How Being Sick Changes Your Brain
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- Опубликовано: 24 сен 2017
- When you’re sick you just want to be left alone. Sometimes that’s because you physically can’t move, but other times, it might have more to do with the way your immune system is connected to your brain.
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I've actually found that a day or two before I get sick, I become more withdrawn and quiet. It's so consistent that I can plan around my own future sickness most of the time, which is really weird
it's not that weird, since we normally don't experience the symptoms of a cold until 2-3 days after you've caught it. Hence, you get withdrawn when your body gets sick.
Imagine a disease that makes you feel *_AMAZING_* and healthy, invigorated and happy?
David Buschhorn ha I wish
Red Dwarf has an episode or two about "positive viruses"
I've only gotten to watch a few episodes of Red Dwarf. Loved it!
Well, lots of bacteria that we have symbiosis with do that. But they aren't a disease so...
Called exercise
I wonder how this relates to people with chronic illness.
Or social anxiety.
HeyHay I'll save a very long answer to say yes this does affect individuals with chronic illness and can snowball depending on which conditions are present, however it is not the only factor. Our modern (western) society maintains very incorrect attitudes concerning "health" and being a "healthy person" such that people with chronic illness end up receiving lots of unfair treatment that isolates them from the rest of society. It's one of those things that very difficult to pin down and recognize unless you're the one who has a chronic illness that effects how you live your daily life, or you are close to a loved one in that category. Socially, the feedback from society is generally negative and it makes isolation more of a coping mechanism for avoiding criticism and undue rejection. People want to think they are compassionate towards those with chronic illness, but there is a huge information gap in which people tend to end up (even unwittingly) contributing to the ostracization of the chronically ill. I don't believe most people have any intention of treating those with chronic illness this way, but it happens nonetheless because of our current culture and incorrect "common knowledge" concerning illness and how to deal with chronically ill individuals in a positive, socially cooperative way.
I have a chronic pain condition. Before I got it I was much more extroverted and after I got it I slowly got more and more introverted. I notice I display many of the same behaviors of regular sickness on a daily basis.
Well, I seem to have an environmental allergy I haven't quite pinned down yet--over the course of my body developing it I went from enjoyably interacting with 500+ people per day, to struggling to talk with a dozen or so. I went from calm and collected in most things, to having random irrational bouts of worry that I have to first notice, then label, then proactively battle. I also went from generally energized to generally tired.
There are a number of other factors that probably added to this, but I think the development of my allergy, the last year and a quarter I spent going into anaphylactic shock, occasionally triggering seizures... that's probably the main culprit.
I can only speak for myself as someone who has chronic illnesses (Gastroperesis, lame pancreas and nervous pains.) And before I got sick, I was really outgoing, extroverted and liked dreaming about the future. But now I only leave the house when I absolutely have to, I don't want to go to social gatherings, and most of the time I'm distracting myself with good ol' escapism. (Games, watching stuff, writing, roleplay etc.) Basically, it's trying to virtually simulate the life you know you'll never have, inhabit worlds that not exist, being the person your body doesn't allow you to be.
I think this happens because your mind does whatever it can to keep it busy as a way to defend itself. Because if you think about your illness too hard or too much, you're just gonna end up killing yourself because your mind wanders to "Make this pain end!" really goddamn fast after a while.
Interesting! My depression gets reeeeally bad when I'm sick. Like, I forget what it's like to be able to breathe even though it's just gone in a few days and I get so sad about it. I spent like one day this week totally convinced that I would never feel normal and comfortable again and I know that's completely irrational. It was just a super stuffy nose. It makes a lot of sense that the brain is hanging out away from the germs and trying to match mood and behavior to whatever it needs to get better.
Lauren Fairweather totally me. I get so bad that I forget I was ever healthy and think I'm just going to sick forever.
Isn't it like that for basically everyone? I have heard that from many people, that when you get mildly sick you may suddenly feel like you will be this way forever and think about all the times when you didn't have a cough and you took it for granted and stuff.
+
Lauren Fairweather You are right, and that’s exactly how I react. The difference is that I have a chronic lung disease and I really never will get better. Now, that’s depressing.
