do you think depression and anxiety are side effects of hormone imbalances?

[hxt]

you tend to see depression and anxiety associated with women or beta men. do you think there is a correlation? when Im on and my estrogen is within normal ranges I feel like a good. like a constant steady cocaine high of confidence. euphoria. superiority, nothing can bother or phase me. my last cycle I had a close family member die and I wasn't even saddened.
this has me wondering if most of these "mental disorders" really stem from hormone imbalances.

how do you feel on cycle?

[hammerheart]

you tend to see depression and anxiety associated with women or beta men. do you think there is a correlation? when Im on and my estrogen is within normal ranges I feel like a good. like a constant steady cocaine high of confidence. euphoria. superiority, nothing can bother or phase me. my last cycle I had a close family member die and I wasn't even saddened.
this has me wondering if most of these "mental disorders" really stem from hormone imbalances.

how do you feel on cycle?

Endocrine disorders can indeed be a factor implied in depression pathogenesis as well as mania, and more. Clinicians often underlook these when mood disorders are part of patient symptoms presentation.

In my opinion though, genetics plays much of a bigger role.

AAS, they can both relieve and cause depression, but the worst is usually associated with estrogen imbalances... yet some guys appear to be indifferent to low or high E2 levels.

[hammerheart]

Myself closest I did to a cycle was 400mg Test for a month and half.

That made me unusually fatigued and lethargic, though muscle tone, strength and response where improved.

Not sure about effects on mood, but I'd say somewhat depressed because of reduced functioning, but never actually sad or moody.

About sexual functioning , I developed a scanty sex drive about four weeks in, and I never actually had any. I've also always had total sexual anhedonia during and the end, but on that high dose of T, I felt something... never had felt that before. It was fun, but lost as I've come off.

[hxt]

Endocrine disorders can indeed be a factor implied in depression pathogenesis as well as mania, and more. Clinicians often underlook these when mood disorders are part of patient symptoms presentation.

In my opinion though, genetics plays much of a bigger role.

AAS, they can both relieve and cause depression, but the worst is usually associated with estrogen imbalances... yet some guys appear to be indifferent to low or high E2 levels.

estrogen is probably more closely related to anxiety.

also isn't there a correlation between testosterone and dopamine production? where anxiety is a result of lack of dopamine

[hammerheart]

estrogen is probably more closely related to anxiety.

also isn't there a correlation between testosterone and dopamine production? where anxiety is a result of lack of dopamine

Yes, anxiety can be generated from dopamine imbalances.

I actually get more anxious when my estrogen is low. When it's high I don't have any anxiety I just feel dull all of the time.

Androgens have been shown to have dopaminergic properties but that doesn't seem to work for me , I have this idiopathic high prolactin that can only stem from lack of dopamine infusion from the hypothalamus, and that means I have kind of low dopamine there.

[Quester]

-Anytime something is out of whack we have many different areas which express an issue: physical, psychological, etc.
-Hormones are but just one cause of a psychological response i.e. anxiety or depression.

[hxt]

-Anytime something is out of whack we have many different areas which express an issue: physical, psychological, etc.
-Hormones are but just one cause of a psychological response i.e. anxiety or depression.

they seem to play one of the most important roles. look at how much dramatically different you can feel based on your e2 level and testosterone

[gymffiti]

From personal experiences, my feeling is hormone imbalances are a factor

I also suspect, in future, research will link gut biome / flora imbalances as a factor too

[ScotchGuard02]

Of course, a hormonal imbalance will cause emotional swings. Women's proved it over the millennia every 28 days. If hormones affect women, it will also affect men. Dopamine is the magic "feel GREAT" hormone. Unfortunately, taking exogenous Dopamine doesn't increase the Dopamine in the brain, it's the blood-brain barrier thing. Taking drugs supercharges our brain to release tons of Dopamine and we feel wonderful. Then again, the body being super smart knows to protect itself by shutting down Dopamine receptors. Thus the users are chasing that first high. Traumatic events in our lives also affect us emotionally, PTSD, for example. Human chemistry is pretty complex. I always worry about young guys taking steroids thinking that they're invincible. Just a little change in the body chemistry can make us feel like a king or make us jump off of a bridge. I think we should take as little AAS as possible to get the results we want. More necessarily isn't better. My .02

[hammerheart]

Of course, a hormonal imbalance will cause emotional swings. Women's proved it over the millennia every 28 days. If hormones affect women, it will also affect men. Dopamine is the magic "feel GREAT" hormone. Unfortunately, taking exogenous Dopamine doesn't increase the Dopamine in the brain, it's the blood-brain barrier thing. Taking drugs supercharges our brain to release tons of Dopamine and we feel wonderful. Then again, the body being super smart knows to protect itself by shutting down Dopamine receptors. Thus the users are chasing that first high. Traumatic events in our lives also affect us emotionally, PTSD, for example. Human chemistry is pretty complex. I always worry about young guys taking steroids thinking that they're invincible. Just a little change in the body chemistry can make us feel like a king or make us jump off of a bridge. I think we should take as little AAS as possible to get the results we want. More necessarily isn't better. My .02

Before being the "feel great" neurotransmitter (and not serotonin...) dopamine it's also what makes us feel human, and very normal.

