Gabor Maté: The Myth of Normal
Photo by Bruce Warrington on Unsplash
Gabor Maté has produced a series of eight videos on Healing Trauma & Addiction. The Myth of Normal & The Power of Connection is the first episode in the series.
Dr. Gabor Maté, well known by many as a physician, human development expert and author, has the gift of being able to explain complex concepts in a way that is accessible, understandable, and practical.
In collaboration with wholehearted.org, he has created a video series, Healing Trauma & Addiction, with over six hours of video presentation delivered in eight topic-focused episodes.
In this first episode of the series, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0cODqqYyi8 Dr Maté expands his views on how childhood stress can continue to impact our worldview, our behaviour, our sense of self, and how we respond to others in our adult life.
Dr Maté argues that past trauma can predispose individuals and their children to addiction, depression and codependency. He explains his belief in the value of an enquiry-based approach to treatment that explores biological, psychological, socialization, spiritual and ecological underlying causes, noting that while first-world medical practices have proven effective in the treatment of acute and infectious illness, they have had very limited success in the treatment of auto-immune illnesses, addiction and mental health.
Dr Maté comments that the significance of childhood trauma can lie less in what happened, as in what has been carried forward as a significant personal story, in how the person perceives themselves, which helps explain why the long-term impacts of trauma can prove more impacting for some individuals than for others. He notes that the developing brain, particularly in the 0-5 years, requires a relational, nurturing environment and discusses how first-world society is organized in ways that reduce the direct, quick response interactions that are optimal to foster this development, contrasting holding a child close to the body in a sling with pushing a front-facing stroller whilst using a cellphone. He also argues that a society that prioritized optimal brain development would support families in ways that enabled parents to be with their children during the infant years.
He ends by discussing the differentiation between individualism and individuality, noting that humans have a need for connection and are not individualistic by nature. He points out the difference between wanting to have our own way, even at the expense of others, to being able to retain our sense of self whilst interacting cooperatively with others in joint enterprise.
The Myth of Normal & The Power of Connection is the first episode of the series, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0cODqqYyi8