One of my friends is a very laidback, happy, optimistic and extroverted person and we often know when he’s about to be sick with a flu or cold even before the acute symptoms because he will suddenly act uncharacteristically withdrawn, irritable, melancholic and anxious (sometimes he will get intrusive thoughts) a few days before the sore throat/cough starts to kick in. He becomes a depressed, introverted and anxious person before and during illness and bounces back to his normal happy outgoing self afterwards.
Im a cancer survivor my first cancer symptom was massive aniexty that I never had in my whole life I became antisocial . After my cancer was treated my aniexty went down 80 percent. Its only been 2 years but exspect ill be fine in time .
M ale it was not slight it was a trip into madness really . I couldnt handle even loud noises or bright lights . I had wide spread muscle pain and it was impossible for me to function normal like paying bills or going to the store was too much stress . Ive never had aniexty for 42 years of my life so i knew something was wrong . It took 8 months and me demanding something was physically wrong for them to admit it wasnt mental my doctors found uterus cancer. Thank god I pushed for help . At one point I thought I was going nuts l . But here I am mostly better cancer free and id tell anyone if you think something is wrong fight to find its real cause had I not and took thier pills id be dead today .
Stress free cancer free pill free today. Your body is telling you something
Cherry Bomb
Did you have a carcenoid or a pheochromocytoma? They are cortisol, adrenaline, and seretonin secreting tumors that often trigger "anxiety attacks" when they release a flood of hormones.
Gregory Malchuk no uterus cancer which could be hormone based too I guess
Keep being strong! I have an anxiety disorder, so I'm prone to having attacks. Haven't been able to afford my medicine for a while but I'm alright for now. But you are incredible and I hope you're doing even better now!
Weird how this comes out just after I'm getting over a giant cold
Like everyone else...lol
Hank is watching you.
"while you're sick is a good time to learn things about your mind"
Mate, that's what I'm doing with watching these videos.
I just caught a cold yesterday. Damn SciShow you spying on me?
It's a good thing you came to SciShow for a HANK-ercheif.
Get feeling better bud.
Jon
No, the Moon does. Can't you tell by the profile pic?
Feynstein 100 same here
Don't you mean Facebook?
More likely evidence of God's Love for you and is mindful of your needs
Could it not also be that outgoing, social people are exposed to more diseases so they naturally tend to have stronger immune responses due to exposure and not a genetic predisposition?
Joshy I was also wondering this - definitely sounds like an interesting area for continued research!
This really makes sense with the observations I've been making recently. My dad stays very isolated, barely ever leaving his room, however he still gets sick more often than my sister who often volunteers and is around other people being extroverted. I also have a friend whose son is autistic and he has many health problems including catching colds very often. I never thought about how these could be connected before
Okay wait.. am I misinterpreting the data here? I feel like I have it backwards
No i think you are sensing connections! We just don't know how all those connections "work." I think your observations are important. 😊
Wait, Vaccine Shots make you more social? I'll remember that next time I go to the bar. Shots! Shots! Shots!
I'm willing to bet it's a placebo/psychological effect. "Oh I am now vaccinated and am good to be around other people", but who knows. Have to makes studies for that.
Hah, good one.
ReaperEOD absolutly agree... unfortunately without control group this study says absolutly nothing.
* snorts * with laughter
@ReaperEOD I recall reading that some illnesses like cold and flu might hijack your endocrine system, just a little, to encourage you to get out there and spread it. I don't remember citations, so maybe no one has posited this or tested it. Regardless, I think it'd be important to consider other vaccines as well, since some viruses might have specific impacts that others do not.
I always thought being anti-social during illness was subconsciously how our species avoided outbreaks.
A-social not anti social* regarding avoiding people when sick
Hank describes some research on the antisocial behaviour of organisms when they're sick, so give the video an extra view.
P.S. Asocial and anti-social aren't replaceable with each other. asocial - withdrawn; anti-social - more than unpleasant.
Caleb Asocial*
Actually no, both work in the case of colds. Antisocial being that some people have zero interest in social interactions or maintaining their relationships when they're sick.
I had chronic insomnia all my life and never thought it would go away, had to take heavy prescription meds to fall asleep, and i was getting worried as my body would keep building a tolerance to my meds and i'd need to switch so i was running out of options, but weirdly after i got very sick with pneumonia and almost died my insomnia went away! Now i get sleepy at a normal time and can fall asleep properly and stay asleep, not sure what happened but im greatful.
