Customer Reviews

The Body Bears the Burden: Trauma, Dissociation, and Disease

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(0)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Here finally is the neurological basis for the weirdly persistent, highly distressing, ever-cycling symptoms of posttraumatic stress. Don't let the medical terminology stop you from reading this book. It's a stunning revelation to see how physiologically based this syndrome really is, rooted as it is in the survival imperative of the freeze response and it's cognitive partner, dissociation. Makes those diagnostic categories which most of us therapists got trained on pretty irrelevant! I leaned heavily on the fabulous info in this book to write my own chapter on the physiology of PTSD. It's a must read for people with PTSD, their family, friends and counselors.

When a thoughtful individual takes the time to summarize 30 years of experience, I view this as a great gift. When his insights allow us to help in treatment, it is a blessing. His major thesis is that trauma, when it produces a chronic stress disorder, can manifest in peculair physical ways. This is the key insight and Dr. Scaer backs his observations with lots of clinical and research data. No doubt some will find this a rigorous read, but it is well worth the effort. I had the opportunity to try this theory. A teacher in a rough part of town ( I live in NYC) witnessed in his class a fight where a student viciously punched a girl in the head, when the teacher interevened, the next blow was to the back of his head sending him into the chalk board and breaking his glasses. He presented 5 days later with classic post concussion syndrome of impaired memory, inablility to read and other congnitve deficits. Before I read Dr. Scaer's book, I would have have not been able to treat him, for, from a medical point of view, it was all the brain banging aroung in his skull that caused this. However, Dr. Scaer made me think that this was instead a PTSD from having witnessed a vicious attack. I treated him with EFT and remarkably two days later he was normal! (This would have usually taken many weeks). We are all searching for ways to treat PTSD, but at least we can now view some mystifying symptoms in a model for which hopefully soon we will be able to fix. Kudos, Dr. Scaer.

I like the first edition and this edition is even better!

I work in OB and have seen so many people who have been traumatized by the birth experience- both patients and healthcare givers alike.

I speak on "When Birth Causes Trauma" alot and this is one of the books that I refer my audience to.

This book should be in the library of everyone who deals with patients who have had a traumatic experience and any healthcare giver who has had a traumatic experience.

Paulina Perez, RN, BSN

Yes, as other reviewers have noted, this book has lots medical terminology. Yes, parts are repetitive, perhaps written more like a consultant's report than an easily digestible media bite. But the contents are well worth the effort.
I am in therapy, working on trauma issues, and this book brought so much together for me, and served as a guide to issues in my life that are very relevant.
If you're looking for another "flavor of the month" self help book, this is not for you. If you are struggling with PTSD, or think you may be, or are interested in MyoFascial Release, Somatic Experiencing, and other new therapies, this provides a great scientific grounding.
Highly recommended.

I have been studying and working with trauma for over 15 years. This is the
best book to this date which describes the neurological, emotional, and
therapeutic indices of working in this field.
Helen Resneck-Sannes, Ph.D. Licensed Psychologist
authors of Father's Rooms

This book is chock full of excellent information but be sure you have the "2nd" edition. The author notes the first edition was too technical and, at times, you'll find the second edition a bit too thorough, but well worth the trouble. His insights are groundbreaking.

I started reading this book after my Mother died. I wanted to understand why this extraordinary woman stayed with a man who was so emotionally neglectful and abusive. She died a shadow of who she was - why, what happened? Understanding how long term stress affects the physiology of the brain has been huge for me in reconnecting with her, forgiving her, and appreciating who she was, her strengths. I am deeply grateful for this book.

It also helps me understand the men and women I meet who seem to be giving away their power. I find I am more compassionate. I am curious, too, what these insights may mean for the neurologically oversensitive (Asperger's, autism, etc.).

This is a book that should be read by anyone who works in the field of body work, homeopathy, psychology, or medicine. It explains clearly how trauma is reflected in the body. This new edition can be read by anyone who has experienced past trauma and is asking themselves why they have particular symptoms. It lifts a burden for such a reader with the clarity of understanding that develops from reading this book.

I have read many books on this subject, and would rate this one the best.

This book changed my life. As someone who has lived with Traumatic Brain Injury and numerous odd symptoms, I have always believed that there was a missing piece of information that I hadn't found as to why my symptoms outlived the 'usual' time frames predicted. This book explained everything that had ever made sense to me in a way that connected the dots and provided a whole picture of trauma and its effects on the body and mind. I have loaned this book to a lot of my Specialists and friends who have all found enormous pleasure and intrigue in it. Groudbreaking for anyone who has survived trauma but hasnt found a way to step out of its shadow.

Scaer is an honest and courageous clinician: when his patients' course of healing did not add up he resisted dismissing them as most doctors had been doing and continue to do. His basic thesis, that emotional suffering is tied up with the autonomic nervous system, gives support to body-based versus cognitive therapies in general. That said, Scaer is oriented very much above the neck, in the brain. The title states 'the body bears the burden' but he himself sees the body as an implement of the mind, a pack-animal if you will, rather than a seat of the person. Also despite emphasizing that trauma is so widespread as almost to be universal, he still seems to consider it an accident or bad luck. That is, he does not deal with social and family dynamics that are systematically traumatizing people in the physiological sense that he describes.

This is right up there with the best books I've read in psychology (my field). He knows the subject well, has fresh insights and puts it together in a readable book. He does not repeat himself but flows from one idea to the next. I highly recommend this and have had others in my acquaintance say the same thing.