THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE

Trauma, van der Kolk argues, isn't just a past event. It's an imprint on the mind, brain, and body that keeps survivors stuck in survival mode. The body "keeps the score," holding sensations and threat responses that words can't reach, so healing needs both top-down work (talk, understanding, connection) and bottom-up work (regulating the body through breath, movement, rhythm, touch). The book surveys body-based methods like yoga, EMDR, neurofeedback, and communal practices as complements to traditional therapy.

Heal body and mind

1. Start with the body. Trauma lives in nervous-system dysregulation, so healing works bottom-up (breath, movement, calming physical arousal) and top-down (talk, reasoning, connection). Talking alone often can't resolve it. (source, source)
2. Slow, deep breathing and gentle movement calm hyperarousal. Yoga improves heart-rate variability, retuning the nervous system so the body can shift between stress and relaxation instead of staying on high alert. (source, source, source)
3. Sense and name what you feel. Notice and label how anger, fear, or calm physically feel (tension, tingling, a churning gut, openness in the chest). This mindful body-awareness strengthens the part of the brain that quiets fear. (source, source)
4. Consider EMDR for intrusive memories. Recalling the event while doing bilateral stimulation (side-to-side eye movements) reprocesses the memory, lowering its vividness and emotional charge, sometimes without verbalizing every detail. (source, source)
5. Heal in connection with others. Safe, attuned relationships let the nervous system co-regulate and return to calm, and supportive people can even soften whether an event becomes traumatic. Isolation deepens trauma; belonging is itself therapeutic. (source, source)
6. Counter shame with self-compassion. Treat yourself with the kindness you'd give a friend. This soothes the self-blame and secrecy that keep trauma stuck, and helps regulate emotional storms. (source, source)
7. Restore agency through physical action. Completing the defensive moves the body couldn't make during trauma (striking, pushing, running, self-defense practice) reconditions the freeze response and rebuilds felt control. (source, source)
8. Join rhythmic group activities. Drumming, singing, dancing, or theater synchronize the nervous system and restore attunement and belonging, countering the isolation trauma brings. (source, source, source)
9. Express yourself through writing, art, music, or dance. These nonverbal practices process what words can't reach, letting people reorient, find identity, and restore meaning. (source, source)
10. Be an active participant, not a passive patient. Combine methods rather than waiting for one cure, and expect a process: keep trying new approaches, learning, growing, because no single intervention heals trauma alone. (source, source)