An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four Lives

by Matt Richtel

science bears out that the ability to find connection during times of sickness, including anxiety and depression, is instrumental in healing. It helps the immune system find balance, and this makes sense from an evolutionary perspective; the idea that you are part of a community is powerful incentive and motivation for your body’s machinery to seek harmony.

the immune system hasn’t evolved to defend us as individuals. It has evolved to defend our genetic material and the species as a whole. It does an extraordinary job of keeping us alive until we reproduce and then rear our offspring. After that, it does an even better job of moving us out of the way.