The Body Keeps the Score: A Reflection

Another reflection for Theological Reflections on Trauma. I got an 88.

Reflection: The Body Keep the Score

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:38-39

When speaking of mental illness it is not uncommon to hear people exclaim “It’s all in your head.” But in 2014 after more than four decades of research, psychologist Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk argues in his book The Body Keeps the Score it is precisely because it is in ones head we should be mindful. In his introduction, Van Der Kolk writes “As human beings we belong to an extremely resilient species... But traumatic experiences leave traces on our minds and emotions, on our capacity for joy and intimacy, and even on our biology and immune systems... But we will also see that the imprints from the past can be transformed.” Though religion is not expressly mentioned in The Body Keeps the Score, I found myself harkening to Paul’s letter to the Romans, drawing parallels between Chapter 8 and Dr. Van Der Kolk’s breakdown of childhood trauma from sexual or physical abuse.

Death nor Life

Though a near-death experience is not required to develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Van Der Kolk does indicate the cause does have a life-changing effect, be it horrific images from war, rape as a teenager, or a childhood wrought with sexual and physical abuse. With any traumatic event, the common factor is the survivor experienced something horrible, were unable to communicate it to others, and instead turned the pain inwards where it began to tear them apart. This double-isolation, from others and from oneself, is, in his opinion, the key to the lasting trauma and therefor the answer to healing. He spends the bulk of his book illustrating ways to reconnect with others and oneself, through acupuncture, massage, yoga, EMDR, journaling, and talk therapy. Each example has a dedicated chapter explaining how the exercises gently draw your emotions and mind to reconnect with your body, and in turn reconnect with others. In my own times of working through trauma, when I was too afraid or ashamed to share with others, my primary comfort was knowing that in this new death-like life, there was and is a God who “helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” (Rom. 8.26)

“The Present” nor the Future

“Being traumatized means continuing to organize your life as if the trauma were still going on- unchanged and immutable- as every new encounter or event is contaminated by the past.” (53) Trauma refuses to adhere to the laws of time. While the average person may look back at an upsetting moment and recall the pangs of the past, a traumatized person is unable to differentiate then from now. Innocent, everyday occurrences might trigger a flashback: The scent of cookies sends you to when you were burned on the oven, your baby crying is really you crying, a thoughtless stroke of the arm by a friend becomes that relative who touched you. The past is never finished, the present is an endless threat, and the future offers no hope, instead the expectation is of more pain and fear. “They continued to be “there” and did not know how the be “here” - fully alive in the present.” (47) In other cases, in an effort to save itself, the mind will block out the memory, forcing the child to forget. “Some people simply go into denial: Their bodies register the threat, but their conscious minds go on as if nothing has happened... the mind may learn to ignore the messages from the emotional brain, the alarm signals don’t stop.” (46) In such cases the child may grow up responding in ways ‘instinctively,’ genuinely unaware why they cringe when touched, or feel sick at certain scents. Decades later as memories may gradually return, the adult will often question their own sanity, wanting to believe it’s merely a long-forgotten nightmare. When trauma causes memory and time to no longer be dependable, I have often found myself turning to the God who moves freely, unbound by such constraints: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. ... Creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” (Rom. 18-21)

Angels nor Demons

Of every form of trauma, but especially childhood abuse, the prevalent emotions found are overwhelming shame, and self-hatred. “For many children it is safer to hate themselves than to risk their relationship with their caregivers by expressing anger or by running away. As a result, abused children are likely to grow up believing that they are fundamentally unlovable; that was the only way their young minds could explain why they were treated so badly.” (281) It has been well known for decades that abuse has an adverse psychological effect on how one views relationships as a whole: If one’s upbringing was marred with danger and shame at the hands of those who were supposed to be trusted to care for the child, it would be easy to believe in a world that cared nothing for the weak, and fearing human connection. But just as it was a relationship that hurt the child, so it must be relationships that heal. “Traumatized human beings recover in the context of relationships... much of the wiring of our brain circuits is devoted to being in tune with others. Recovery from trauma involved (re)connecting with our fellow human beings. This is why trauma that has occurred within relationships is generally more difficult to treat than trauma resulting from traffic accidents of natural disasters... Relief does not come until they are able to acknowledge what has happened and recognize the invisible demons they’re struggling with.” (212) Therefor passages in the Bible that speak of suffering and adoption could serve as a comfort. “... You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry “Abba! Father!” The spirit himself bears witness with out spirit that we are children of God.” (Rom 8.15-16)

Bessel Van Der Kolk’s compassionate look at trauma and Romans 8 together stirs the question for the reader: Is healing possible? Could it be that the ones who hurt me were the one who were wrong? Is it possible I could be loved for myself? Grace and science are in agreement and say yes. To hear this and dare to believe it, such things could begin to fan the flame of hope and gradually break the cycle of shame and self-hatred. It may even be the spark that helps the reader grow to long for and eventually experience this inseparable love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Works Cited

Van Der Kolk, Bessel. The Body Keeps the Score. New York: Penguin Random House LLC. 2014

The Bible. English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, 2016