Trauma and Healing in a Toxic Culture

Trauma is a fact of life. Sooner or later it happens to many of us. There are traumatic events in the world but trauma is not the event. It’s the wound one sustains as a result of it. Listen to my conversation in episode 336 of the Authentic Parenting podcast with Dr. Gabor Maté on the consequences of surrendering authenticity for the sake of attachment, children’s irreducible needs, the impact of parental stress on kids, including stress in utero, how parental childhood trauma can affect kids, how to deal with your own discomfort around your children’s’ big feelings, pathways to healing and so much more. Impactful, moving and inspiring! 

Some key points

• What children need to thrive, the acorn metaphor 
• Attachment and authenticity
• Parenting as a portal for healing and growth
• What happens when emotions are suppressed?
• What does healing mean?

Here is a quote from his new book The Myth of Normal that I really love.

“Once again, it is not the past that has to change (or can change), only our present relationship to ourselves. ” 

About my guest

A renowned speaker and bestselling author, Dr. Gabor Maté 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 works have been published internationally in nearly thirty languages.

Mentioned in this episode

• The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture
• In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction
• When the Body Says No: Exploring the Stress-Disease Connection
• Scattered: How Attention Deficit Disorder Originates and What You Can Do About It
• Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers
• The Wisdom of Trauma documentary
• Hello Again workshop at Omega

Other episodes you may like

1. Ep. 289: Developing Mind-Body Tools for Resilience with Rebekkah LaDayne 
2. Ep.292: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with Dick Schwartz, PhD
3. Ep. 260: Parenting with Presence with Dr. Dan Siegel 
4. Ep. 203: Discovering Wholeness and Healing After Trauma with James Gordon, MD
5. Ep. 326: Befriending Your Nervous System with Deb Dana
6. Ep. 306: The Invisible Epidemic of Trauma with Paul Conti, MD
7. Ep.332: The Science of Stuck and Trauma Healing with Britt Frank
8. Ep. 314: The 6 Critical Needs of Children with Anna Seewald 
9. Ep. 313: Reconnecting to Your Authentic Self with Dr. Thema Bryant 
10. Ep. 311: The Healing Power of Storytelling 

Best books I read in 2022

1. The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture
2. A Place Called Home by David Ambroz
3. Stolen Focus by Johann Hari
4. The AfterGrief by Hope Edelman
5. The Anatomy of Anxiety by Ellen Vora
6. Strange Situation by Bethany Saltman 
7. Brain-Body Parenting by Mona Delahooke 
8. Parent Nation by Dana Suskind