In an  interview with Steve Paikin of The Agenda, physician and author Dr. Gabor Mate discusses his new book The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture.

Mate’s new book explores the ways in which early childhood trauma and toxic elements of modern culture combined to engender an uptick in mental and physical disease. Despite the technological and medical advancement characterizing our modern era, issues such as addiction, mental illness, and chronic illness seem to be becoming even more prevalent.

According to Mate, in order to appropriately address the illness of varying manifestations that seem to plague modern society, we need to appreciate the link between trauma and illness. Despite the fact that research has continuously demonstrated a strong link between trauma experienced in childhood and negative health outcomes, most medical students do not receive sufficient training in trauma, if any at all. If we continue to draw a line of separation between the mind and body, we may fail to achieve the healing and understanding that our desperate situation calls for.

Image Credits:
Feature Image: Mohamed Nohassi, On Unsplash, Creative Commons.