With the increase of Instagram pages run by new mothers on natal care and parenting, I discovered the kangaroo care method. Pediatricians suggest this for infants, as they come in skin-to-skin contact with their parents like monkeys, swans, and kangaroos do. This is great for the baby’s nourishment and helps prevent postpartum depression in mothers, and cultivates a bond with fathers. Kangarooing works because it kindles the ‘cuddle hormones’, also known as oxytocin. It always fascinates me how nature is a step ahead in practicing what we, as mankind, only learn from scientific studies.
Well, I know we all are past this stage of our life, but that doesn’t stop us from experiencing mental wellness. Recently, I wrote to Dr Saroj Dubey, a medical practitioner with experience of over 10 years and holding an MD in General Medicine. He explained how hormones and neurotransmitters are chemical messengers known for their ability to help people bond, feel joy, and experience pleasure.
Like oxytocin, which I mentioned earlier, serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins are all happy hormones that promote positive feelings like pleasure, happiness, and even love; these feelings play a vital role in the health and wellness of individuals.
Let’s try to understand these quickly:
Oxytocin
This bonding hormone plays a central role in the formation of interpersonal relationships. It strengthens empathy, promotes trust in partnerships, and increases sexual arousal. As a counterpart to our body’s stress hormone (cortisol), it relieves stress and helps us relax.
Serotonin
It is the feel-good hormone in our body, and this neurotransmitter plays a key role in generating feelings of calm, joy, and contentment. It can also improve our long-term resilience to stress and decreases anxiety
Endorphins
They are energy hormones and primarily act as natural painkillers. They prevent pain stimuli from being transmitted to the brain and spinal cord. An energy boost during a workout just when you are on the verge of giving up could be one of its effects. This is partly due to endorphins. They virtually numb the feeling of exhaustion.
Dopamine
These motivational molecules are crucial neurotransmitters for our well-being. When dopamine is released, the brain triggers a reward response, and – when combined with serotonin – it triggers a desire for repetition, so you want to keep going with a project or workout to experience the same happiness again and again. Dopamine is also responsible for fine motor skills, coordination, and concentration.
Psychiatrists prescribe Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, a class of drugs that increase serotonin levels, for patients with depression not responding to lifestyle measures, counseling, anxiety, panic disorders, OCD, etc. Although SSRI medicines have no major side effects, they may produce side effects like nausea, anorexia, dizziness, cramps, etc., which subside after a few days.
However, a healthy diet, regular meditation, yoga, mindfulness practices, spending time with friends and family, and eating dinner with loved ones are better ways to boost these hormones, emotions, and cognitive functions.
Dr. Dubey advises an increased consumption of prebiotics and probiotics; a healthy gut means a healthy mind! He emphasizes the importance of the gut microbiome in producing neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin; they allow neurons to communicate and connect the nervous system to the gut.
Since many of us today derive validation from the internet and its different channels, so it only made sense to ask him how the source of dopamine surge could be shifted to healthier means.
“We need to stop measuring our worth and self-esteem by the number of likes and shares we receive on social media.’ he said. “We must spend some time in silence and introspection along with mindfulness and meditation to understand that true happiness and peace are our inherent nature.” He concluded that lending a helping hand, kindness, and a healthy dose of self-compassion are all very important.
Individuals today have multiple friends online, but we are all isolated in reality. I believe that making friends offline is more important than having friends online. Individuals need to build lasting relationships and share experiences and compliments, which can help us increase our worth and find our role in this larger system.
Another great piece of thought I’ve picked comes from an unpublished spiritual novel, Romancing the Truth, by Dr. Sanjay Grover. As a neurologist, he believes all four hormones are interdependent, and fulfilling the body’s physiological needs creates a dopamine rush, producing pleasure. Similarly, when psychological needs like the need for love and recognition are satisfied, it increases oxytocin, leading to trust and bonding and higher mental stimulation, causing a natural surge in serotonin. This rise in serotonin leads to calm and raising endorphins leading to the joy of being.
“A simple act of affection like giving someone a massage, a well-extended hug, cuddling, and making love lead to a higher level of these hormones and a greater sense of well-being,” he mentions.
