10 things I learned from “The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture" Book by Daniel Maté and Gabor Maté
1. Many illnesses such as MS seem to have a psychological component as a cause
There are frequently similarities in the personality types that get certain conditions. The authors premise is that sometimes diseases can be brought on by personality traits, and also traumas.
2. The author states that childbirth has been mechanized
As a doctor, who performed many deliveries, he's certainly qualified to talk about this. His point was that he was trained to basically deliver a baby as if it was an operation, forgetting that human beings have been giving birth just fine for tens of thousands of years.
3. Mechanized childbirth gets is the way of important bonding
The natural way of childbirth typically involves a lot more physical touch. Then umbilical cord can stay in place for an extended period of time, and other changes. The author theorizes, that this mechanical way of giving birth in a hospital room can cause lasting childhood trauma.
4. Attachment is a basic human and animal need
The same way, a baby duck will sometimes imprint on a person, a dog or the first thing it sees after his born a human being can do the same. If a parent is not around they will bond with their peers (bad outcomes from this)!
5. In the correct “normal“ there are adults for the children to bond to but in our current society adults are not always available
Because parents need to work and also for other reasons, the people that children are able to bond to is their peers. Is anybody that has children or can remember when they were a child those your childhood peers are often the worst people to hang around with or try to learn things from. He calls this peer normalization and other terms.
Parental disengagement combined with a desire for peer acceptance leads to disaster.
6. Screen time for young kids can cause Autism like symptoms in kids that don’t have it
Delayed speech, etc.
7. Playing outside is part of normal brain development
"The work of a child is to play"
8. “Diseases” should be considered as a continuum not just off and on
9. To combat addictions: ask “what do you get out of this?”
Why does this pain happen that needs to be soothed? What are the benefits to using?
10. The author does not believe that mental illness is genetic. It is almost always through trauma.
Labels such as "bipolar" are not helpful. However, he does believes that psychiatric drugs can be helpful.
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