When the Body Says No

by Gabor Maté

Biologic and psychological activity are not independent; each represents the functioning of a super-system whose components can no longer be thought of as separate or autonomous mechanisms. The past quarter century of scientific inquiry has supplanted the traditional Western medical view of a split between body and mind with a truer, more unitary perspective. Candace Pert, a leading American researcher, has written that “the conceptual division between the sciences of immunology, endocrinology, and psychology/neuroscience is a historical artifact.”4 Psychoneuroimmunology—or, more comprehensively and accurately, psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology—is the name of the discipline that studies the interrelated functions of the organs and glands that regulate our behaviour and physiological balance.