How To Heal Addiction By Understanding What It Really Is | Gabor Maté

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Nov 19, 2025

In this enlightening discussion, Gabor Maté, a renowned physician and bestselling author specializing in addiction and trauma, dispels myths around addiction, defining it as a survival response stemming from childhood struggles. He emphasizes that addiction isn't a choice but a desperate attempt to escape pain. Gabor shares his personal experiences and stresses the importance of self-awareness and connection in the healing process, highlighting that most need support to overcome their trauma rather than relying on solitary efforts.

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INSIGHT

Addiction As An Attempt To Solve Pain

Addiction serves as an attempt to solve a problem in someone's life rather than a moral failing or simple choice.
Gabor Maté says most people meet his broad definition of addiction because many try to escape unmanageable pain.

INSIGHT

Addiction Provides Temporary Escape

Addictive behaviors give temporary relief or escape from shame, pain, or insecurity.
Maté frames the person who needs escape as someone who feels trapped and frightened due to their circumstances.

ANECDOTE

Maté's Workaholism Rooted In Worthiness

Gabor Maté shares his own workaholism as an addiction born from needing to prove his worth and right to exist.
He links that drive and Lewis Howes' childhood feeling of being trapped to their respective addictions' origins.

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"Addiction is never a choice and it's not some kind of genetic disease, which that is total nonsense. What it actually is, is an attempt to solve a problem in your life." - Gabor Maté

Gabor Maté doesn't sugarcoat it. When he asks what addiction gave you, he's not interested in shame or judgment. He wants you to see the truth: you were trying to escape something. Lewis admits he felt trapped throughout his entire childhood, and Gabor names it immediately. That's what addiction is for. It's for people who feel imprisoned, who need an escape from pain they didn't ask for. Gabor shares his own struggle with workaholism, driven by a desperate need to prove he had the right to exist, that he was worthy of love. These aren't moral failures. They're survival responses to trauma that got embedded in childhood, and they've been following you ever since.

Here's what changes everything: addiction isn't about what's wrong with you. It's about what happened to you, and what you've been trying to solve ever since. Gabor walks through why virtually everyone in a room would raise their hand if asked whether they have an addiction by his definition, because most of us are trying to escape something we couldn't control. He's clear that while rare spiritual moments in nature can sometimes spark healing, most of us need self-awareness, support, connection, and guidance. This conversation strips away the myths about addiction being a disease or a choice, and reveals the trapped child underneath who's still trying to break free. If you've been waiting for that miraculous moment to heal, Gabor's message is direct: don't wait. Get the help, because you have a much better chance that way.

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