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Low serotonin levels? depression, anxiety.


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Hi I read online that it I very common for women to get low serotonin levels which causes depression and anxiety.

Ive had ocd for like 10 years so unless ive had low serotonin levels since then that's not why I have ocd but I've only been feeling depressed for about half a year and its got a lot worse in last 2 months and I dunno why... Do you think this could be low serotonin levels?

Anyone had/has it?

Xxx

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Certainly serotonin and dopamine play a role in mood and anxiety. Personally I feel I need medication to feel 'normal' because it seems like I must have naturally low serotonin otherwise.

I'm a guy by the way. Wouldnt know if it affects women more.

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Guest lizinlondon

The research says that depression and OCD are not the direct result of low serotonin. If it was due to low serotonin then SSRIs would work immediately. SSRIs increase serotonin pretty much straight away because they block its reuptake. The reason why they take time to work is because we need to grow more serotonin receptors to pick up the extra serotonin. So the mechanism behind depression and OCD is more to do with a reduced amount of serotonin receptors rather than low serotonin. Check out this research http://www.oxfordmhf.org.uk/blog/2012/03/why-do-antidepressants-take-so-long-to-work/

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Ok thank I read it, so it does work but takes time for it to work as you need more recepters to grow. How long does it usually take for anti depressants to kick in?

Thanks Evolve, does the medication make you feel any better? I'm going to try get CBT.

Bit worried I saw someone went to doctors and they were not very nice xx

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There is a lot of controversy over the whole issue of chemical imbalance with many of todays experts. The following is a snippet from an article by Peter Gotzsche Director of the Nordic Cochrane Centre

Myth 1: Your disease is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain

Most patients are told this but it is completely wrong. We have no idea about which interplay of psychosocial conditions, biochemical processes, receptors and neural pathways that lead to mental disorders and the theories that patients with depression lack serotonin and that patients with schizophrenia have too much dopamine have long been refuted. The truth is just the opposite. There is no chemical imbalance to begin with, but when treating mental illness with drugs, we create a chemical imbalance, an artificial condition that the brain tries to counteract. This means that you get worse when you try to stop the medication. An alcoholic also gets worse when there is no more alcohol but this doesn’t mean that he lacked alcohol in the brain when he started drinking. The vast majority of doctors harm their patients further by telling them that the withdrawal symptoms mean that they are still sick and still need the mediciation. In this way, the doctors turn people into chronic patients, including those who would have been fine even without any treatment at all. This is one of the main reasons that the number of patients with mental disorders is increasing, and that the number of patients who never come back into the labour market also increases. This is largely due to the drugs and not the disease.

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Guest lizinlondon

I can't understand this doctor Caramoole. The SSRIs have definitely helped me, without them I would never have done one exposure. I know this because I tried exposure without meds and failed badly. With meds I am going through exposures and getting better. Meds have helped 100%. They take the edge off the anxiety so that it is less painful. Without meds I was in extreme emotional pain. I do understand that they don't help everyone though.

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I can't understand this doctor Caramoole

I'm referring to Serotonin/chemical imbalance theory and whether it exists or not. It's often propounded that it's similar to a diabetic needing insulin, which I believe it's not.....but it's a comfortable, palatable explanation for those to whom it's prescribed. Peter Gotzsche is not a lone wolf on this, it's a commonly held belief now amongst those treating various mental illness's but was/is an explanation (thought to stem from Pharmaceutical companies) that is given to sufferers.

Why or how these drugs work for some and not others or why there can be serious adverse effects and withdrawal issues in some, is a whole other topic. I think the truth is that they don't really know. If these medications work and work well that's one matter but there are many for whom they don't and I personally think it's wrong to use what "seems" to be a plausible explanation as a means to sway someone. If they are prescribed it should be done honestly and with people being made aware of the possible pitfalls as well as benefits.

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Psychotropic Drugs for Mental Illness are like Insulin for Diabetes

Most patients with depression or schizophrenia have heard this falsehood over and over again, almost like a mantra, in TV, radio and newspapers. When you give insulin to a patient with diabetes, you give something the patient lacks, namely insulin. Since we’ve never been able to demonstrate that a patient with a mental disorder lacks something that people who are not sick don’t lack, it is wrong to use this analogy.

Patients with depression don’t lack serotonin, and there are actually drugs that work for depression although they lower serotonin. Moreover, in contrast to insulin, which just replaces what the patient is short of, and does nothing else, psychotropic drugs have a very wide range of effects throughout the body, many of which are harmful. So, also for this reason, the insulin analogy is extremely misleading.

Another snippet

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Guest lizinlondon

I do agree that SSRIs do not help by increasing serotonin nor does low serotonin cause OCD but for those that they do help it is a good thing. I am glad they help me to manage my anxiety and now I have very few side effects. It is a shame they cannot help everyone. Plus it is likely that different people have OCD for different reasons, some biochemical others more psychological. I hope they find out soon ...

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Sorry and thanks, I don't really understand it. I don't really want any medication but I do want to feel better. My mood swings are crazy I can go from very happy and something tiny will annoy me and I'm right down thinking I hate life and everything. I dunno hope doctors will help but I don't want to become chronic as caramoles article states so I'm warry of medication.

Thanks for your replies guys xx

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Guest lizinlondon

The meds really helped me. That's all I can say. I wish I had taken them years ago. Everyone is different though. I would rather spend my life on meds and have a good life than suffer for all my life.

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