What I Wish I Knew About Hormones Before Taking Antidepressants

Due to the fact that mental health issues were silenced for years, there is currently a knee jerk reaction occurring which involves well meaning people speaking out about mental health problems and it is now blowing up on social media.

I have a major concern about this: are we normalizing anxiety + major depression, and ADHD, without asking more questions about the root causes of these diagnosis'?

Are we taking a diagnosis and making it our identity without asking more questions? This is dangerous. And it is now creeping into the church.

A few years ago, I did this. I wanted answers and when I got the diagnoses of adult ADHD, major depression, and anxiety, I thought, "yay, I have answers now, I can take this medicine and it will fix everything." I started excusing certain behaviors I had, and distanced myself from the church because "they do not understand mental illness." And when I was told I would be on medication life long, at first I settled with that.

But then, the medicine stopped working, so I started asking more questions. It turns out I did not have to be paralyzed by major depression, IBS, uncontrollable anxiety, + many others I was labeled with, I actually had unresolved trauma, poor gut health, nutrient deficiencies, and hormone imbalances from allowing myself to run on survival mode for years. These things were missed at my check in appointments and the messages my body was sending me were suppressed because I was being treated like a check list through a series of DSM-5, + PHQ screening tests. My eyes were further opened to this broken process when I started learning more about prescribing for mental health disorders when I earned the right to have a script pad. The truth is, the care surrounding these topics is broken. But it is not talked about and I believe we are doing ourselves + children a huge disservice by allowing a checklist + a person with a license to be our only guide for handling mental health.

I turned my script pad in and quit that model of healthcare.

I am not asking you to do the same, but I am asking you to hear me out. Let's take a closer look at my case:

Without going too deep, let's just briefly touch the surface.

I was put on birth control at a very young age by well meaning doctors for menstrual cramps.

Birth control is known to mess with your gut microbiota which is a big deal because the majority of your serotonin is made in your gut. I was already dealing with severe gut issues (I had IBS, and chronic constipation). It also depletes essential vitamins like vitamin B6 for mood and liver detoxification. And many forms suppress ovulation which is essential for progesterone production + mood balance. So my mood was impacted. Add in peer pressure, family dynamics, and trauma, and it fuels these problems as a child is growing, because we have a mind body connection.

These types of things were not talked about when I was growing up, so it was not until later in life when I was pushed over the edge after watching my mom die, and going through my own joureny of cancer, that I was put on more medications to help with worsening anxiety + depression, brain fog+ severe insomnia. Not one doctor mentioned nutrient deficiencies, survival mode, or the mind body + spirit connection to me. I started gaining weight as well, and people said, "Oh, you needed to gain weight, you were too small anyways or : you are getting older, it is normal." Which did not help because adipose tissue plays a role in hormone balance, we will touch on that in a moment.

I am a questioner by nature, and I was SO tired of being sick and tired, so I began learning about gut healing, hormone balance, nutrient deficiencies, and nervous system work.

I applied what I learned about my body, while I kept God at my foundation + His word, + decided to start leaning into the church instead purshing them away as I had done previously. (This is the power of the mind, body, + spirit connection, which by the way, the mental health community discourages because they say: the church has no business handling mental health problems, so rely solely on professionals. Which I kindly disagree with, and hope we begin questioning this thought process + teaching in light of what is occurring surrounding the gender dysmorphia. See my post on that topic for more).

Anyways, I healed my depression, brain fog, IBS, and now use my ADHD as a blessing instead of an excuse because I can hyper focus on things I am passionate about because I know now more about neurobiology.

Here is a glimpse of what I learned along the way that I think many women need to know:

Estrogen dominance is on the rise today (I have it). And what can happen is that it messes with a pathway called a COMT pathway in our bodies (men can struggle with this too by the way, especially those with insulin resistance). And when this happens, it can worsen anxiety + depression + other mood disorders. This is due to the fact Estrogen levels in the brain impact the brains level's of dopamine + norepinephrine, two neurotransmitters involved in mood disorders.

Let's look at an example as to how this plays into mental health by Dr. Talia ND

“You’re at home, late a night, working on an important assignment, driven by the excitement of the topic at hand. Your brain is flooded with dopamine, a brain chemical that is connected to positive mood and motivation, pleasure and reward; dopamine pathways are activated when we’re engaged in a task that is pleasurable and rewarding, when our lives are flooded with meaning and we’re working towards a goal. Dopamine, however can also be connected to psychosis, conditions like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and also be linked to impulsive behaviour, aggression and irritability, when over-expressed.

Typing happily, you near the end of your assignment. Suddenly, your computer screen goes dark. Your heart begins to race, your skin prickles and you’re overtaken by anxiety, panic and fear. Your body is releasing norepinephrine, a chemical connected to stress, anxiety and the “Fight or Flight” response, but that also allows us to feel alert and energized. Your heart pounds as your reboot your computer. You are hyperaware of the sounds and smells around you. Your skin prickles and your breathing is loud and rapid.

