There are many decisive factors to a person’s mental health. These include your immediate environment, your daily routine, and the chemicals being released in your brain to name a few examples. Dopamine and serotonin are some of the biggest culprits – acting as mood regulators and motivation in most regards. People who experience an imbalance in these chemicals should seek treatment at a professional mental health clinic to avoid the development of a mental disorder that is based on behavioural patterns or drastic mood swings.
As humans, we live under the presumption that we have a free will to do whatever we want to. When you do something that brings you joy, your brain rewards you with a healthy dose of dopamine. Serotonin, on the other hand, regulates your mood and your feelings. Today, we will discuss both in detail and have a closer look at how they can impact your mental health.
Dopamine
- Its Function: Dopamine plays a vital role in our brains – serving as a means of motivation and rewarding you for a job well done. It also responses as a pleasure mechanism, which is where the danger lies. For example, if you find pleasure in consuming a specific substance or indulging in a specific type of behaviour – no matter the consequences – your brain will give you a dopamine release as a reward.
- Mental Health Problems: People can get addicted to all kinds of things – whether they contain any addictive substances or not. Such an addiction is berthed from the pure dopamine release that is experienced when consuming such a substance. This is where eating disorders stem from. It is also where substance abuse stems from, along with detrimental behavioural addictions. Furthermore, low dopamine levels can lead to depression and a general lack of motivation.
Serotonin
- Its Function: Serotonin is directly responsible for determining and regulating your mood. This chemical causes you to experience the entire spectrum of emotions – ranging from being completely depressed and sad to being over extatically happy and positive. It also assists with calming your mind and getting you to sleep at night.
- Mental Health Problems: When experiencing an imbalance in serotonin, an individual can develop a plethora of mood disorders. These disorders include depressive mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and overwhelming feelings of sadness, demotivation, and a disconnect to their reality. Furthermore, such an imbalance can cause the individual to experience an impaired ability to process and regulate their emotions. This leads to outbursts, intense feelings of depression, and not having the ability to care about anything around them.
If you experience any of the following mental states, we highly recommend that you seek professional psychiatric care at our mental health clinic:
- Feeling useless
- Struggling to motivate yourself
- Feeling depressed for no particular reason
- Constantly worrying about what is to come
- Experiencing emotional outbursts
- Not able to find happiness from within
- Experiencing a disconnect from the world around you
Beethoven Recovery Centre is your solution to a professional mental health clinic near Gauteng. Please contact us if you have any questions on how we can assist you to find a way back to a healthy mental state. You can also browse our website for additional information on our premises and programme.