Something that I had heard once that has always stuck with me is "it is better to eat twinkies with good friends then to eat broccoli alone" in other words you can eat all the healthy food you want but if you dont have a good social group your immune system actually suffers. The speaker talked about the experiment of a large group of people- all exposed to the same common cold yet those who ate like garbage but had a great social connection got over their cold way faster then those who ate healthy food but had no social connection. So human connection is an amazing thing. ^_^
Gotta love SciShow's favorite phrase: 'More research is needed'
what happens in the vagus nerve stays on the vagus nerve
Viva Las Vagus! :-)
😂😂
hahahaha
3:22 How Hank becomes anti-social when he's sick.
Jasmeet Singh lying and manipulating
this is such a cool topic. I can't wait to see more research on this topic, the findings could be used to help so many people.
This channel is actually quite nice, as not only are the sources cited, but they are also properly analyzed.
My substitute teacher freaking coughed on me around a billion times last Friday, now I'm sick and feeling terrible. Thanks a lot teacher!!
Currently watching this while sick 😩
imkindahungry04364 ditto 🤧
Hank is my favorite host, he speaks very well
Watching this while dealing with a cold. Good timing SciShow.
Watching this with my freshers flu, good timing Hank!
Actually I want people to leave me alone in my misery even when I'm healthy.
Unless misanthropy is a sickness. 😮
I see it more of a way of life rather than a sickness lol
"Hell is other people" - The Misanthrope
Misanthropy's objectiveness let's be honest.
Sounds like depression to me or just introverted.
I'm sick right now. But I'm also a misanthrope. So it's a double dose of leave me alone.
i feel like i have been waiting for this video for a long time.
Hank' just everywhere ... another nice episode of the Hank Green network.
I have a mild form of autism and I have noticed for years a dramatic drop in my social functioning when I am sick. Quite often the drop in social functioning happens a few hours before my body temperature goes up.
The flu shot study seems flawed to me. Seems that people who just had a flu shot would feel more at ease simply because they didn't think they could get sick, and therefore were more likely to interact with people.
I feel like the idea of the shots making people more social has _nothing_ to do with the immune system. Instead, I think it has more to do with how people feel after they get a shot. Some people may get this mental idea of immunity, where they aren't afraid of going about social events because they "know" they won't get sick. Since things like flu shots don't tend to actually cause an infection, the immune system couldn't be working frantically enough to be the cause of any psychological effects.
Please please please do a follow-up video exploring any existing research on how chronic illness, specifically autoimmune diseases ( like lupus, RA, Crohn's, UC--which Hank has)--etc.) affect the brain. Thanks!
Fascinating!
>introvert
>gets sick if someone sneezes in Cusco
That explains a lot.
Had to go to the grocery store while super sick today. It was awful. I'd rather sit here with my bucket, thank you.
I just got over a cold. Great timing!
I just went home sick yesterday 😅 great timing
This type of symptom is one of the only ways I know when I'm sick, these days. For the last 5 years, my methods have eliminated all of the annoying symptoms. If instincts like social needs change drastically, however, I suspect something is off. I only actually find out what I have if I stop using my methods as much and start exhibiting enough symptoms to get an idea of what's going on. I rarely do that anymore. Being normal sucks.
Also another interesting thing/food for thought. I noticed that 2 days or a day before I get super sick (no symptoms what's so ever) I all of a sudden become super on edge. I'm crabby for no apparent reason. I notice this because even when it happens I'm like "woah- chill out Tammy" but now after years of it I know I have a really bad cold coming on. And its happened every single time. O.O I wonder if that's part of the brain and immune system talking like Hank said. So interesting.
I'm basically like your initial description 24/7 except when I'm sick...
Can this reaction be triggered by chronic pain as well? What does being in constant pain do to your brain?
Jerushah Stines must be similar for some people. I can be in a great mood then have awful stomach pain and my demeaner changes drastically.
Jerushah Stines read Gabor Mate's. When the body says no explains it really well hes on RUclips aswell
Jerushah Stines
If the chronic pain is being caused by underlying inflammation, then yes, those same cytokeines are being released and causing the same brain fog and exhaustion, like in rheumatoid arthritis.
