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身体创伤:探索新的治愈希望

贝塞尔·范德科尔克,医学博士 是创始人兼医疗主任

我们需要一些资源来修建道路、剧院、医院等等。许多遭受过创伤的人长大后都体弱多病。因此,资源被用于戒毒、治疗慢性病、解决失业问题和监狱建设。这些都是浪费本就稀缺资源的糟糕方式。

梅拉拉尼奥:因为大多数身处这种境地的人都是因为遭受了创伤。

范德科尔克:没错,你给我找个监狱里没受过创伤的人看看。加州80%的囚犯都曾在寄养系统中待过。他们不被需要,也没有稳定的监护人。这些都是非常重要的问题,却一直被忽视。毒瘾与童年虐待密切相关。虽然没有童年虐待也可能染上毒瘾,但这非常罕见。

梅拉拉尼奥:我认为仅凭这一点就足以让美国国家心理健康研究所资助您的神经反馈研究了。这次谈话很难结束,但重要的是要意识到,我们还可以做很多事情来帮助个人、社区和国家从创伤中恢复。我希望我们的读者也能像我一样喜欢这篇文章。谢谢您,范德科尔克博士。

范德科尔克:谢谢。

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Frank Sterle Jr. Jun 2, 2023
I live with adverse-childhood-experience-related chronic anxiety and clinical depression that are only partly treatable via medication. Thus I endure an emotionally tumultuous daily existence. It’s a continuous, discomforting anticipation of ‘the other shoe dropping’ and simultaneously being scared of how badly I will deal with the upsetting event, which usually never transpires. The lasting emotional/psychological pain from such trauma is very formidable yet invisibly confined to inside the head. It is solitarily suffered, unlike an openly visible physical disability or condition, which tends to elicit sympathy/empathy from others. It can make every day a mental ordeal, unless the turmoil is treated with some form of medicating, either prescribed or illicit. My experience has revealed [at least to me] that high-scoring-ACE trauma that essentially results from a highly sensitive introverted existence notably exacerbated by an accompanying autism spectrum disorder, c... [View Full Comment]
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Frank Sterle Jr. Jun 9, 2023
[Cont.] Left unchecked, chronic emotional/psychological abuse readily results in a helpless child's brain improperly developing. The trauma acts as a starting point into a life in which the brain uncontrollably releases potentially damaging levels of inflammation-promoting stress hormones and chemicals, even in non-stressful daily routines. It has been described as a continuous, discomforting anticipation of ‘the other shoe dropping’ and simultaneously being scared of how badly you will deal with the upsetting event, which usually never transpires. It can make every day a mental ordeal, unless the turmoil is prescription and/or illicitly medicated. To a significant degree, I know such self-medicating from personal experience. It basically amounts to non-physical-impact brain damage. The lasting emotional/psychological pain from such trauma is very formidable yet invisibly confined to inside one's head. It is solitarily suffered, unlike an openly visible physical disabili... [View Full Comment]
[Cont.] Left unchecked, chronic emotional/psychological abuse readily results in a helpless child's brain improperly developing. The trauma acts as a starting point into a life in which the brain uncontrollably releases potentially damaging levels of inflammation-promoting stress hormones and chemicals, even in non-stressful daily routines. It has been described as a continuous, discomforting anticipation of ‘the other shoe dropping’ and simultaneously being scared of how badly you will deal with the upsetting event, which usually never transpires. It can make every day a mental ordeal, unless the turmoil is prescription and/or illicitly medicated. To a significant degree, I know such self-medicating from personal experience. It basically amounts to non-physical-impact brain damage. The lasting emotional/psychological pain from such trauma is very formidable yet invisibly confined to inside one's head. It is solitarily suffered, unlike an openly visible physical disability or condition, which tends to elicit sympathy/empathy from others. Really, a psychologically/emotionally sound future should be every child’s fundamental right — along with air, water, food and shelter — especially considering the very troubled world into which they never asked to enter. But, sadly and unjustly, no such right exists. Meantime, serious PTSD trauma very often becomes a strong compulsion for substance abuse and debilitating addiction. With lead-ball-and-chain self-medicating, the greater the drug-induced euphoria or escape one attains from its use, the more one wants to repeat the experience; and the more intolerable one finds their sober reality, the more pleasurable that escape should be perceived. By extension, the greater one’s mental pain or trauma while sober, the greater the need for escape from reality, thus the more addictive the euphoric escape-form will likely be. The lasting mental pain resulting from trauma is very formidable yet invisibly confined to inside one's head. [Hide Full Comment]
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TR Jan 30, 2020

I'm so amazed they went through that whole interview without saying "PTSD". That's probably a good thing?- in order to help us to view trauma in a way that we can deal with it. IDK. I've been through a lot of trauma myself. I'd like to see an article on Daily Good regarding self-inflicted trauma, why we do it to ourselves and how to end those behaviors.

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Kristin Pedemonti Apr 26, 2018

Thank you so much for sharing Dr. Besser van Der Kolk's important work. Much of the work I do currently in storytelling focuses on how We become the stories we tell. The first phase is the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. These stories impact how we view ourselves, interact with others and navigate through challenges and situations. If we were traumatized, these stories in our heads often prevent us from being able to interact in a healthy way or even to allow ourselves to push through a challenge without being re-traumatized. The good news is, we are the author of our own story and with tools and techniques we can re-frame our narrative and tell a different more healthy story. I love doing this work and am grateful for your article re-confirming the power of story! <3

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Sabina Gatti Apr 23, 2018
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Anne Grant Apr 21, 2018

Thank you for this excellent introduction to Bessel van Der Kolk's work (and to others in the trauma field, like the South African experience, Joan Borysenko, tapping, Shakespeare for prisoners, etc.) So much excellent work is being done to help us notice and know ourselves more wholly. I appreciate the non-theist approach for those who have had traumatic experiences with people who use God-talk.

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Patrick Watters Apr 21, 2018

I would humbly add that the "life force" we are tapping into in healing is none other than the Lover of our very souls, Divine LOVE (God by any name we choose). }:- ❤️

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Linos Muvhu Apr 21, 2018

thanks good information