Not All In The Mind

Full Article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/short-history-mental-health/201211/not-all-in-the-mind

Author: Matthew Smith Ph.D.

Published on: November 12, 2012

Psychology Today

An interesting thing happened to me the other day. I had been asked, in my capacity as a BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinker, to give a talk for BBC Radio 3’s Free Thinking Festival, a wonderful showcase for intellectual curiosity in Gatehead (just south of Newcastle on the banks of the River Tyne). The theme of the festival was ‘Them and Us.’ Now, if I had been smart, I would have given a talk about the history of ADHD, having two books out on the subject, but with that theme, I just had to go with another one of my research projects: the history of food allergy.

Now, although there are plenty of Them and Us aspects of ADHD and its history, Them and Us almost defines allergy to a tee. That’s because allergies are what happen when the body – Us – mistakenly identifies foreign proteins – Them – as dangerous, and then launches an excessive, possibly cataclysmic, defence. In the case of food, the relationship is almost literal. Food becomes Us, so when the body sees it as a threat, it is most certainly Them. Them and Us confusion also causes other immune system diseases. In autoimmune arthritis the body mistakes connective tissue for a threat and attacks it, resulting in terrible joint pain.

To read the full article, click on the link below:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/short-history-mental-health/201211/not-all-in-the-mind