The Myth of Normal

Rates of chronic illness and mental distress keep climbing across wealthy societies, and Gabor Maté argues that the cause is not individual failure. Written with Daniel Maté, The Myth of Normal examines how stress, trauma and social conditions register in the body, drawing on decades of clinical work, patient accounts and research across medicine and psychology. The argument treats disease and distress as responses to circumstances rather than isolated malfunctions, and the closing chapters turn to what healing might involve. Anyone dealing with a health or mental health concern should consult a qualified professional; the book offers a perspective, not a course of treatment. The shape of the argument: • Links drawn between chronic stress, trauma and physical illness • Case material gathered across many years of clinical practice • A critique of what modern societies have come to treat as ordinary • Closing sections on recovery and the conditions that support it For readers of psychology, medicine and social criticism. Published by Penguin Publications and available from Boipoka.