Wholeness, Trauma & Addiction Recovery
Wholeness, Trauma & Addiction Recovery
Truthfully, I’ve always been mesmerized by Dr. Gabor Maté’s teachings and work. He has made it eloquently and profoundly clear that to work with addiction is to treat trauma. Addiction is often just a powerful coping tool for deep pain that transforms us at some point in our lives, sometimes at key developmental stages. Most importantly, Maté has shed light on how healing from addiction is possible and how it begins with re-establishing one's connection to their true or authentic self.
Dr. Maté makes an important distinction between abstinence and sobriety. While abstinence, no longer using a substance or participating in an addictive behavior, is a valuable step to sobriety, it’s not the same as being truly sober. Sobriety, in Maté's view, involves conscious presence and a deeper awareness of oneself. People can stop using drugs or alcohol, but that doesn’t mean they understand how to be present with themselves or others. Sobriety, therefore, requires more than just giving up the substance; it’s about reconnecting with yourself and working to understand the pain that led to the addiction in the first place.
Abstinence may remove the behavior or tool that was utilized to escape, but it often brings the underlying pain to the forefront, which can be overwhelming at first and should be handled with great care throughout treatment. In Maté’s view,it is in facing and working through these unresolved emotional wounds that true sobriety be achieved—a conscious state of being fully aware and engaged with life.
For Dr. Maté, the process of recovery is one of reclamation. It's not about becoming someone you're not, but reconnecting with the parts of yourself that were lost or suppressed due to trauma. He uses the term "healing" to signify wholeness, meaning that recovery isn’t about fixing something broken, but about reintegrating the parts of yourself that were cut off by trauma—such as healthy anger, love, joy, and the capacity for connection.
What’s incredibly hopeful in Maté’s philosophy is that these parts of ourselves can never truly be destroyed.
Trauma may have disconnected us from them, but they remain intact and accessible, waiting to be reclaimed when we're ready to face the pain and engage in the work of healing.
Trauma is not all of who we are but where we have been, what happened to us, and what didn’t happen for us. We may be scarred by past experiences, but the capacity for healing and recovery is within us all no matter how old or young, no matter how much pain or damage we’ve caused. Through self-awareness, compassion, and a commitment to healing, anyone can rediscover their authentic self and reclaim their life.
Trauma doesn’t destroy us, it disconnects us. When we begin the courageous work of facing the shame around our addiction, underneath we may find the parts of ourselves that have been fractured or abandoned. Then we can begin to re-introduce ourselves, to reconnect and heal our true self in a profound way. Recovery becomes a process of reclaiming not only one’s health but also one’s deeper purpose in life.
If this message resonates with you or someone you love, know that you do not have to navigate this journey alone. Reaching out for support can be the first step toward reconnecting with yourself. Jenean or the team at CIC are here to help guide you with compassion and care.
Reference:
Maté, G. (2023). The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture. North Atlantic Books
Meet Jenean
About The Author
Jenean Cervantes has a master's in clinical psychology from Antioch University and is an associate marriage and family therapist (AMFT138534) supervised by Jeremy Mast, MS, MDiv, LMFT, CSAT, CPTT (CA90961). She helps heterosexual, queer and polyamorous couples on restoring intimacy, trust and guiding long-lasting changes to the relationship. Jenean also works with men with issues of intimacy, partner communication, emotional regulation, infidelity and childhood trauma. Jenean is currently receiving training in Terry Real's Relational Life Therapy. Jenean also has received training in mindfulness techniques, attachment-based and psychodynamic modalities. She interacts with her clients from a trauma-informed, client-centered perspective.
