The Cost of Hidden Stress
Take everything you knew about cancer and debilitating diseases, and put it on hold for a sec. In this book, Dr. Gabor Mate explores the potential linkages between emotional distress and physical illness. Can someone trigger the onset of Breast Cancer or Multiple Sclerosis simply by repressing their emotional trauma? Is it possible to literally die of being lonely all the time? Can a traumatic childhood lead you on the path to predictable illness? These, and many other questions, find answers in a eloquent story-like manner.
“Simple and straightforward ratings of feelings of being loved are significantly related to health status”
Although this may sound like alternative, feel good medicine, Dr. Maté puts up quite the argument. I would recommend anyone that takes an empirical and genetic approach to disease give this a read. First, Maté walks the reader through a series of arguments that pull from scientific research and his experiences with palliative care patients. Then, looking through case studies of famous individuals, the argument for the mind-body link in disease becomes almost too big to ignore. Unsurprisingly, it also happens to be linked to addiction.
This is an ideal read for those who have always sought to better understand the world of disease. Maté gives a refreshingly simple explanation of how various hormone systems in the body work. The relationship between emotions and physical disease are made easy to understand – all without the need for a Biology degree. The book finishes with a chapter that gives the reader a toolkit to heal. This is nothing like I have ever seen before, as the typical self-help mantra seems to be positive thoughts and meditation. The approach given here by Maté is based on scientific evidence and aggregate experience as a physician.
The Seven A’s of Healing
- Acceptance
- Awareness
- Anger
- Autonomy
- Attachment
- Assertion
- Affirmation
Recommendation: Read with Reflection
Take it from someone who was highly skeptical, the words of this book resonated with me on a personal level. There is so much in the medical world that was far too easily dismissed or put to chance. Maté has put forth a hypothesis that helps fill the gaps in our understanding of the onset of disease, and why some individuals just seem to gravitate toward illness. The seven A’s listed above really do not mean anything on their own. One has to read through the entire book to appreciate the value of actions like Anger and Assertion.
It’s also kind of depressing when you realize how easily stress can kill you. So there’s that.
