Since I have been exposed to my son's brain tumor and all the associated endocrine issues, I have had lots of opportunities to observe the mind-body connection in action. We are all probably familiar with the age-old dualism of the mind and body, mental versus physical, mind versus brain, nature versus nurture, etc. Well, now that I have seen the endocrine system at work (and broken down), I can say that I don't believe in these dualistic categories anymore.
As a clinical psychologist by profession, I regularly encounter patients who are resistant to taking medications for their mental illnesses, even when very severe (e.g.: Recurrent Major Depression, Bipolar Disorder). When I ask them about their reasons, they say that taking medications is a sign of weakness or that it is too stigmatizing to admit that they are mentally ill and that they need medications. These same patients would not hesitate to take medications for their health if their problems resided in their lungs or bones or heart... if so, then why does the brain "get no respect"? In my opinion, this is due in part to our insistence that we are in control of our minds (or that we SHOULD be) and that it is OUR FAULT if we aren't (i.e.: if we are mentally ill). While it is true that there is such thing as free will (to a point) and that we are able to make choices about our behaviors (to a point), it is also true that there are inner workings in our brains and bodies that are far from being within our own willpower to control or manipulate.
Our experiences with Sasha on and off oxytocin have been illustrative of this point. Before he experienced a therapeutic dose of oxytocin, Sasha acted like a criminal- he would do just about anything to obtain his desired object (food)- lie, cheat and steal. His behaviors were indicative a someone with antisocial tendencies- someone with no respect for other peoples' property- someone with wanton disregard of an ethical code of conduct.
Before oxytocin, we have seen Sasha act like bizarre hoarder of things- collecting hundreds of pencils, erasers, post-it notes, paperclips, etc. No one needs to own 600 pencils! Why did he collect these things? It looked like a case of Compulsive Hoarding Disorder to me. When I gathered data through a survey on other cranios, I found a high prevalence of these behaviors and found that they were highest among those cranios with HO (57% of the cranios with HO). In fact, the cranios with HO had a 4.5 times higher prevalence of compulsive acquiring of non-food objects than the cranios without HO! Now why would a disorder like Compulsive Hoarding have anything to do with Hypothalamic Obesity?
Before oxytocin (and this is still a work-in-progress), Sasha was strangely friendless with peers despite being very friendly with adults and being a very outgoing and warm person. This has been an odd and inexplicable behavior to us. Why would a kid act almost completely aloof to other kids his age yet be drawn almost exclusively towards adults? Some kids on the ASD spectrum exhibit these behaviors- he didn't exhibit other autistic behaviors but was Sasha mildly autistic?
When he started to get therapeutic benefit from oxytocin, we saw changes in his behavior- lowered appetite, cessation of food-related obsessions, cessation of stealing behaviors, and the beginnings of increased interest in other kids... could it be that a neurohormone was changing his psychological and behavioral patterns?
If this is the case, how do we conceptualize of what is "psychological" and what is "physical"?
The endocrine system holds many mysteries... and I hope to understand them better through our experiences!
Great piece! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI have always believed too that illnesses of the brain are just as physical as other organs. Thank you again for your, observations, perseverance, and hard work.
ReplyDeleteThank you. It is compelling when what appears to be "psychological" is something that is tweaked by a simple application of a drug, isn't it?
DeleteI have always believed too that illnesses of the brain are just as physical as other organs. Thank you again for your, observations, perseverance, and hard work.
ReplyDelete