Roots of Illness

Gabor Mate

“Most psychologists treat the mind as disembodied, a phenomenon with little or no connection to the physical body. Conversely, physicians treat the body with no regard to the mind or the emotions. But the body and mind are not separate, and we cannot treat one without the other.”
— Candace Pert

The current bio-medical model will tell you that you have a chemical imbalance and that your brain is broken, needing pharmaceutical reinforcements to adjust correctly to the world. The serotonin hypothesis of depression, that lower levels of active serotonin are responsible for mood disorders such as depression, is still heavily influential on our culture and the way we view mental illness. Being first proposed in the 1960s, this theory started to see wide promotion from the pharmaceutical industry during the 1990s in association with efforts to market a new range of antidepressants, known as selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs. The idea was endorsed by official institutions such as the American Psychiatric Association, and countless doctors across the globe have parroted the message ever since. People accepted what they were told, and many started taking antidepressants because they believed they had something wrong with their brain. A recent umbrella study published in July of 2022 analyzed evidence from various meta-analyses and systematic reviews, ultimately finding no consistent support for the idea that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance related to serotonin. Comparing serotonin levels in people with depression to those without did not find significant differences. Studies that artificially lowered serotonin levels in participants did not reliably induce depression. Drug trials showed that antidepressants are barely distinguishable from a placebo (dummy pill) but may produce a generalized emotional numbing effect. The review also noted that long-term use of antidepressants, particularly SSRIs, might lead to lower serotonin levels in the blood. Research has shown that people who believe their depression is due to a chemical imbalance are more pessimistic about their chances of recovery, and develop a reliance on medication rather than exploring other forms of treatment. Life is difficult, we face many challenges and consistently take hits which can be excruciatingly painful. The beliefs we hold about ourselves and the thoughts we think completely alter the way that these situations affect us. The nature of our biology shows we were designed for this, built to get knocked down and to stand back up. If we live in a world that doesn’t teach us this, of course people will flock to the what medical professionals are prescribing to them as an effective solution, and never find solace. Our perspective and the way we manage our minds changes the way we experience life, point blank. Taking on the identity of being damaged or wired incorrectly ironically causes our brain to damage itself even further. Is a chemical imbalance the result of the minds capacity to alter the brain and release chemicals based off its activity, or is the minds activity a result of a chemical imbalance? I am no doctor, and I’m sure in some cases medications are absolutely necessary, but….. no way that the amount of people on antidepressants today really need them. It seems that the “here take this pill” route is what is more convenient. When times get tough, instead of running to fill the pockets of a billionaire, we should consider the idea that depression/anxiety symptoms are unavoidable, extremely helpful, and perfectly natural. They are not necessarily ques that the manifestation of illness has contaminated our day to day, but warning signals that something is going on and needs our attention. You’re not going to want to numb those feelings away… they’re guideposts. These emotions can be tremendously difficult because they are meant to grab our attention, to force its presence, like a caveman who stepped on a sharp rock. If we do nothing these sorts of unresolved things could lead to a genuinely real illness(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology). In the same way the caveman wants to notice pain in his foot which would inevitably get worse as he continues onward, numbing down the parts of the psyche that are asking for attention may prevent you from growth that was asking to be had.

“Don’t shoot the messenger”

