Let me start off by saying that no one wants to experience pain, let alone chronic pain or chronic symptoms. If you're here because of chronic pain or persistent symptoms, I want to emphasize that what you're feeling is REAL. You're not imagining it. You’re not making it up. Your experiences are valid.
I state this because I’ve had moments throughout my journey where I felt dismissed, belittled, misunderstood, and judged by healthcare practitioners, and even from some people in my life. When each test result or scan comes back “normal,” there’s that moment of relief, but then you’re left thinking, “Then why am I in pain?”
It is likely that you continue searching for an answer to explain the pain or the symptoms, only to be met with, “There’s nothing wrong with you.” Or you may receive a practitioner's speculation or best guess as to the cause without any concrete evidence. Perhaps you’ve been told by a healthcare provider that “It’s all in your head.” At this point, you may be given a prescription for medication with numerous side effects. It is also quite possible that you’ve been dismissed from a practitioner’s office without any explanation as to what’s happening. You leave with more questions than answers. Emotions like frustration, anger, hurt, sadness, fear, hopelessness, and despair may surface. You may fear that you’ll never get better. You may worry that the pain will only get worse as time goes on. You start losing hope. You may start to believe that there’s nothing you can do except exist, and deal with the pain for the remainder of your life.
If you resonate with any of this, I encourage you to continue reading through this blog post. It is my hope that my story and my experience with using the Curable app will offer you hope; hope that there is a way out.
Disclaimer: The content of this blog post reflects my personal experiences using the Curable app. I am not associated with the company other than being a user of their app and participating in the Curable Groups program. I have not received compensation for this post. The information provided in this post is not intended to replace or serve as an alternative to advice from a healthcare professional. If you have any medical questions or concerns, please consult with your healthcare provider. Additionally, you could discuss with your healthcare provider whether incorporating Curable into your journey could be beneficial.
Table of Contents
My Chronic Pain Story
My story of symptoms started in childhood; however at the time, these symptoms were acute as they would come and go. I would get at least one to two headaches every month as a child. At the time, it was believed that it was connected to my eyesight as I needed eyeglasses. It was believed that the headaches were coming on because I was straining my eyes to see the writing on the chalkboard at school. Additionally, I experienced chest pains as a child. These pains were dismissed as “growing pains” by physicians.
In my teenage years, the mild headaches turned into tension headaches and migraines, with migraines occurring up to four times a month. Tension headaches often surfaced during school assignments or during study sessions. Around age 16, I noticed my heart rate increasing even at rest, accompanied by heart palpitations and occasional dizziness. After consulting a cardiologist and undergoing tests, I was diagnosed with tachycardia and prescribed Beta-blockers to manage the rapid heart rate.
A few years later, I experienced a severe episode of heart palpitations, prompting me to recognize the need for change. At the time, I believed that my diet was responsible for the fast heart rate. I decided to eliminate caffeine, refined sugar, dairy, and fast food from my diet. To my immense relief, these changes resulted in a reduction in heart palpitations.
During university, the headaches worsened. I remember a two-week bout of a tension headache that wouldn’t go away no matter how much Tylenol or Advil I took. At the same time, sinus infections became increasingly common, especially during Teacher’s College, where I endured eight sinus infections within a year. I attributed these to exposure to viruses from children who attended school while unwell.
After graduation, I began experiencing painful and tingling sensations in my right hand, which I attributed to possible carpal tunnel syndrome from repetitive movements like writing and typing. An electromyography (EMG) test showed no nerve-related issues. Specialists suggested yoga to strengthen my hands, wrists, and arms. After a month of a consistent yoga practice, the sensations disappeared.
Upon securing a position as an occasional teacher for a public school board, I was on cloud nine. Finally, I was in my dream career! All my years of hard work had finally paid off. However, my initial excitement quickly turned to dismay as I encountered unexpected behavioral and safety challenges in the classroom. What I had envisioned as a dream career soon felt like a nightmare. Feeling trapped and overwhelmed, my body screamed for escape.
Fear gripped me when considering leaving the teaching profession, a goal I’d pursued for years. The significant investment of time and energy, along with the perks of being a classroom teacher, weighed heavily on my mind. Would people see me as a failure if I abandoned this path? Would my loved ones judge me for leaving a stable, lucrative career? How could I cope with feelings of shame, embarrassment, and guilt?
