He sat against the wall, looking at his phone, seeming to pay little to no attention to our discussion leader. His wife sat next to him with her arm looped through his, occasionally patting it lovingly. She was a regular attender to our class, but this was the first time I remembered seeing him.
As our Bible study continued, the topic of mental illness came up in our discussion. I mentioned the book I was reading, The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk (MD). I talked about how it was opening my eyes to the effects of trauma on an individual’s health, behavior, and relationships, and specifically, the effects of PTSD. I explained how it was changing the way I viewed many interactions and experiences, as well as the interpersonal dynamics of ministry, including small groups.
The man raised his head and said, “I have PTSD. It is hard for me to sit in this room . . . A lot of churches don’t think about me. I hope more people in the church read books like you’re reading.”
Dr. van der Kolk, an expert on trauma, has spent decades working with survivors, beginning when Vietnam veterans were returning home. In his book, he walks us through his education, experiences, and research to explain how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain.
Trauma is all around us. For example, van der Kolk points out that 1 in 5 Americans has been sexually abused, 1 in 4 grew up with alcoholics, and 1 in 3 couples have experienced physical violence. These are the shocking statistics of acute trauma experienced by so many. Van der Kolk’s research has also shown that chronic emotional abuse and neglect can be devastating to individuals.
This book wasn’t written from a biblical perspective or to a ministerial audience, yet I was struck by the echoes of biblical themes it contained. The cohesion between van der Kolk’s scientific findings and the truths of Scripture was fascinating. One of the fundamental truths that he presents in the book is that, “Our capacity to destroy one another is matched by our capacity to heal one another.”1Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma (Penguin Books, 2015), 2. This echoes the power of the tongue as described in Proverbs, Ephesians, and James. It was a reminder of how powerfully we can influence those around us, whether positively or negatively, with our words. His findings also highlighted that simple acts of friendship, kindness, community, and encouragement are critically important in people’s lives, demonstrating the importance of the Lord’s command to bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2).
Simple acts of friendship, kindness, community, and encouragement are critically important in people’s lives, demonstrating the importance of the Lord’s command to bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2).
The Body Keeps the Score influenced many areas of my life. It opened the door for a God-orchestrated conversation that I will never forget. It gave me a vocabulary and awareness of trauma that has allowed me to discuss difficult things with friends and family in a new way. I pray that many Christians will read this book. To love our neighbors well, we would be wise to develop a holistic understanding of the way God made us, body and soul, and the way our life experiences shape us so that we can remove any stumbling blocks to meeting others with the life-changing Word of God.
This book review is from the Winter 2024 issue of Light magazine, Finding Rest in the Wilderness: Hope and Help for Mental Health Struggles.
