In this accessible and groundbreaking book--filled with the moving stories of real people--medical doctor and bestselling author Gabor Maté shows that emotion and psychological stress play a powerful role in the onset of chronic illness, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, multiple sclerosis and many others, even Alzheimer's disease.

When the Body Says No is an impressive contribution to research on the physiological connection between life's stresses and emotions and the body systems governing nerves, immune apparatus and hormones. With great compassion and erudition, Gabor Maté demystifies medical science and, as he did in Scattered Minds , invites us all to be our own health advocates.

Stress, Emotions and the Body

Even though 'When the body says no: The cost of hidden stress’ is out more than twenty years, it’s just as relevant as ever. I’m not sure why I haven’t read it before, but it’s a subject I’ve become interested in, and ties in nicely with the books I’ve read on both meditation and non-duality and learning about TRE - Trauma Release Exercises.

Learning how to sit with emotions and feelings in the body is something that I’ve been trying to do a lot, both in my seated meditation and daily life. I’ve spent large parts of my life supressing emotions, so treating them as feelings that want to be acknowledged hasn’t always been easy.

As humans, many of us have a tendency to label certain emotions as bad and suppress them. What Gabor Mate shows in this book, using both anecdotal and scientific evidence, is that this can have devastating consequences on our health.

It took me nearly six months to read this book, as too often I had to take a break just to consider some of the findings. The thing was, though large parts of it shocked me, none of it came as a complete surprise.

Chronic Stress

The book looks at how many of us experience chronic stress, with much of it arising from our childhood experiences, especially surrounding our relationships with our caregivers. The brain, mind, body and soul are all linked - trying to solve our ailments by merely popping a pill, as favoured by the massive pharmaceutical industry complex, is often a blunt tool.

“The research literature has identified three factors that universally lead to stress: uncertainty, the lack of information and the loss of control.”

Knowing that stress takes a toll on our bodies is hardly groundbreaking, but it’s how the author breaks it down with his own case histories and research that makes the book so interesting.

‘Our immune system does not exist in isolation from daily experience’ sums up much of the message in ‘When the body says no’. Many of the cases report how Repression Stress lowered immunity acts as a trigger for many autoimmune diseases.

Though we all need an element of stress in our lives, it’s when it becomes chronic that it can affect our mental and physical health.

Trauma

Of course it’s not as simple as just labeling and acknowledging trauma. People experience deep rooted issues and dealing with them is a life long problem. There’s so much in our background, especially childhood, that has an impact on our health.

What the book delves into is how children, who might suffer from abuse or neglect, develop coping mechanisms that can make them more vulnerable to suffering in later life. When it comes to trauma, the stress hormones that the body secretes in order to protect itself, keep circulating, and the responses associated with the trauamtic event continue to play out in the present.

Science and Anecdotes

Science isn’t a strong subject for me, so it takes a bit longer for me to dissect and digest research. Too many facts and figures tend to wash over me, so there were some sections I had to re-read, which definately added to the length of time it took me to get through the book.

What worked well for my understanding were the anecdotes, with many of the cases recurring throughout. Many of the stories are heartbreaking, but there is a lot of hope too as we hear of people who have recovered from illness by not suppressing their anger and looking after their own needs.

Seven ‘A’s of Healing

I found much of the book hard going, so the Seven ‘A’s of healing section at the end was very welcome. As highlighted earlier when I spoke of nonduality and meditation, Awareness is something that I’ve tried to tap into more and more. Just sitting in stillness, and simply watching the emotions arise, can be the first step.

Accepting how things are and have been is important, as is acknowledging Anger, often viewed negatively but suppressing it, going by the evidence in this book, results in more maladies than perhaps any other suppressed emotion. Autonomy means enforcing our personal boundaries, and Assertion means taking our place in the world. We then affirm our desire to move towards a positive outcome, whilst examining our attachments to the people in the world around us.

When the body says no Summary

I found this an interesting read, though parts of it were very dry. The connections between stress and autoimmune disease are well made.

The book works best for me when looking at repression of the self, expressing ‘healthy’ anger and autonomy. I think there are may valuable lessons in looking at the connection between stress and illness, though paradoxically, if you are already experiencing anxiety about your health, this might not be the book for you. But ultimately it’s worth reading.

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First Published January 1, 2003

281 Pages

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