I chose to ignore what my body was communicating to me. I decided that I would push down my thoughts and feelings. I convinced myself that things would get better. I told myself that I would grow to love this profession in time. I chose to mask my true feelings, adopting the mantra, “Fake it till you make it.” Even though I was doing everything in my power to convince myself that all was well, my body started to protest in some unexpected and unpleasant ways.
After a day of teaching, I often returned home feeling tense, exhausted, and frequently suffered from tension headaches or migraines. I experienced strange sensations suggesting poor blood flow to the right side of my head and ear, causing me to feel off balance and light-headed. Additionally, about once a week, I would wake up in the middle of the night feeling nauseous or experiencing a panic attack.
Concerned about these persistent and alarming symptoms, I sought medical advice. The doctor suggested that these symptoms were due to my diet and hormonal fluctuations. I didn’t question the doctor, taking what he said at face value.
Three years go by, and I still find myself working as a classroom teacher. Did the symptoms go away? Nope. Instead, they were becoming more and more debilitating.
During this time, my husband and I took the big step of buying our first home. I was working as a full-time classroom teacher while attending Yoga Teacher Training on the weekends. I felt this pull to shift into a career in health and wellness. Needless to say, this period of my life was overwhelming and quite stressful. I often felt like I was barely keeping my head above water. Back then, self-care wasn’t even on my radar. I was so consumed with doing, achieving, and chasing my goals that I completely overlooked the need to recharge my own batteries.
Approximately three weeks after buying our home, I was rear-ended at a red-light, feeling my car rocking like a boat. Stunned and alone, I was flooded with a surge of fear and stress hormones. The next day, a doctor diagnosed me with “possible whiplash,” prescribing painkillers and muscle relaxers. What’s interesting is that I didn’t feel any pain or discomfort at this time.
A month post-accident, sporadic sensations resembling my usual symptoms emerged. The very first night in our new home brought an unexpected bout of vertigo. I believed that this was connected to the stress of moving and unpacking. Perhaps I was just feeling tired and needed rest. However, these vertigo episodes persisted. I grew increasingly concerned.
Alongside vertigo, I began experiencing a sensation of ear fullness, akin to my Eustachian tube closing, accompanied by this odd dropping feeling. Pressure mounted on the right side of my face, especially around the TMJ. I could sense an increase in upper back, neck and jaw tension as time went on.
I spent the next two years bouncing between various doctors and specialists, undergoing countless tests and scans, all yielding “normal” results. I saw neurologists, naturopaths, physiotherapists, acupuncturists, massage therapists, chiropractors, osteopaths, various specialists, and doctors over this two year period. Each practitioner had their theories; however, they had no concrete evidence to explain what I was experiencing.
As time passed, my fear grew alongside escalating heart palpitations and worsening migraines, leaving me increasingly dependent on others. I was slowly losing my independence. I became fearful of driving. I didn’t want to commit to any social gatherings as the symptoms were debilitating 90% of the time. I went from teaching five days a week to teaching twice a week. Needless to say, these symptoms affected every aspect of my life.
Then COVID happened, exacerbating everything to the point where I struggled to even get out of bed.
Amidst this, after having my impacted wisdom teeth removed, I began experiencing nerve pain radiating from my gums to my ear, temple, nose, and scalp. I only felt this pain on the right side of my face. Further tests and scans were done. Once again, each came back with a “normal” result. My family doctor therefore concluded that what I was experiencing was migraines and post-concussion syndrome symptoms from the car accident.
I remember feeling confused by this conclusion as it just didn’t add up in my head. When I asked about alternatives to alleviate the pain, the response was a lifelong prescription for seizure medication doubling as a pain reliever. Tears welled up as I contemplated a life dependent on such medication. This medication would only mask the pain. The root problem would still exist. I didn’t like this solution one bit.
Defeated and feeling betrayed by my own body, I questioned whether the pain was real or imagined. Three years of unexplained symptoms left me desperate for a physical explanation.
I chose to rip up the prescription for the pain medication as soon as I got home. I could hear a voice inside my head urging me to continue searching for another solution. I decided to listen to this message, and explored alternative approaches to managing chronic pain.
Several months had passed, and despite my best efforts, I was still navigating debilitating chronic pain. The only times I found relief was during sleep, and during moments of emotional release.
