What's an allergic reaction? A condition in which the immune system reacts abnormally to a foreign substance. You can have a drug allergy with an abnormal reaction of the immune system to a medication. Or food allergies with an unpleasant or dangerous immune system reaction after a certain food is eaten. And at the other end of the spectrum, you can have Anaphylaxis, which is a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. Let's apply the definition of an allergy to other things and see what we find...

Googling away, I notice that the immune system is defined as "the body's defense against infectious organisms and other invaders. Through a series of steps called the immune response, the immune system attacks organisms and substances that invade body systems and cause disease." Wait a minute - what causes the disease? Was it the invader or the immune system's reaction that caused it?

For example, pneumonia is generally considered to be a lung inflammation caused by bacterial or viral infection, in which the air sacs fill with pus. But we miss a step here. What caused the inflammation? Surely it was the immune system (white blood cells, and immune chemicals) that reacted to a foreign substance, such as the bacterium or virus. You can decide for yourself whether this reaction was 'abnormal' or not. Is pneumonia more 'normal' than a drug allergy? Hmmm.

Let's now consider reactive depression, which is generally considered to be depression  following a stressful event. Those among you who practice meditation will be familiar with the idea of non-reactivity, will quickly realize that it's the mind's tendency to react to 'invaders', although these invaders may be in the form of thoughts, that results in all sorts of mood changes, such as sadness, fear, joy, anger and disgust.

In a way, all disorders of the mind and body are perhaps types of allergic reaction. Maybe this is why steroids are given so much like some kind of panacea in so many conditions, including controversially in many infections. So what's the 'steroid' for the mind? Well, a steroid is simply an anti-inflammatory chemical, meaning it inhibits an inflammation. And what's an inflammation? Physically, an inflammation can be defined as 'a localized physical condition in which part of the body becomes reddened, swollen, hot, and often painful, especially as a reaction to injury or infection'.

What about when your mind becomes reddened, swollen, hot, and often painful? What's the 'mental vaccine' to prevent mental inflammation? What's the 'mental steroid' to treat mental inflammation?  Prevention is better than cure, but cure is still a good idea. The mind's vaccine and steroid is meditation. Daily meditation, starting with just 2 to 3 minutes first thing in the morning and 2 to 3 minutes before bedtime, will serve as your twice daily prophylactic against those allergic reactions of the mind.