Gabor Maté
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
So let me ask you this.
I don't know you, Sarah, but according to that definition, have you ever had any kind of an addictive pattern in your life?
Okay.
I won't ask you what, but here's what I'll ask you.
Choose any one of them and tell me what was wrong with it, but what did it give you?
What did you like about it in the short term?
Relief.
Who needs relief?
Exactly.
In other words, the addiction wasn't the choice you made.
It also wasn't the disease that you had.
It was your attempt to relieve suffering.
And you ask anybody, whatever they're addicted to, what does it do for you?
They'll say, numbs me, relief of pain, escape from reality, stress relief, a sense of control, a sense of belonging, a sense of vitality.
All of these things are good things.
In other words, the addiction is nobody's primary problem.
It's an attempt to solve the problem.
The problem of what?
The problem of suffering.
The problem of emotional pain.