Dr. Gabor Mate on Addiction

Published: May 2, 2012, 4 p.m.

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Gabor Mat\\xe9, an expert on addiction, can help you if you\'re hooked on sugar, smoking, taking drugs, texting, or another unhealthy activity. Addiction is "one of the most misunderstood phenomena in our society, says Dr. Mat\\xe9, author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction n the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters. You\'ll learn from Dr. Mat\\xe9 that "almost anything can become addictive, from seemingly healthy activities such as eating or exercising to abusing drugs intended for healing. The issue is not the external target but our internal relationship to it." Learn on this Gab with the Gurus Radio Show that addictions "develop in a compulsive attempt to ease one\\u2019s pain or distress in the world." Dr. Mat\\xe9, who for twelve years practiced medicine in Vancouver\\u2019s notorious Downtown Eastside \\u2013 North America\\u2019s most concentrated area of drug use -- will share views that counter prevailing notions of addiction as either a genetic disease or an individual moral failure. In fact, Dr. Mat\\xe9 presents an eloquent case that addiction \\u2013 all addiction \\u2013 is in fact a case of human development gone askew. He\'ll also share how he believes there is only one addiction process, its core objective being the self-soothing of deep-seated fears and discomforts. I invite you to get Dr. Mat\\xe9\'s\\xa0In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts.

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