Dissecting Depression

With the passing of Robin Williams this past week, there has been a raised awareness regarding addiction and depression.  While I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on either of these subjects, I do know a few things and I was able to research some material that I believed would be of interest to anyone because even if you don’t deal with these ailments yourself, you most certainly know someone who does.

When it comes to the chemistry of the brain, it turns out that addiction and depression are very closely related.  In the past I wrote a piece on two neurotransmitters in the brain that account for much of our behavior, our habits, and our motivation.  These chemicals are dopamine which is often referred to as the “reward hormone”, and serotonin which is often referred to as the “happy hormone”.  I’ve heard speakers present that everything we do is tied to dopamine as it gives us a feel-good sense of reward that is tied to motivation and pleasure but also deeply tied to addiction.  In rat studies where dopamine was shut off, as the rats were dropped into water, they neglected to swim as if they just lacked the will to survive!  Likewise, your ability to be happy is thought to be directly linked to how much serotonin is being released. Serotonin has a profound effect on mood and anxiety -- high levels of it, or sensitivity to it, are associated with serenity and optimism.  Low levels of either of these hormones and especially both have been proven to cause depression.  One of the biggest problems we face is that numerous chemicals including caffeine and sugar and nearly all recreational drugs including alcohol will stimulate a very strong dopamine response and can also impact serotonin.  This leaves us wanting these chemicals more and more, but it also can deplete our dopamine levels leaving us short.  This is the very nature of addiction.  Dopamine gives us a very strong emotional response that we want more of.  Unfortunately this hormone does not last long in our system.  The stronger drugs like cocaine, heroin, and ecstasy are thought to completely deplete our dopamine stores creating a highly addictive tendency even on the first use.  Obviously, this reaction is tied to addictive behaviors but a 2005 University of Toronto study has shown that any kind of dopamine dysfunction is associated with the deepest levels of depression

So that was the bad news.  One of the concepts I teach in our “Think Well” workshop is that except in very rare cases, we were not born with a lack of happiness or sense of reward.  The stress, anxiety, or depression we experience is a learned response from what we eat and drink, how we move, and how we think.  As we practice these habits and emotions more often, we become more efficient at expressing them in part from the response of these neurotransmitters.  This phenomenon is referred to as neural plasticity; meaning that our brains are pliable and learn from repetition.  The good news of this is that our brain patterns and even the chemistry of these hormones can be relearned by practicing feelings of love, happiness, and gratitude.  It takes time and diligence but it can be done.  This is also why counseling and talking about our stresses in order to resolve the root of the problem is important.  Unfortunately, most people don’t do this and the standard of care for addiction, stress, anxiety and depressions are a couple classes of drugs that come with their own host of side effects and their own impacts on serotonin and dopamine.  Please check in next week when I share these effects and discuss some other natural strategies of relieving stress and depression before it gets too advanced.