That cozy feeling of comfort, pleasure, and euphoria that you can experience when you are surrounded by things you like come from the brain chemicals that transmit enjoyment and contentment and are called endorphins. If you are blessed with high levels of these naturally comforting substances that are more powerful than morphine or heroin, you take great pleasure in life. Many things delight you. Even when painful things happen, you recover well, without too many emotional scars or prolonged suffering. Endorphins light that special smile on your face when you think about pleasant things like chocolate, a movie, a book, a dress or beautiful places you have been to or dream of going or people you like and love. Massages and baths feel heavenly because the nerves in the skin can trigger a release of endorphins. Many different foods can raise endorphin levels, too.
But if you find it hard to locate enough natural enjoyment or comfort in your life and that even major treats give you only brief or dim pleasure, you may be endorphin deficient. You could be one of many people who were born with low endorphin levels or have run low coping with too much of life’s pain.
Inability to shake off disappointments, tearfulness, unusual sadness – this kind of emotional rawness should be dealt with by endorphins, but each of us has a unique supply of this natural sensitivity buffer. Some people have emotional skins so thick with endorphins that it takes a sledgehammer to get through to them. Others have emotional skin so thin that they bruise with the slightest pressure. Luckily, even the most sensitive people can strengthen their mental power by using certain nutrients to boost their endorphin levels and begin to better tolerate life’s pains and enjoy its pleasures.
Genes. Being born with an endorphin deficiency might not be discovered by some people until later in life if they had nice childhoods and caring parents. But if the most mundane upsets were too much for you, if your family called you a “crybaby” or “too sensitive”, if your first romantic rejection was terribly hurtful, it could indicate a genetically low endorphin supply especially if emotional sensitivity is common family trait and a need for sweets and alcohol runs in the family.
Stress. Chronic emotional or physical pain or distress can have concrete, biochemical repercussions (especially if there is a genetic deficiency). You use up quite a lot of endorphins every time you are upset, injured, sick, scared, or even excited. Adrenaline and endorphin are released together by your pituitary and adrenal glands to help you deal with significant stressors. Endorphin levels can get so high during a major calamity that you might not experience significant pain for a while afterwards. Endorphins also calm you know when you are upset forcing a 50 percent drop in cortisol.
Gender. Men have higher endorphin levels than women do. Female endorphin levels can reach male levels only if women do regular vigorous exercise. But too much of this acquired by improper means endorphin can disrupt normal menstruation. Endorphin levels drop in menopause along with feelings of well-being. It is typically thought that women are more emotionally vulnerable than men. Indeed, women are more inclined to become too emotional if their naturally lower endorphin levels drop even further. This can exaggerate the essential endorphin differences between the sexes and make it even harder for them to understand each other. Knowing the biochemistry behind it can make a big difference for couples trying to understand each other’s moods. Raising endorphin levels with amino acids can be even more helpful.
The winning formula to deal with a chemical deficiency is twin amino acids backed up by high-protein foods three times a day. This twin formula is DLPA, a combination of the D- and L- forms of the amino acid phenylalanine. This combo can be found in any health food store or online. (You can read about L-phenylalanine and D-phenylalanine in more detail in Julia Ross’s Mood Cure). Many studies and clinical practices report triple rise in endorphin after one dose of DPA as well as that DPA and LPA significantly relieve the physical pain of arthritis, migraines, and cancer. ‘
Studies also confirm that some forms of depression respond very well to DLPA. If you think that your energy and pain tolerance are lower than you’d like, if you need coffee to get going, try DLPA.
To learn more about this supplement and see the dosage refer to The Mood Cure by Julia Ross.
