For today’s blog, I would like to share some thoughts on Gabor Mate’s profound work, “In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts.” Hats off to Dr. Gluzerman who introduced me to this insightful book.

Gabor Mate is a Canadian physician born in 1943 in a Jewish Hungarian ghetto. The Nazis invaded his town when he was an infant, resulting in the loss of his grandparents and the internment of his father in a work camp. These early traumatic experiences shaped his pre-verbal attachment style, a concept he explores extensively in his work, particularly in his decades of experience with Canadian drug addicts and substance users.

Mate's central thesis is that addictive behaviors are rooted in preverbal development, beginning in utero and lasting until about the age of three, around when memory consolidation starts. He posits that disruptions during this critical period—marked by trauma, anxiety, neglect, or inconsistent caregiving—impair an infant's ability to form a cohesive self-structure, a sense of trust, and the capacity for intimate attachments. As a result, individuals may seek external stimuli to fill an internal void, manifesting in behaviors such as substance abuse, excessive eating, gambling, shopping, overworking, and more. Mate himself admits to an obsessive addiction to work and collecting classical music, to the point of missing significant life events.

Mate’s perspective offers a humanistic framework for understanding addiction, fostering empathy for addicts often stigmatized or punished by society. He provides a new lens for addicts to understand their behavior as rooted in attachment issues, encouraging a focus on developing an internal self-structure to achieve fulfillment.

Throughout his book, Mate shares numerous case examples of heroin addicts discarded by society, seen as self-centered and manipulative rather than as individuals deprived of early affection and relational consistency. This loss of self is poignantly described by Claudia Black as "becoming what they are not."

Amidst these insights, it is crucial to maintain hope. Whether you are struggling with addiction or dealing with someone who is, set and maintain your boundaries, but strive to understand the underlying issues with empathy.

The book delves deeply into the neuroscience of trauma and addiction, but I encourage everyone to explore its case narratives for a profound and humane examination of addiction.

P.S. Don’t let the size of the book intimidate you.