Is Serotonin the Happy Hormone? Think Again
Props where props is due. Very well produced and informative documentary, and there is a quote from Ray! He covers learned helplessness, and a lot of really interesting angles.
Here is a summary:
Modern marketing for antidepressant drugs has been so effective at co-opting not just the medical community, but also the alternative health circles (calling it the “happy hormone” even though it’s not a hormone at all), regulating bodies, and the popular media, that most people now believe that they’re serotonin deficient. This could not be further from the truth, in fact most evidence points to population-wide excess of serotonin, and this serotonin overload is responsible for myriad devastating physical and psychological dysfunctions. The easy shorthand narrative about serotonin deficiency causing depression is not just lazy, it is fraudulent: completely inaccurate. Excess serotonin leads to overproduction of stress hormones such as estrogen, cortisol, and prolactin and conditions the human body & mind to “learned helplessness,” a phenomenon that has been demonstrated in animal research to trigger disturbingly acute behaviors. You don’t need more serotonin, you need less!
Props where props is due. Very well produced and informative documentary, and there is a quote from Ray! He covers learned helplessness, and a lot of really interesting angles.
Here is a summary:
Modern marketing for antidepressant drugs has been so effective at co-opting not just the medical community, but also the alternative health circles (calling it the “happy hormone” even though it’s not a hormone at all), regulating bodies, and the popular media, that most people now believe that they’re serotonin deficient. This could not be further from the truth, in fact most evidence points to population-wide excess of serotonin, and this serotonin overload is responsible for myriad devastating physical and psychological dysfunctions. The easy shorthand narrative about serotonin deficiency causing depression is not just lazy, it is fraudulent: completely inaccurate. Excess serotonin leads to overproduction of stress hormones such as estrogen, cortisol, and prolactin and conditions the human body & mind to “learned helplessness,” a phenomenon that has been demonstrated in animal research to trigger disturbingly acute behaviors. You don’t need more serotonin, you need less!
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