Modern Life Is Making You Sick, But It Doesn't Have To | Dr. Gabor Maté

About this episode

<p><em>New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.</em></p> <p>---</p> <p>Hidden sources of stress — and how to beat them. Also: the myth of normal, the necessity of being disillusioned, and the disutility of comparing your suffering.</p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Description:</strong> </p> <p>There's so much to be grateful for in modern medicine. We can all agree that we would not do as well in a world with no Advil or dentistry. And yet, our guest today, who is a renowned doctor, says modern medicine is overlooking something crucial: the pernicious impact that modern living has on our minds and bodies. In other words, we are surrounded by these hidden societal and structural sources of stress and we aren't thinking about how to treat and prevent these factors that are degrading our happiness and our immune systems. </p> <p><br /></p> <p>Dr. Gabor Maté is a bestselling author with an expertise on everything from stress to addiction to ADHD. His latest book is called, <a href="https://drgabormate.com/book/the-myth-of-normal/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture</a></p> <p><br /></p> <p><em>Content Warning: This episode has mentions of child abuse, sexual trauma, suicide and addiction</em></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>In this episode we talk about:</strong></p> <ul> <li>What he means by "the myth of normal"</li> <li>How diseases, such as autoimmune conditions, are an "artifact of civilization"</li> <li>How to begin to tackle what Dr. Maté calls, "the social sources of illness" </li> <li>His definition of trauma and the difference between "big T traumatic events" and the trauma of "wounding"</li> <li>How trauma in society is so normalized that we don't even recognize it</li> <li>Whether the term trauma is overused</li> <li>Why comparing suffering is a fruitless endeavor </li> <li>What he means by "the necessity to be disillusioned" </li> <li>The power and possibility of psychedelics </li> <li>Why he thinks we should incorporate shamanic medicine into our western medical framework</li> <li>And what he means by "undoing self-limiting beliefs" and how these beliefs show up in our everyday lives</li> </ul> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Full Shownotes:</strong> <a href= "https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/gabor-mate-586" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank">https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/gabor-mate-archive</a></p> <p><strong>Where to find Gabor Maté online: </strong></p> <p>Website: <a href="https://drgabormate.com/" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">drgabormate.com</a></p> <p>Social Media:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/drgabormate" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/drgabormate" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/gabormatemd/" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li> <li><a href= "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsRF06lSFA8zV9L8_x9jzIA" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube</a></li> </ul> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Books Mentioned:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://drgabormate.com/book/the-myth-of-normal/" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture</a></li> <li><a href="https://drgabormate.com/book/when-the-body-says-no/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">When the Body Says No: Exploring the Stress-Disease Connection</a></li> <li><a href="https://drgabormate.com/book/scattered-minds/" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Scattered Minds: The Origins and Healing of Attention Deficit Disorder</a></li> <li><a href= "https://drgabormate.com/book/in-the-realm-of-hungry-ghosts/" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction </a></li> <li><a href="https://drgabormate.com/book/hold-on-to-your-kids/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers</a></li> </ul> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Other Resources Mentioned:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://thewisdomoftrauma.com/" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Wisdom of Trauma </a></li> <li><a href= "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31488422/#:~:text=Women%20with%20high%20PTSD%20symptoms,)%2C%201.12%2D3.95%5D." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Is Associated with Increased Risk of Ovarian Cancer: A Prospective and Retrospective Longitudinal Cohort Study</a></li> <li><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21149651/" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Decrease in depression symptoms is associated with longer survival in patients with metastatic breast cancer: a secondary analysis</a></li> <li><a href= "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6203030_Marital_Status_Marital_Strain_and_Risk_of_Coronary_Heart_Disease_or_Total_Mortality_The_Framingham_Offspring_Study" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Marital Status, Marital Strain, and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease or Total Mortality: The Framingham Offspring Study</a></li> <li><a href= "https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdf/10.1176/appi.ajp.162.11.2039" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">George Engel</a></li> <li><a href= "https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/04/spanking-children-may-impair-their-brain-development/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How spanking may affect brain development in children</a></li> <li><a href="http://markepsteinmd.com/?p=56" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The Trauma of Everyday Life</em> by Dr. Mark Epstein</a></li> <li><a href= "https://drdansiegel.com/book/intraconnected-mwe-me-we-as-the-integration-of-self-identity-and-belonging/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>IntraConnected: MWe (Me + We) as the Integration of Self, Identity, and Belonging</em> by Dr. Dan Siegel</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.diamondapproach.org/almaas" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A. H. Almaas</a></li> </ul> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Sign up for Dan's weekly newsletter</strong> <a href= "https://bit.ly/3QtGRqJ" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>here</strong></a></p> <p><strong>Follow Dan on social:</strong> <a href= "https://bit.ly/3tGigG5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>Instagram</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href= "https://bit.ly/3FOA84J" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>TikTok</strong></a></p> <p><strong>Ten Percent Happier online</strong> <a href= "https://bit.ly/46TZglY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>bookstore</strong></a></p> <p><strong>Subscribe to our</strong> <a href= "https://bit.ly/3FybRzD" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>YouTube Channel</strong></a></p> <p><strong>Our favorite playlists on:</strong> <a href= "https://spoti.fi/3Qa8kMT" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>Anxiety</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href= "https://spoti.fi/3MjtMxF" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>Sleep</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href= "https://spoti.fi/3QvyA5J" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>Relationships</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href="https://spoti.fi/3QxZASc" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Most Popular Episodes</strong></a></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Additional Resources:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: <a href= "https://10percenthappier.app.link/install" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank">https://10percenthappier.app.link/install</a></li> </ul> <p><br /></p>