When the dopamine pathways are disrupted the result can be major depression, schizophrenia, parkinsonism...

[kelkel]

anhedonia

Well, don't see that word thrown around here often.....

[Quester]

Well, don't see that word thrown around here often.....

Maybe its Italian?

[Marcus G]

you tend to see depression and anxiety associated with women or beta men. do you think there is a correlation? when Im on and my estrogen is within normal ranges I feel like a good. like a constant steady cocaine high of confidence. euphoria. superiority, nothing can bother or phase me. my last cycle I had a close family member die and I wasn't even saddened.
this has me wondering if most of these "mental disorders" really stem from hormone imbalances.

how do you feel on cycle?

I think it really depends on the person but AAS definitely effects depression or anxiety again some positive while others negative...

[MToption2]

When the dopamine pathways are disrupted the result can be major depression, schizophrenia, parkinsonism...

Dopamine isn't solely responsible. Example, glutamine, serotonin, gaba, etc etc etc etc are heavily implicated in schizophrenia.

[Lemonada8]

what about alpha males? do they not suffer from depression/anxiety? if u have those u gotta add in other psych moods like mania, homicidal, suicidal, OCD, etc.....

[hammerheart]

Maybe its Italian?

It's psych jargon.

From ancient Greek "an" (negation prefix) and "h?don?". It means the inability to experience pleasure.

[Obs]

It's psych jargon.

From ancient Greek "an" (negation prefix) and "h?don?". It means the inability to experience pleasure.

Good grief with the greek etymology! Very nice!

[Obs]

what about alpha males? do they not suffer from depression/anxiety? if u have those u gotta add in other psych moods like mania, homicidal, suicidal, OCD, etc.....

Being an alpha has nothing to do with hormones.
They may help, but its a mindset in the end, everything from how you handle confrontation to what drives you. Alpha males fear, are depressed, worry, can be suicidal, and everything a beta is with the exception of laziness, timidness, and mediocrity in general.
A beta looks for the most painless clean way to commit suicide and fails in attempted overdose of flinstones vitamins.
An alpha commits suicide and succeeds with an overdose of hydrashock hollow points.
Alpha or beta we are all only human and we all feel the same things, we only deal with them differently.

[Quester]

It's psych jargon.

From ancient Greek "an" (negation prefix) and "h?don?". It means the inability to experience pleasure.

You mean like when a buddy doesn't get that you were making a joke?

[Lemonada8]

Being an alpha has nothing to do with hormones.
They may help, but its a mindset in the end, everything from how you handle confrontation to what drives you. Alpha males fear, are depressed, worry, can be suicidal, and everything a beta is with the exception of laziness, timidness, and mediocrity in general.
A beta looks for the most painless clean way to commit suicide and fails in attempted overdose of flinstones vitamins.
An alpha commits suicide and succeeds with an overdose of hydrashock hollow points.
Alpha or beta we are all only human and we all feel the same things, we only deal with them differently.

It was more of an observation to the original post... how females and beta males only get depression etc.. lol

[Quester]

It was more of an observation to the original post... how females and beta males only get depression etc.. lol

That's not completely correct. Everyone can get depression, even "alpha" males. The other part: They are more likely to externalize their problems which leads to causing problems for others which leads to bigger problems for them. Externalizing=anger. Internalizing=sadness. When we externalize, we look for problems were they may not exist. When we internalize, we seek to solve the problem in ourselves. People who externalize eventually internalize in order to fix what's broken. Or else they just keep making their own lives harder. Think about it like this: the last stop for an externalizer is prison. The last stop for an internalizer is a psych office.

[TRA]

you tend to see depression and anxiety associated with women or beta men. do you think there is a correlation? when Im on and my estrogen is within normal ranges I feel like a good. like a constant steady cocaine high of confidence. euphoria. superiority, nothing can bother or phase me. my last cycle I had a close family member die and I wasn't even saddened.
this has me wondering if most of these "mental disorders" really stem from hormone imbalances.

how do you feel on cycle?

Hormonal imbalance can definitely affect how we feel, but it's faulty logic to assume that if you don't feel good it is all related to hormones. As everyone mentioned, the can be a myriad (my counter to anhedonia, haha) of causes. If labs reflect hormone imbalance and you don't feel good/normal, definitely a route to pursue. I suffered for years with incredibly low testosterone (level was 111 when finally started TRT) and in retrospect I'm not sure how I even functioned, so hormones normalized me. But again, there can be so many causes.
Typically it is indicated to rule out organic causes (hormones, thyroid, etc.) and then move on to psychological. Personally I think medications (SSRIs, etc.) should be initiated once everything else has been ruled out/explored, or in the instance of emergent or semi-emergent need.
I also think nutrition can play a big role, and one that is severely overlooked by the FDA with chemical additives. Only my opinion with some personal experience thrown in.

