October 8, 2001 -- Are you depressed? Anxious? Still suffering
October 8, 2001 -- Are you depressed? Anxious? Still suffering from a long-ago trauma? Psychotherapy and psychiatric drugs can help restore balance to your mind and body. But increasingly, there are more options. For instance, researchers now say hormone treatments offer a more natural approach to mental health.
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So what are hormones? They're substances produced in our bodies to regulate our biological activities. Growth hormones control our development, stress hormones are released when our bodies detect a threat, and sex hormones control the maturation and function of our sex organs. And these are just the tip of the iceberg.
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Uriel Halbreich, MD, is professor of psychiatry, obstetrics, and gynecology, and director of biobehavioral research at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is also president of the International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology, or ISPNE.
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At a recent ISPNE conference, Halbreich spoke about how endocrinologists study hormones and how psychiatrists and neurologists study the brain. What falls through the cracks of this research is the important role that hormones play in our mental health. One of the roles of a psychoneuroendocrinologist is to help fill in those cracks.
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In an interview with WebMD, Halbreich looks at some of the many ways hormones affect our brains, emotions, and well-being.
Replacing What's Been Lost
You probably already know that hormones are sometimes given to people to improve their health. Hormone replacement therapy, for instance, is commonly prescribed to women to reduce the symptoms of menopause. These can include hot flashes, depression, and sexual problems. In addition, replacing some of the female hormones that the body stops making may help stave off many diseases.
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'It is used for prevention of osteoporosis and vascular disorders,' says Halbreich. 'It is [also] very good for prevention of cognitive decline and in the enhancement of certain [mental functions].' Replacing estrogen at menopause may delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease by five to seven years.
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Hormone replacement therapy is not just for women. As men age, their bodies also produce fewer male hormones. There's evidence that replacing these hormones can help men stave off some of the effects of aging, including decline in intellectual functioning, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer's disease.
Balancing What's There
It's not just losses in natural hormones that can create problems. When the balance of your hormones is out of whack, helping restore this balance can go a long way toward restoring mental health.
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For example, feelings of depression or anxiety may be one of the first signs that your thyroid (a gland in your neck that produces a hormone crucial for growth, development, and everyday function) is not working properly. An overactive thyroid can lead to anxiety and panic attacks, while an underactive thyroid can make you depressed. In fact, very minor reductions in thyroid hormone that don't have any important effect on your physical health may make you depressed. Taking medication that regulates your thyroid can eliminate these problems.
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Hormones can also temporarily fall out of balance during certain points of a woman's menstrual cycle as well as right after having a baby. During both these times, women may suffer from depression and other mental health problems. Antidepressants have proven useful during these temporary bouts of the blues, but upcoming hormone therapies are showing promise and target the problem more directly.
