Welcome to the July Shell Exchange!
Midway through each month, I drop a list of recommended reads. I try to feature winning hermit crab essays (đŠ) when possible. But those charming crabbies arenât always easy to find. So I also make it a point to share pieces on invisible illness.
If you come across an essay or article I havenât mentioned that you feel warrants attention, drop the link in the comments, and Iâll add it to the rotation next month.
1. âBacterial infection may be âkey eventâ in common but mysterious endometriosis, study saysâ by Isabella Cueto from STAT
âThe uterus has been thought to be a nearly sterile environment, with far less bacteria than the vagina or other parts of the body. But Fusobacteria are still found there, and might be more pervasive in people with endometriosis, some studies suggest.â
2. ââIâm Not Crazy, Iâm Sickâ: A film dives deep into chronic Lyme diseaseâ by Amber Castillo from STAT
âBut it was worth it, she said, âif a marriage can be saved, or if a child can be saved, or if someone suffering from heart failure can be saved because they watched this little documentary that put a whisper in their ear about that.ââ
3. âMy Hysterectomy: A Love Storyâ by Sari Botton from Memoir Land
âIn the weeks following, the Universe seems to taunt me with the notion that in fact there is something fundamentally wrong with me.â
4. âHello Blood: The Dance of Miscarriageâ by Kimi Eisele from Guernica
âI wish my burning could have cast some kind of glow. The baby stayed in the desert. I myself stayed in darkness for a long time.â
5. âStudying the link between the gut and mental health is personal for this scientistâ by Joanne Silberner from NPR
âThere's also been some compelling â if preliminary â research showing the link between specific gut bacteria and serious mental illness. Several studies have shown that fecal transplants rich with bacteria from depressed rats, as well as from depressed humans, can induce depression in recipient rats. In December 2021, a review of 34 human studies showed a similar pattern of bacterial species in the guts of people diagnosed with depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.â
6. âWhen You Call His Mother From the Psych Unitâ by Rebecca Grossman-Kahn from Cleaver Magazine
âDonât show your cards: that youâre fascinated by his delusion about the tracking device, still eager to learn the neurobiology that might explain it. Instead, report that youâve dialed his medication up so he wonât swing a baseball bat in the street around other people again.â