Gaba receptors and addiction
What are the roles of the GABA receptors in the brain/body? Why do certain substances that interact with these receptors (alcohol, GHB/GBL, benzodiazepines...) cause addictions that are so difficult and oftentimes dangerous to quit (cold turkey)? Are there ways to regulate the GABA system naturally, if there is one (system)? Are the episodes on dopamine "relatable" to this question or are these addictions, that are seemingly more related with these GABA receptors, different in any way? (Sorry I couldn't phrase it better)
gratitude practice as described in your podcast
Question for you please, Andrew. I need a little more guidance on the gratitude practice you describe in your podcast. You mention recalling a time when someone expressed gratitude towards me, then writing down about 3 bullet points of 1) the situation, 2) the words used and 3) how it made me feel. So my understanding is that everytime (I try to do this once a day) I engage in this practice I tell myself inwardly: this was the situation and this person expressed his or her gratitude to me for having done x, y and z and it made me feel so warm and joyful and appreciate. Is that how it's done that each day I go through this exercise versus just focusing on the somatic response of the gratitude words on my body. I'm grateful for your response.
Sleep when using sleeping tabs nightly
I use sleeping tablets, benzodiazepines, every night to help me get back to sleep after I am woken by nightmares. Also nightly. I have CPTSD & a brain injury. Is the use of sleeping tablets having a negative impact on my brain? Especially when balanced with the benefit of being able to sleep after a nightmare. I do do my sun light exposure morning & night - as you have taught us. Cheers and love your podcast. Unfortunately I am on a pension and I cannot afford to continue my premium subscription after Nov 18th. But you & your team are phenomenal & you’re educating all of us by helping us understand science and its extraordinary impact. Even down here in Australia! Cheers Melissa
Seed Oils
I was wondering if you could weigh in on the topic of seed oils. I follow a lot of functional medicine docs and other practitioners (Mark Hyman, Catherine Shanahan, etc.) who claim that seed oils are pretty much the worst thing that's happened to our food industry, so I've almost completely eliminated them from mine and my family's diet. Emily Oster recently wrote a newsletter claiming that there isn't really much (if any) data that would suggest seed oils are bad. What are your thoughts?
My body does not make dopamine
I’m 48 and my whole life I’ve been a very happy motivated person. I was a member of the 1996 Olympic Gymnastics team and I stay very active and eat very well. I workout a min of 3 times a week and I try and do ice baths everyday. I’m contacting you because at around age 40 I started feeling depression for the first time in my life. I really didn’t realize it for years and I just tried to fight through it with positivity. I finally got so bad I called my integrative doctor. She immediately had me take a neurotransmitter test. It’s showed I had high serotonin but absolutely no dopamine. In fact they said my body has never made dopamine. I find that hard to believe but I’m no expert. They put me on 300mg extended release welbrutrin and 15mg extended release adderall. They say I will need to be on the Wellbutrin for the rest of my life. I do feel a lot better but I really don’t want to be on these meds for the rest of my life. Is there anything I can be doing to fix this without drugs? Can I ever get my body to make dopamine again? She also has me on a lot of supplements to help my body support the loss of dopamine. Thank you for your time