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410 entries.
wrote on July 29, 2020 at 1:41 pm:
Dear Daniel,
Congratulations on your groundbreaking work on mental health and its relationship to childhood trauma.
I am 70 years old and have had a lifetime of emotional issues, beginning with a nervous breakdown in college.
Five years ago I was diagnosed with cancer and entered therapy (I have been in therapy off and on throughout my life) to help me cope with this upsetting diagnosis.
My therapist and I worked well together and we uncovered many traumatic experiences caused by my parents, who themselves were traumatized largely by their incarceration in Nazi concentration camps during World War II.
You are so right about how difficult it is to face the huge eruption of suppressed negative emotions that can be unleashed through trauma work. I found myself reconnecting with a self I had not known since my childhood.
My dilemma now is to decide whether to continue this work, or else to retreat back to my previous goal of adjusting to my illness, which is terminal.
May I ask you what you would do in my situation? Continue on what might be a long path to true recovery of my real self, or settle for supportive counseling aimed at managing my impending death.
In a way, the Pandora’s Box has been opened, and I don’t know if there is any real choice but to continue moving forward to process these feelings that I have pushed out of awareness for my whole life - even if there is not really enough time to “come out the other end”, to quote a phrase you have used often.
Thank you again for your marvelous insights.
Best wishes,
Seth Renouver
wrote on July 27, 2020 at 8:02 am:
Really informative stuff you've written. There's a new book out too that may interest you. It's called Love Drugs: The Chemical Future of Our Relationships by Brian Earp and Julian Savulescu.
wrote on July 14, 2020 at 3:09 pm:
Thank you so much for sharing your videos on YouTube. I really relate with your feelings towards your parents and your attitude to life. It's is so rare to hear this perspective anywhere. Thanks for making me feel not so alone!
wrote on July 14, 2020 at 3:09 pm:
I wanted to thank you for your brilliant critique of Alice Miller’s breakthrough observations on the multigenerational impacts of child abuse and, consequently, of unaddressed/unresolved childhood trauma. Your post “Alice Miller in a Nutshell: A Brief Critique” (2013) perfectly aggregated and summarized the somewhat disjointed thoughts I have been having after reading “The Body Never Lies” and then “Drama...”
I know that, in 2020, I am a bit late to the party of discovering this revolutionary and radical idea that there are unequivocally lifelong impacts of childhood trauma. However, my personal journey has brought me here now and I am so grateful that you have taken the time to share your critique so clearly and eloquently on your site here.
wrote on June 11, 2020 at 3:38 pm:
Hello, how are you? My name is Joe and I’m 21. I would like to get involved in the mental health field. I am very interested in the service of others, childhood trauma and would like to attempt to create a more open dialogue with the internet. Would you recommend someone to become a therapist nowadays? If so why or why not.
Thank you.
wrote on May 26, 2020 at 9:59 pm:
Hey Daniel,
I am curious your thoughts about “Toxic Masculinity” and what might constitute healthy masculinity. I’m also curious your opinion of Open Relationships.
Thanks,
Buck
wrote on April 2, 2020 at 5:58 pm:
Daniel, thank you. Found you at a threshold of my healing where I was finally ready to accept deeper painful truths of my childhood. I keep feeling that the doorway of t
Truth is like a dual sided coin- horror and disgusting illumination- as well as unbelieveable liberation, and powerful hope, promise. Makes sense that after taking my personal most courageous steps in commitment to healing and integrity- I came across your work. Your honesty and courage is beautiful and hard to put into words how valued and precious the work you're doing is (mainly I've watched your YouTube channel). I wish you so much fulfillment and healing in life. I will continue to benefit from the immense wealth of humanity, and articulation you share. Thank you. I'm happy to reach out in your guestbook and share my gratitude. May you receive many blessings and peace. Thank you again. -J
wrote on March 31, 2020 at 5:46 am:
Hello Daniel
Greetings. I was telling my mom about you the other day, how you and I are similar in thoughts and way we deal with life. You though are more accomplished.
I just hope all of this leads you to a sweet place and you enjoy the journey amidst the confusions and uncertainties and keep thriving and valuing the person in you.
Wishing you well. Keep sharing your perspectives.
Love and light
Farida
wrote on March 24, 2020 at 5:55 pm:
Hello Daniel!
I thought a lot about how to express my gratefulness towards your work and your existence in this world and I am really lacking the words. I first found out about you from my college profesor and since then I watch your videos and read about your work. I was really "moved" by your words cause you are so honest, wise, raw, authentic and genuine. You are more than inspiration to me, I really wish that I have you as my college profesor or mentor but with the way you made your work public you have done even greater contribution to everyone. I am more than grateful and lucky that I found out about you, I study psychology and I was really confused about the mainstream psychology that we are studying. I had doubts about whether I continue to study it cause it rarely made sense to me. Luckily I have really amazing professors from whom I can learn a lot and people like you. Thank you from the depth of my heart for being such an inspiration.
