Gabor Maté and How Stress Manifests
The silent toll of hidden stress is often overlooked, yet it shapes our health in ways we may not immediately recognise. Have you ever noticed how your body reacts when you suppress things for too long? Perhaps a lingering headache, a tight chest, or the beginning of a troubled stomach?
Gabor Maté’s work explores the profound connection between the repression of stressors and chronic illness, showing how the body steps in to carry the burden when hidden patterns and buried emotions remain unprocessed. He argues that when we fail to acknowledge and process things fully, the body speaks for us, sometimes in the form of pain, autoimmune conditions, or other serious health issues.
His research highlights how our personality traits also shape our long-term health. Many who have experienced childhood adversity or have a tendency toward chronic people-pleasing, perfectionism, or emotional suppression are more vulnerable to conditions like fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other chronic illnesses. Recognising these patterns helps empower people suffering these conditions by providing a deeper understanding of how their mind-body system functions.
Learn to read symptoms not only as problems to be overcome but as messages to be heeded. — Gabor Maté
The Science of Suppression and Illness
Maté’s work aligns with the growing field of psychoneuroimmunology, which examines how stress and emotional patterns shape the nervous system, immune function, and long-term health. Chronic stress triggers the release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which, when sustained over time, can contribute to inflammation, immune dysfunction, and neurological imbalances.
Many of Maté’s case studies illustrate how individuals who continue to override their mindbody’s signals often develop serious health conditions. This is particularly relevant for those with chronic illness, as traditional medical approaches often fail to address the underlying root causes.
His perspective challenges conventional medicine’s tendency to separate the mind from the body, focusing only on physical symptoms. Maté’s research offers a more integrated view, one that considers the long-term impact of psychological and emotional patterns on immune function, pain responses, and chronic illness development. This shift in focus and understanding is relevant to those seeking deeper healing beyond symptom management.
A Thought-Leader in MindBody Healing
Dr. Gabor Maté is widely recognized as one of the most influential voices in the field of mind-body health. His work has revolutionised how we understand addiction, chronic illness and mental health; not as isolated medical conditions, but as deeply interconnected responses to stress, past experiences, and the ways we have adapted to survive. With decades of experience as a physician, speaker, and author, Maté has helped shift the conversation from symptom management to uncovering patterns and changing behaviours, highlighting the role of childhood adversity and societal pressures in shaping our long-term health.
Dr. Maté has written several acclaimed books, the most well-known of which is When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress. In this seminal piece of writing, Maté examines the personality traits and coping mechanisms that can predispose individuals to autoimmune diseases, cancer, and other chronic conditions. Drawing on deep scientific research as well as his own clinical work, When the Body Says No provides the answers to critical questions about the mind-body link – and the role that stress and our emotional makeup play in an array of so many common diseases.
Rewriting Your Story: Healing Beyond the Patterns
Recognising the behaviour patterns, the hidden stressors and uncovering the root causes of illness is a big step forward on the journey. If you resonate with what Maté points to, it might be time to ask:
What might change if I no longer carried these patterns from the past?
The path to recovery involves rewiring the brain and nervous system to respond differently to stress. Through guidance, and taking steps in the right direction, you can begin to shift from survival mode and past patterns to a new place of nervous system regulation and well-being.
Next Steps: Integrating These Insights
If you would like to explore these ideas further, I’ve distilled the key teachings of When the Body Says No into a book summary for you, highlighting Maté’s core concepts and how they relate to this healing path.
Explore deeper insights in When the Body Says No: Read the book summary of Gabor Maté’s When The Body Says No here
Try a somatic guided healing practice to help shift out of stress responses: Click here for a Guided Somatic Havening Technique Session
Discover more mindbody recovery tools, nervous system regulation techniques and healing articles in the Resources Section of this website.
With care and warmth,
Amari 💗
