A woman came to counseling with her husband, saying that she had been a shut-in for over 10 years and could not go out alone. When the husband would leave for work, she would become anxious, have difficulty breathing, and then panic and call the office, causing him to come home from work scurrying. Such was the life of the woman.
From the story of latent chronic inflammation, it could be that there is chronic inflammation in the woman’s body, and then depression and cognitive decline, causing her to become housebound and panicky. But it’s not just latent chronic inflammation that has been the focus of the latest research, it’s the potential activation of peripheral immune cells via RAGE, a receptor involved in innate immunity.
Immune cells are special cells that fight to protect the body and are like superheroes that protect the body. Peripheral immune cells are part of the superheroes that protect the body and have a special role to be the first to notice external enemies and start fighting. They are the body’s first line of defense, protecting it from germs and viruses.
Research has shown that when peripheral immune cells are activated during inflammation, it causes problems with cognitive function.
Interestingly, the woman who was housebound said, “I can’t get through to my husband, so I’ve been shut-in because I’m stressed and inflamed!” Once she realized that, she stopped panicking and was able to go out on her own. The stress of not being able to communicate with her husband, since they live together, has not changed.
Then why did her depression and cognitive function improve? Because the peripheral immune cells that cause cognitive decline are no longer activated. It is possible to say that the peripheral immune cells are no longer activated because the woman no longer blames herself.
This male partner has a good reputation both at work and in the neighborhood, and is the type of person that anyone would say, “What a nice husband! Therefore, when she feels stressed because she cannot communicate with him, the woman blames herself, thinking, “Maybe I have a bad personality,” and after feeling frustrated, she feels sorry for herself.
The autoimmunity that protects the body does this: it eliminates bad things.
When she blames herself, saying, “I am bad,” her autoimmunity is activated like, “I will eliminate the bad things inside me.”
So, if we think that the peripheral immune cells were activated and the cognitive function became low and stuck, we can create a story that helps us understand why the woman was able to move.
The woman no longer blames herself, her cognitive function returns to its original state, and she is free to enjoy her life.
The point of the story is that it is autoimmunity, the function to protect oneself that keeps oneself normal, that gets activated by blaming oneself, and that affects cognitive function.