What
The Body Keeps the Score
Taught Me
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk’s work is revolutionary—not because he wants to "fix" patients, but because he chooses to hear them. His book The Body Keeps the Score opened my eyes to the deep, often invisible imprint trauma leaves on the body.
This post is the first of many where I’ll break down valuable insights from the book—and the personal realizations they triggered.
⚡ INESCAPABLE SHOCK: Understanding Learned Helplessness
(Inspired by Chapter 2: Revolutions in Understanding Mind and Brain, p. 29)
Let’s start with a shocking (literally) experiment by Steve Maier and Martin Seligman:
Researchers gave electric shocks to dogs. After repeated shocks in locked cages, the dogs stopped trying to escape—even when the doors were open.
- Dogs who had never been shocked, Escaped.
- Dogs who had been shocked before whimpered and stayed.