Joyless and alone, I feared that the pain would consume my entire being.
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.
How I Found Curable
One evening, the pain reached such intensity that I began experiencing facial spasms–a clear indicator of the physical and emotional pain accumulating within me.
I remember tears streaming down my face as I screamed in desperation, “Make it stop. Please make it stop!” Since I had been to the hospital numerous times, I knew that they wouldn’t be able to help me.
So, my dear husband scoured Google for solutions. After about a half an hour of frantic searching, he said, “Have you heard of Curable?” I told him that I stumbled across this app a few months ago. I told him that I was very skeptical that brain education, meditation, and writing exercises could actually alleviate chronic pain. I believed it to be a scam, preying on the vulnerable seeking relief from their symptoms.
Despite my skepticism, my husband remained hopeful about the app’s potential. Reluctantly, feeling I had nothing left to lose, I agreed to try it. I now understand that my guarded reaction was a defense mechanism, shielding me from potential disappointment.
The app offered free audio recordings on the neuroscience of pain, revealing that pain isn’t always rooted in physical causes. I came to understand that pain is generated within the brain. I was astonished to discover the link between fear and pain, learning that fear can trigger the brain’s internal danger system, and can actually intensify pain sensations.
In addition to this, I was unaware of the connection between stress and pain, with childhood adversity often predicting adult-onset chronic pain. Even current stressors could ignite pain pathways. Reflecting on my experiences as a teacher, my educational journey, relationships, financial hardships, life transitions, the car accident, health concerns, and more, I realized just how much stress I was carrying with me each and every day.
Furthermore, the discussion on the correlation between certain personality traits–like perfectionism and people-pleasing—and chronic pain resonated with me. As I listened to these discussions, it felt as if they knew me. For the first time in a long time, I felt understood, seen, and validated.
It was at this point that I knew that my internal experiences were real. It wasn’t imagined. I wasn’t going crazy. I knew that the heart palpitations, chronic muscular tension, migraines, tension headaches, dizziness, vertigo, facial nerve pain, ear fullness, fatigue, tinnitus, and more, were all real physical sensations that were unrelated to tissue damage, structural issues, or disease. I realized that these physical sensations were signals from my body urging me to slow down, find balance, and prioritize self-care.
I didn’t realize just how disconnected I was from my body. Whenever a difficult emotion or feeling would come up, like anger, grief, resentment, shame, sadness, jealousy, or guilt, I would suppress it because I didn’t know what to do with that emotion. I was completely unaware of the extent of my rumination. I struggled to let things go, even the things that were beyond my control. I put a lot of pressure on myself to be perfect 110% of the time, constantly seeking achievement without celebrating any of my wins. I engaged in negative self-talk, lacked boundaries, and dwelled on worst-case scenarios. I believed that I had already healed from childhood adversity. I didn’t realize that I was using academics to cover up emotional pain, which is why I believed I was doing okay. It wasn’t until the symptoms became chronic that I realized that something’s seriously wrong.
Curable opened my eyes to the understanding that chronic pain isn’t always the result of a physical concern; it can be linked to psychological, emotional, and social factors. While I was starting to see this connection in my own life, I still clung to the notion that pain must always have a physical cause.
One day, I had this urge to hear about how others recovered from chronic pain using the Curable app. As I listened to their stories, I found parts of my own journey in each one. It was like they were speaking right to me. The emotions hit hard, and I allowed the tears to flow. It was the first time in years that I felt hopeful. Each story showed me that there’s a way out, and that there’s a possibility of living a life without chronic pain.
I felt so empowered. I was ready to start healing from the inside out. I knew deep down that the tools in this app would play a pivotal role in my healing journey, and would also assist me in navigating life’s ups and downs, twists and turns.
Spoiler-alert, I was right!
How Curable Works
Curable is an app, also accessible on desktop, offering meditation practices, writing exercises, brain training, and educational content on pain neuroscience and the mindbody connection. In addition to this, the app includes a panic button, recovery stories, expert interviews, workshops, live events, and the option to join Curable Groups.
Roadmap
The Curable app consists of a roadmap divided into four categories: Meditation, Writing, Brain Training, and Education. You have the freedom to choose which category to explore, and Clara, a virtual guide, assists you through your selected category. These activities aim to educate users about the current science of pain, retrain the brain's pain processing, introduce emotional regulation strategies, calm the amygdala (the brain’s fear center, which is linked to pain), promote nervous system regulation, and so much more!
