 By Rachel Moore, LMFT
I was recently invited along with a few dozen other mental health clinicians to a small, salon-style discussion with author Gabor Maté. When I had the opportunity to ask him a question that night, he told me I was wrong. And I’m glad he did. If you’re not familiar with Maté, he is a renowned Hungarian-Canadian physician who specializes in neurology, psychiatry, psychology, and addiction. His basic premise is the mind and the body are inseparable. Maté’s books include “When the Body Says No: Understanding the Stress-Disease Connection” and “In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction.” Maté is also a Holocaust survivor, and he focuses on the effects of early childhood trauma in disease and addiction. In one interview, he said: “There are genetic predispositions to addictions, but they don’t cause addiction by themselves; they just increase the risk. In both animal and human studies subjects don’t become addicted if they receive the proper nurturing, even in the presence of predisposing genes.”  I was recently preparing for an uncomfortable conversation when a spontaneous thought came to mind: How old do I want to be in this discussion? It hadn't occurred to me before that rather than reacting out of fear and from an adolescent (or earlier) instinct, I could choose to use every year of my well-earned experience. And it WAS a choice. If I wanted to speak from a child's perspective I could do that. I also had the option of approaching the situation with the wisdom of an adult. In this particular case I chose the latter. And that, as they say, made all the difference.
Are you ready to take a look at your habits and how they may or may not be serving you? Contact Rachel Moore, LMFT, for a free 15-minute chat to see how I can best help you. |
AuthorRachel Moore, LMFT, is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapy in San Diego, CA. Rachel helps writers, artists, musicians, and other creative types overcome anxiety and trauma. She is certified in EMDR therapy and also trained in Brainspotting. Archives
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Rachel Moore, LMFT
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist MFT #102826
rachel(at)rachelmoorecounseling.com
www.rachelmoorecounseling.com
619-577-4514
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist MFT #102826
rachel(at)rachelmoorecounseling.com
www.rachelmoorecounseling.com
619-577-4514
Address:
3232 4th Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103
3232 4th Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103
(Remote video sessions also available for residents of California or Montana)
We are committed to providing a safe, affirming, and inclusive therapeutic space for all ages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, national origins, relationship statuses, health statuses, disabilities, ethnicities, and religions.
If you are in crisis, assistance is available 24/7 at:
San Diego Access & Crisis Line
888-724-7240
National Suicide Prevention Line
Call or text: 988
If you are in crisis, assistance is available 24/7 at:
San Diego Access & Crisis Line
888-724-7240
National Suicide Prevention Line
Call or text: 988