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Neurotransmitters may be the culprit behind symptoms like chronic fatigue, severe depression, insomnia, anxiety, cognitive disorders and decreased sex drive, says Dr. Paul Stallone
Paul Stallone, NMD
Fatigue and anxiety affect just about everyone at some point in their life, but for many, these symptoms can be overwhelming. Most of us experience tiredness after a long day of managing work and kids, but imagine waking up feeling thoroughly exhausted and physically not able to get out of bed—unable to concentrate on a single thought or being able to focus on any task without your heart pounding in your chest.
The number of people experiencing this degree of fatigue and anxiety in the U.S. is growing exponentially. Some are labeled as depressed or lazy; more than 200 million prescriptions for antidepressants are dispensed in the U.S. each year. Neurotransmitters could be the reason many people aren’t able to thrive; addressing this specific imbalance alone may reverse chronic fatigue, severe depression, insomnia, anxiety, cognitive disorders and decreased sex drive.
Neurotransmitters are powerful, naturally occurring chemicals within the brain that regulate many physical and emotional functions. Virtually all body functions are controlled by neurotransmitters, because they are responsible for transmitting chemical messages from one brain cell to another. The 183 different types of transmitters move frequently between cells in the brain to meet the requirements of your current circumstance.
To induce sleep at night, the brain increases certain levels of these substances so thoughts are transmitted in a calming, quieting and relaxing way, and in the morning, your brain must decrease levels of these transmitters and raise excitatory transmitter levels to help wake you up. If you are stressed, certain transmitters are then required to help you remain calm and in control. If you are lacking the “feel-good” transmitters, then it may be impossible to feel happy, energized or motivated, so you end up feeling the opposite, which is depressed, worthless and out of control.
The longer this imbalance continues, the more intense your emotions may become. This is why some people reach a level where they can no longer function. Certain neurotransmitters, if imbalanced, can actually allow you to become agitated or angered easily, which can lead to sleeping disturbances and severe anxiety. An extremely low level of some neurotransmitters may create potential violent behavior in some children. Even young adolescents can experience inadequate levels of transmitters, which is a major cause of excitable, uncontrollable behavior and an inability to focus or pay attention.
The delicate balance of chemical messengers can be disrupted by poor diet, chronic stress and genetics. Diet may be the most important factor in manufacturing proper levels of neurotransmitters. While stress can certainly impact levels, if you’re eating an organic, healthy diet, then you’re providing your body the building blocks it needs to produce more transmitters and correct any discrepancies. Amino acids like glutamine and phenylalanine are vital for your brain cells to create the major transmitters.
Stress, however, needs to be managed, just as does proper diet. Stress, in moderation, is addressed by endorphins (feel-good transmitters), but when you’re in a continuous state of being stressed, the appropriate ratio of other transmitters becomes disturbed. When this happens, you feel stress more acutely with a sense of constant urgency, which then only makes you feel more stressed. The brain responds to emotional stress the exact same way it would to physical danger. Stress needs an outlet, so that you don’t develop a vicious stress cycle, in which being stressed makes you even more stressed. The chemistry of your body can alter and be altered by your every thought and feeling.
All chemical messengers in the brain are intensely interconnected. If one part of the system fails, other parts can’t perform their job correctly. Checking neurotransmitter levels can be performed by simple tests in your physician’s office. Certain companies are equipped with labs that offer specific supplementation, based on individual results. This has proven invaluable to many patients, as they may see subtle, positive changes just weeks after starting a program. An experienced physician is essential to starting the correct program.
Paul Stallone, NMD, founded the Arizona Integrative Medical Center, located at 8144 E. Cactus Rd., Ste. 820, in Scottsdale. He combines natural/alternative/conventional treatments to best fit and benefit each individual patient’s needs. For more information call 480-214-3922 visit DrStallone.com.