The practices housed within the app are rooted in science, and are endorsed by Curable’s scientific advisory team. Curable builds upon John Sarno’s TMS (Tension myositis syndrome) work.
Panic Button
The panic button is recommended for moments where strong sensations are present. This feature is handy when you're experiencing a pain flare-up and strong emotions. By clicking on the lightning bolt icon, users receive reassurance that recovery isn’t linear and are then guided through a breathing exercise. Once you feel ready, you are invited to select one of five techniques that can help send soothing messages of safety to your nervous system. You have the freedom to try out as many techniques as you want to ease feelings of fear, which may help reduce physical sensations.
Expert Interviews
“Like Mind Like Body” is a Curable podcast embedded in the app. This podcast explores the intricate mindbody connection, and its role in chronic symptoms like pain. Their podcast episodes feature experts in the field, including neurologists, physiotherapists, psychotherapists, medical doctors, authors, and more! The podcast episodes that I have found most impactful include: “Solving the Personality Puzzle,” “Treating the Brain and the Body,” “Making Friends with your Fears and Your Feelings,” “How to Create a Safe Space for Healing,” and “Untangling your Anxiety Pathways.”
Live Events
Curable’s newest feature, my personal favorite, hosts monthly live events led by experts in the mindbody space. These live events provide a space for users of the Curable app to connect, offer words of encouragement, and ask questions. In a journey that often feels very isolating, these events serve as a reminder that you’re not alone. Examples of live events include: Q&A sessions, somatic tracking practices, writing workshops, guided meditation practices, expert advice on healing and movement, and so much more!
Curable Groups
I joined Curable Groups with the aim of delving deeper into the neuroscience behind chronic pain, and to acquire strategies that could assist me in breaking free from the fear-pain cycle. Over the course of 12 weeks, I participated in a program led by a qualified facilitator—a somatic educator and mindbody coach specializing in chronic pain. Once a week, I connected with a group of 11 other Curable users from various parts of the world via Zoom. Each week, we received access to a video workshop. Each workshop covered topics related to the mindbody connection and chronic pain, including overcoming fear, setting boundaries, processing past stressors, reclaiming identity, managing strong emotions, and more. These sessions also included group discussions facilitated by our group leader, focusing on the topic of the week. Midway through the program, a medical physician joined us to address any questions specific to chronic pain and symptoms.
Upon completing the program, I gained lifetime access to the Curable app, eliminating the need for monthly or yearly fees.
It's worth noting that participation in the Curable Groups program comes with its own separate cost. I recommend checking out Curable’s website to learn more about Curable Groups and the packages that they offer.
Lessons I’ve Learned From Curable
Both the Curable app and Curable Groups have profoundly influenced how I perceive chronic sensations in my body. The following are lessons that have had the greatest impact on my healing journey.
The various sensations I feel, whether that be pain, anxiety, panic, dizziness, heart palpitations, and so on, are all messages from my body. These messages are intended to capture my attention. This is my brain’s way of saying, “Pay attention to me!” Given the brain’s continual surveillance for both internal and external threats, it makes sense that pain or other intrusive symptoms would emerge, as the brain’s primary objective is to keep you safe and alive. Since structural causes and disease were ruled out for me, it became quite evident that these symptoms were connected to psychological, emotional, and relational factors that seemed threatening to my brain. I’ve come to understand that ignoring or numbing these signals will only cause them to speak louder. Meaning that the sensations can become more intense when I don’t attend to my internal environment. I now understand that the pain and the other sensations was my body’s way of saying, “Rachel, slow down and nurture your inner landscape.”
2. Cultivating a felt sense of inner safety is an integral part of the healing journey. When you don’t feel safe, the body’s “fight-or-flight” response triggers the release of stress hormones, causing physiological changes like altered blood flow, elevated heart rate, shallow breathing, and increased muscular tension. These changes can activate neural pathways that may be linked to chronic symptoms, perpetuating the cycle. Fear can reinforce this loop, which is why exploring relaxation techniques like meditation, somatic tracking, or breathwork practices are important pieces of the healing journey. These practices can send reassuring signals to the brain, helping to diminish fear and maybe even pain signals. Over time, these relaxation techniques train the brain to choose another path; a path leading to feelings of peace and safety. As a result, this enhances nervous system resiliency and can lead to the development of new neural pathways.
