Hi! For the next few blogs I will be discussing the top three reasons for neurochemical imbalances occuring. These are genetics, hormonal imbalances and stressors. I will start with explaining the role of genetics in neurochemical imbalances.
Family history is often the most key component contributing to this problem. This is also the case for most other medical problems such as diabetes, hypertension, thyroid disease, heart disease, cancer, etc. Mood disorders and other manifestations of chemical imbalances is just as real and medical of a problem
Family history doesn’t just refer to parents, but also siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc. There is often a pattern seen in families when one looks under the surface and details are explored. Some relatives may have an obvious history of depression and/or anxiety, OCD,Bipolar disrder, schizophrenia, etc, however much of the history may be hidden and not so obvious. There may be family secrets and shame that is not openly discussed and acknowledged. Clues are a history of nervous breakdowns, suicides, family discord with abuse, divorces and breakups of families.
Since during previous generations there was not a good understanding about what the true causes were, and since treatments at that time were poorly tolerated or unsuccesful, it was often a hopeless situation. Alcoholism and abuse of other drugs as well as other addictive habits such as gambling and overeating are clues to look for. Which parent or family member one most resembles and takes most after is fairly predictive whether one is at risk to follow the same pattern.
Thankfully, in the last couple of decades we have developed better ways to diagnose and treat genetics in neurochemical imbalances. There are excellent modern medications we now have to work with, so it is now much more hopeful if it is treated properly. Please send comments and questins about this subject. Next time I will discuss the role of hormonal imbalances. Bye for now. Dr. Paul
