Are we divided into normal and abnormal? We think that there are people who are normal on the one side and then those who are ‘pathological,’ who have disorders like depression, bi-polar, ADHD, schizophrenia or other conditions, on the other side.

But Dr. Gabor Mate says there is a continuum. We are all on a continuum and these traits are present in almost everybody. Normality is a myth.

In other cultures, mental illness is welcomed, held, and expression is allowed. The whole community will make room for your differentness, instead of disconnecting from you. Dr. Mate says society creates pathology by idealising individualism and distorting social contexts that ignore our emotional needs and casting those who don’t meet the economic model, aside. We don’t value people for who they are, we value them for what they produce or consume.

Addiction specialist, Dr. Gabor Mate, shares his solution.