The Body Keeps the Score explores how trauma affects both the brain and the body and why its effects can continue long after the original experience has passed. Bessel van der Kolk draws on neuroscience and decades of work with trauma to explain why people can continue to react to situations as though a past threat is still happening in the present.
Being trauma-informed is becoming increasingly important across all aspects of life, not just within clinical professions. As a coach, I work with leaders who are often trying to make sense of difficult behaviour in others or sometimes recognise it in themselves. A colleague may become defensive when challenged, frustrated or angry under pressure or withdraw during conflict. A trauma-informed approach gives leaders a different way of looking at these behaviours and considering what might be happening beneath the surface. This book provides a really useful insight into why these responses can occur.
One of the key messages of the book is that trauma is not simply a one-off event that happens and then passes. It can leave the brain and body changed and more sensitive to threat long after the actual danger has gone. In effect, the body can respond as though something from the past is happening again in the present. I found this particularly relevant when thinking about the workplace. A change in reporting line, public criticism, an HR investigation, conflict or a perceived loss of control might be manageable stress for one person but highly activating for another. Previous traumatic experiences can influence how someone responds to what may appear to everybody else to be a relatively minor event. It can be almost like a coiled spring, with each new experience adding to what is already there.
Van der Kolk also gives an accessible explanation of the neuroscience behind these responses. He looks at the interaction between the brain’s threat systems, including the amygdala, and the areas involved in memory, emotion and executive functioning. When we perceive a threat, our brains can prioritise survival over rational thought, meaning that fight, flight or freeze responses can take over. This helps explain why someone’s reaction in a stressful situation might seem disproportionate when viewed purely from the outside.
Another important point is that trauma is not purely psychological. Van der Kolk explains how traumatic experiences can affect physical as well as mental health, influencing sleep, concentration, emotional regulation and our ability to feel safe. Over time, chronic stress and trauma can also contribute to more serious physical health problems. In the workplace, leaders might see some of this through hypervigilance, strong reactions to feedback, difficulty concentrating, emotional volatility, withdrawal, difficulty trusting others, disconnection or a particularly strong need for control.
For me, one of the most useful aspects of the book is how this understanding can change the way leaders respond to people. Rather than immediately labelling someone as difficult, resistant or overly emotional, it encourages us to consider what might be driving the behaviour and how we can respond responsibly. Van der Kolk also discusses the way the effects of trauma can extend beyond the individual and potentially influence future generations, which further highlights the importance of creating environments where people experience safety and stability.
In practical terms, this has clear implications for leadership. Being predictable, explaining change properly, giving people an appropriate sense of choice and agency, avoiding unnecessary humiliation, listening before immediately trying to fix a problem and being conscious of how power is experienced can all make a difference.
Ultimately, The Body Keeps the Score is a reminder that none of us arrives at work without a history. We all bring our nervous systems, previous experiences and learned survival responses with us. For leaders in particular, understanding this does not mean excusing every difficult behaviour, but it can help us become more thoughtful about what may sit behind it and how we choose to respond.