Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture (Maté. 2022)

In the Myth of Normal, Gabor Maté explains his belief that behind the entire collection of mental and physical chronic conditions afflicting us, is not only something that generates these conditions but also something that prevents us from seeing clearly what that generator is. The Myth of Normal has a sub-title which hints strongly at what Maté thinks the problem is. The sub-title reads Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture. This doesn’t refer only to toxic in terms of environmental pollutants, or toxic in the current psychological sense of negativity, distrust, narcissism, etc. These two meanings, are combined with in Maté’s words “the entire context of social structures, belief systems, assumptions and values that surround us and necessarily pervade every aspect of our lives.”

          Maté goes on to say that the concept that our social life has a bearing on our health is not new, but he sees that recognizing this fact is the most important health concern of our time.

          Does your life include stress, inequalities at work or in the community, negativity, toxins or anything else that may be somehow contributing to the chronic condition with which you are living?

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