Dr Gabor Maté has risen to fame in the last few years, and his name is now known in much wider circles than his original field of psychology. He addresses trauma, addiction, illness and stress in his writings, and it is evident that the first world now has a crisis on its hands in these fields.
I believe that when books and ideas grow in popularity and reach the masses it’s either because they are profound or because they are attempting to answer or solve common problems. Dr Maté speaks out with ideas that conflict with the normative view of mental health and, because the old ways clearly aren’t working, people are listening. But this has led to him being viewed as controversial by some.
He’s controversial in the sense that he goes against the grain of typical psychological theory, and whilst I do not agree with all he claims, I respect and appreciate that he has brought challenges and concepts that encourage looking at suffering in a different way.
As a sufferer of chronic pain and fibromyalgia this book was insightful both on a personal level and within my professional career, where I work with many individuals who battle physical illness.
Dr Maté suggests that suppressed anger, stress and trauma are the causes of illness as our bodies hold onto all that we do not process. In other words, he is saying that there is a mind-body connection and that if we do not feel and heal, we become sick.
This is an interesting book that will prompt you to consider the true impacts of trauma and suppressed emotion, and I would encourage any reader to take from the book any part which fits for them and to put down the parts that don’t.
What this book does is open the door to further exploration into the mind-body connection and what we can do to recover and stay physically & emotionally well.
‘When the BODY SAYS NO: The Cost of Hidden Stress’ by Dr Gabor Maté
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