3. Nothing in life is static, not even chronic pain. After listening to several recovery stories, learning about the neuroscience of chronic pain, and doing my own research, I realized that chronic pain doesn’t have to be a life sentence. Many of us are told by our healthcare providers that there’s “No cure for chronic pain.” As I reflect upon this, perhaps it’s more accurate to say, “There’s no medicine that can cure chronic pain; however, there are many tools, strategies, and resources out there that can help build new neural pathways in the brain. These new pathways can help reduce symptoms, or can even get rid of symptoms altogether.” How would you feel if a doctor or specialist told you this? Personally, I would feel empowered, knowing that there’s something I can actively do to improve my physical, mental, and emotional health. I would feel full of hope and optimism that recovery is possible.
4. Understanding the connection between certain personality traits and chronic pain has been enlightening. Traits like perfectionism, people-pleasing, emotional repression and suppression, excessive worrying, and self-doubt often manifest in individuals with chronic symptoms. These personality traits are often born in childhood in response to feeling unsafe in your environment. These traits are viewed as adaptive interpersonal strategies for survival. Psychiatrist Gabor Maté explains that, “We’re born with a need for attachment and a need for authenticity.” In his book, "The Myth of Normal," Gabor Maté states that “Most people abandon their true selves (authenticity) to please others and keep their relationships (attachments), even if they are ones that are toxic and destructive.” For instance, as a young girl I often heard the following, “Don’t be mad at me.” Or I was made to feel ashamed for expressing an emotion, like anger, sadness, jealousy, and even joy. I learned at a young age that certain feelings were not safe for me to express. So, what did I do? I learned to suppress these feelings. I buried these emotions to protect myself in hopes to maintain attachment to my family. But, where do these lingering emotions go? They don’t just vanish into thin air. Instead, emotions remain trapped in the body until they are felt and processed. Emotional repression and suppression can eventually show up in the body as anxiety, panic attacks, chronic symptoms, and pain. Learning to prioritize authenticity over attachment has been at the forefront of my healing journey.
5. Understanding the link between thoughts, emotions, and physical health has been eye-opening and valuable. Becoming aware of my inner dialogue has opened my eyes to how thoughts can influence my physical and emotional health. Whether I’m creating content for my YouTube channel or writing a blog post on a wellness topic, I often hear a critical voice calling me an “imposter,” implying that my work isn’t good enough. What’s interesting is that this self-doubt often coincides with pain flare-ups. Why? Well, feeling like an imposter triggers the fear of rejection, ridicule, failure, and not being enough. Fear activates the brain’s internal alarm system, despite no physical threat to my safety, leading to physical and emotional pain and discomfort in my body. Acknowledging, challenging, reframing these thoughts, and allowing myself to feel the accompanying emotions have played a crucial role in my healing journey.
6. Learning about the connection between childhood adversity and physical health in adulthood was enlightening. Childhood adversity has a huge impact on the brain’s growth and development, affecting emotional regulation, stress management, decision-making, memory, and how fear is processed in the brain. Certain changes in the brain at a young age can increase the likelihood of the development of physical symptoms in later years. Additionally, unresolved emotional wounds from childhood may linger in the body. "The Body Keeps the Score" illustrates how Trauma can reshape both the brain and body. Exploring my childhood stressors helped me uncover unhelpful narratives that I’ve carried unknowingly throughout my life. As I investigated these narratives, I started to see how these deeply embedded stories were showing up in my relationships, work, inner dialogue, and in my body.
7. During our physician-led session in Curable Groups, I sought advice on handling setbacks, knowing that the road to recovery isn’t a straight line. I remember saying, “I’m trying so hard to be kind to myself whenever I experience a setback.” The physician attentively listened to not only my words, but my tone of voice and body language. After a thoughtful pause, she said, “Perhaps the most compassionate thing you could do for yourself is to take the pressure off.” She explained that my efforts to be kind to myself might inadvertently fuel the fear-pain cycle as I was responding to the pain with intensity and fear. She encouraged me to see these setbacks as an opportunity to practice self-compassion. By practicing self-compassion, you send reassuring messages of safety to the brain, which can help “turn down” the threat dial. It was at that moment that I realized that what my body needed more than anything else was a friend. A friend that’s compassionate, caring, loving, supportive, and nurturing. A friend that doesn’t judge, criticize, or push me to try harder or do better. I realized that I could be a loving friend to myself. The more I engage in self-care practices and attend to my needs, the more I feel that I am worthy of love and compassion. I no longer feel like I have to “try to be kind to myself.” Instead, it happens organically throughout my day.
