Why can’t you just inject serotonin to feel happy?
In: 91
Serotonin Syndrome would be why, I guess you could technically do it yes but you’d have to have a crap load of minute amounts injected over time. If you say had a weeks worth in one hit you’d likely get messed up pretty bad
Serotonin also regulates a load of other bodily functions do injecting it I imagine would be really risky.
Apologies for the vague terms, it’s based on my rudimentary understanding as I’ve been managing clinical depression for about 20 years and serotonin syndrome is a risk associated with antidepressants.
Serotonin Syndrome would be why, I guess you could technically do it yes but you’d have to have a crap load of minute amounts injected over time. If you say had a weeks worth in one hit you’d likely get messed up pretty bad
Serotonin also regulates a load of other bodily functions do injecting it I imagine would be really risky.
Apologies for the vague terms, it’s based on my rudimentary understanding as I’ve been managing clinical depression for about 20 years and serotonin syndrome is a risk associated with antidepressants.
Serotonin Syndrome would be why, I guess you could technically do it yes but you’d have to have a crap load of minute amounts injected over time. If you say had a weeks worth in one hit you’d likely get messed up pretty bad
Serotonin also regulates a load of other bodily functions do injecting it I imagine would be really risky.
Apologies for the vague terms, it’s based on my rudimentary understanding as I’ve been managing clinical depression for about 20 years and serotonin syndrome is a risk associated with antidepressants.
In part because they don’t really understand how serotonin works. Just raising levels doesn’t make you happy.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/01/23/145525853/when-it-comes-to-depression-serotonin-isnt-the-whole-story
In part because they don’t really understand how serotonin works. Just raising levels doesn’t make you happy.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/01/23/145525853/when-it-comes-to-depression-serotonin-isnt-the-whole-story
In part because they don’t really understand how serotonin works. Just raising levels doesn’t make you happy.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/01/23/145525853/when-it-comes-to-depression-serotonin-isnt-the-whole-story
By way of comparison:
**”I’m a painter. I want to make a painting of happy people in a cheery, sunny landscape. Those have blue skies. Should I just get a can of blue paint and splash it all over my whole art studio?”**
Neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, GABA, etc. are like different colors of paint that your brain uses to paint itself a picture. But actually making them into *a happy painting* and not *a sick mess* requires a more organized plan than “just throw a bunch of paint around the studio.”
(If you paint the people’s faces and the ground sky-blue, that might just be *more* depressing. And if you swallow the paint while you’re doing it, you’re going to poison yourself. Serotonin-affecting drugs can kill you.)
Popular writers, bloggers, and Internet commenters oversimplify the idea of neurotransmitters so much that it’s hardly even recognizable. For another example, *dopamine* isn’t only used to paint pictures of *things you want* (like love and cocaine); it’s also in the picture of *things you don’t want* … and also the picture of *moving your body* — which is why L-DOPA is a drug for Parkinson’s disease, not for addiction.
(Yes, the [“chemical imbalance” picture of depression](https://slatestarcodex.com/2015/04/05/chemical-imbalance/) was always a huge, huge oversimplification of what medical research actually has to say.)
By way of comparison:
**”I’m a painter. I want to make a painting of happy people in a cheery, sunny landscape. Those have blue skies. Should I just get a can of blue paint and splash it all over my whole art studio?”**
Neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, GABA, etc. are like different colors of paint that your brain uses to paint itself a picture. But actually making them into *a happy painting* and not *a sick mess* requires a more organized plan than “just throw a bunch of paint around the studio.”
(If you paint the people’s faces and the ground sky-blue, that might just be *more* depressing. And if you swallow the paint while you’re doing it, you’re going to poison yourself. Serotonin-affecting drugs can kill you.)
Popular writers, bloggers, and Internet commenters oversimplify the idea of neurotransmitters so much that it’s hardly even recognizable. For another example, *dopamine* isn’t only used to paint pictures of *things you want* (like love and cocaine); it’s also in the picture of *things you don’t want* … and also the picture of *moving your body* — which is why L-DOPA is a drug for Parkinson’s disease, not for addiction.
(Yes, the [“chemical imbalance” picture of depression](https://slatestarcodex.com/2015/04/05/chemical-imbalance/) was always a huge, huge oversimplification of what medical research actually has to say.)
By way of comparison:
**”I’m a painter. I want to make a painting of happy people in a cheery, sunny landscape. Those have blue skies. Should I just get a can of blue paint and splash it all over my whole art studio?”**
Neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, GABA, etc. are like different colors of paint that your brain uses to paint itself a picture. But actually making them into *a happy painting* and not *a sick mess* requires a more organized plan than “just throw a bunch of paint around the studio.”
(If you paint the people’s faces and the ground sky-blue, that might just be *more* depressing. And if you swallow the paint while you’re doing it, you’re going to poison yourself. Serotonin-affecting drugs can kill you.)
Popular writers, bloggers, and Internet commenters oversimplify the idea of neurotransmitters so much that it’s hardly even recognizable. For another example, *dopamine* isn’t only used to paint pictures of *things you want* (like love and cocaine); it’s also in the picture of *things you don’t want* … and also the picture of *moving your body* — which is why L-DOPA is a drug for Parkinson’s disease, not for addiction.
(Yes, the [“chemical imbalance” picture of depression](https://slatestarcodex.com/2015/04/05/chemical-imbalance/) was always a huge, huge oversimplification of what medical research actually has to say.)
you know how when you eat a piece of candy, it makes you feel happy, right? Well, there’s a chemical in your brain called serotonin that can also make you feel happy. It’s like a magic happy chemical, But, if you just inject serotonin into your body to try to feel happy, it’s kind of like cheating. Your brain wouldn’t know why you suddenly have so much serotonin, and it could actually make you feel worse instead of better. It’s like if you eat too much candy at once, you might feel sick instead of happy, Plus, your brain needs to make its own serotonin in the right amounts to keep you healthy and feeling good over time. So, while it might be tempting to try to inject happiness, it’s better to let your brain do it naturally.
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