Gabor Maté on Trauma and the Myth of Normal

“Our culture’s skewed idea of normality,” says the well known physician and author, Dr. Gabor Maté, “is the single biggest impediment to fostering a healthier world, even keeping us from acting on what we already know.” Some years ago, his book, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, touched and helped a tremendous number of people looking for insight into their addictive behaviors with his focus on traumas suffered at a young age. Addiction, he stressed, is one result of inadequate and counter-productive efforts to treat one’s pain. In his new book, The Myth of Normal, Gabor makes the case for viewing trauma as the common template underlying most physical and mental maladies. We discussed Gabor’s perspectives and personal evolution, including his growing appreciation for the value of psychedelics in identifying and healing trauma.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Drugs, drugs, drugs. Almost everyone uses them. Almost everyone has an opinion about them. Drug policy pioneer Ethan Nadelmann gets to the bottom of our strange relationship to drugs by talking with those who love them, hate them, and study them. We’d love to hear your stories and ideas. Send us a note at psychoactive@protozoa.com or leave a voicemail at 1-833-PSYCHO-0 (1-833-779-2460).