I wish you all the best,
Milica
wrote on March 14, 2020 at 3:13 am:
Hello Daniel. Nice work and happy to read that your life feels good now. I have a similar background as you in some way and it caused me a lot of problems along the way. I have worked as a nurse but now I am in nursing teacher training. I am also trying to spread the word of open dialogue to my international nursing group. Since i have been working in different area i don't have much experience of it. Could i use your great film of: OPEN DIALOGUE: an alternative Finnish approach to healing psychosis. I would just use some parts of it very shortly.
It would really help my teaching. Thank you for your reply and be well <3
Admin Reply by: dmackler58
Hi Jani
Feel free to use my film Open Dialogue or clips from it however you wish.
also, i filmed part of it in Jyvaskyla -- the interviews with Jaakko Seikkula. I spent a few nights in a hotel in Jyvaskyla!
daniel
wrote on March 13, 2020 at 12:57 am:
Hello Daniel. Your videos are eye opening, they are really making people think. I've found myself thinking over various subjects about anxiety, society, etc.
I've got a question. Are there any self help things/programs to be done when one is having dissociative identety dissorder? I have this, among other co-morbid dissorders, various trauma.
I didn't get enough help from therapy, I decided to leave it because my therapist was harmfull towards my well being.
wrote on March 9, 2020 at 1:21 pm:
Daniel,
Thank you many times over for your many and varied videos.
In these, you calmly and thoughtfully point the way towards true, independent, and toxic-free healing.
-- To add to what I wrote on February 13 --
Your videos are the exact opposite of what is dished out by most therapists (be they M.D.'s or otherwise) who not only believe in, but blindly worship The Three D's: Diagnoses, Dissociation, AND DRUGS!!! -
Yes, TheThree D's - the three-headed monster better known as the "Mental Health" industry - what an incredible misnomer!
"Mental Health" industry? Emphatically NO!!! --
"Mental Hell" industry? Emphatically YES!!!
wrote on March 4, 2020 at 12:38 pm:
Hi Daniel: I found your videos a couple of years ago when I was at a very down point in my career as a therapist. I was disillusioned with what I had been taught in school and thought that the training I had received had been next to useless. I went online to find out if any other therapist felt the same. I was so happy to find you saying the same things and explaining why it was so bad. I think that these were things that I could not articulate for myself and you did such an incredible job of it. I continue to watch your videos. I am hoping that you have something to say about Alzheimer's and Dementia. My mother is going through what my sisters say is Dementia and that I believe is her just not wanting to remember things from the past because they are so painful. She often says this. Can you enlighten us on this topic? Thanks so much---Debra
wrote on March 4, 2020 at 6:30 am:
Hi Daniel, I would like to share with you and your readers my psychiatry experiences. I'm trying to get my story out to the public in order to get justice and end coercive psychiatry which is a big challenge. https://www.psychiatrie-opfer.de/english-section/the-story-of-my-psychiatric-abuse/
wrote on March 3, 2020 at 5:41 pm:
I'm NOT one who is still / probably will NEVER be@ease with The 1 on 1 .... Typical Therapy Modalities on Offer to date.
Strange coming from a rather Extrovert Type .... Perhaps my Hidden Introvert has finally FOUND HER FAMILY + FORUM ☆☆☆☆☆
FINALLY time 2 SHINE
☆☆☆☆☆
THANKYOU
DANIEL ....
A STAR in my DARKNESS
wrote on February 17, 2020 at 12:35 pm:
Hello Daniel.
I am from the U.K.
I listen to at least one of your YouTube videos every night before I go to sleep.
My life is so very similar to yours, childhood trauma to an extreme.
Please continue to publish your work as it is helping me enormously.
Thank you
wrote on February 17, 2020 at 4:54 am:
Daniel - You are a gifted storyteller. This a rare and wonderful quality; it's part of an ancient, and even sacred, tradition. And it truly is a gift. Thank you for sharing your gift. Listening to your videos is like sitting around a campfire...hearing a story...one that may seem ordinary, but in truth, is one that contains great truths and lasting meaning. It's almost like being in the ancient world, maybe even a prehistoric tribe - for just a few moments - when storytelling was how history and wisdom were passed along - like greek myths or bible stories - and shared freely -around a campfire - when only thing needed was desire to learn, and an open heart.
Thank you for sharing your stories,
maria
wrote on February 13, 2020 at 9:09 am:
Daniel,
What you offer is so unique. You don't just spit out information - endless mouthfuls of meaningless words and complicated concepts. You are different. You're like a guide on the road of self exploration and self healing.
You talk about a lot of things and your reactions to them. But you emphsize the importance of exploring and exhuming our own distant past, and how it affects our reactions to present-day life. You explain how cultivating our own self awareness and self reflection is the pathway to healing. Isn't this what self therapy all about?
Your videos are the exact opposite of what is dished out (and almost goose-fed) by most therapists (of all persuasions) who worship at the alter of diagnoses and dissociation.
