Chapter 26: The Mind That Cannot Find Its Village
Depression is not a chemical imbalance. A 2022 umbrella review demolished the serotonin hypothesis. What depression actually is, from an evolutionary perspective, is a body starved of the inputs it requires.
◆ Key Insights
The serotonin model of depression is not supported by evidence -- yet it sold billions of dollars of SSRIs
Depression correlates with missing ancestral inputs: physical exertion, sunlight, social connection, sleep, and purpose
Anxiety is hypervigilance without threat -- a threat-detection system running in an environment with no resolution
ADHD traits (novelty-seeking, distractibility, hyperfocus) map perfectly onto hunter-gatherer cognitive profiles
95% of serotonin is produced in the gut -- the mind-body connection isn't metaphorical, it's anatomical
Read the full chapter to understand why modern mental illness may be the most telling mismatch of all.
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