This might sound like a strange question but if someone has a problem with their mind, whether it be anxiety, depression, or whatever, should we always look in the brain for an answer? It would seem the logical place to look and it can probably be stated with some confidence that there is an issue with the brain with most if not all mental illnesses.
But is the brain the root cause of the problem?
Does the problem originate in the brain?
I think these are important questions to ask because so far nobody has found a solid smoking gun in the brain to show where these mental illnesses originate.
And yet people seem loathe to accept that the problem might originate elsewhere in the body.
And yet there seems to be no problem recognising this idea with issues with other parts of the body.
For example let’s take a look at heart disease. This is something that most people can relate to because it is the biggest killer in both men and women in many countries around the world, but do we look at the heart alone when looking for a cause?
Well of course sometimes there are congenital issues with the hearts of some, but for the vast majority of heart disease sufferers it is diet and smoking that lead to the furring of the arteries which leads ultimately to heart disease. Smoking of course which directly affects the lungs, and diet which directly affects the gut, but both of which can indirectly lead to heart disease.
Is it not possible, in fact likely, that mental illnesses have similar origin stories? They may ultimately end up with issues with the brain, but maybe the smoking gun is located elsewhere in the body.
Like the gut…