I think we do help ourselves a lot by paying attention both to our physical environment, what we fill our minds with, as well as what we put in our bodies--be it food or medication or anything else.

Our ancestors (even as close as grandparents & great-grandparents) lived a very different life from ours. Looking closely at the history and personal journals from the Civil War and Great Depression era in the United States (& comparable times in other places), I've noticed better common-sense coping skills, less focus on problems and more on survival, stronger ties with family and friends--and the bio-geological record reveals that there was everywhere on Earth significantly less pollution.

I can't prove a connection, but the human species has had to adapt (some would say evolved) in order to survive. Body chemistry (including brain chemistry) has changed. My grandparents didn't have any allergies, hardly ever had indigestion unless they were sick, and even in old age healed more quickly than my parents did or than I do.

I'm awed by god's giving us the ability to be conscious of ourselves and consider/think/cogitate so that we can we not only perceive problems & situations but an also solve/analyze them, and reflect/record them in so many ways, to communicate with others. Fiction, music, journalism, visual arts, dance, theatre, essays, and so much else.

(Sorry for the rant.)
roads