Besides Gabor Maté and his writings about trauma, now Lipov and Mustard are two new authors who enlighten us with the new concept of resetting the brain and reprogramming it after PTSD, injury and trauma. Filled with the latest research and groundbreaking science, this could be revolutionary. There has to be a new understanding of it all.

The Invisible Machine : The Startling Truth About Trauma and the Scientific Breakthrough That Can Transform Your Life is a book that reveals a radical new understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder and puts forward a new treatment that could treat and reverse it. It is of particular interest to anyone from the military who is suffering from PSTD. It is based on the discovery that all trauma has at its root a single piece of human hardware: the stellate ganglion, and that the symptoms of post-traumatic stress are the same regardless of the cause. The authors support their research and findings throughout and claim that it could have profound implications for medicine, mental health, and society at large. It is an interesting read, that takes a bit of getting into but is definitely an eye opener on the subject.

This book offers hope to people suffering from the aftermath of trauma everywhere, but not in the way I expected. It opens up in the introduction of the book describing a revolutionary new procedure called DSR (Dual System Reset) which has been shown to help heal symptoms related to getting stuck in fight or flight. The book is so compelling, I’m researching the procedure in more depth now. One of the struggles of surviving trauma is that in order to do the emotional and mental work needed to heal, you must defer to the needs of the nervous system at any given time. When the nervous system gets agitated, you must stop and resource it or risk traumatizing yourself further. It feels like you’re fighting two unique battles at the same time and if you ignore one to fight the other, you lose all the ground you might have gained… it’s a very slow go, and it often feels overwhelming, but the idea that the DSR could actually reset the nervous system - it allows you to the capacity to to focus on only one adversary — it gives hope. This book offers so much hope. Not a get out of jail free card, the mental and emotional work has to be done. But if it works, this procedure offers a chance at a quicker path to healing.

As a book, I was a little confused at the purpose of the work… it’s not a history of the procedure; it’s not a memoir of the doctor; there are so many players in the story that it sometimes gets confusing. The intent seems to be to bring awareness of the procedure and to convince people they need it. I think it does those things, but if I had a critique, it might have done better to narrow the scope. In many places throughout, I felt like this is a sales pitch disguised as a book. I am definitely in the target audience, but I’ve never read a book that devoted so much energy into trying to compel people to get a medical treatment.

I think, had I known about this treatment before reading the book, I’d have only wanted to read it if I needed convincing. The book is very convincing.

A big thank you to BenBella Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“Trauma no longer needs to ruin lives.”

Wow. I found myself saying this many times as I was reading The Invisible Machine because I was so impressed with the research and treatment. The information pertaining to post-traumatic stress was provided in a way that was easy to read, while still being incredibly informative. The patient testimonials were incredibly encouraging as well.

I love the wide range of research being done from military, those in the criminal justice system, abuse survivors and also those with low-level long term trauma. The research truly speaks for itself.

The work being done by Dr. Lipov is remarkable. I was shocked to find how effective the DSR procedure is and how drastically it can improve the quality of life for those with post traumatic stress injuries. What he is doing will change the lives of so many and I hope that DSR becomes even more accessible to those in need in the years to come.

10/10 I recommend this for anyone who is interested in mental health, psychology, trauma and PTSD/PTSI research.

This book needed more science and less of Jamie’s story. Not aiming to be rude or invalidate Jamie but the personal narrative did not work in this book for me. The dialog with his therapist was just really strange. I would have preferred reading more about a variety of patients and Dr Lipov than a majority about one patient.

I had no knowledge of this procedure going into the book and I was intrigued by the possible uses for it.