Self awareness and self reflection - two words that are bandied about so much they've all but lost their meaning. But you don't lead people to a place of self absorption, self pity, or self loathing -
You don't just say a word, you explain it - through your own experience - by giving your own living, breathing examples of what it is, what it means, what to do with it, and how to get there. Thank you, Daniel.
Thank you for taking the time, and having the courage to speak not just from your mind, but from your heart. Just by speaking human to human, by revealing some of your own personal experiences (and your thoughts, feelings and perceptions about these experiences) - you let yourself become relatable, which is invaluable, because then, people can identify with you, and from there, identify with themselves. It's how I learned to be self aware, and from there, how to be self reflective. It's like a journey. Thank you for letting people join you on part of your journey.
wrote on February 12, 2020 at 8:18 pm:
Dear Daniel,
I just wanted to say thank you once again, because the Ionger I hear your videos, the more I learn - and the more I heal.
Thank you for letting everyone know - in a kind, respectful, and easy to understand way - that childhood emotional abuse/trauma/neglect - while ancient - is ever-present, and all encompassing, and that it's ultimately the root of all human discord.
wrote on February 4, 2020 at 12:22 pm:
Hi Daniel. I just wanted to say hello and thank you for sharing your knowledge and unique perspective on youtube. Thank you for your work! Sending hugs, brother.
wrote on January 16, 2020 at 5:49 pm:
Daniel... Thank you for your wonderful insights. I would like to share with you some of the discoveries that I made into the programming we all experience. I did an interview two years ago where I describe the discoveries that I made which dramatically changed my life for the better. We are all Pavlovian creatures.
https://youtu.be/-a-bmB9stCo
wrote on January 13, 2020 at 4:42 am:
Hi - I'm doing a whistleblower series on Open dialogue.
Just got the first part uploaded: https://youtu.be/d4AeD34ixJo
Greetings from Finland.
wrote on January 11, 2020 at 12:13 am:
Wow l just came across your Youtube Video on why you quit being a therapist. Ive recently quit being a counsellor because l have Vicarious Trauma and l just cannot stand listening to people talking about their problems. After 2 years of unemployment l am focusing on writing and podcasting. Thank you for your candid evaluation and analysis of the mental health industry.
wrote on January 7, 2020 at 6:18 am:
Everything Daniel says is on point and has helped me heal. I am forever grateful to Daniel Mackler. I wish to talk to him one day in person and just have a conversation. I really admire him.
wrote on December 29, 2019 at 7:33 am:
Hello Daniel, I so appreciate your videos because you have walked the path yourself and are so grounded in your approach.
Can I pose a question about the unmet need of receiving care. How do we meet this need ourselves, fill that hole, when the experience involves another.
My parents always lectured me about how hard life was goung to be, but never demonstrated how tender it cpuld be. So I grew up hard, and independant declining offers of help and offers of praise. How do you heal that thrpugh a relationship with yourself? Or does it require interaction with others.
Thanks
wrote on December 26, 2019 at 11:00 pm:
I identify with you and love your videos. My mother is a covert narc and I'm the middle child- scapegoat. The grieving and depression have been all I've ever known. I'm working through it and recognize my trauma, and can pull away from it, unlike my sisters, which I am grateful for.
One question. You speak as though you believe that *everyone* is traumatized in their childhood. Do you really believe that?
wrote on December 13, 2019 at 4:59 am:
Daniel, you rock. Thank you for your real logic and honesty.
wrote on December 13, 2019 at 12:34 am:
Daniel,
I just happened upon one of your videos cruising YouTube. One. Next thing I know two hours have passed. Lol
I don’t have the words. Which is strange for me as a maniacal writer, and overall chatterbox.
You have changed my life in a span of two hours. Thank you. From the bottom of my troubled lil heart. xx
~Christy
wrote on December 7, 2019 at 5:57 am:
I am dealing with depression from 2008 and till now its there affecting my life. I am on medication. Not able to find a good therapist
wrote on November 7, 2019 at 12:28 am:
Hi Daniel,
I sincerely feel that you have hit the root of all chronic mental illness in humans i.e the flawed family system.
I have looked at many therapeutic approaches last many years including cognitive, behavorial, neurolistic, energy healing etc. Most have their advantages and limitations. However your work is unique as you expose the cause of the illness. It only makes complete sense that any problem can be tackled in completeness only from the cause.
However how to cure an issue that is denied and taboo in the society. We live in a time of democracy and looking at how issues have been tackled through last decades is using the force of numbers. For example in todays world women rights exist because there has been a strong lobbying from segments in the society for women rights. This was not possible possibly 100 years back. The same example can be extrapolated to many other scenarios as slavery or same sex marriages.
I think society will only approve of our concern when our lobbying is strong. Parents have the privilege to be automatically given the label of "holier than cow" and "above judgement". This paradigm surely needs change in today's world. The laws of the democratic society need to accommodate the vulnerabilities of the abused child. The society needs to to be more approving of such children etc.
In this perspective I wish to ask you why not start a forum wherein like minded people who have similar views can come together and discuss their experiences. It will be a starting point of such a lobby !!!
bye for now
Shaun