Progressive Progressive Medical Center - 2019 | Page 29

SO, WHY AM I DEPRESSED?
Our emotions, appetites, sleep schedules,
energy levels, and so much more are
completely dependent on a delicate
symphony of hormones in our body. The
levels of all of these hormones change
throughout the day, prompting us to wake
up, eat, feel energized, get tired, fall asleep,
and perform all the necessary functions
for life. It is, to say the least, extremely
complicated. When this symphony is
disrupted, depressive symptoms (and
many other issues) can develop.
When we hear about depression as a
“chemical imbalance,” we’re mostly
thinking about the neurotransmitters
dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin.
Even though there are many other
factors involved, pharmaceutical options
usually revolve around these particular
neurotransmitters. The concept is pretty
simple. Let’s use serotonin, one of our
“happy hormones,” as an illustration.
If we suspect that the body doesn’t have
enough serotonin, then we prescribe
a drug which increases the levels of
serotonin. Occasionally, it is this simple,
and these medications can be very
successful. Unfortunately, this isn’t always
the case, and these medications have
the potential to be completely ineffective
or even make the problem worse.
Assuming that increasing the body’s
serotonin levels successfully treats the
depressive symptoms, we still haven’t
solved or even thought about the actual
problem. Solving the problem would
require figuring out why the body
is not producing sufficient amounts
of serotonin. So let’s go deeper.
WHY WOULDN’T THE BODY
PRODUCE ENOUGH SEROTONIN?
The first thing to consider is the functioning
of the body’s serotonin factories, which
include the brain and small intestine.
Damage to either of these organs could
result in decreased production. Things that
would impact the brain would generally
(but not always) be a little more dramatic
and noticeable, like head injuries or tumors.
Things that would impact the small intestine
are often much more difficult to recognize.
Eating something that causes inflammation
or damage to the intestinal cells can result
in a decreased production of serotonin.
This inflammation or damage can go
completely unnoticed or might be easily
brushed off as “just a little bloating,” or “a
tiny bit of heartburn,” or “occasional loose
stool”—nothing that would be immediately
alarming or concerning for most people.
The usual culprits we like to blame for
intestinal inflammation are sugar, dairy,
eggs, and gluten, but it can be something
as healthy as spinach or apples depending
on each person’s own sensitivities, food
allergies, and overall gastrointestinal health.
Even if the small intestine and the brain
are in perfect working order, it is still
possible that there isn’t enough serotonin.
We then have to make sure there are
enough raw materials available to make
serotonin. The backbone of serotonin is
tryptophan, a fairly common amino acid.
Infamously found in turkey, it can also
be found in other poultry, nuts, seeds,
legumes, and seafood, among other things.
Additionally, producing serotonin requires
a few B vitamins and, in the brain, vitamin
D. If we aren’t consuming or absorbing
enough tryptophan or if we are deficient
in B vitamins or vitamin D, then we may
not be able to make enough serotonin.
We haven’t yet addressed all the possible
issues that can decrease serotonin levels,
let alone the other neurotransmitters
noted above. And we haven’t even
mentioned the hormones created by the
thyroid and adrenal glands, which can
also contribute to depression. Like we
mentioned above, it’s complicated, and
this is why it is important to explore all
of these possibilities before attempting
a pharmaceutical intervention.
SHEESH, ANYTHING ELSE?
Yep, there is more. It turns out that our
own properly functioning immune
system can cause depression. When the
immune system is activated, immune
cells send signals throughout the body,
called cytokines. These cytokines are
responsible for telling the body to induce
a fever, produce mucus, make us cough
and sneeze, inspire us to lie in bed—all
the terrible things we hate but which
actually make it easier for our body to fight
an infection. It has been discovered that
one cytokine in particular, interleukin-1
or IL-1, can cause depressive symptoms.
SSRIs are only effective
30% of the time. Why?
They only treat 30% of the
issues causing depression.
It seems odd that our immune system
would cause us to be depressed when
we get sick, but there is a reasonable
theory that is worth noting. If our immune
system is fighting a contagious bug, then
its forcing us to be withdrawn, irritable,
tired, and unmotivated would cause us to
hide in our rooms alone and avoid other
people, which would protect others in
the community from catching the bug.
This explains why we are depressed when
we are sick, but our immune system
may also cause depression even if we
aren’t sick. IL-1 levels can be elevated
without feeling a full-on illness. This
can be caused by a chronic, low-level
infection that we may not notice.
Hopefully, all of this information helps to
make it clear that depression is actually a
very helpful signal in our body. It works
kind of like pain. If we put our hand on
a very hot surface, it hurts. The pain is a
signal for us to pay attention to our hand
and make sure we take it off the heat before
we get severely injured. If we didn’t feel
pain, we’d put our hand on a hot surface
and might not ever notice that we’re
being severely injured until it’s too late.
While it’s not pleasant, we need pain.
Depression works the same way. If we have
unresolved emotional issues, inflammation
or damage to the cells of our small intestine,
a brain injury, a thyroid issue, a low-level
chronic infection, or if we’re missing vital
nutrients, then we will develop depression.
Depression is the body’s way of saying,
“Hey! Something is wrong and we have
to fix it!” If your body is sending you
this signal, don’t ignore it. You are not
depressed because you are weak or flawed.
You are depressed because something
is wrong and your body is trying to get
your attention. Come to Progressive
Medical Center so we can figure out
what’s happening in your body and
understand how it can be corrected.
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