Eli5: why can’t your brain stop you from getting sick?

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When someone has an autoimmune disease, their brain is sending electrical waves to tell the immune system to attack what it believes to be bad cells. So why can’t you just tell your brain to stop sending those messages, since it’s the one sending them in the first place?

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27 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

First, the brain doesn’t communicate using electrical waves. It communicates via chemical signals. These signals are released through an electrochemical reaction in individual synapses, but that doesn’t travel through the body.

Second, and more important, the brain doesn’t directly control the immune system.

Anonymous 0 Comments

To answer your question, your body is multiple different organs and systems working together. Your brain has no control over the immune system, but I want to make sure you know that your conscience being has no control over your brain or your body. When you are running, you can say to yourself “stop running” but you don’t stop running until you stop running. You, your brain, and your body are all separate systems working together.

Anonymous 0 Comments

To answer your question, your body is multiple different organs and systems working together. Your brain has no control over the immune system, but I want to make sure you know that your conscience being has no control over your brain or your body. When you are running, you can say to yourself “stop running” but you don’t stop running until you stop running. You, your brain, and your body are all separate systems working together.

Anonymous 0 Comments

To answer your question, your body is multiple different organs and systems working together. Your brain has no control over the immune system, but I want to make sure you know that your conscience being has no control over your brain or your body. When you are running, you can say to yourself “stop running” but you don’t stop running until you stop running. You, your brain, and your body are all separate systems working together.

Anonymous 0 Comments

They used to think your immune system was completely independent from your brain but that’s not true.

You can control your immune system response through specific type of breathing. There are various studies around Wim Hoff style breathing and how that can impact the immune response to endotoxin.

Anonymous 0 Comments

They used to think your immune system was completely independent from your brain but that’s not true.

You can control your immune system response through specific type of breathing. There are various studies around Wim Hoff style breathing and how that can impact the immune response to endotoxin.

Anonymous 0 Comments

They used to think your immune system was completely independent from your brain but that’s not true.

You can control your immune system response through specific type of breathing. There are various studies around Wim Hoff style breathing and how that can impact the immune response to endotoxin.