The Body Trauma Expert: Medicating Kids Can Harm Brain Development! Eye Movement Trick That Fixes Trauma! The Secret To EMDR Therapy! - Bessel van Der Kolk

About this episode

50-70% of people will experience a trauma in their life, but how do you heal from these devastating experiences? If the Body Keeps the Score, according to Bessel van der Kolk this is how you get even with trauma. Bessel van der Kolk is Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine and President of the Trauma Research Foundation. He is the author of the global bestselling book ‘The Body Keeps The Score’. In this conversation, Bessel and Steven discuss topics such as, how to heal from childhood trauma, the benefits of EMDR therapy, the link between screens and loneliness, and how trauma physically changes your brain. 00:00 Intro 02:32 Bessel's Mission 03:09 What Is Trauma? 04:37 What Trauma Treatments Do You Disagree With? 06:03 Does Rationalising Your Trauma Help? 07:01 What Is Considered Trauma? 09:40 Can Small Events Lead to Trauma? 10:20 Bessel's Experience as a Psychiatrist 12:43 Bessel's Parents 15:31 Consequences of Child Abuse 16:07 Is It Important to Understand Childhood Experiences? 16:42 Was Your Mother an Incest Victim? 17:31 How Many Patients Trace Issues to Childhood Experiences? 18:01 Examples of Child Abuse 19:18 How Culture Influences Parenting 21:52 Disciplining Children 24:03 Liberation Equals Separation 25:44 What Did You Learn for Your Children? 27:01 Medical Treatment for Behavioural Dysfunctions in Children 30:36 Impact of Movement on Healing 32:00 Importance of Secure Attachment to a Caregiver 32:57 Can You Heal from Childhood Trauma? 34:32 The Body Keeps the Score 36:27 Somatic Approach to Healing 36:53 Are Women More in Touch with Somatic Healing? 38:02 Impact of Trauma on Creativity 41:14 Trauma as a Perception 45:05 How Many People Have Trauma? 45:50 How Does Trauma Affect Brain Activity? 50:00 Study: Reliving a Traumatic Event 55:13 Most Radical Improvement in Clinical Practice 55:55 EMDR 59:01 Demonstration of EMDR 1:04:12 Breath work 1:05:55 Impact of Yoga on Trauma 1:06:23 Study: Effects of a Weekly Yoga Class 1:08:09 Disconnection and Hypersensitivity 1:10:26 Impact of Physical Activity on Trauma 1:13:15 Picking Up People's Energy 1:16:01 Challenges of Individualistic Cultures 1:16:48 Role of Community and Social Connections in Trauma 1:17:37 Are Women Better at Forming Connections? 1:18:19 Building Relationships in the Army 1:19:13 Building Connections Through Sports 1:20:19 How to Get By in an Individualistic Society 1:21:13 Are You Optimistic About the Future? 1:22:12 Are You Able to Point Out Anything Good About Trump? 1:22:33 Human Inclination Toward Fighting 1:22:54 Three Ways to Reverse the Damage of Trauma 1:25:52 Types of Brainwaves 1:27:48 Psychedelic Therapy 1:28:26 Body Practices 1:29:07 Is Touch Healing? 1:29:21 Talk Therapy 1:29:46 Bessel's View on Taking Medications 1:30:08 The Bottom-Up Approach 1:31:53 Does Going to the Gym Help? 1:34:05 Bessel's View on Psychedelic Therapy 1:38:00 Effects of MDMA 1:39:25 Impact of Psychedelics on Treatment-Resistant Depression 1:40:32 Bessel's Experience with Psychedelics 1:43:11 How Did Psychedelic Experiences Change You? 1:43:48 Have You Healed from Your Trauma? 1:44:36 Psychodrama 1:49:33 The Rise in ADHD Diagnoses 1:51:45 Cause of ADHD 1:52:42 Is ADHD Over diagnosed? 1:55:21 How Can We Raise Untraumatised Kids? 1:56:24 Helping People in Traumatic Events 1:58:20 Question from the Previous Guest Follow Bessel:  Website - https://g2ul0.app.link/fJd55uRwqPb  Studies mentioned: besselvanderkolk.tiiny.co You can purchase Bessel’s book, ‘The Body Keeps The Score’, here: https://g2ul0.app.link/hLePea0wqPb  Get your hands on the Diary Of A CEO Conversation Cards here: https://appurl.io/iUUJeYn25v You can purchase the The Diary Of A CEO Conversation Cards: Second Edition, here: https://g2ul0.app.link/f31dsUttKKb  Follow me: https://g2ul0.app.link/gnGqL4IsKKb   Sponsors: PerfectTed - https://www.perfectted.com with code DIARY40 for 40% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices