The reason our brains allow us to suffer

JanAtheCPA

JanAtheCPA

Beloved Grand Eagle
This quote from an article about nutrition while ill is very relevant to the big question we have in our work, which is why do our brains create what is often disabling suffering via TMS symptoms. It's all connected to the basic biological need for our bodies to simply survive, no matter how that's accomplished:

The immune system requires a lot of energy to fight infection, which is why it’s good to consume healthy food during illness. But Yale University immunobiologist Ruslan Medzhitov says our bodies are ultimately optimized not for making us feel better, but for survival—and they might not always perceive an infection as their greatest threat. “That’s what’s counterintuitive,” Medzhitov says.​
 
Very insightful, thanks for sharing! It is helpful to understand this, because I think for many of us fairly new to this journey, the question of how this logically or evolutionarily makes sense is part of what can breed doubt early on. But this makes perfect sense!
 
The way I always put this is that our bodies and our primitive brains are still designed to live very short lives in a very simple and primitive world. The only goal is to breed and reproduce as much as possible before dying a very early death. The dangers of the primitive world were very very few and very tangible and obvious. Stress isn't what killed us back then - stress kept us alive.

Today's world and lifestyle with our very long lives, our need to plan ahead (and worry) for decades of life, and an infinite number of stresses to cause existential anxiety, means that the primitive survive-at-all-costs stress mechanism works for shit in the modern world and can easily go onto uncontrolled overdrive. And it's killing us.

I've posted this link twice today - here it is again: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037 (Chronic stress puts your health at risk)
 
I truly appreciate your perspectives! This whole journey is a matter of how we think of things and the meaning we give them, and all of this is so helpful in that. I'm going to read through the link you provided. Thanks @JanAtheCPA!
 
This is so helpful. It helps to explain why my mind puts me thru such suffering. It is good to have a cause that makes sense. Thanks.
 
FYI, there is a branch of the field of psychology called Evolutionary Psychology that studies and attempts to explain all this stuff.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top