I am getting sick, so it should come as no surprise that immune systems are on my mind. What I’ve been considering, though, is whether there is an immune system IN my mind.

Explanation follows.

Our bodies have such fascinating and intricate mechanisms for fighting off and shutting out malicious invisible critters and other unwanted clutter. When you learn a bit about all the crazy processes that are going on at all hours to protect your health, and all the T-cells, B-cells, macrophages, natural killer cells, and other lofty-sounding specialists that are constantly on call in your body, you can’t help but start feeling important. I mean, if your house had a team of hundreds of police, antiespionage agents, firefighters, medics, and ninjas surrounding it 24/7, it would probably mean you were either a head of state or an eccentric billionaire.

With all of this fantastic protection going on, it would be a real shame if we left our minds—the parts of us unique to humanity—unguarded.

So what does it mean to have a mental immune system? This is what I’ve been wondering. I feel as though we neglect this a bit: simply because, while we don’t need to exert much conscious effort to keep our immune systems watching out for and repelling intruders, we need to be actively involved to protect our mental and emotional energy.

We need to purposely draw boundaries around our mental and emotional territory and enforce those boundaries.