[hammerheart]

Good grief with the greek etymology! Very nice!

I regret I've only had Latin back in high school.

You mean like when a buddy doesn't get that you were making a joke?

Nope, you can't joy buddies at all if "anhedonia" is present. But, originally I was referring to genital anhedonia and not generalized.

[kelkel]

hormones normalized me.

I thought the jury was still out on that one.....?

[TRA]

I thought the jury was still out on that one.....?

Hahaha, well, that's true

[TRA]

[QUOTE=bizzarro;7303173]I regret I've only had Latin back in high school.

But your language is Latin-based, giving you an unfair advantage. English is based on wtf.

[Obs]

You mean like when a buddy doesn't get that you were making a joke?

Thats funny! Actually laughed out loud!

[Obs]

I took a full etymology course. It was one of the first things my brain threw out to make room for real world auto/diesel mechanics and beer.

[Quester]

I took a full etymology course. It was one of the first things my brain threw out to make room for real world auto/diesel mechanics and beer.

"Your killing brain cells!"
-"Well, if they're gonna give up so easily, I don't want them anyway."
The brain cells we prune are the ones that we use the least. So, maybe were just making room for ones which have some use.

[hammerheart]

Hormonal imbalance can definitely affect how we feel, but it's faulty logic to assume that if you don't feel good it is all related to hormones. As everyone mentioned, the can be a myriad (my counter to anhedonia, haha) of causes. If labs reflect hormone imbalance and you don't feel good/normal, definitely a route to pursue. I suffered for years with incredibly low testosterone (level was 111 when finally started TRT) and in retrospect I'm not sure how I even functioned, so hormones normalized me. But again, there can be so many causes.
Typically it is indicated to rule out organic causes (hormones, thyroid, etc.) and then move on to psychological. Personally I think medications (SSRIs, etc.) should be initiated once everything else has been ruled out/explored, or in the instance of emergent or semi-emergent need.
I also think nutrition can play a big role, and one that is severely overlooked by the FDA with chemical additives. Only my opinion with some personal experience thrown in.

I feel in need of some CNS support, though I believe it's still the hormones playing games with my brain, sometimes optimal treatment just can't be achieved.

[hammerheart]

Thats funny! Actually laughed out loud!

Was that a joke? I didn't get it.

[Obs]

Was that a joke? I didn't get it.

I know, thats what made it so funny. Just weird westerner sense of humor. I mean no harm.

[vodkalol]

Endocrine disorders can indeed be a factor implied in depression pathogenesis as well as mania, and more. Clinicians often underlook these when mood disorders are part of patient symptoms presentation.

In my opinion though, genetics plays much of a bigger role.

AAS, they can both relieve and cause depression, but the worst is usually associated with estrogen imbalances... yet some guys appear to be indifferent to low or high E2 levels.

Exactly, depends on the person 100%

Those who never get effected by their hormone stack most likely also are those who always produce same estrogen amount no matter that steroids they are on and doses.

Got a irl mate like that. ( doctor did bloods )

Dunno if the other mood changing hormones like proestrogene also dont change for him.

I read about many others who say as an example that Tren dont effect them even at mega doses.

Dunno if they live in denial or some of them are talking the truth.

[vodkalol]

Meaning with life is also a big depression maker.

What the meaning with life is FOR YOU can change over years, starting a depression if the reason you had to wake up every day suddenly is gone.

[hammerheart]

Exactly, depends on the person 100%

Those who never get effected by their hormone stack most likely also are those who always produce same estrogen amount no matter that steroids they are on and doses.

Got a irl mate like that. ( doctor did bloods )

Dunno if the other mood changing hormones like proestrogene also dont change for him.

I read about many others who say as an example that Tren dont effect them even at mega doses.

Dunno if they live in denial or some of them are talking the truth.

Blood estrogen assay can be skewed and overestimated if it's not sensitive E2.

I'm on 400mg Tren E and not feeling anything. Perhaps it's just bunk lol.

Progesterone is a neurosteroid almost important as estrogen.

About being individual, I have this theory different ppl have different ability for brain steroideogenesis. Think about it: enzymes processing cholesterol into steroid hormones up to E2 are expressed centrally also. Sure, in the case of testicular / ovary failure the adrenals can also contribute to overall neuro-endocrine homeostasis, but again, this will vary among individuals.

[hammerheart]

Meaning with life is also a big depression maker.

What the meaning with life is FOR YOU can change over years, starting a depression if the reason you had to wake up every day suddenly is gone.

I can relate to that.

Is your vodka? lol

[Quester]

Was that a joke? I didn't get it.

The way I read Biz's comment is that he does get it and replied in the same style of humor.