Prologue Discussion Questions

[the Sarcastic Autist]

1)This book gets pretty activating at times and is often referred to as “The Bible of Trauma”. What is your coping ahead plan if this book becomes too much?



2)Which of the three ‘avenues’

• {1}top down, by talking, [re]connecting with others, and allowing ourselves to know and understand what is going on with us, while processing the memories of the trauma;
• {2} by taking medicines that shut down inappropriate alarm reactions, or by utilizing other technologies that change the way the brain organizes information;
• and {3} bottom up: by allowing the body to have experiences that deeply and viscerally contradict the helplessness, rage, or collapse that result from trauma
  

have been most beneficial or do you think would be most beneficial for you?


3)van der Kolk says ‘visceral’ or a variation of it several times throughout the book. The definition of ‘visceral’ is “ felt in or as if in the internal organs, dealing with crude or elemental emotions”. Keeping both context and definition in mind, discuss the importance of knowing how your body responds to feelings and emotions.



NOTE: Emotions are the experience, feelings are the physical part.

[karlithekidd]

1) Should this book become too much for me I am going to put it down and take a break. I know that might sound so simple but sometimes I have the habit of continuing certain things just to "get it over with". I haven't brought this up with my therapist (yet) but my Psychiatrist recommended multiple times to take my time with it and avert to other more pleasant things until I'm ready to come back to it.

2)Based on the three avenues I would say that talking and connecting with others is the most beneficial for me. Though I have used to medications in the past and it did help I tend to start underestimating how much they work and also take more than advised. I now try to avoid this if possible.
As for the third one I find that I am confused by it. Is this implying the Gate Control Theory that if we used something else to "counter-act" the initial response we can confuse the body sensations about what it is feeling/experiencing? I would appreciate it if someone could clear this up for me a little and possibly provide examples.

3) For the body to process and react to certain types of stress is an inherent survival trait. By activating our Sympathetic Response and engaging the General Adaptation Syndrome (fight or flight) our body can engage certain visceral responses to 1) alert us of possible danger and 2) attempt to get us out of danger. Such as increasing the endorphins and adrenaline in the brain, speeding up the heart and respiration rate, and increasing our digestion, all of us let our bodies know that something is happening that shouldn't be and it needs to prepare itself. While this can be beneficial it can also end up exacerbating us. By beginning to listen to our bodies and eventually being able to pinpoint what brings about this visceral changes we can become more mindful of our surroundings and our current emotions and eventually be able to combat the situation should we need to.

This is my take on it and I hope this makes sense. I apologize if it sounds like incoherent babble and I can expand or shorten it if anyone needs me to.

[the Sarcastic Autist]

No worries, dude! Everything I say is incoherent babble! In all seriousness though, I think you have great responses.

For your question on number 2, I believe it means being able to have your body eventually relax and submit, going back to a pre-trauma state rather than the constant activated state. To clarify, for me, it means being able to take control of situations where I previously shut down in, like standing up for myself rather than allowing someone to verbally abuse me. Or, instead of shutting down with flashbacks, being able to at least be somewhat functional when I'm activated. Does that make sense? It's sort of like opposite to emotion stuff, I think. I'll try to remember to ask my therapist about it tomorrow.

You forgot freeze. It's okay, everyone does. It's fight, flight, or freeze. And my computer just got me on spellcheck because I put flight first. I understand your point. By being able to put words into what we are feeling in our physical bodies when we are experiencing emotions, we should be able to counteract any 'negative' feelings and emotions by directly affecting the body itself. That basically it, yeah?

[karlithekidd]

I can't believe I forgot to mention Freeze when that's exactly what I do when I encounter a problem. There should be a fourth one as well known as fawn. I think it's about flattering your abuser. (?)

My idea is that there are Physiological Responses our body naturally goes through and yes we can then change how we are affected by it.

Also thank you for explaining number 2 to me. In another example would this be like taking a xanax in the event of a panic attack?