Dr Gabor Maté | We Live In A Toxic Culture (Part 1)

We tend to believe that normality equals health. Yet what is the norm in the Western world? Joining us live on stage in London – in conversation with filmmaker and author David Malone - the renowned physician, addiction expert and author Gabor Maté dissects the underlying causes of this malaise – physical and emotional, and connects the dots between our personal suffering and the pressures of modern-day living.
Illness and trauma are defining how we live. 45% of Europeans suffer high blood pressure, and nearly 70% of Americans take at least one prescription drug.
Over four decades of clinical experience, Dr Gabor Maté has found that the common definition of ‘normal’ is false: virtually all disease is actually a natural reflection of life in an abnormal culture, as we grow further and further apart from our true selves.
Filled with stories of people in the grip of illness or in the triumphant wake of recovery, this life-affirming talk from the beloved physician and author will show how true health is possible – if we are willing to embrace authenticity above social expectations.
Gabor Maté is a retired physician, bestselling author and renowned speaker, highly sought after for his expertise on addiction, trauma, stress and childhood development. He has written four bestselling books published in nearly thirty languages, including the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction. He has been awarded the Order of Canada (his country’s equivalent of the MBE) and the Civic Merit Award from his hometown, Vancouver, for his ground-breaking medical work and writing.
David Malone is a filmmaker and TV presenter whose documentaries include Testing God, Soul Searching (both Channel 4), Dangerous Knowledge and The Secret Life of Waves (both BBC). He is the author of The Debt Generation.

[jorgelandell]

Television, high cost of living, cell phones, excessive eating, lack of genuine relationships, divorce rates, shaming everything you don't do or don't have. And it's going to get worst.

[richgarcia]

Krishnamurti was correct when he said that being well adapted to a profoundly ill society is not a good thing.

[louisesumrell]

Constant stress, fear/anger, keep adrenaline and cortisol levels elevated, leading to dis-ease.
Loving Kindness and Compassionate Understanding are the cure.

[Albisriede]

Gabor touches here on one of the most important phases in a human's beginnings: Birth, raising the newborn and how this affects the child's development.
25-some years ago I came across a book (The Continuum Concept) by Jean Liedloff, who observed the child raising practices of Yequana Indians. One of the first things she observed was: Yequana children 'never' cry. She found that puzzling. In time she learned why. One principle reason is that from birth on their infants enter what she termed an 'in arms phase' of life (about 6 months), that being carried in a sling throughout the day, regardless what kind of activity the mother engages in, be that hauling water, firewood, cooking etc.
At night the infant sleeps with mother and suckles whenever the need arises. So in tune with one another are the two, that mother doesn't even wake up when that takes place. This sort of being in tune with their environment creates an extremely relaxed (by any standard) young human being who never cries for 'psychological reasons' like our kids do, except when there is physical injury.
Friends of the author - who at the time of the book's initial publishing were raising a young boy and who, incidentally, cried during most nights - were advised to try having the boy sleep with the parents in their bed. The result: the boy stopped crying and after several weeks decided that he wanted to now sleep in his own bed. Crying issue solved. Apparently a 'must experience'' phase in the boy's life had been completed and his developing authenticity was on the right track.
I believe what Dr Maté is talking about is exemplified in Liedloff's book and should be regarded as a worthwhile read, especially for those who want to become parents.

[farrider]

"Culture is not your friend."
True !
Culture has one interest only :
To perpetuate the status quo.
Good input Mr.Maté

[arcacoma]

If we all stop comparing ourselves with others, we will live healthier...Comparison is the thief of joy.

[toshapetronicolos]

“Sadly, our culture is much more concerned with expertise than wisdom.” OMGoodness - SO true!
This video just breaks my heart… Dr Mate explains his words SO well yet some will still disagree that any of them are true…

[SandiTink]

Dr. Mate has helped me so much. I understand things about myself that never made sense or caused confusion. Every time I read his work or hear him talk, there are many “aha moments.” This man is a global treasure.

[joshuablack]

He hit on something that I’ve been saying for years - too many people act as if the medical and scientific field is the end all be all, as if they have all the answers and can’t be wrong or misguided.

[MastaChafa]

The fact that his voice is ASMR is a big plus

[StressRUs]

Our over-active stress response, driven by population density stress, is killing us NOW through ALL of our myriad and rapidly increasing "diseases of civilization". We have built a stressor filled environment. I just spent two hours in a cell phone shop attempting to switch carriers and get a new "flip phone", as I am convinced that the I-phone is a major part of the problem and provides an endless source of stress. Here's the rub: stress is addicting and we get hooked, just like any other feel-good drug/behavior, and then must constantly seek out stressful environments to keep the dopamine and endorphins flowing through the stress response. Gabor has much of value to say, especially about early childhood trauma. So many of today's pregnancies are unplanned (unwanted?) and so many of us had to grow-up unwanted. We are 3, 000 times more numerous than were our Hunter-Gatherer/pastoralist ancestors just 10-14kya. What could go wrong. Stress R Us

[angelaengle]

11:15 I have an example to add to this. When my mother was pregnant with my sister and I (twins), 6 months in her mother passed away which caused her to go into labor early and we were delivered as preemies. She gave birth to us on the day her mom was being buried. We had a lot of medical issues being born so early including brain hemorrhaging and such. Emotional state is extremely important while being pregnant.

[ronaldronald]

It is fascinating how the insights that Dr Gabor Maté has are explaining so many ills of our society and how damaging that is to our well-being..

[sergiomontes]

As a medical interpreter I can confirm than in the UK, at every maternity appointment, we *always* ask the mother for her emotional health, we make several questions about how she feels, if she feels that she needs emotional help to cope, if she lives in a safe environment and feels safe with her partner, and so on... it should be the same in every country.

[questioneverything]

I live in America. Obesity is rampant in America. Could we also talked about the foods at the grocery store? The type of food that we eat we'll make us very sick. The government allows all kinds of chemicals in the food. It's all causes a toxic environment also. I don't think it should be ignored

[rochelle]

Dr Gabor's compassion for, and understanding of, humanity is truly inspiring. He has connected so many dots, both psychologically, and physiologically. The problem is, though we desperately need people like him to guide governments around the world, his views would be unpopular as they run counter to the way modern society has been set up (especially the economic strategies).

[mohamedelfatih]

(Illness is not is abnormality. It is the normal response to abnormal environment)
Sum it all

[aratneerg]

All the people saying u have control... As an adult I certainly have more control but as a child or a teenager i definitely would have just absorbed what was around me. Its not just about us, its about others... our society. We are social beings. We owe it to ourselves and others to challenge unhealthy attitudes.

[henoheno]

Gabors a Saint. Listen to this man everyone, please.

[milleniumfalcon]

What the world lacks is Freedom, Truth, Wisdom, instead we have opposite, the system insures complacency & we police each other unknowingly, when you been brought up on lies the truth is hard to find or acknowledge