Sophocles

We are thinking beings. What you think about and focus on slowly becomes etched into a physical structure within your brain. We are always thinking, therefore we are always etching and wiring ourselves. First we intake information through our conscious mind, the present moment. We experience things through our 5 senses. These inputs are picked up as electromagnetic waves and then stored in our non-conscious mind. The information you accumulate shows up as a temporary memory. Within 24-48 hours, if you don’t do anything with what was taken in, the temporary memory fades. You have to choose to process the information. You have to choose to relive and spend time with experiences to solidify them inside your brain. If you do nothing, the memories that would have been built into little dendrite trees, small protein structures, will denature and simply become heat energy. Whatever you are doing, whatever you are saying, exists first as a thought inside of your head, like a seed. Your mental attention and actions towards these thoughts give water and nutrients to what has been planted. Careful what you ruminate on, you are building and strengthening wiring inside of your brain with the minds energy, allowing whatever you are focused on to be built out, reinforced, and accessible at a faster rate. Through mindfulness we can recognize when we begin to drift our water pail to feed those weeds which we originally intended to let die out. The energy of our old toxic thoughts can be addictive, especially if heavily reinforced already. Seemingly gravitational in their nature, the way they pull us back in to get wrapped up in their emotions can be very tricky and subtle. Navigating the complex ways our mind can deceive us into negative emotions can be difficult. At a certain point, it’s almost parasitic the way these thoughts can show up to steal your present moment away from you, craving the attention they desperately need for their own survival. The deeper understanding of this allows you to see the neurobiological response, how different forms of thinking can cause your body to release different chemicals. Stress for example will constantly produce cortisol and norepinephrine, extremely addictive chemicals that make life an exciting rollercoaster of adrenaline. That is why so often it can be difficult to talk sense to someone struggling with mental health issues, they can be addicted to these thoughts and perspectives like different drugs. Your efforts to guide them into more conscious forms of thinking may come across like an energetic attempt to lure them into rehab. Even if they are in a place of willingness, ready to go, recovery is usually not easy or instantaneous and may include a few relapses. The victim identity complex negative thoughts try to instill as one’s core underlying self-perception and as the operating system of ones being, opposed to an identity shaped around empowerment and resilience, sells you to interpret all new moments of your life through a lens which drains them of their vitality. Instead of gratitude for the opportunity of life right now, connection to the love that is actively all around you, and celebration for your strength – mental focus gets stuck looping in toxic negative thought spirals. Separating you from being an openly positive system engaged with life to attain these neurochemical bursts, you become dependent on toxic thinking to experience them. Reinforcing the damaged perspective, requiring further toxicity to get the same high over time, it inspires one to up the ante even further and creates a neuropsychological incentive for one to interpret everything in their world from a negative light. This can snowball quite dangerously, leading one to actual substance abuse, self inflicted wounds(cutting), unhealthy and risky interpersonal behavior, and the furthest extreme of “self-deletion.” For anyone struggling with mental health issues, “Am I in some way secretly addicted to thoughts and perspectives which contribute to my depression, anxiety or stress?“ may be a good question to ask. Not shaming yourself or feeling any guilt whatsoever for what you may find, but instead meeting these things with acceptance and awareness. Understanding yourself as a core contributor to these experiences allows you to take ownership over them and as the creator of your reality.

There is an old Zen story I remember hearing years ago that illustrates the importance of releasing trauma.

One day, a sage gives to his disciple an empty sack, and a basket full of potatoes.

“Think of all the people who have done or said something against you in the past, especially those you cannot forgive. For each of them, inscribe their name on a potato and put it in the sack. Return back to me in a week.”

The disciple was able to come up with quite a few names as he filled the bag. Soon he had a heavy load to carry around. At first, he didn’t think much of it. The sack wasn’t too debilitating and he was able to make it through his days just fine. After a while though, it began to become more of a burden. The bag of spuds sometimes got in the way of things and ultimately seemed to require more effort to carry as time went on, even though it’s weight remained the same. Soon a smell began to develop. The potato’s had begun to go bad and gave off a ripe odor. Not only were his arms becoming increasingly sore, but now the bag was becoming rather unpleasant. Finally the week was over and the disciple returned to the sage.

“So, what did you learn?”

At once the disciple told the master about how he realized that holding on to grudges only brought negative things to his life.

“When we are unable to forgive others, we carry negative feelings with us everywhere, which become increasingly heavy, much like these potatoes. That negativity becomes a burden to us and, after a while, it festers.”

The sage smiled. “Good, so how can we lighten the load?”

“We must strive to forgive.”

“Forgiving someone is equivalent to removing the corresponding potato from the sack. How many of your transgressors are you able to forgive?”

“I’ve thought about it quite a bit,” the disciple said. “It required much effort, but I have decided to forgive them all.”

“Very well, we can remove all the potatoes.”

The Sage pulled out another basket of potato’s out from under the stool he was sitting on.

“Now, why don’t we put some in for all of the new people you feel transgressed you during this week??”

Of course forgiveness stands as potentially one of the highest virtues, but it also speaks to the truth of our health in general.

From The University of California San Francisco’s Center to Advance Trauma-informed Health Care

“From our extensive trauma-related research, we now recognize that unaddressed trauma is the hidden cause of most preventable illnesses, and is associated with eight of the 10 leading causes of death, including heart, lung and kidney disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, suicide, and accidental overdose. When we fail to address the trauma that underlies these diseases, prevention and treatment is far less effective, and in some cases, not effective at all.”

Why do we not hear more about this? cough big pharma cough

I wasn't sure whether to add a bit about Iokera to this. Not fully certain if I was overreaching my theories and potentially being insensitive, it was something I kept on the backburner for a bit. Eventually I got to thinking, if my little experience with the Orb des

Eventually I decided to think this out a bit more to my favorite piece of his. I had listened to this one countless times in the past, when I first discovered it I was playing it repeatedly, even shedding a few tears at one point as some part of me resonated so deeply with the soundscape, its profound capture of emotional discord, intense grief, unrelenting anguish, and feeling as though one were broken.

His music is really quite impressive. A lot of it is also quite heavy.