[Image Credit; Pixabay Commons]
“Depression can be seen as a deep pit…”- Abraham Lincoln
Strange but true, there are certain chemicals in our bodies responsible for most actions carried out by the human body. These chemicals are responsible for our mental health as well as the physical well-being, the way we grow, happiness level, the way we love (romantically or just a friendly one), whenever we are sad; there is a chemical reaction responsible for that as well.
Achieving peak performance in the human body required balancing mental health with physical health. Mental health is very important, if not more than Physical health because it has to do with what goes on in a person’s mind and how it influences the subjects environments. This includes an individual’s psychological, emotional and social well-being and it determines how a particular person feels, thinks, reacts at any point in time in a particular situation or environment.
These chemicals decreases and increases in level and deficiencies in these chemicals I briefly narrated below as I will be using the scenario to explain what each of this chemicals does/will do to the subject of the narrative story.
D.O.S.E DEFFIENCY IN MR.FRANK
[Image Credit; Pixabay Commons]
Frank (fictional name) is going through some hard times, his issues got aggravated when he was queried at work for his low performance, his beloved wife starts to complain about his extremely low sexual performance in bed and his confidence level has dropped so low. He chose to refrain from people and his social clichéd; avoiding friends and extended families at all cost.
Frankie began to blame everything happening to him upon himself, self-pity and wallowing kicked in, he concluded he couldn’t do things the right way anymore and he wasn’t good enough for everything. He had tried to amend things but not working; he had fallen into a quagmire of mild depression and his mental health is unbalanced, edging closer to the dark hole- the total downfall of a man was close, suicide was near.
D.O.S.E is an acronym and this simply summarises what was missing in Frankie’s life, and before I go ahead on how he became a victim of this let me explain what the acronym D.O.S.E really means.
Simply DOSE is Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin and Endorphin which are body chemicals laden with responsibilities of making humans happy and help to maintain a stable mental health. Their formulas are;
- Dopamine- C8H11NO2
- Oxytocin- C43H66N12O12S2
- Serotonin- C10H12N2O
- Endorphin- C15H251N390O46S
D.O.S.E ANALYSIS ONE AT A TIME
DOPAMINE is among the most extensively researched neurotransmitters that help control the brain’s reward and pleasure centers, it plays a major role in memory, mood, learning, attention, movement, sleep and anticipating pleasure. A study indicates that having a substantial amount of Dopamine in the body system will motivate and enhance competitive behavioral traits in the human system. This Chemicals released by neurons (nerve cells) to send signals to other nerve cells could be boosted by doing the following activities;
- Getting enough and good sleeps.
- Eating foods rich in Tyrosine for example; fish, almonds, eggs, beans, bananas, avocados, chicken and so on.
- Exercising regularly at least for 45 minutes to 1 hour on daily basis.
- Getting a full body massage once in while helps too.
- Meditations are essential too.
Franks seems to be suffering from low level of Dopamine, partly the reason why his performance was so poor at work resulting in low morale which could have motivated him to put in extra performance.
OXYTOCIN often referred to as the” love hormone” is a powerful chemical acting as a powerful neurotransmitter in the brain. The hormone is produced by the hypothalamus and secreted by the pituitary gland. It’s a hormone that acts largely on organs in the body especially the uterus and the breast; it also acts a master key controlling an important aspect of the reproductive system (sexual intercourse, orgasm, lactation, childbirth) as well as regulating social interaction. The level of oxytocin in the body could be increased with these simple actions;
- Having great sex, cuddle and gist after every round of sex.
- Giving and receiving gifts.
- Sharing your meals (Not for everyone)
- A little increase in positive personality traits e.g. trusts, empathy, warmth, and open-mindedness.
- Taking a hot bath.
Lack of sufficient quantity of Oxytocin in Frank as we might have deduced prevents him from satisfying his wife sexually, maybe the wife is giving him benefits of doubt to trust her (probably having affairs), or it might be he was not getting enough gift from his wife as much as he is giving her. This tiny little factors merged together to have its tolls on Frankie.
SEROTONIN shouldn’t be low in the body, lower levels of it have been linked to depression. It is also an important chemical and a neurotransmitter in the body, mostly found in the central nervous system located in the gastrointestinal tract, blood platelets and digestive system which is largely made from the essential amino acid tryptophan.
This chemical helps to regulate emotions, mood, sleep, appetite, social behavior etc. A normal level of serotonin makes humans calmer, happier, emotionally balanced, more focused, low anxiousness. It could be enhanced in the body by doing the following;
- Healthy eating/feeding with regular full body massages.
- Daily power walks early in the morning helps too at least for less than 25mins.
- Avoid high sugar intake.
- Getting an ample Vitamin D which is present in early sun rays of the day.
- Regular intake of vitamin B-complex.
Frankie obviously have a tight work schedule and no time to work out or eat good home cooked meals which resulted in him eating a lot of junks with high sugar content.
ENDORPHINS are produced by the body and act as pain reducing agents. These small neuropeptides are naturally manufactured chemicals by the nervous system to endure pain and a great deal of stress. They are happiness boosters and acts as pain relievers hence popularly referred to as “feel-good chemicals”, they can be enhanced as well by doing some of the following;
- Having a bit of alcohol once in a while.
- Regular exercises.
- Consuming Dark Chocolates.
- Eating hot chili and spicy foods.
- Treating yourself out once in a while.
- Laugh- laugh it out often.
Since Frankie is suffering from mild depression, he laughs a little or none at all. This might result in him trying to cool off a with a large intake of alcohol which might have affected his sexual performances as well.
Anyone suffering like Frank needs to be injected and treated with a very high dose of DOSE, there are thousands like him suffering around the World which could result in wallowing in self –doubt and finally ended up in depression and a suicide attempt- successful and unsuccessful as seen on the news and the internet.
References;
Depression
Building emotional immunity with a dose of D.O.S.E
Psychology Today- Dopamine
Oxytocin
Hormones ann Health-What is Oxytocin?
Serotonin Facts