The Body Keeps the Score- A Reflection

van der Kolk, B. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Penguin Books.

“How do horrific experiences cause people to become hopelessly stuck in the past? What happens in people’s minds and brains that keeps them frozen, trapped in a place they desperately wish to escape?”

— (p. 10)

This was a quote that I underlined because I too, wonder about the answer to these questions. Van Der Kolk's questions sum up what it's like to experience trauma and become traumatic. Trauma, when it's not processed, cause people to become stuck in the past. I think my biggest takeaway after learning about trauma is that not all trauma is traumatic and not all trauma results in PTSD. In other words, human beings are resilient and capable of healing. This perspective has helped me to move away from the pathologization of symptoms. In other words, human beings are allowed to and they do experience sadness, joy, frustration, contentment, excitement, anger, and more in response to experiences.

It has been hard to sit in a classroom to learn about trauma practice with youth and families while a genocide against the Palestinians is happening. There were many times when I was sitting in class and could not fully focus because my mind drifts to the traumatic experiences that the Palestinians are experiencing. As of March 15, 2024, there has been 31,923 Palestinians and about 1,139 people killed in Israel since October 7. Of the Palestinians killed, more than 12,416 were children and more than 8,400 were women. There has been 78,089 people injured (8,663 children and 6,327 women) thus far. There is more than 8,000 people missing. In Israel, there were 1,139 people killed and at least 8,730 injured. Across Gaza, more than half of their homes, 360,000 residential units, have been destroyed or damaged. Educational facilities, hospitals, groundwater wells, and places of worship have also been damaged. What do we do when we know through the videos and first-hand account that as a collective, the Palestinians are experiencing traumatic events? I have asked myself many times, what would I have done during those times throughout history when different communities were killed and persecuted. This is a question that I constantly ask myself so that I don't disassociate and go on with my life as if a genocide is not happening. All those times I learned about historical trauma and collective trauma, it was about what happened in the past and how those events had impacted and continue to impact those communities in the present. But the "collective trauma" is happening now.  Consider this: 

“We have also begun to understand how overwhelming experiences affect our innermost sensations and our relationship to our physical reality- the core of who we are. we have learned that trauma is not just an event that took place sometime in the past; it is also the imprint left by that experience on mind, brain, and body. This imprint has ongoing consequences for how the human organism manages to survive in the present… Trauma results in a fundamental reorganization of the way mind and brain manage perceptions. It changes not only how we think and what we think about, but also our very capacity to think. We have discovered that helping victims of trauma find the words to describe what has happened to them is profoundly meaningful, but usually it is not enough... For real change to take place, the body needs to learn that the danger has passed and to live in the reality of the present” (pg. 21).

Van der Kolk (2014) posits that real change takes place when the body learn that the danger has passed. My question is, when will this be for the Palestinian people? When will the danger pass? When will they be able to sit and process all that has happened? 

I feel like when we talk about collective trauma and historical trauma, we have a duty to answer the question of, what now? So, now that I have learned about this, what now? I have learned from many great thinkers that knowledge is power and with power comes responsibility. As individuals, we could take the following action to put pressure on our elected officials to support an immediate deescalation and cease-fire in Israel and occupied Palestine. Even if you disagree on all that I have said, I hope our values are the same: all human beings deserve to live with dignity and respect and feel safe.  

Action steps to support an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire

A. Do your own research and ask questions about the genocide against the Palestinians to be informed and stay informed. Some sources to get started include Amnesty International; jewishvoiceforpeace; theimeu; @palestinianyouthmovement; @spvorg; @visualizing_palestine; @aljazeeraenglish; and @palestinianfeministcollective. 

B. Post on your social media platforms to voice your support for a permanent ceasefire. It does matter! When you post your support you are planting a seed, whether that is curiosity, discomfort, sadness, or anger, and is drawing attention to the issue. 

C. Demand A Ceasefire In Gaza is a website with different action items that people living in the UK, Canada, and the U.S could take. This ranges from going to a protest to writing and calling your elected officials. 

It's okay to be uncomfortable and/or confused with what you have learned and will learn. But I challenge you to move beyond your discomfort and use your voice in whatever way you can. You don't have to do every action items because I understand that in terms of advocacy, there are different comfort levels. But I challenge you to do at least one of the listed.