Posted by Ines on April 17, 2007, at 17:08:13
In reply to Do our neurotransmitters control our thoughts or t, posted by Meri-Tuuli on April 17, 2007, at 10:24:18
My thoughts, i.e. from my experience, are that you do have a certain amount of control, but it is not sustainable in the long run. I think when you are depressed (and thus presumably have the 'wrong' balance of neurotransmitters) you go into a state of negative cognitive and emotional biases, you tend to focus on negative thoughts, remember negative events, and interpret things in a more negative light- it is possible but tiring and difficult to try and override this. Maybe it takes up too much energy to go against the bias state you are in, and so there is a limit to how long the brain can sustain that for? Also, of course, depression causes lethargy and lack of energy in a lot of people, which doesn't help. It is interesting that there is some evidence to show that animals also become more 'pessimistic' if you house them in an unpredictable or barren environment or treat them with an anxiety causing agent (not a nice thing to do btw).
Ines
poster:Ines
thread:750639
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070413/msgs/750774.html