By Paul Conti

Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic

Imagine, if you will, a disease―one that has only subtle outward symptoms but can hijack your entire body without notice, one that transfers easily between parent and child, one that can last a lifetime if untreated. According to Dr. Paul Conti, this is exactly how society should conceptualize trauma: as as an out-of-control epidemic with a potentially fatal prognosis, but an epidemic that can be understood and healed.

Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic: How Trauma Works and How We Can Heal From It

A Journey Toward Understanding, Active Treatment, and Societal Prevention of Trauma

Imagine, if you will, a disease―one that has only subtle outward symptoms but can hijack your entire body without notice, one that transfers easily between parent and child, one that can last a lifetime if untreated. According to Dr. Paul Conti, this is exactly how society should conceptualize trauma: as an out-of-control epidemic with a potentially fatal prognosis, but an epidemic that can be understood and healed.

In Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic, Dr. Conti examines the most recent research, clinical best practices, and dozens of real-life stories to present a deeper and more urgent view of trauma. Not only does Dr. Conti explain how trauma affects the body and mind, he also demonstrates that trauma is transmissible among close family and friends, as well as across generations and within vast demographic groups.

With all this in mind, Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic proposes a course of treatment for the seemingly untreatable. Here, Dr. Conti traces a step-by-step series of concrete changes that we can make both as individuals and as a society to alleviate trauma’s effects and prevent further traumatization in the future.

You will discover:

  • The different post-trauma syndromes, how they are classified, and their common symptoms
  • An examination of how health care systems can inhibit diagnosis and treatment of trauma
  • How social crises and political turmoil encourage the spread of group trauma
  • Methods for confronting and managing your fears as they arise in the moment
  • How trauma disrupts mental processes such as memory, emotional regulation, and logical decision-making
  • The argument for a renewed humanist social commitment to mental health and wellness

It’s only when we understand how a disease spreads and is sustained that we are able to create its ultimate cure. With Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic, Dr. Conti reveals that what we once considered a lifelong, unbeatable mental illness is both treatable and preventable.

Purchase a copy of Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic

Andrew D. Huberman, PhD Professor of Neurobiology, Stanford School of Medicine and Host of the Huberman Lab Podcast

More than ever nowadays we need to define what true mental health is and how to foster it in ourselves and others. In What’s Going Right, Dr. Paul Conti MD, teaches us how our emotions, inner dialogue and outward behaviors are structured, and how we can reshape the ways we think and interact with the world to bring about our best selves. Drawing from decades of clinical practice with a wide range of client types and situations, Dr. Conti combines rigor, empathy and practical grounding to make clear exactly what we need to understand and do, to achieve a life of deep meaning, peace and satisfaction. What’s Going Right is a peerless mental health guide that belongs in every home.

Arianna Huffington Founder & CEO, Thrive Global

Dr. Conti’s powerful method is the missing piece between just getting by in life and living with joy and intention. What’s Going Right proves that knowledge available to us all has the power to shift our mental health mindset and transform our lives in profound ways.

Rick Rubin Music Producer, Recording Industry Executive, Podcaster

Paul has personally helped me and several friends. I’m deeply grateful to have him in my life — his words hold meaning and insight.

Kim Kardashian Actress, Producer, and Businesswoman

I have known Dr. Conti and trusted his opinions for many years. In What’s Going Right, he presents new ideas — a new approach to understanding yourself — so that you can decide what your life will be. We have much greater power over our own lives than we may think, the power to know ourselves and to create a new path forward. This is not a mental health book, but a life book. He encourages us to take responsibility for ourselves, in a way that is rooted in wisdom and compassion, and he lays out a set of tools that are as practical as they are effective. He has identified the ‘generative drive’ that is at the core of what is going right in each of us. He describes how the generative drive promises that by understanding what is going right, we can guide ourselves to where we want to be.

Stephanie von Bismarck Child Rights Advocate, Author, Speaker, Podcaster

Dr. Paul Conti had me with one simple question: “What’s going right?” At a time when so many of us are consumed by what’s going wrong, he offers a compassionate and hopeful shift in perspective—one that has stayed with me personally for years.

In What’s Going Right, Paul guides us with clarity and warmth through understanding who we are, what drives us, and who we can become. He shows us how to meet ourselves with more kindness, make wiser choices, calm our anxious minds, and build a life rooted in balance, joy, and genuine connection. His approach resonates deeply with the kind of open, honest conversations I believe we need more of—conversations that help us understand ourselves better and navigate life with greater awareness and compassion.