8. My body holds invaluable wisdom. The more I turn towards my body, whether that be during somatic yoga practices, journaling, meditation practices, or during moments of quiet stillness, the more I lean into my body's innate wisdom. The more connected I feel to myself. In the past, I sought to numb uncomfortable sensations like anxiety or chronic pain with distractions, avoiding the discomfort of being present in my body. However, this detachment left me disconnected from my thoughts and emotions, even as my body sent urgent messages screaming for my attention and care. It wasn’t until the sensations became chronic and debilitating that I began to listen and respond to these messages. I slowly became more connected to my inner world. This inward focus allows me to observe, feel, and respond to the sensations with curiosity, love, and compassion. Turning towards my body for feedback and guidance has been central to my healing journey.
How I Feel Today
Over a year has passed since discovering Curable, and in that time, significant changes have occurred.
Prior to finding Curable, anxiety dominated my thoughts and body, sparking excessive worrying, “what if” statements, fear, and panic. Through Curable, I’ve come to view anxiety as a vital survival response and a message from my body. Now, when anxiety surfaces, I check in with my feelings, thoughts, and emotions. Using both the techniques from the app and those I’ve explored along my journey, I’ve learned how to calm my amygdala. This not only helps to alleviate fear and panic, but also, at times, can reduce pain.
Speaking of pain, you may be wondering if I still experience pain. The simple answer is, yes I do. With that said, my relationship with pain has changed. Similar to anxiety, I now regard pain as a message from my body. This message could be telling me to slow down, breathe, take a break, engage in a self-care practice, move my body, check in with my thoughts, or to acknowledge and feel my emotions.
In moments of pain, I approach it with compassion and curiosity rather than fear and self-judgment. Changing my response to pain has notably reduced the frequency and severity of facial nerve pain. Presently, facial nerve pain remains the most persistent and intrusive of all the sensations mentioned in this post. I still experience ringing in my ears whenever the nerve pain is present. Since incorporating Curable’s many tools and techniques, I’ve experienced a total of three migraines over the course of the year. Just as a reminder, I was dealing with tension headaches or migraines on a daily basis for a couple of years before finding Curable. In addition to this, most of the symptoms that I mentioned in this post have gradually dissipated and are no longer present. I no longer perceive the pain as “chronic,” but rather occurrences of a familiar pain pathway being activated during times of heightened stress, when an emotion needs to be processed, when a boundary has been crossed, or when I’m flooded with negative and critical thoughts.
The dizziness and vertigo are no longer a part of my life. Thank goodness for that! Their disappearance coincided with my decision to leave classroom teaching for good. I recall literally and metaphorically feeling off balance with this major life decision due to all the uncertainty. However, once I made my decision and followed through with it, my mind and body seemed to relax, fully embracing the new path I had chosen. The disappearance of these symptoms suggest that the body can communicate through metaphorical language.
I’ve gotten my life back. I feel more joyful. I actually look forward to each day, regardless of how I’m feeling. I am more in touch with my emotions. I feel empowered. I feel more hopeful. I feel alive!
I am so grateful for Curable and everyone behind the creation of this app–the founders, the experts on the advisory board, and all those who have contributed over the years. I am grateful for my husband’s gentle encouragement to give the app a try. Without Curable and my husband’s support, I might not be where I am today on this journey of inner growth and healing.
My hope is that my story inspires you and gives you hope. Chronic pain doesn’t have to be a life sentence; there is a way out!
I encourage you to explore the Curable app to see if it resonates with you. You can find testimonials on their website, highlighting how the app has helped people all over the world.
I wish you all the best in your healing journey.
With love,
Rachel
References
“Curable - the App for Chronic Pain.” Curable Health, 2024, www.curablehealth.com/.
Gabor Maté, and Daniel Maté. The Myth of Normal. Random House, 13 Sept. 2022.
van der Kolk, Bessel. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. London, Penguin Books, 8 Sept. 2015.
