The Body Trauma Expert: This Eye Movement Trick Can Fix Your Trauma! The Body Keeps The Score!

Here are the top 10 key takeaways from Dr. Bessel van der Kolk's conversation on "The Diary of A CEO" podcast that could transform how you understand trauma and healing.

1. Trauma is a visceral experience stored in the body

Trauma is not primarily a story or a mental construct but a deeply physical experience stored in the body. Dr. van der Kolk explains that trauma manifests as physical sensations like heartbreak, gut wrench, stiffening up, or surrendering. This visceral experience fundamentally changes how a person feels in their body and relates to the world around them.

The body literally "keeps the score" of traumatic experiences, which is the title of Dr. van der Kolk's influential book. When someone is experiencing trauma, the cognitive part of their brain often shuts down, leaving them in what he describes as "one ball of emotion" where there is no thinking. This makes trauma a "speechless experience" that cannot simply be talked away.

2. Childhood experiences profoundly shape adult identity

Early childhood experiences create the foundation of who we become as adults. Dr. van der Kolk states that approximately 90% of the patients he treats have childhood trauma at the root of their adult dysfunction. These early experiences form an "internal roster" or map of the world that shapes how we expect to be treated and how we perceive reality.

Children essentially become how people see them. If a child is consistently told they are cute or lovable, that becomes their reality and identity. Conversely, if they're told they're ugly, nasty, or mean, that also becomes internalized. These imprints of early experience are very difficult to change and require specific therapeutic approaches that go beyond traditional talk therapy.

3. The brain's alarm system becomes dysregulated by trauma

Trauma significantly affects the brain's functioning, particularly the parts responsible for detecting danger. A key area is the periaqueductal gray, which Dr. van der Kolk calls the "cockpit center" of the brain. In traumatized individuals, this area tends to fire constantly, creating an ongoing sense of subliminal dread and danger.

Brain scans of people reliving trauma show distinct patterns. The right side of the brain becomes highly activated (the feeling part), while the left side (involved in cognition) often shuts down. Additionally, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which functions as the brain's timekeeper, goes offline. This explains why traumatized people lose perspective and can't distinguish between past and present – the trauma feels like it's happening now, not just a memory.

4. EMDR therapy can effectively heal trauma

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy has shown remarkable effectiveness in treating trauma. The process involves moving the eyes back and forth while recalling a traumatic experience. This seemingly simple technique helps the brain process the traumatic memory as something that happened in the past rather than something occurring in the present.

Dr. van der Kolk's research found that 78% of people with adult-onset trauma were completely cured after EMDR treatment. During the podcast, he demonstrated the technique briefly, and the host reported feeling calmer and finding it harder to recall why he was bothered by the memory he had focused on. The therapy activates pathways between brain regions that help create a distinction between past experiences and present reality.

5. Body-based approaches are essential for healing trauma

Conventional Western approaches to psychological healing typically rely on either medication or talk therapy. However, Dr. van der Kolk emphasizes that somatic (body-based) therapies are crucial for trauma recovery. These approaches include yoga, martial arts, dance, and various forms of movement that help people reconnect with their bodies.

When people are traumatized, they often disconnect from their physical sensations as a defensive measure against overwhelming feelings. Practices like yoga help them safely reconnect with their bodies and develop a new relationship with physical sensations. Dr. van der Kolk conducted studies showing that yoga was very effective for treating PTSD, activating brain areas that had been dampened by trauma. Movement-based therapies provide experiences of agency, connection, and pleasure that are essential for healing.

6. Community and connection are fundamental to healing

Trauma is fundamentally a breakdown of connection between human beings. Dr. van der Kolk explains that healing requires experiencing genuine connection with others. He expresses concern about increasing loneliness in modern society and views it as a major challenge to mental health.

Activities that foster synchronicity and connection with others are particularly healing. Examples include playing sports, making music together, participating in theater, or simply moving in rhythm with others. These shared physical experiences create bonds that counteract the isolation of trauma. Dr. van der Kolk notes that even combat veterans, who have experienced extreme trauma, often form profound bonds with each other through shared physical experiences in basic training and combat.

7. Psychedelic therapy shows promising results for trauma treatment

Dr. van der Kolk has conducted research on psychedelic therapy, particularly with MDMA, and found "stunning" results. The treatment combines traditional psychotherapy with the administration of MDMA in a safe, supportive environment. The approach has been particularly effective in helping patients develop self-compassion and even compassion for those who hurt them.

One key finding was that psychedelic therapy helped change people's relationship with themselves, not just reducing PTSD symptoms. The treatment allowed patients to access deeper levels of self-understanding and to view their experiences from new perspectives. Dr. van der Kolk describes psychedelics as a "true revolution" in mental health treatment, though he emphasizes that the context and support provided during these experiences are crucial for positive outcomes.

8. Trauma creates distortions in perception that persist into adulthood

Trauma fundamentally alters how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Dr. van der Kolk explains that traumatic experiences form an "internal roster" that makes people expect certain reactions or situations based on past experiences. This can lead to misinterpretations of neutral situations as threatening or dangerous.

He describes an experiment with inkblot tests where Vietnam veterans saw bloody corpses or mutilated bodies in formless ink patterns, while those without combat experience did not see these images. Similarly, rape victims perceived torn bodies or genitalia that others did not see. These perceptual differences demonstrate how trauma becomes lodged in the perceptual system, causing individuals to continuously interpret the world through the lens of their past traumatic experiences.

9. The traditional mental health system often fails trauma patients

Dr. van der Kolk is critical of conventional approaches to mental health treatment. He argues that the focus on productivity, behavioral change, and financial considerations often prevents truly effective treatment. The diagnostic system, he says, "just sucks" and lacks scientific validity, being merely "a total artifact" created decades ago.

Many effective treatments for trauma remain outside mainstream practice because they don't fit neatly into insurance-reimbursable models. He recounts a conversation with an insurance company executive who admitted, "I'm not interested in getting people better; I'm interested in having as many subscribers to my plan as I can." This profit motive, according to Dr. van der Kolk, is "killing good practice" and preventing the application of newer, more effective approaches based on neuroscience and body-based therapies.

10. Trauma is healable with the right approaches

Despite the challenges of trauma recovery, Dr. van der Kolk maintains an optimistic view that trauma can be healed. He has documented numerous effective treatments, including EMDR, yoga, neurofeedback, psychodrama, and psychedelic therapy. These approaches have demonstrated significant success, even with patients who suffered from severe trauma.

Healing involves more than just symptom reduction; it requires developing a new relationship with oneself and one's body. Dr. van der Kolk emphasizes that finding the right treatment often requires exploration and may be somewhat accidental. He encourages people to trust their experience of what is helpful rather than blaming themselves when a particular approach doesn't work. The hopeful message throughout is that with appropriate treatment, people can recover from even profound trauma.