What about chronic illness like ours? I have rheumatoid disease so I'm always sick but I'm very outgoing naturally. However I DO find that the more I'm flaring, the more time I want to spend alone in bed. How much of the time do u feel like u want ro be alone during a flare?
curious, i wonder if it's the same for socializing online. I currently have the cold and I was chatting with a couple of friends on skype all day...
100% agree with that!
MAKE SCI SHOW HEALTH PLEASE
I guess this video is just right for me since I'm sick since two days ago
Pardon my nitpicking, but I'm surprised that at 1:59 the word "antisocial" was being misused in place of "asocial", especially when not spreading germs for the sake of society is something that's prosocial, the exact opposite of antisocial. Just a small detail I wanted to point out, I very much appreciate this channel's videos!
Would be interested to know how this affects people such as myself with dysautonomia. I know since it struck and I'm always ill, my social tenancies and personality have changed dramatically
What is that?
I hadn't thought about it before, but I do become autism-er when I'm sick. Everything sensory is just a little bit more intense and my verbal stuff takes a slight nose dive.
Wow, just wow.
I literally just fell sick two days ago
My family did too lmao
How to over come the headach when its is cotineusly spreading in whole the head and how to refresh the brain...please me advised
Is there any research on chronic illness and how it affects this immune system response? I went from a highly outgoing, social person to being reclusive because pain made me less and less social. I miss people, but I have to force myself to engage. And it results in a boost but ends with an increase of pain and fatigue the following day. Sorry, leaving a heavy comment here, but if this offers hope, I wish to learn more aobut it... :) Thanks.
Thank you - your comment helps me understand 30 years of my own behavior since getting sick with myofascial pain disease (like fibromyalgia on steroids).
I think my phone heard that i was sick... this popped up on my feed.... and I'm sick....
I have chronic pain, illness, injuries, and fatigue No wonder I have trouble socializing
I just feel that way all the time.
2:03 "...which is great for society as a whole."
GROUP SELECTION BOOOOOOOO.
They should do a study of this with people who have an auto-immune disease. I have multiple sclerosis and am as asocial as they get!
Great video! Just one thing; isn't being antisocial being disruptive, impulsive and lacking in empathy? Shouldn't it be asocial?
Nice timing cuz im sick right now
Hmmm, so anti social behavior could be partially related to an over sensitive Vagus nerve and/or weaker immune systems?
I hv a chronic autoimmune illness and yr by yr I am becoming less (and I mean LESS) social. I mostly prefer being alone and mostly alone in my house! I was surprised by the findings in this vid!! May explain why I feel so ‘unsocial’?? One thing to know in my case is that I have monthly infusions of medication to SUPPRESS my immune response. So if these findings are correct, my social response is also being artificially modified.
is this video about possible side effects of being antisocial ( sociopath ), or anti sociable?
Because there's a huge difference between the two.
Watching this in Apr 2021 as a 4th wave of covid is ramping up despite shots being available to almost all adults (in the US) now. Wondering how much the topic of this video relates to the pandemic.
I'm feeling healthy right now
This helps a lot
I wonder if immune disorders (like autoimmune issues) could play a role in agoraphobia. I know cytokines contribute to the initiation and propagation of autoimmune inflammation, and anti-inflammatory cytokines facilitate the regression of inflammation and recovery from acute phase of the disease. I just don't know enough to know if it matters which kind. I'll have to read the study. Fascinating topic!
Jaimes it makes obvious sense: Self-preservation, much like when an animal becomes ill and hides.
Not me literally laying in bed sick watching ever single Scishow-Psych episode 😭
Spent the whole video trying to figure out if Hank's shirt was covered in tiny Tri-Forces.
What if I stay away from people because I think I can get sick (before the shot) but join larger groups once I feel I won't get sick (after the shot)?
But it doesn't WORK right away! (No vaccines work right away.) It is something ELSE happening.
How well timed; I have a cold right now
Hmm, so someone who has an autoimmune disease would be more likely to experience depression and other brain changes not just because being chronically ill is not so fun, but also because the immune system is affecting their brain somewhat?
