Criticisms of “The Body Keeps the Score”

The Body Keeps the Score is bullshit, but this Substack is even more bullshit. The author criticizes Bessel van der Kolk for failing to prove causation, and then writes this gibberish:

"In the textbook Evolutionary Psychology, the authors explain that a particular hunter gatherer population isn’t as susceptible to PTSD despite being exposed to similarly tragic events. They argue that part of the physiological changes that come along with PTSD are increased inflammation in the body. Thus, the inflammatory nature of a standard western diet may make some people more susceptible to PTSD."

"A 2020 study on Turkana warriors in Kenya found them to be much less likely to develop PTSD-related symptoms compared to US combat vets despite also experiencing gruesome acts in a war zone."

Where is the proof that diet causes PTSD?

There is nothing funnier about HN than the constant insistence that "The mainstream media is bad and lying to you" while voting random Substack and Medium writers with zero experience or training or authority to the front page.

That goes together nicely with everyone on HN insisting that HN commenters are "special" and "different" from people on the rest of the internet. I guess because we are more likely to like the color orange?

Most people insist they are above average drivers.

He's relaying what the textbook he cited claimed. You'll have to check the textbook for their sources. Getting into the weeds about different theories for why various hunter-gatherer societies have lower rates of PTSD is rather off-topic for this blog post. They're just trying to raise a few counter-examples to trauma causing this dysfunction and suggest that unhealthy people or people with abnormal brain scans may be more susceptible to trauma. This would invalidate many of the arguments in The Body Keeps the Score.

You're not wrong, but "The Body keeps the Score" is hardly mainstream science either.