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Neurotransmitters and Mood

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Neurotransmitters are the main chemical messengers of mood, and they include “uppers”, which lift your mood and stimulate excitement and activity, and “downers” which calm and relax. Neurotransmitter imbalances are pivotal treatment areas for mood disorders, and they can be tested and treated individually. Imbalances in neurotransmitters can result from many areas, including genetics, gut health issues, and hormone imbalances in the adrenals, thyroid, and sex hormones.

Depression can be a result of several different neurotransmitter imbalances, including serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, or phenylethylamine. The two main branches of depression are 1) serotonin dependent, which presents as a weepy, sad, melancholic ‘blues’ type of depression; and 2) dopamine/norepinephrine dependent depression, which presents as a tired, lethargic, brain-fogged, and unmotivated type of depression.

Anxiety may present as low serotonin, excesses of epinephrine and norepinephrine (the chemicals related to ‘fight or flight’ response), or may represent a lack of GABA.

Other mood issues such as bipolar disorder, ADHD, PMDD, OCD, and PTSD can be assessed through analysis of neurotransmitters, and treated via holistic psychiatry to help bring mood back into balance, without the need for drugs.  

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Did You Know?

  • More than 70% of serotonin is made in the gut, so mood and neurotransmitter health depends heavily on gut and microbiome health.

  • Cortisol, the main stress hormone, is required in optimal amounts in order to form certain neurotransmitters, so neurotransmitter balance depends heavily on your stress management and adrenal health.

  • Drug abuse reflects an imbalance in neurotransmitters, because each drug has a specific effect on certain neurotransmitters.  Abuse patterns form when a person has a neurotransmitter imbalance, then finds that a drug can help correct the imbalance to help them feel better, and then self-medicating and addiction set in with recurrent use.  Adjusting neurotransmitter balance can help break the cycle of drug abuse.

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