I'm sick right now. Thanks SciShow! *wink*
I'm sick at the moment, and I came here because I noticed I'm in a different mood socially than I normally am.
Funny how this came the day I'm feeling way under the weather.
Being sick is actually something we adapted in the wild. if we get a viral infection and our body notices it we might die. so the body made tonsils as a wake-up call for "hey. you better rest since im detecting a mild non-existent infection near a vital organ that can become something serious. better lay low before you make it worse" of course today we don't need tonsils and they just become a nuissance but in the wild it helped us survive just like our appendicitis which is used to digest plant matter but we aren't using it as often as we did back in the day so it just hangs there waiting to explode
Does anyone hear water running if you listen carefully during the video? Or just me...
zingadooda Like the background static?
Exactly like the background static, Yes!
zingadooda Yeah I heard it too 😄
Woah this is trippy others hear it too
Good to know I wasn't imagining it.
Perfect timing i became sick yesterday
Well, my Celiac disease (an autoimmune condition) makes me antisocial bc if I do socialise in areas with food I am almost immediately excluded and that’s just exhausting, I don’t wanna have to eat before going to a restaurant to see a friend and sip ice water :(
I know anecdotal evidence isn't a good scientific basis, but this could explain why I tend to withdraw from people and my normal activities before I actually develop symptoms.
decided to watch this considering the fact that i have a cold (i believe it's a cold and not the flu, i've only had symptoms for a couple of days though)
How might being sick affect someone with multiple personalities?
Lol, so if we detect no lymphocytes in someones blood does that mean their a sociopath? Weird the parallels in initial pop psych research and starwars "mitochloreans"....
Rip
How did RUclips recommendations know that I'm sick?
3:40 pp who are more extrovert are simply more happy. more Happy = healthier
When pp who are introverts are constantly afraid of everything and as a result stress destroys them.
I know it because i used to be extremelly shy and find difference between me now and me then. I feel more lively now.
I’m the mouse with the super small tissue box, slowly dying😂💀
This reminds me of season 1 of Hannibal
Below is speculation, please provide feedback for discussion.
Perhaps this has a link to laziness (or desire for comfort and familiar).
Perhaps those with unhealthy gut bacteria and/or unhealthy immune systems are those who are less open to new experiences and find themselves being more reclusive as well as preferring the familiar over the novel.
Perhaps this could lead to over weight people getting more overweight. And perhaps could be the origins of people thinking obesity is genetic... when it was just because obese children eat the same or similar foods as obese parents (not necessarily amount).
I have heard a lot about the importance of gut bacteria and health in general. Perhaps a more outgoing energetic individual simply has a healthier immune system.
This is all speculation and I am interested in hearing others thoughts.
But, SciShow, how do I become more pro-social, then? I know I have a cold because I show intoxication symptoms: pro-social, less inhibition in a number of ways, and more impulsivity.
I have to ask, can having a cold make you drunk?
Just one other question, how am I able to smell a cold up to 2 weeks before any symptoms appear? I describe the smell as yellow-y-orange, but can't offer any better descriptions, sorry, as I have no comparisons.
I have searched for years for the answers, from books, to the internet, to asking professionals, and no once can give me an answer.
Thanks, SciShow. Peace!
Odd that the result about the mice and inanimate objects would be to say they see peoples as things; when they could be seeing things as peoples. Artists are able to create with this notion; great writers, poets, painters, musicians see things as part of the whole socio/cultural mish-mash. Their ideas of things as people steps up their game. Hard to tell with mice though * winks *
It makes no difference wether im sick or not... Im always sick of being around people
Why does ketamine work (whereas memantine fails) for depression?
This is so weird. I just got a fever today and got in a bad mood.
This was uploaded on the day I got sick
So what happens in vegus does not stay in vegus
3:25 that explains why I have a constant runny nose.
I wonder if this means something for clinical depression 🤔
could depression be just a symptom of an underlying illness?
flojoho idk but what I do know is that clinical depression is often associated with a weakened immune system.
2:00 don't you mean asocial?
Do I know that feeling? No. In fact, more than once I got sick at work, vomited, and got back to work. More recently I got an ear infection and did desire rest, but that was mostly because it felt like my head was about to explode.