Our guest, Dr. Gabor Maté, a renowned speaker and bestselling author, sheds light on the true nature of addiction, and why so many of us fall victim to this harsh reality.   Society has created an ideal around feeling “normal” and finding “mental sanity,” when we do not even have a clear definition of what“mental sanity” is. So many people struggle with emotional pain on a day-to-day basis. When that pain becomes overwhelming, especially from early childhood trauma and attachment injuries, it’s human nature to try and escape that pain until it gets resolved. Gabor describes his clinical experience of helping those struggling with addiction, and how he concluded that addiction is always a strategy to escape from emotional pain, trauma, and attachments injuries during childhood. He speaks authentically  and shares about his experience of addiction, while giving hope with the basic aspects that help people heal. In this episode you’ll learn: What led Dr. Gabor Maté into working with substance abusers You may have an addiction you don’t know about The dissociative nature of certain addictions Why people fall back on their addiction How workaholism made Gabor feel wanted How to truly help clients with addictions Accessing emotions in the present as a tool for healing Visit www.higherpractice.com/podcast to get the show notes and to learn more about Dr. Gabor Maté.