The Body Bears the Burden Quotes

“[Karl] grapples with his memories of belonging to a brilliantly effective Marine combat unit: [...]

"Why did I assume there was only one person inside me? ... There's a part of me that just loves maiming, killing, and torturing. This part of me isn't all of me. I have other elements that indeed are just the opposite, of which I am proud. So am I a killer? No, but part of me is. Am I a torturer? No, but part of me is. Do I feel horror and sadness when I read in the newspapers of an abused child? Yes... but am I fascinated?”
― Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Bears the Burden: Trauma, Dissociation, and Disease

“What does bodywork do for people? Licia’s reply: Just like you can thirst for water, you can thirst for touch. It is a comfort to be met confidently, deeply, firmly, gently, responsively. Mindful touch and movement grounds people and allows them to discover tensions that they may have held for so long that they are no longer even aware of them. When you are touched, you wake up to the part of your body that is being touched.”
― Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Bears the Burden: Trauma, Dissociation, and Disease

“Não nos conhecemos verdadeiramente a menos que sejamos capazes de sentir e de interpretar as nossas sensações físicas; para navegar em segurança pela vida, precisamos de tomar nota delas e de agir segundo o que nos dizem. Embora o torpor (ou a procura de sensações compensatórias) possa tornar a vida tolerável, o preço que se paga é perder a consciência do que se passa no nosso corpo e, com isso, o sentimento de estar plena e sensualmente vivo.”
― Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Bears the Burden: Trauma, Dissociation, and Disease

“ischemia,”
― Robert C. Scaer, The Body Bears the Burden: Trauma, Dissociation, and Disease