It’s part of the human condition to run away from pain. Most of us have habits that we acquired as a way to cope with painful childhood experiences or traumas that unfortunately don’t serve us as adults. These habits can manifest as addiction in a wide variety of forms, from substance abuse to overworking.
On today’s mini-episode, Dhru sits down with Dr. Gabor Maté to talk about detangling our traumatic life experiences to live more aware lives. They also talk about what is happening in the addict’s brain and how to unravel awareness to promote healing. In his famously insightful way, Dr. Maté discusses the true meaning of recovery and how we can all work through trauma to find our truest selves.
Dr. Maté is a renowned speaker and bestselling author and is highly sought after for his expertise on a range of topics, including addiction, stress, and childhood development. Dr. Maté has written several bestselling books, including the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction, When the Body Says No: Exploring the Stress-Disease Connection, and Scattered: How Attention Deficit Disorder Originates and What You Can Do About It, and has coauthored Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers. His latest book, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, & Healing in a Toxic Culture, was just released. Gabor is also a codeveloper of a therapeutic approach, Compassionate Inquiry, now studied by hundreds of therapists, physicians, counselors, and others internationally.
In this episode we dive into:
- How a painful experience or trauma is at the center of all addictions
- Understanding the difference between responsibility and blame and why “it’s not all our parents’ fault”
- What is happening physiologically in the brains of addicted people
- The key to healing painful experiences
Listen to the full episode here.
For more on Dr. Maté, follow him on Instagram @gabormatemd, Facebook @drgabormate, Twitter @drgabormate, YouTube @drgabormate, and through his website, drgabormate.com. Get his book, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, & Healing in a Toxic Culture, here.
For more on Dhru Purohit, follow him on Instagram @dhrupurohit, Facebook @dhruxpurohit, Twitter @dhrupurohit, YouTube @dhrupurohit, and TikTok @dhru.purohit. Text Dhru at 302-200-5643 or click here.
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