05/01/2026
I feel very grown-up today! I’ve read one book a month this year, and this book has a bunch of pages and is written by someone who speaks way above my level. So, I’m proud that I completed it.
The Myth of Normal by Gabor Mate breaks down how nature and nurture shape how we feel and the impact they have on our bodies. Instead of just treating an ailment, he looks at what that ailment is trying to tell us about the trauma we are holding on to. One of the most interesting concepts that he breaks down is addiction. Saying that addiction is really related to pain management. A person’s ability to quit an addiction is based on how much pain they can tolerate, both physical and mental. “The issue is never the external target but one’s internal relationship to it.”
