The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
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The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk is a game-changer for understanding how trauma impacts our minds and bodies—and why it’s so important to heal those wounds in recovery. Van der Kolk, a renowned trauma expert, reveals how trauma gets stored in the body and how it can keep us trapped in cycles of addiction and pain. At Today’s Sober Women, we believe that to heal from addiction, we have to address what’s beneath the surface, and this book is a roadmap to doing just that.
Key Principle #1: Trauma Lives in the Body
Van der Kolk shows that trauma isn’t just a memory—it lives in our bodies. Understanding this helps us see why we might react to certain triggers and why healing must go beyond talk therapy.
Key Principle #2: The Power of Mind-Body Healing
From yoga to EMDR, van der Kolk explores different mind-body therapies that can help release trauma from where it’s stored. Healing isn’t just in the mind—it’s in the body, too.
Key Principle #3: Reclaiming Safety
A core theme in this book is learning how to feel safe in your own body again. For many women in recovery, that can be a profound and challenging process, but it’s essential for long-term healing.
Key Principle #4: Reconnecting with Yourself and Others
Van der Kolk emphasizes that trauma isolates us, but healing brings us back into connection—both with ourselves and with others. At Today’s Sober Women, we know that connection is at the heart of recovery.
Key Takeaway: Healing from trauma is possible, but it requires tending to both the mind and body. Today, consider one way you can begin to reconnect with your body and offer it the care it deserves.
