When asked to choose the most important organ in the human body; from the Brain, lung, kidney, heart and liver, which one would you choose and why?
Most people would say the heart or the kidney. The heart’s function is to pump blood to all the parts of body, the kidney is a filter, the lungs are for gaseous exchange and they remove carbon dioxide and oxygenate our blood, the liver functions to detoxify harmful substances and facilitates biochemical reactions e.g. conversion of proteins to glucose or to fats. The brain’s function is to control the human cells and cells make up organs and this means that all the organs above are under the control of the brain. When we are under panic, our brains send messages to our kidneys (adrenalin glands) to release chemicals that will affect other organs, sends messages to our lungs to increase breathing rate, sends messages to our heart to increase heart rate, sends messages to our skin to release sweats or our salivary glands to stop secreting saliva and that leads to dry mouth.
We have seen cases in which hearts have been transplanted i.e. transferred from one person to another; we have also seen in the Covid-19 era, the affected patients’ lungs being assisted by artificial air ventilators or being replaced by artificial lungs; the kidney dialysis tubes are used as artificial filters in place of damaged kidneys; the liver transplants and artificial livers all have emerged. It is noticeable that all the organs of the human body can be replaced but not the brains. The fact is: if you replace your brains with that of another, ‘yourselfʼ ceases to exist.
The brain houses the mind, the mysterious aspect of the brain, the part that is mostly susceptible to stress. The brain responds to the environment that we live in and if the environment is favourable, the brain functions well but if it’s unfavourable, the mind malfunctions. The unfavourable environment (unfamiliar environment, something or someone gets your way, deprivation of rights, relationship breakup, death of a loved one) leads to stress, a normal body state whereby the brain is faced with a puzzle to solve. If the mind fails to solve this stress, various human responses and emotions are evoked; hate, envy, jealousy, depression, sadness, anxiety, eating disorders, self-harm, bullying others, low self-esteem, bragging, naively trusting, over dependence, etc.
When the mind malfunctions due to failure to solve the puzzle, i.e. to find the solution, the body organs are affected and World Health Organization (WHO) has announced depression as the leading cause of disability in the world. When our brains malfunction, life ceases to be enjoyable, we feel burdened and exhausted. We all have felt it.
It is not your fault to fail to solve the puzzle, if it was, we wouldn’t be having Psychologists (the ones who have studied the mind), Psychiatrist (medical doctors who can treat severe cases using medicine), Wellness Coaches and Mental Health workers in our society. The wellness centers and psychologists are there to solve the puzzle with you, to help you navigate through stress. To help you understand your own brain processes through talk therapies which are generally conversations.
Here at Africa Healing Foundation, we are passionate about people and we understand the importance of mental wellbeing. We want to eliminate the barriers that prevent people from accessing mental health by focusing on key areas that will initiate change. We are aware that it is a challenge but together we can bring about this change for no man is an island.
There is an anonymous quote: “To a man with a still mind, the universe surrenders.” The one with knowledge of how his or her brains function is likely to experience peace, live longer and happier.
If you would like to find our more about our mental health project, or would like to get involved contact us at info@africahealing.org
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