‘Mind and Body: Part 1’
CAERS Substack Article #49
For likely thousands of years humans have wondered: what exactly is consciousness and how is it generated? Is it simply a function of the physical brain, arising from an intricate web of neural circuits? Or is it more complicated than that? How do the mind and the brain relate to each other?
No matter what theory you believe, there is little doubt that there is some kind of connection. Among the many models proposed, some feel that the brain simply is the mind, while others think that the brain is the physical mechanism whereby the non-physical mind manifests in the world. In the first case, an injury to the brain directly and equally damages the mind as well. In the second case, an injury to the brain does not affect the mind directly but instead puts limits on what the mind can demonstrate through the damaged brain in the physical world in terms of thoughts, speech and action. Whether we will ever have a complete understanding of the mind is unclear, and it is a significant area of research, especially when it comes to artificial intelligence. Can a complex enough mechanical device like a computer ever acquire consciousness and actually think as we do?
What may be even less clear is the nature of the relationship between the mind and the body as a whole. Is the brain the only place where the mind resides or is generated, or does the rest of the body have anything to do with it? There is some evidence that consciousness is contributed to by most parts of the body to some degree. That should not be surprising because the brain normally has connections with virtually every area of the body, and the communication works in both directions. The mind gives commands to the body as to what to do, and the body provides information to help the brain make those decisions.
Which of course brings up the obvious question about how the mind and the body relate to one another. Countless studies have documented their profound interrelationship. None of us is surprised when a person in physical pain is irritable. Equally, it is not shocking that a person feeling unwell who is then is diagnosed with cancer becomes anxious or depressed. We readily accept that the state of the body affects the state of the mind.
We may be a little more reluctant to accept that the converse is true—how could the mind affect the body? But if we think about it, few of us are surprised when a friend under a lot of stress has high blood pressure or develops a stomach ulcer. And there are lots more examples. People having heart attacks have a much better recovery if they have a good supportive social network—their emotional and psychic circumstances influence their cardiovascular system. We know that elderly patients in nursing homes improve their general functioning with more social stimulation. Premature infants in intensive care units have better prognoses if they have regular contact, including physical touch, with their parents.
If someone’s mental, emotional or psychological state affects the body, for example depression impairing the immune system, is that a direct effect of the mind? Or is it an indirect effect because people suffering from depression engage in behaviours that harm the immune system through poorer diets or inadequate exercise? It is very likely that both factors are involved.
The Stockdale Paradox is based on the observation that in some adverse circumstances, optimists might not do as well as pessimists because they fail to face facts that are unpleasant—they engage in too much denial and avoidance. Interestingly, realists do even better than pessimists, because they are able to see not just the downsides like the pessimists, but they are also able to balance them with the upsides, something with which pessimists struggle.
Have any of the measures mandated during the pandemic, such as social distancing and lockdowns, affected your mind? If so, did that affect your body as well?
The relationship between the mind and the body is not just interesting, it is also highly relevant to virtually every aspect of our lives, particularly when it comes to our health. In fact, in the practice of medicine it is something we must always keep in mind (pardon the pun), because of its tremendous influence on the treatments we offer. And that will be the topic of my next article.
J. Barry Engelhardt MD (retired) MHSc (bioethics)
CAERS Health Intake Facilitator