I Can't Get Over It: A Handbook for Trauma Survivors

I am so impressed with this book! I have read a lot of books on being a survivor over the years, but this one tops them all. Sensitive and concise, with no agenda but the compassionate healing of the survivor, Aphrodite Matsakis is an impressive and knowledgeable author who will take you wherever you need to go gently, but clearly and firmly. Questions addressed include a clear definition of PTSD, its biochemistry, traumatic events, three levels of victimization, triggers, the healing process, and specific traumas: crimes committed by strangers, rape and sexual assault, domestic violence and sexual abuse, suicide of a loved one, natural catastrophes (like earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, fires), vehicular accidents, and war and combat.Add to that the extensive list of resources in the appendices, and I can't think of a better place for a survivor to begin, continue or complete a journey through the recovery process.

When I was having a difficult time I was drawn to the title of this book. I am a survivor of abuse, rape, and car accidents, and I desperately wanted to "Get Over It". I have since learned that you don't "Get Over It", but it does get better.This book begins with a very comprehensive assessment of PTSD. It is then broken into separate sections, which deal with specific traumas (very helpful if you have endured multiple forms of trauma). The most helpful aspect of the book (for me) was the in depth discussion of secondary wounding. Secondary wounding occurs after the trauma has happened and other people respond to you in unhelpful or even hurtful ways. This book covers the many different reasons why people may respond in these ways, and how to deal with the resulting effects. Understanding secondary wounding helped me to gain peace over a very painful aspect of my life.

This is the best self-help book on the topic of trauma recovery. I have used this book with literally hundreds of patients who have experienced severe trauma -- and have yet to find a better single reference. The author guides you (and your therapist, if you have one) step by step through the entire process of recovery. She takes a psychoeducational approach through out. This approach helps to create necessary cognitive frameworks that trauma survivors desperately need in order to begin to make sense of the strange experiences they are often frightened to share with others. The careful building of these frameworks buffer the survivor against overwhelming emotions and feelings of helplessness. The author includes exercises for each phase of recovery, helps you with pacing and timing, and most of all, normalizes the subjective experience of the survivor. One of the most important things she articulates is the phenomenon of "secondary victimization." In brief, secondary victimization results from the well-meaning but damaging responses of your friends and loved ones to your trauma. Often, these ignorant reactions amplify the original trauma and complicate, or completely prohibit, healing. Her description of the biological reaction to traumatic incidents is priceless. Many fail to connect the many possible negative physical reactions to trauma with the traumatic experience itself. Because the physical symptoms sometimes occur weeks or even months after the event, people fail to see them as connected to the trauma. They often see them as isolated entities, adding to the feelings of craziness and being out of control. Just understanding how trauma can affect us biologically (sometimes permanently) lessens the pain and confusion of those reactions and can help the survivor reduce feelings of weakness and self-blame. This enables a person to begin to design effective strategies to address these symptoms. One of the other strengths of this book the inclusion of various kinds of trauma -- from childhood sexual abuse to military terror to auto accidents. This normalization of the survior's reaction across domains of trauma helps to de-emphasize the event and to refocus the indiviudal on moving through the sequale to complete healing. Healing is truly possible. This book is a wonderful tool.

For anyone looking for an easy to understand yet comprehensive book on Ptsd, this is it. Because of the self tests and advisories of when to seek professional help, I was able to accept that PTSD was likely my problem and I have since found a therapist and am working on getting over it! I still return to this book frequently and each time that I do it opens a new door or reveals some insight that moves me on in my recovery. The book is very easy to understand and a great resource for survivours of all types of traumas.For an overview of PTSD, and help on getting started on recovery, this is the book to read. and return to again and again

I stumbled across this book in a professional journal, obtained and read a copy, and now I've referred at least 15 patients to read this book as part of our ongoing psychotherapy. The breadth of the book is excellent as it appeals to many different aspects of trauma; this is a nice departure from similar books in that so many others are limited to addressing one type of trauma (e.g., sexual abuse, automobile accident, battle victims, etc.). I'm finding that although the reading can be intense for my clients, the book is making full use of the supervision and support provided in therapy.I'm very pleased with the book and will continue to use it in my practice.