Apr 13, 2021
4 Things You Need to know about Brain chemistry as it relates to mental & emotional stress- Dr. Jason Jones Elizabeth City NC, Chiropractor
Mental and emotional stress are often expressed in form of depression, anxiety, worries, guilt, frustration, and moodiness, and these conditions are linked to an abnormal brain chemistry.
It is normal for you to feel stressed or depressed when you encounter a traumatic event in your life, such as loss of a loved one. But sometimes, you may not even know why you’re having mental or emotional stress, and it can be a function of the brain chemistry.
The amount of certain substances in the brain called “neurotransmitters” have a large influence on your mental and emotional stress levels.
What are neurotransmitters?
Neurotransmitters are brain chemicals that carries messages in the brain. The nerve cells of the brain communicate with each other using neurotransmitters. The messages these chemicals carry play a role in mental and emotional stress regulation.
The key brain chemicals or neurotransmitters include:
- Dopamine
- Serotonin
- Epinephrine
- Nor-epinephrine
Restoring the balance of these neurotransmitters have been widely shown to help alleviate symptoms of mental and emotional stress.
Other neurotransmitters that can send messages in the brain include GABA, glutamate, and acetylcholine.
Dopamine
Dopamine is commonly known as the “feel good” neurotransmitter.” It helps create a positive feeling that motivates us to continue with an activity or task.
The level of dopamine in your brain can affect your mental and emotional state. Little wonder medications that affect dopamine system are often administered to people suffering from depression after other treatment options have failed.
Serotonin
Serotonin is another neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood. It is also a “feel good” chemical that is responsible for your feeling of happiness.
So when you are suffering from mental and emotional stress, serotonin is one chemical that is released to help you feel calm and emotionally stable. It also influences your sleep cycle and regulate your appetite.
However, low levels of this brain chemical can cause you to experience the following symptoms:
- Feeling bad about yourself
- Problems sleeping
- Feeling low
- Craving for sweet foods
- Memory problems
- Decrease in sexual desire
You may also suffer depression when you have low levels of serotonin. Hence, to improve your mental and emotional health, it is important to boost your serotonin levels. You can achieve this through natural methods like:
- Engaging in plenty of exercise
- Getting more exposure to sunlight
- Meditation and counselling
Epinephrine
Epinephrine or adrenaline is released by the medulla of the adrenal glands when you’re faced with a threat. It provokes stress response and triggers emotions like anger, fear, or amusement.
Too little amount of epinephrine has been associated with symptoms of mental and emotional stress, including depression, anxiety, and worries. Excessive amount can also lead to mood disorders like schizophrenia. So it is important to have a regulated amount of this hormone.
Nor-epinephrine
Nor-epinephrine acts as both a brain chemical and a hormone. It is mainly involved in the arousal system of the brain, and controls the respiratory rate, breathing and increase in blood pressure.
However, this brain chemical is mainly targeted at your body’s stress response. It helps to create the “fight-or-flight” feeling by working with the hormone adrenaline.
The imbalance in these four basic neurotransmitters or brain chemicals contributes to mental and emotional stress and it can lead to many conditions, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, and autism.
Hence, if you want to enjoy improvement in your mental and emotional state, it is important to maintain a balance in these brain chemicals. You can achieve this through some methods, including exercise, diet, good relationship, etc.
You can consult Dr. Jason Jones at our Chiropractic office in Elizabeth City, NC to learn more about the brain chemistry and how to boost your level of neurotransmitters naturally to improve your mental and emotional health, as well as your overall wellbeing