I have known Paul as my doctor, mentor, and friend, and the steady, generous voice in these pages is exactly the one that has helped so many people, myself included. This book is both practical and profound. It reminds us that growth begins not by focusing on what is broken, but by recognizing the strengths already within us. What’s Going Right is a rare and uplifting guide for anyone seeking a more grounded, meaningful, and fulfilling life. I am honored to endorse it.

Whitney Cummings Actress, Comedian, Writer, Producer, Director, Podcaster

I’ve had the dubious honor of meeting many psychiatrists and therapists, but nobody has had a bigger impact on the way I see the human psyche than Paul Conti. He conveys his deep understanding of the human brain and trauma in a way that disarms the ego and leaves you with no other option than to understand and love yourself. Often learning about yourself and your trauma can make you feel even more overwhelmed and hopeless, but Dr Conti focuses on achievable solutions and healing methods so you can actually move forward living a meaningful, conscious and, I’ll say it, FUN, life.

Jonathan Davis Lead Vocalist of Korn, Songwriter, Visual Artist

Paul was a great help to me when I really needed it. I was able to see myself with new insight, grounded to the real challenges in my life, but not jumping over everything that is going right in me. Together we discovered new ideas to counter unfair beliefs that did not withstand the challenge of compassion and wisdom. I also learned new tools to help me find better health and happiness day in and day out. I have more power over my life, and a better ability to harness the generative drive that fuels me forward!

Simone Cosac Naify Artist, Writer, Publisher, Attorney, Human Rights Advocate

Dr. Conti possesses a rare capacity to listen not only to words, but to what exists beneath them — an ability that defines both his practice and his writing. This book carries that same attentive presence. It moves with care through the inner territories we often avoid, offering language for unspoken pain and illumination where understanding has been absent. In doing so, it reflects the depth of his experience and stands as an invitation to engage with honesty, compassion, and hope.

Understanding the human mind can be a complex journey, shaped by cultural, religious, mystical, political, and social forces. These influences often mask expression within a wide and intricate spectrum of patterns and meanings. With remarkable mastery, Dr. Conti is able to decipher this language, guiding people to perceive what they need but may be unwilling — or unprepared — to see. Through a deeply humane gentleness, he fosters healing, resilience, and the strength to move forward.

What distinguishes Dr. Conti just as profoundly is his humility. Despite his extraordinary intellect and expertise, he never positions himself above the patient, but alongside them. He approaches the therapeutic space with respect, patience, and an openness that allows trust to emerge organically. There is no trace of ego in his presence — only a sincere willingness to meet the individual where they are, to listen without presumption, and to honor a person's lived experience as essential to the healing process. This humility creates a rare sense of safety, one in which growth feels possible rather than imposed.

Bernard Kruger, MD Comprehensive Physician, Oncologist, Cofounder of Sollis Health

I am a physician who has maintained a high complexity medical practice in New York City for over fifty years. For the past decade, Paul Conti has been consulting to my patients when their life trajectories and medical histories have been impacted by their mental health. Sometimes these issues are apparent, and sometimes they are not easily identified, let alone approached, opened for investigation, and improved. Yet he has consistently been able to understand, put at ease, and help my patients. His ability to empower people beyond those he is able to meet was strongly present in his first book, Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic. This second book, What's Going Right, promises to amplify his impact, and extended it to a much wider audience. It is a self-help guide to understanding yourself and creating your own healthy mental health. This includes approaching many of the most common mental health issues with self-awareness, reflectiveness, and practical routes to change. My guess is that this book will become required reading not just for patients and their therapists, but for people in search of a happier and healthier life.

Mel Robbins New York Times Bestselling Author, Host of The Mel Robbins Podcast

Mental health is in crisis, and we need real tools that work. What’s Going Right is one of those rare books that’s simple, practical, and genuinely helpful. Dr. Conti writes with honesty and warmth, and he gives you a clear path out of suffering and toward feeling better — not someday, but starting now.

Ivanka Trump

Dr. Conti’s work reminds us that healing begins not with perfection, but with grace — the grace to see ourselves clearly, forgive what came before, and choose to grow. In What’s Going Right, Paul offers a compassionate and practical path toward self-awareness—one that honors our humanity while guiding us to live with more clarity, courage, and purpose. His insights are profound yet deeply accessible, helping each of us rediscover the strength, goodness and light already within. This is a book for anyone seeking hope, wisdom, and a more generous way of being in the world.

Rich Roll Host of The Rich Roll Podcast

Sincere and science-based, Dr. Conti’s action-oriented frameworks have had a profound impact on me. Optimizing your mental health should be a top priority, and this book is chock-a-block with all his paradigm-shifting tools to get you there. If you aspire to live a more connected, authentic and meaningful life, this is the must read you have been waiting for.