Attempting to understand human beings at the level of the brain can prevent us from understanding the people whom those brains belong to.
You couldn’t figure out the plot of Breaking Bad by dismantling your TV set. In the same way, you can’t figure out the root of your pain by dismantling your brain. You have to look at the signals the TV, or your brain, is receiving to do that.1
In Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression—and the Unexpected Solutions, author Johann Hari argues that the debunked theory of chemical imbalance has led many professionals and members of the general public astray; causing them to neglect or de-emphasise the signals our brains receive.
Without the context these signals provide, it is difficult (if not impossible) to first comprehend, and then alleviate, human suffering. Once the relevant signals (e.g. abuse, criticism, loss, unemployment, divorce) have been identified, an exploration of how they have been interpreted by the receiver can begin.
