Thread by @BodyOptic

In the fast paced world we live in, everyone wants to get more done.

To get more done, you don't speed up. Actually, you need to slow down!

anxiety-free calm, and confident, creative, focus is the holy grail.

How to MAXIMIZE healthy bio/neurochemistry for happiness/focus:

before we start, keep in mind that sleeping, eating enough both in totality and FREQUENCY, will do wonders for supporting anxiety free focus

If you look at who has the most anxiety - it's the people who are always wound up, pounding caffeine or other stims constantly w/o eating

and also- your light environment is MASSIVELY important to your neurochemistry. keeping the same wake up, and sleep times, and getting as much natural sunlight as possible (especially sunrise/sunset) will make a monumental difference in your life and mental health quality.

Let's talk about what aspects of biochemistry drive calm focus:
-Dopamine/Dopaminergic pathways
-GABA
-Serotonin

And then how you maximize their positive benefits, and avoid their downfalls.

Dopamine:

Inside the brain, dopamine plays important roles in executive functions, motor control, motivation, arousal, reinforcement, and reward. It's the "accomplishment" neurotransmitter.

the Primary pathway is: -L-phenythamine -> L-tyrosine -> L-dopa -> Dopamine

The big thing with dopamine is to avoid tying its release to mindless, harmful activities, and avoid dopamine turning into TOO MUCH norepinephrine, and epinephrine (Adrenaline)

Quit looking at news that stresses you out. address unresolved conflict in your life. no porn, etc.

Actionable Step: tie dopamine release into healthy accomplishment that's in line with your goals, and figure out ways to alleviate chronic states of "fight or flight"

you could also supplement L-Tyrosine to increase the pathway of producing dopamine

GABA:

gamma-Aminobutyric acid is the primary INHIBITORY neurotransmitter

It is MADE from glutamate - which is an EXCITATORY neurotransmitter

People that are struggling with anxiety, lack of focus - are over Glutamergic- over excited!

because they aren't converting it to GABA

To create more GABA, we need to feed our neurochemistry the nutrients that help convert glutamate to GABA

Much credit to @Grimhood and @ck_eternity_ who have been pioneering researching this pharmacology in the health twitter sphere

That's where #MagGang stems from- GABA prod.

Because to actionably create more GABA- we need to supplement magnesium (even tho its helpful for everything basically)

-Magnesium
-Methylform B Complex
-Taurine
-L-Theanine
-Inositol

ALL help the brain produce more. if ur struggling with anxiety/focus, highly recommend all.

Serotonin:

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, and some also consider it a hormone, that the body uses to send messages between nerve cells.

It appears to play a role in mood, emotions, appetite, and digestion. As the precursor for melatonin, it helps regulate sleep-wake cycles.

The literature and scientific community is still a bit indecisive in regards to the the true effects of modifying serotonin in biochemistry/pharmacology - and honestly I hold the position that the other two (Dopamine/GABA) are far more important-

that being said-

modern attempts to modify mental health by altering serotonin are extremely inferior (MAOIs, and SSRIs)

the unclear efficacy of these drugs, and their harmful side effects, leads me to hope that holistic pharmacology can become more of a prevalent solution

& it can! we just have to spread awareness

@DejaRu22 has spoken extensively about the use of turmeric to function better than Prozac or SSRIs as a cure for depressive disorders

and instead of MAOIs, using something like Rhodiola Rosea will give much of the benefit w/ less bad

Hopefully this thread helped you understand how neurochemistry works and how you can mitigate these problems

If you know someone who struggles with anxiety, or wants to improve focus/concentration, send this to them, or give the first tweet in the thread a RT!