During the time when research and initial discourse on trauma was gaining traction within psychology, professionals in the field held that trauma was uncommon and seen only in extreme cases like war veterans. Renowned psychiatrist and neuroscientist Bessel van der Kolk, MD, gives a sit-down talk on his experiences with redefining and understanding trauma since its inception, and how these findings influenced his most recent literature work. In the video by expert-driven YouTube channel Big Think, Van der Kolk explains the extreme prevalence of trauma within ordinary people, families, and children. 

“Trauma is so ubiquitous that if you think you have never seen it, you have not looked,” says Bessel, who has experience treating a vast number of traumatized populations in many different countries and circumstances. His work with Vietnam war veterans led to his initial definition of PTSD as being the symptoms that follow a psychologically traumatic event, which is not within the range of the usual human experience. It was this last part of the definition Bessel later revised after working with inner city kids from seemingly normal families. Trauma is everywhere, he realized, and the ways it manifests in our bodies can have long-lasting effects.

In the video, Van der Kolk explains how a traumatic experience enters the body and is automatically interpreted by the amygdala, after which the body goes into fight, flight, or collapse. In the aftermath, trauma lingers in the brain and elicits reactions to ordinary stressors as though we are in danger. This can manifest as road rage, rash behaviour, and hyperreactivity to name a few. More so than medications and extensive therapy treatments, Bessel highlights the importance of fostering safe relationships where one can express their feelings and pain, as an effective approach to healing. In this way, people with trauma can learn to understand how their past experiences have transformed them and work to restore their mind and body to a state of successful functioning within society.

Watch the video here.

Image Credit: Jeswin Thomas on Pexels