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In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts

Close Encounters with Addiction

Author Gabor Maté, MD
Foreword by Peter A. Levine, Ph.D.
Ebook
North Atlantic Books
On sale Jun 28, 2011 | 520 Pages | 9781583944202
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A groundbreaking look at addiction and recovery from the bestselling author of The Myth of Normal—the modern self-help classic that reframes everything you were taught about trauma and substance abuse

Addictions always originate in pain, whether felt openly or hidden in the unconscious.

In In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, world-renowned physician and trauma expert Dr. Gabor Maté offers a frame-changing approach to understanding substance abuse and recovery—and challenges us to rethink everything we thought we knew about how addiction happens, who’s labeled an “addict,” and why our social systems and government structures fail to support real healing and wholeness.

This #1 international bestseller advocates for humane approaches to treatment and recovery and explores substance use disorder as an outcome of unhealed developmental trauma. Through case studies, cutting-edge neuropsychiatric research, and clear-eyed analysis, Maté reveals the root causes of addiction:
  • Personal history
  • Emotional development
  • Brain chemistry
  • Social conditions
  • Structural factors
  • The unhealed traumas we may not even realize we carry
He convincingly makes the case for solutions grounded in real, whole-person, whole-culture healing—not the punishment, stigma, isolation, and criminalization that actually lead to worse outcomes.

Since its original publication in 2010, this book has been essential reading for anyone seeking to understand addiction. It reframes substance use disorder as a response to suffering—not a “choice” or a moral failure. For readers struggling with substance abuse, for those looking to better understand their loved ones, and for anyone who wants to make sense of the twin epidemics of trauma and addiction, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts offers a radical, authoritative path toward understanding, hope, and societal repair—and lights the way for true recovery.
No society can understand itself without looking at its shadow side. I believe there is one addiction process, whether it is manifested in the lethal substance dependencies of my Downtown Eastside patients; the frantic self_soothing of overeaters or shopaholics; the obsessions of gamblers, sexaholics and compulsive internet users; or the socially acceptable and even admired behaviours of the workaholic. Drug addicts are often dismissed and discounted as unworthy of empathy and respect. In telling their stories my intent is twofold: to help their voices to be heard and to shed light on the origins and nature of their ill_fated struggle to overcome suffering through substance abuse. They have much in common with the society that ostracizes them. If they seem to have chosen a path to nowhere, they still have much to teach the rest of us. In the dark mirror of their lives, we can trace outlines of our own.There is a host of questions to be considered. Among them:• What are the causes of addictions?• What is the nature of the addiction-prone personality?• What happens physiologically in the brains of addicted people?• How much choice does the addict really have?• Why is the "War on Drugs" a failure and what might be a humane, evidence-based approach to the treatment of severe drug addiction?• What are some of the paths for redeeming addicted minds not dependent on powerful substances—that is, how do we approach the healing of the many behaviour addictions fostered by our culture?
Copyright © 2010 by Gabor Mate. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Gabor Maté, MD, is a physician, author, seminar leader, and acclaimed public speaker. His bestselling books include Scattered, When the Body Says No, and Hold onto Your Kids. In 2022, he also co-authored The Myth of Normal, the instant New York Times bestseller, with his son, Daniel Maté. A former medical columnist for The Vancouver Sun and The Globe and Mail, Dr. Gabor Maté lives in Vancouver, BC.
 
Peter A. Levine, PhD, holds doctorates in both medical biophysics and psychology. He developed Somatic Experiencing, a body-awareness approach to trauma treatment, and his bestselling book Waking the Tiger has been translated into 22 languages. His other works include In an Unspoken Voice, Healing Trauma, Trauma and Memory, and Trauma Through a Child’s Eyes. He lives in Encinitas, CA.
Gabor Maté, MD View titles by Gabor Maté, MD

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A groundbreaking look at addiction and recovery from the bestselling author of The Myth of Normal—the modern self-help classic that reframes everything you were taught about trauma and substance abuse

Addictions always originate in pain, whether felt openly or hidden in the unconscious.

In In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, world-renowned physician and trauma expert Dr. Gabor Maté offers a frame-changing approach to understanding substance abuse and recovery—and challenges us to rethink everything we thought we knew about how addiction happens, who’s labeled an “addict,” and why our social systems and government structures fail to support real healing and wholeness.

This #1 international bestseller advocates for humane approaches to treatment and recovery and explores substance use disorder as an outcome of unhealed developmental trauma. Through case studies, cutting-edge neuropsychiatric research, and clear-eyed analysis, Maté reveals the root causes of addiction:
  • Personal history
  • Emotional development
  • Brain chemistry
  • Social conditions
  • Structural factors
  • The unhealed traumas we may not even realize we carry
He convincingly makes the case for solutions grounded in real, whole-person, whole-culture healing—not the punishment, stigma, isolation, and criminalization that actually lead to worse outcomes.

Since its original publication in 2010, this book has been essential reading for anyone seeking to understand addiction. It reframes substance use disorder as a response to suffering—not a “choice” or a moral failure. For readers struggling with substance abuse, for those looking to better understand their loved ones, and for anyone who wants to make sense of the twin epidemics of trauma and addiction, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts offers a radical, authoritative path toward understanding, hope, and societal repair—and lights the way for true recovery.

Excerpt

No society can understand itself without looking at its shadow side. I believe there is one addiction process, whether it is manifested in the lethal substance dependencies of my Downtown Eastside patients; the frantic self_soothing of overeaters or shopaholics; the obsessions of gamblers, sexaholics and compulsive internet users; or the socially acceptable and even admired behaviours of the workaholic. Drug addicts are often dismissed and discounted as unworthy of empathy and respect. In telling their stories my intent is twofold: to help their voices to be heard and to shed light on the origins and nature of their ill_fated struggle to overcome suffering through substance abuse. They have much in common with the society that ostracizes them. If they seem to have chosen a path to nowhere, they still have much to teach the rest of us. In the dark mirror of their lives, we can trace outlines of our own.There is a host of questions to be considered. Among them:• What are the causes of addictions?• What is the nature of the addiction-prone personality?• What happens physiologically in the brains of addicted people?• How much choice does the addict really have?• Why is the "War on Drugs" a failure and what might be a humane, evidence-based approach to the treatment of severe drug addiction?• What are some of the paths for redeeming addicted minds not dependent on powerful substances—that is, how do we approach the healing of the many behaviour addictions fostered by our culture?
Copyright © 2010 by Gabor Mate. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Author

Gabor Maté, MD, is a physician, author, seminar leader, and acclaimed public speaker. His bestselling books include Scattered, When the Body Says No, and Hold onto Your Kids. In 2022, he also co-authored The Myth of Normal, the instant New York Times bestseller, with his son, Daniel Maté. A former medical columnist for The Vancouver Sun and The Globe and Mail, Dr. Gabor Maté lives in Vancouver, BC.
 
Peter A. Levine, PhD, holds doctorates in both medical biophysics and psychology. He developed Somatic Experiencing, a body-awareness approach to trauma treatment, and his bestselling book Waking the Tiger has been translated into 22 languages. His other works include In an Unspoken Voice, Healing Trauma, Trauma and Memory, and Trauma Through a Child’s Eyes. He lives in Encinitas, CA.
Gabor Maté, MD View titles by Gabor Maté, MD

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