Wednesday, February 21, 2018
“Trauma isn’t what happens to you, it’s what happens inside you.”
– Gabor Maté
Dr. Gabor Maté (@drmate) is a physician who specializes in neurology, psychiatry, and psychology. He’s well known for studying and treating addiction.
Dr. Maté has written several books, including the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction. His work has been published internationally in 20 languages, and he’s received the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize; an Honorary Degree (Law) from the University of Northern British Columbia; an Outstanding Alumnus Award from Simon Fraser University; and the 2012 Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award from Mothers Against Teen Violence. He is an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Criminology, Simon Fraser University.
I’ve wanted to invite Dr. Maté to this podcast for a while because he is not only an expert in the pathologies of addiction, but he’s experimented with — and used successfully — tools that are perhaps outside the realm of traditional psychiatry. He is also a co-founder, along with Vicky Dulai, of Compassion for Addiction, a group that advocates for a new way to understand and treat addiction.
Enjoy!
Want to hear more about alternative medicine? Check out my conversations with James Fadiman, Ph.D. In the below episode, we discuss LSD and micro-dosing for creative problem solving, anxiety reduction, and more (stream below or right-click here to download):
This podcast is brought to you by Ascent Protein, the only US-based company that offers native proteins — both whey and micellar casein — directly to the consumer for improved muscle health and performance. Because the product is sourced from Ascent’s parent company, Leprino Foods — the largest producer of mozzarella cheese in the world — it’s entirely free of artificial ingredients and completely bypasses the bleaching process common to most other whey products on the market.
If you want cleaner, more pure, less processed protein — which I certainly do — go to ascentprotein.com/tim for 20 percent off your entire order! I’m a big fan of all of their flavors — the chocolate, vanilla, and even their newest option, cappuccino. Enjoy!
This podcast is also brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99Designs.
I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The Tao of Seneca, and I’ve also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you’re happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run…
QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Enjoy!
Selected Links from the Episode
Website | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
Show Notes
- Gabor shares his family history and how it motivated him to understand people as a medical doctor. [09:58]
- On influential books and gaining, rather than losing, something in translation. [14:06]
- The link between sensitivity, pain, and creativity. [21:33]
- How does Gabor start helping someone who’s outwardly successful but inwardly tortured? [24:31]
- When did Gabor’s interest in medicine begin? [29:58]
- How did Gabor end up working in palliative care? [33:49]
- How did Gabor start focusing on his work with addiction? [36:29]
- What nontraditional methods did Gabor use that raised eyebrows and got him fired, which opened opportunities he couldn’t have foreseen? [37:10]
- How does Gabor define addiction, and how is it at odds with other definitions? [39:16]
- What prompted my high school drug addiction? [41:32]
- How a coping mechanism becomes the root of addiction. [47:39]
- Looking at the causes of addiction instead of the consequences. [52:10]
- To what extent do genetics play a role in addiction? [1:01:56]
- What do the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) studies tell us about the nature of addiction? [1:04:50]
- How I’ve used loving kindness meditation to shed certain behaviors. [1:07:17]
- Once Gabor identifies why an addiction exists, what’s the next step? [1:11:37]
- Recommendations for someone looking to reconnect with themselves. [1:14:34]
- After a lifetime of believing himself unaffected by the benefits of yoga, what kind of yoga has Gabor recently started practicing with great success? [1:18:42]
- How did Gabor begin researching the therapeutic value of psychedelics? What was revealed by his first experience with ayahuasca? [1:20:56]
- The right way and the wrong way to experience ayahuasca. [1:26:46]
- Where can people learn more about current scientific studies into the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics? [1:30:40]
- An important caveat about powerful tools and exploitative gurus. [1:35:05]
- How I’ve been trying to reconnect with myself and my own gut feelings. [1:38:29]
- Why we shut down our gut feelings. [1:41:14]
- Elvis Presley’s lack of love song. [1:45:55]
- Some powerful modalities aren’t for everyone. [1:47:26]
- How did humans discover ayahuasca? How might it differ from place to place? [1:49:17]
- Gabor’s pre- and post-ayahuasca practices. [1:53:14]
- The importance of integrating by sharing our powerful experiences with others. [1:59:41]
- The clear intention you set is not the same as an expectation. “The task which hinders your task is your task.” [2:01:20]
- How can we view such a task as a gift? [2:05:07]
- An exercise for understanding how we respond not to what happens but to our perception of what happens. [2:07:18]
- Why blaming others for our problems turns us into victims, while identifying ourselves as the source of those problems is empowering. [2:14:01]
- What Gabor’s books are about and where he and his work can be found. [2:19:25]
- The problem with the way the United States deals with trauma. [2:24:47]
- Parting thoughts. [2:27:05]
PEOPLE MENTIONED
Posted on: February 20, 2018.
Please check out Tribe of Mentors, my newest book, which shares short, tactical life advice from 100+ world-class performers. Many of the world's most famous entrepreneurs, athletes, investors, poker players, and artists are part of the book. The tips and strategies in Tribe of Mentors have already changed my life, and I hope the same for you. Click here for a sample chapter and full details. Roughly 90% of the guests have never appeared on my podcast.
Who was interviewed? Here's a very partial list: tech icons (founders of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Craigslist, Pinterest, Spotify, Salesforce, Dropbox, and more), Jimmy Fallon, Arianna Huffington, Brandon Stanton (Humans of New York), Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Ben Stiller, Maurice Ashley (first African-American Grandmaster of chess), Brené Brown (researcher and bestselling author), Rick Rubin (legendary music producer), Temple Grandin (animal behavior expert and autism activist), Franklin Leonard (The Black List), Dara Torres (12-time Olympic medalist in swimming), David Lynch (director), Kelly Slater (surfing legend), Bozoma Saint John (Beats/Apple/Uber), Lewis Cantley (famed cancer researcher), Maria Sharapova, Chris Anderson (curator of TED), Terry Crews, Greg Norman (golf icon), Vitalik Buterin (creator of Ethereum), and nearly 100 more. Check it all out by clicking here.