Healing Trauma and Chronic Illness Through Connection

Show Notes: 

Trauma disconnects us from ourselves and others, leading to dysregulation that can drive disease. In this conversation, I explore how repairing that fundamental disconnection is the key to healing chronic conditions and autoimmune disorders with Dr. Gabor Maté.

Results have been remarkable – participants report a 26% decrease in daily physical pain, 28% decrease in digestive issues, and 28% improvement in sleep after just 21 days. Together, Gabor Maté and I emphasize safely “titrating” therapy to avoid overwhelming your system.

Dr. Maté, author of “When the Body Says No,” points out that trauma means being disconnected from yourself as an adaptive survival response, not the external events themselves. “The wound is this disconnection…But it can be repaired.”

He gives examples of people healing autoimmune diseases like lupus by reconnecting with their bodies and becoming their true selves. “In so many cases, whether MS, lupus, arthritis, depression or addiction, people do so much better when guided to deal with traumas and become their true selves.”

The experts discuss how 80% of autoimmune cases occur in women, likely tied to societal pressures for women to suppress themselves. Healing means not just reconnecting within, but changing unhealthy relationship patterns of people-pleasing or suppression.

Ultimately, true health requires living authentically – aligning your nervous system, emotions, relationships and true identity. As Dr. Maté says, “The question is, what kind of suffering would you want? The suffering of being yourself? Or the suffering of not being yourself?”

While trauma in our bodies can feel overwhelming, Dr. Maté and I provide hope. “As long as you’re breathing and conscious, there’s always a connection that can be made, and with connection there’s healing.” The path is practicing daily embodiment and self-attunement to repair the primal disconnection at the root of so much chronic illness.