ABSTRACT

Terrible shocks are something the vast majority of us will have to manage at some time in our life. Yet, for many people, the parenting and education they receive provide them with few if any resources to know how to cope well with shocks. Without help to feel, think about and work through shock states, negative reverberations can cause long-term psychological problems. Also, when it is denied, shock can get locked in the body, resulting in all manner of illnesses and physical symptoms. As Bessel van der Kolk (1996), a famous researcher in traumatic stress, states: ‘The body keeps the score.’ Shock states can also badly affect the child’s ability to concentrate at school. Again to quote van der Kolk: ‘In traumatic stress we become frightened unthinking animals.’