Holly A. GultianoJan 19, 2023
One day I'd like to conduct a survey asking people who work in or study neuroscience how learning about the nervous system/s has affected their own sense of self, and what kind of impact it has made on their mental health
Show threadNicole Rust

It's a great question.

Its little sister might be the comfort we feel when we have to take a drug to treat an illness and we understand the mechanism by how that drug works. Understanding might not change anything about how effective the drug is, but it's comforting all the same (I always want to know).

But your question takes it a step further, where understanding mental health acts in a feedback loop that actually changes mental health. 🤔​.

@axoaxonic

Jan 19, 2023 at 8:02pmWeb
Show threadHolly A. GultianoJan 19, 2023

@NicoleCRust Yes, for me personally, knowing some about what brains do and reflecting on that for my self has really affected my mental health (mostly positively) by providing context and understanding. It's also made me not take my sense of self too seriously, or at least help ground it in experience, memory, sense, etc

The transmutation of psychology and various therapeutics like drugs can be really amazing and helpful, but there's something really unique about relating the physical structure and mechanism of my own brain that's hard to put into words. It's qualitatively different than the those things, and I'm curious about others' experience with that feedback loop.