WHAT IS THIS?
I would like to share with you what is probably the best texts written in the last few years. It encompasses so many societal questions and issues, while using a blanket thesis of the meaning of “normal”.
The Myth of Normal, written by Gabor Maté (and his son Daniel Maté), has impacted me and millions of others around the world. I find this hefty but digestible best-selling book to be the perfect length and writing style for any reader who would like to learn more about ideas that have been forced unto us of what is truly “normal”.
I’m not saying that Dr. Maté has all of the answers, but he has so clearly depicted a fundamental issue that we are all facing: labelling and diagnosing beyond repair what is in fact a NORMAL reaction to a dysfunctional environment.
Now, you must already be intrigued by what exactly I am proposing here. In fact, I have decided to do my own summaries of this excellent book, with quotes pulled directly from the text, as well as my own interpretations and opinions, as a psychology graduate. And to make matters even better, I have contacted the author directly, and he sent me an email himself with words of encouragement and approval!

My idea is to present to you a few key ideas every blog, and open up the discussion so you can do your own research too. I believe that every single person should read this book, and if not, at least be aware that it exists and know the main ideas from it, which I will unveil.
INTRO
To begin, I would like to share a quote that Dr. Maté states on page 2: “Chronic illness–mental or physical, is to a large extent a function or feature of the way things are and not a glitch; a consequence of how we live, not a mysterious aberration.” Exactly here, Dr. Maté reveals that in fact most of the illnesses we come to know as genetic malfunctions, are in fact a perfectly normal response to our society. He will go to prove this point several times throughout the book, but it’s important that we already start analyzing this idea from the start.
In fact, “to normalize” refers to the mechanism by which something previously aberrant becomes normal enough that it passes beneath our radar” (p.6). Dr. Maté is explaining that because mental and chronic illness, including stress, have become so common, we believe it is a “normal” part of life. However, his whole point is that “those features of daily life that appear to us now as normal are the ones crying out the loudest for our scrutiny” (p.7)
Let me leave you today, then, with the final quote from the first chapter that struck me, and sets the scene for the rest of the book: “If we could begin to see much illness itself not as a cruel twist of fate or some nefarious mystery but rather as an expected and therefore normal consequence of abnormal, unnatural circumstances, it would have revolutionary implications for how we approach everything health related”.
Everyone is the forger of their “normal”.