Ep. 118: The TRUTH About Serotonin & SSRIs: Why Serotonin is NOT the Happy Hormone

The Energy Balance Podcast

In this episode we discuss:

• Why serotonin is NOT the “happy hormone” and you may not want to increase it
  
• How serotonin and depression relate to stress and energy balance
• Whether SSRIs are effective for depression
• How SSRIs actually work, their impact on metabolism, and whether they’re the best treatment option for depression
• The real drivers of depression and anxiety

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Click here to check out the show notes: https://www.jayfeldmanwellness.com/ep-118-the-truth-about-serotonin-and-ssris-why-serotonin-is-not-the-happy-hormone

Timestamps:

0:00 – intro

0:58 – the research showing that serotonin is not the “happy hormone”

4:56 – serotonin’s role in driving the stress state that leads to depression

8:26 – the overlap between anxiety and depression and why they are both characterized by elevated serotonin levels

10:27 – the origins of the idea that serotonin is the “happy hormone” and how serotonin became a marketing tool for pharmaceutical companies

14:49 – serotonin is increased during fasting and starvation and why increasing serotonin should not be our goal

20:16 – serotonin is increased during stress, shock, and infection and leads to learned helplessness

29:04 –SSRIs use in neonates causes depression in adulthood

31:35 – the serotonergic system as an adaptive stress response to a lack of energy

39:09 – serotonin’s role in energy redistribution under stress

43:15 – how SSRIs inhibit mitochondrial respiration, glucose metabolism, and energy production in the brain and liver

47:13 – how SSRIs can reduce symptoms and how the brain responds to SSRIs

52:42 – the true drivers of depression and anxiety

1:01:30 – how serotonin relates to stress hormones, including cortisol, and energy balance