Chapter 19: Exercises

Comprehension Check

1. What is the DSM-5 Criterion A definition of a traumatic event? How does it differ from the popular use of "trauma"?

2. What percentage of people who experience traumatic events (Criterion A) develop PTSD? What does this tell us about human resilience?

3. Explain concept creep as it applies to "trauma." Give three examples of experiences that are labeled "trauma" in popular culture but don't meet the clinical definition.

4. What did the ACEs study actually find? What does the popular version get wrong?

5. What is the evidence for epigenetic intergenerational trauma in mice vs. in humans? Why is the leap from mouse studies to human claims problematic?

Application

6. Find five social media posts that use the word "trauma" or "traumatic." For each, determine: - Does the experience described meet DSM-5 Criterion A? - If not, what would be a more accurate description (adversity, stress, difficulty, painful experience)? - How does the label change the implied response (clinical treatment vs. normal coping)?

7. Calculate your ACE score using the standard 10-item checklist. Then answer: what does this number actually tell you? What doesn't it tell you? What protective factors does it miss?

8. Apply the toolkit to the claim: "Everyone has trauma." What does "everyone" mean? What does "trauma" mean in this context? Is the claim testable?

9. Find a "somatic therapy for trauma" provider's website. Evaluate their claims: - Do they claim to "release stored trauma" from the body? - What evidence do they cite? - Would the evidence survive Steps 3–6 of the toolkit?

10. Interview someone over 50 about adversity they experienced in childhood. Did they frame it as "trauma"? How do they understand its impact on their adult life? How does their framing compare to the current popular framework?

Critical Thinking

11. The chapter argues that concept creep dilutes the meaning of "trauma." But some advocates argue that expanding the definition is necessary to acknowledge the real harm of adverse experiences that don't meet Criterion A. Who's right?

12. If resilience is the norm (most people recover from traumatic events), should this information be communicated to trauma survivors? Could it be helpful ("you're likely to recover") or harmful ("your struggle isn't valid")?

13. Van der Kolk's The Body Keeps the Score has helped millions of people understand their trauma. But the "stored in the body" framing is over-literalized in popular culture. Should the book include stronger caveats? Should science communicators be responsible for how their metaphors are interpreted?

14. The ACE score has become a popular self-assessment tool. Is this helpful (raising awareness of childhood adversity's impact) or harmful (creating deterministic narratives about individual destiny)?

15. If intergenerational trauma is primarily transmitted through parenting behavior rather than epigenetics, does this change the implications? Does the mechanism matter for treatment?

Fact-Check Portfolio

16. If any of your 10 claims involve trauma, childhood adversity, or body-based healing: - Does the claim use "trauma" clinically or in the expanded sense? - Does it acknowledge resilience? - Does it treat risk factors as deterministic predictions? - Update your evidence rating.