You exhale with relief as your computer screen lights up again, revealing that your assignment is unharmed. Stress drains out of your body, and your norepinephrine levels fall. You begin to tire; it’s time for bed. You add some finishing touches to your work, hit “save” and turn in for the night. The stress and motivation you felt only hours before dwindle, as the neurotransmitters responsible for these responses are swept out of your synaptic clefts and recycled.

When our brains have had enough stimulation of dopamine (mood, reward, pleasure, but also aggression, irritability, impulsivity and psychosis) and norepinephrine (stress and anxiety, “Fight or Flight”, but also alertness and energy), both get recycled through COMT, which pulls them out of circulation, breaks them down into their chemical parts, and reassembles them for later use."

Beyond genetics, there are several environmental and biological factors that may affect the speed of the COMT enzyme. One of these factors is estrogen. Estrogen slows the COMT enzyme down by as much as 30%. This means that when estrogen levels are high (seen in many women around ovulation or premenstrually, or in women with generally high estrogen levels, termed “Estrogen Dominance”, COMT performs more slowly and dopamine and norepinephrine levels remain elevated.

Depending on the extent of the problem, women with high estrogen often experience anxiety and irritability and a low tolerance for stress. On the more severe end of the spectrum, some women experience conditions such as PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoria Disorder) or PMS-induced psychosis, resulting from abnormally high brain levels of dopamine and norepinephrine due to high estrogen. These conditions probably result from a combination of high estrogen, slowed COMT and other genetic and lifestyle factors. Xenoestrogens from environmental toxins, or birth control pills may also slow COMT and further exacerbate some of the symptoms of estrogen dominance.” Full article here.

This is a BIG deal because estrogen dominance is SO common today. But it is often missed as our society is beginning to normalize anxiety, depression, obesity, + more. I know we hate talking about obesity, but the truth in love is: Obesity plays a role in excess estrogen because fat tissue creates hormones.

Friends, this is a dangerous path to head down. I am not discrediting the use of the medicaitons because they can be life saving when a person is in a season where they are in over their head with their emotions. However, to completely ignore root causes and normalize this and start promoting the need to have massive amounts of pills to function + make it trendy on Tiktok, while discounting the power of epigenetics + nutrigenomics is a broken approach to caring for mental illness, is SO dangerous, and doing many people a huge disservice.

Dr, Talia ND goes on to say, "It turns out, there is evidence that oral contraceptive use, especially progestin-only contraception, can exacerbate anxiety and depression, especially in teens. The pill acts by suppressing ovulation and suppressing natural hormone production, which may result in low levels of naturally-occurring progesterone and estrogen, which can slow COMT. However, the synthetic estrogens from the pill may interact with COMT, speeding it up in some women.

Estrogen also has effects on another enzyme, called MAO-A, that recycles serotonin, the “Happy Hormone”, often implicated in depression and anxiety. Like COMT, estrogen slows down MAO, reducing the speed at which the body breaks down serotonin, resulting in higher brain serotonin levels. Drops in estrogen around and before a woman’s period, or low estrogen levels, may result in feelings of depression. Many women report feeling depressed and craving carbs and sugar around their periods. This is often related to a drop in serotonin as estrogen levels fall right before menses. Drops in serotonin levels due to drops in estrogen levels after childbirth may explain postpartum depression, according to some researchers."

What if, we started asking more questions and advocating for ourselves? What if we leaned into the fact that we have a mind, body, + spirit connection? What if paused to consider the influence of certain educational systems and of those who carry licenses and consider they may not hold actually be grounded in truth + do not hold our fate in their hands? What if we learned how to optimize our gut health + hormone health and taught our young women about their biology and what it means to get in tune with their menstrual cycles + learn how to properly handle the pain + hormone fluctuations that arrive each month?

What if we stopped normalizing these types of dynamics and viewed them as messages from our bodies + fought to listen to get to the root instead of becoming defensive when someone mentions something more could be at play? (Especially surrounding the conversations on obesity).

I have stayed silent on this topic out of respect for people who have allowed their mental illness to become their identity and are now very vocal about it on social media. I do not offer my opinion unless asked because I no longer participate in giving unsolicited advice unless it is done on an educational post on my social media page or to offer an alternative perspective. But this is even hitting church circles and I can no longer, in good conscience, stay silent.

Please hear me:

I in no way want to make anyone feel poorly. However, after helping many women reverse these dynamics and get their lives back, including my own, and witnessing the harm that can occur by encouraging these women to just normalize their diagnosis' instead of fighting to get to the root, and witnessing what this belief system is doing to children, I can no longer stay silent on this topic and I hope this offers a new perspective.

I have had women come to me and say, " I was told this was just how it is, and I would need to be on medication for life and honestly that just did not sit well with me, so I wanted a second option."

And I have witnessed those same women reverse chronic symptoms in their life, including panic attacks, major depression and paralyzing anxiety + fatigue and get their lives back.

So I just wanted to share another perspective and a gentle reminder: when something does not sit well with you, it is time to get curious.

I share this in love and deep concern, I hope it will be taken into consideration <3