Name: When the Body Says No
ISBN: 9780676973129

When the Body Says No

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.

What Hacker News says

revilotomJun 2025

Yes Alan Gordon's book is an easy read, it has a lot more up to date examples and a nice lighthearted style.

If you are interested on books that show the mind body connection with more serious diseases, I recommend "when the body says no" by Gabor Mate.

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thenerdheadMay 2023

You have to fill up your cup before you can fill others. Perfectionists are well known to hardly ask for help and in life that's the catalyst for being able to make more time for yourself.

Say no to more things. Spend more time on finding out more about yourself. Start to understand your emotions around the constant trauma you're living through and have lived through.

You don't need to pay somebody $150 for this advice. Go pick up any well known book on stress, trauma, etc and it'll start to make sense.

Here's some to start:

- The Stress of Life

- The Body Keeps the Score

- When The Body Says No / The Myth of Normal

- The Drama of the Gifted Child

- The Courage to Be

- Awakening the Soul

You can also read ancient mythology, philosophy, or religious texts which will repeat familiar stories that help you ponder a deeper sense of purpose. There's many ways to get closer to your soul.

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cf100clunkMay 2023

First, a dedicated GrapheneOS user here. Kudos and mad props to all who create(d) and maintain(ed) it.

Second, I look in the mirror and see a grey beard. I've seen a lot of interpersonal strife in the High Tech world over the decades. I got stung a few times myself, directly and indirectly. I can relate to what I've read of this situation in the other HN thread, which leads me to...

Third, I hope that the personal cost of such a taxing series of events will lead those people affected towards books like this:

https://drgabormate.com/book/when-the-body-says-no/

https://wisdomexperience.org/product/how-be-sick-second-edit...

Life is too short.

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magicink81Mar 2023

I recommend the online courses (one of which is free) [1], and videos [2] on YouTube made by Anna Runkle, the "Crappy Childhood Fairy".

[1] https://courses.crappychildhoodfairy.com/daily-practice [2] https://crappychildhoodfairy.com/videos/

Others in the thread have recommended "The Body Keeps the Score", which I also recommend. It is available on Audible as an audiobook as well.

Other books I recommend:

"Self-Parenting: The Complete Guide to Your Inner Conversations" by John K Pollard and Linda Nusbaum.

"How to be an Adult in Relationships" by David Richo

"The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture" by Gabor Mate

"When the Body Says No" by Gabor Mate

I practice Mindful Qi Gong (healing movement + meditation) once a week as a part of a 2-hour class, as well as independently on an irregular schedule. It has helped significantly to deal with stress.

I think that for people struggling with issues like CPTSD, ignorance is the first, and largest barrier to healing / recovery / improving. We grow up and enter the adult world and often in many ways "escape" our stressful / traumatic childhoods only to start the process of creating our own trauma and stress as young adults. As we enter adulthood, we may be consciously or subconsciously masking our feelings / hide our pain / run from dealing with our emotions and issues because we want desperately to leave all that behind us. This "running away" may actually compound our problems, leading to destructive behaviors such as substance abuse. Gabor Mate, among others, presents a compelling case that the majority of the people we see on the street struggling with addictions and mental health issues may not have ended up there if they had received proper care and healing, even as adults. If only they had, perhaps, in their more lucid, clearer-thinking, younger days come to understand that they had the need and possibility for healing. The pure ignorance we have about this topic in our society is staggering, considering the widespread impact childhood trauma has on our lives.

I certainly wish someone had sat me down in my 20s and told me directly: "You had a crappy childhood, that sucks. And the effects of the trauma on your physiology and psychology may limit you for the rest of your life. However, there is good news: Now you're an adult and healing is possible."

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styrmisAug 2022

And one more on this theme, When the Body Says No, by Gabor Maté.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/450534.When_the_Body_Say...

The author suggests (amongst other things) that anger suppression can lead to cancer cells not being dealt with by the body as they would normally otherwise be. The evidence is anecdotal, but then it perhaps quite unlikely that we will see clinical studies along these lines any time soon unfortunately.

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stasiuJan 2021

Thanks for sharing this article! Even though I know more people are thinking about/struggling with stress, its good to read others assessment on it.

When covid came around and I started working from home I realized how much stress I had at the office. For at least the last 2 to 3 years I would get these huge headaches which would completely disable me and completely drain my energy. I was convinced that it was purely physical for the longest time. I did yoga, worked out, when to chiropractor, ... nothing really helped. I ended up at a physiotherapist with a lot of experience, who was able to look beyond the physical. After having yet another huge headache during my work week I discussed this with her, we were looking for the what could have stressed me. It was an email.

I was working on one project that I needed to finish to continue the work of my team when an email came in about another project I had been pushing away for a while. This email reminding me of that project stressed me so much that it completely disabled me.

I still regularly have these headaches, but now I can start thinking to myself, what stresses me here? And I can focus on fixing those issues. Most of these issues aren't just an easy fix, especially now, but its helping me. I'm helping me, I'm listening to my body.

Also related to the topic of stress and its consequences is When The Body Says No by Dr. Gabor Mate [1]. He did a few talks on the subject, you can find them on Youtube [2].

1. https://drgabormate.com/book/when-the-body-says-no/

2. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=when+the+body+s...

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