Dr. Gabor Maté
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
Exactly.
So if bad things are happening to me, it must be a bad person.
You know, number one, number two, uh, I didn't fight back.
I couldn't defend myself.
And so that makes me weak.
And, you know, and I'm ashamed of that.
Now, actually, when you look at it, they're not fighting back is nature's coping mechanism.
Uh, part of your nervous system just freezes because if you fought back, what would happen?
Because it depends on what age you are.
No, but as a young child.
If I back on... Against a sexual abuser.
Oh, right.
What would happen to you?
Who knows?
I mean, it could have been even worse.
And were you in a position to run?
No.
No.
I was trapped in a bathroom.
So the part of your nervous system that would have you fight or run away gets inactivated.