Trauma & Politics: Germany, Israel & Palestine

The word trauma comes from ancient Greek and means wound or hurt. The American Psychological Association Dictionary defines trauma as “any disturbing experience that results in significant fear, helplessness, dissociation, confusion, or other disruptive feelings intense enough to have a long-lasting negative effect on a person’s attitudes, behavior, and other aspects of functioning. Traumatic events include those caused by human behavior (e.g., rape, war, industrial accidents) as well as by nature (e.g., earthquakes) and often challenge an individual’s view of the world as a just, safe, and predictable place.” Large-scale trauma such as massacres and genocide, which are state-generated, intersects with politics. Sometimes entire communities, regions, and countries are consumed by it.

Speaker: Gabor Maté
Gabor Maté, a Holocaust survivor, is a Hungarian-born Canadian physician with a special interest in childhood development, trauma and potential lifelong impacts on physical and mental health, including addictions. He is the author of the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction and co-author of The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture. Dr. Maté is a recipient of the Order of Canada, Canada’s highest civilian honor.

Description from www.alternativeradio.org