Brain Chemicals

I've often wondered, how much history has been affected by the problems of chemical imbalances. And not complex ones; we all know that there have been psychos and rulers like Caligula or Nero or whoever that had something seriously wrong with them. What about the simple everyday problems that occur in all of us? When your blood sugar goes down, you get cranky, or angry. It happens. Believe me, my car (older car), knows all about that.

So what ruler woke up, forgot breakfast, and then got angry at something and ordered troops to take over some country. Was it Napoleon's need for world domination that caused him to attack Moscow in the middle of winter? Or was it that he made a decision while his blood sugar was down and later regretted it, even though he couldn't reverse it?

But maybe that is a little too far off. How about the murders that happen everyday that could be thwarted if people would simple eat regularly?

My point is that each day, we go about daily chores, we deal with the chemicals that are constantly fluxing, Seratonin, Neopenephrine (sp), Dopamine, blood sugar levels, etc... all that are affected by what we eat, what we take as far as medicine, how many diet cokes we drink... etc... And I'll be the first to admit that there are days when I feel like punching a hole through a wall, and I don't have a good reason to. It's simply a matter of keeping all those brain chemicals in line. Through medication, food, laughter, emotions... and while we're doing all this, we have to put up with everyday life, dealing with people, circumstances, life in general.

And it's best to know what affects what, and of course that would take far too long to explain, but here's the main three that deal with depression and how to balance them:

Seratonin: the main chemical that affects mood. Prozac is the main medical balancer, but sunshine works too (which is why people get gloomy on gloomy days.) And exercise. And sugary foods, which is why people with depression eat a lot. Although I tend to eat lots of protein, but that's another story...

Neopenephrine (sp): notice the incorrect spelling of it, but it's close enough. And it's easily balanced by ephedrine, or in common tongue, Sudafed. that's why Meth is such a stimulant, but boosting it too much can be dangerous. Just a little for those that need it can really boost mood. Meaning Actifed or Sudafed, which is a decongestant. For those with allergies, it really does help. Other medications also help.

And Dopamine, which is a chemical that is boosted by brain activity. It's the juice that helps the brain to move. High dopamine levels are found in ADD people, although often, it's more roller coaster levels that cause ADD people to have depression. Low dopamine levels are found in people with Alzheimers. To keep dopamine levels high, brain activity is key. More importantly, research, looking for things, like word searches, or working at a bookstore where people are always looking for books. Reading, writing... anything to keep the brain going. And a side effect of this is very interesting dreams at night. Good stuff.

Hopefully, this'll help somebody. Keeping everything in balance, that's the main thing. Course, that's for life in general. An excess of most things will cause bad things to happen. For instance, those dreams can turn into nightmares, which deplete Seratonin levels. Makes you wake up cranky and in a bad mood. Do everything in moderation, and that'll help. Course, we don't do that here in this life. Roller coasters are much more fun. But you have to take the highs with the lows.

Anyway, i'm off to Target here in a little bit to get the ingredients for Josta Reborn, which can be found on the website on my profile under the Josta picture. It's supposed to taste just like it. That'll do for boosting chemical levels. Guanara, Caffeine, Taurine... all do something.