Serotonin and Depression question. Is there a limited supply in the brain that can run out?...?
Question:
Here is my question. I have taken 5-HTP, a supplement which acts similarly as a SSRI but is "natural" and not addicting. Unfortunately, I cannot take more than two in one day because of stomach pains as side effects.
If people are depressed because they lack serotonin, can't they just consume things that increase it naturally? Will doing this ever cause a burnout to where the brain is unable to produce it on its own?
As a person with (improving) depression, the topic of serotonin in the brain interests me greatly, and seems to help me cope with this (and possibly cure it). I'm just not sure how to go about it naturally.
Thanks.
Answers:
Unfortunately it's not as easy as consuming things to increase it naturally. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is synthesized, stored, and released by specific neurons in your brain. And often times even if your brain is making enough, there still might be trouble having it actually transmit.
You can eat more mushroom and leafy vegetables to increase the Serotonin in your brain, but if there is still something inhibiting the chemical from following its pathway then it won't matter how much you ingest. Does that make sense?
I think very little is known about the 50 or so chemicals that regulate our brain and body activity.
The drug industry has targeted a few of these complex chemicals and Serotonin is one of them.
Depression is a very complex disorder. Diagnosis is not as easy or clear-cut as most of us believe because in reality very little is known about those chemicals.
That said, a combination of prescription medications and therapy seem to help. If you are happy, there is some evidence that Serotonin increases in you body.
So, the most natural way is to do everything to be happy. And, since you have already made up your mind that you want to improve, you will likely be doing everything to find ways to do that.
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