolk
Self-regulation depends on having a friendly relationship with your body. Without it, you have to rely on external regulation—from medication, drugs like alcohol, constant reassurance, or compulsive compliance with the dictates of others.Bessel van der Kolk
Long after a traumatic experience is over, it may be reactivated at the slightest hint of danger and mobilize disturbed brain circuits and secrete massive amounts of stress hormones.Bessel van der Kolk
As long as you keep secrets and suppress information, you are fundamentally at war with yourself. The critical issue is allowing yourself to know what you know. That takes an enormous amount of courage.Bessel van der Kolk
In order to change, people need to become aware of their sensations and the way that their bodies interact with the world around them.Bessel van der Kolk
One does not have be a combat soldier, or visit a refugee camp in Syria or the Congo to encounter trauma. Trauma happens to us, our friends, our families, and our neighbors.Bessel van der Kolk