Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture

          Gabor Maté wrote that “the entire context of social structures, belief systems, assumptions and values that surround us and necessarily pervade every aspect of our lives” is behind the whole collection of mental and physical chronic conditions afflicting us.

          As a counsellor who sees a lot of depressed, anxious and hopeless clients, as well as being a woman living with a chronic disease, I believe there is a lot of gray area around Maté’s belief, i.e. I don’t think things are quite that black-and-white. For example, I notice that the natural world has a lot of influence in how people (including myself) feel on any given day. Even physical symptoms worsen when people spend time inside on a rainy day, and mental symptoms certainly do as well, just as they improve outside on a sunny day. This sounds simplistic, but there are scientific studies proving it to be true.

          What do you think? Is our culture so toxic that it has caused your illness, or prevented you from healing? Or is that partly true and you have noticed other causes and effects on your healing and illness?

          Comment below, if you like.