Chronic Illness as a Consequence of how We Live

        Gabor Maté opens his new book, The Myth of Normal, with the assertion that all is not well in this society, which is the most health-obsessed society ever. Our ongoing investment into mental, physical and emotional health has been a boon to multibillion dollar industries but despite our best efforts to be at the top of our game, our health is deteriorating.

Maté insists that there is a connection that binds our physical and mental health to our social-emotional life. This means, in his view, that chronic illness is a feature of the way things are; it is a consequence of how we live and not an aberration or chance occurrence.

This thought makes me nervous. It sounds too much like “blame the victim” and I don’t want to believe that I have done anything to deserve my illness. It is far easier to tackle my mental and physical health issues by buying vitamins, gym memberships and paying counselling therapists than to accept that Multiple Sclerosis (insert your illness here) may be a consequence of my life choices.

Follow along with me as I read more of The Myth of Normal and explore Maté’s thoughts. He is a brilliant psychologist and I will do my best to understand his thoughts, uncomfortable as they may be.