#620: Dr. Gabor Maté — The Myth of Normal, Metabolizing Anger, Processing Trauma, and Finding the Still Voice Within

Dr. Gabor Maté — The Myth of Normal, Metabolizing Anger, Processing Trauma, and Finding the Still Voice Within | Brought to you by Tommy John premium underwear, Athletic Greens all-in-one nutritional supplement, and ButcherBox premium meats delivered to your door.

Dr. Gabor Maté (@DrGaborMate) is a renowned speaker and bestselling author, highly sought after for his expertise on a range of topics that includes 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: Understanding the Stress-Disease Connection, and Scattered: How Attention Deficit Disorder Originates and What You Can Do About It. He has also coauthored Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers. His works have been published internationally in nearly thirty languages.

His new book is The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture.

Please enjoy!

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[05:30] How COVID affected Gabor.

[06:33] Exploring plant medicine with Indigenous First Nations.

[13:29] How Gabor got fired from his own ayahuasca retreat.

[16:35] Can Indigenous medicine ever be understood through a Western lens?

[21:37] How does Gabor clear himself of the trauma he takes from others?

[22:48] Was writing The Myth of Normal more labor intensive than Gabor’s other works?

[25:40] A personal story about how past trauma can show up in everyday life.

[29:01] Coping with rage and anger.

[40:01] Attachment versus authenticity.

[45:12] Where does depression originate?

[48:23] Raising a child to learn self-regulation.

[52:24] What Gabor hopes The Myth of Normal readers don’t miss.

[57:20] Finding the right balance of self-care when caring for a family.

[1:01:18] The harm of focusing on correcting a child’s behavior rather than their underlying emotional dynamics.

[1:05:47] Rehabilitation versus punishment of incarcerated, traumatized adults.

[1:14:55] If he couldn’t write, what would be the focus of Gabor’s clinical practice?

[1:17:50] Finding and listening to one’s inner voice or calling.

[1:25:58] Are you bargaining with your authenticity?

[1:30:41] Parting thoughts.

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