The High Serotonin Personality

[JHAR]

I have another explanation too - there is some stuff that connect spirituality to the physical world we don't fully understand yet. The "true righteous believer" as you put it, actually can to an extent, channel spiritual energy into their physical bodies, to some extent having positive effects both on hunger levels as well as positive hormonal levels. In this context, I believe its actually possible to maintain good hormone levels even while fasting. In this instance, the faster would NOT have high serotonin levels.

Maybe after all, "Man does not live on bread alone" (an infamous quote in the NT by Jesus). But yeah, nobody likes a hypocrite or someone who pushes their lifestyle on others especially when they're not living it themselves.

"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." - Matthews 6:16

 

[InChristAlone]

According to Peat's work isn't serotonin the hibernation neurotransmitter? The one of darkness. I exhibit a lot of the symptoms in the winter which can to some extent be remedied by chocolate, progesterone and lights, but in the summer life is just happy and optimistic.

I mean most humans are indoors year round. In a dimly lit room (like one 100w bulb) even with big windows on a cloudy day the Lux is 100 or less depending on how close to the window or light you are. When on the same cloudy winter day outside would be 5,000 Lux!! That's a huge difference. In summer it can go up tens of thousands.

Light entering the eye can modulate neurotransmitters to the best of my knowledge. For isntance tyrosine can turn to adrenaline without enough light but with enough light it can go down the dopamine pathway.

 

[JHAR]

This is why I find spirituality so important. Ideally we would all be healthy when given the right diet, environment, lifestyle, etc... but to have all that go in your favor is historically a rarity and also isn’t always guaranteed moving forward in the future.

The properly developed spiritual life essentially guards against inopportune diet and environment, as seen by sages, saints, mystics, etc...many of whom eat an absolute horrid diet or live in terrible conditions, yet live in genuine joy and happiness due to their spiritual connection with Divinity.

I definitely would love to have that connection. As long as I have complete control over my diet and environment I’ve managed to set something up that works for me, but I’d love to have that freedom to let go some of that control and be able to maintain positive demeanor, energy, and sleep no matter where I go, what I eat, who I’m surrounded by, etc...

I think spirituality has a lot to do with going back to your roots rather than going out to explore. That means understanding your origins, your family, your ancestors and your own personal history. Acknowledging mistakes, perhaps even seeking others you've hurt and trying to make amends. Also correcting at least your close relationships, especially with parents and siblings. It is very humbling experience to go back home, and trying to improve your relationship with family, but it is the most rewarding. Additionally, acknowledging people that have helped you out, institutions that helped you learn or discover something about yourself. Realizing that without so many other people, you may not have been where you are today. This naturally motivates you to give back and take care of the places you came from. I think any sense of God can only come after all of this. This is obviously a lot easier said than done.

 

[Cirion]

According to Peat's work isn't serotonin the hibernation neurotransmitter? The one of darkness. I exhibit a lot of the symptoms in the winter which can to some extent be remedied by chocolate, progesterone and lights, but in the summer life is just happy and optimistic.

I mean most humans are indoors year round. In a dimly lit room (like one 100w bulb) even with big windows on a cloudy day the Lux is 100 or less depending on how close to the window or light you are. When on the same cloudy winter day outside would be 5,000 Lux!! That's a huge difference. In summer it can go up tens of thousands.

Light entering the eye can modulate neurotransmitters to the best of my knowledge. For isntance tyrosine can turn to adrenaline without enough light but with enough light it can go down the dopamine pathway.

Light is of big importance, perhaps more than I've appreciated after a discussion the other day I had with some people here.

As you suggested, a single 100W bulb does not nearly suffice to improve things indoors. @ilikecats said he was pushing 2000+ watts in some of his rooms to mitigate the stress responses. I'm thinking of trying this soon.

I'm also now experimenting with sleeping with a 300W light in the room to see how that goes for me. It seems to help. I used to sleep in pitch darkness and I now believe that's a bad idea. I do keep the light away from my immediate vicinity so not to disturb sleep too much.

If you're really ambitious I think you can buy upwards of 1000W bulbs.

UV index determines how much mileage you'll get out of the sun (lower UV, more time outdoors required, higher UV, less time required). I heard Dr. Kruse say that you want a UV index of at least 3 to get much out of the sun.

Many days in the winter are 0-1. Some times you'll get up to 3 but rarely. In the summer virtually every day is 3 or higher, and in the tropics it can get up to 10.

 

[Terma]

Here's a last thing I'll point out, because it's kind of essential information, I accidentally landed on this 30 mins ago: an important link related to cortisol's modulation of SERT (I remembered correctly: cortisol can lower serotonin through the GR receptor, presumably either standalone or as a feedback mechanism in response to the serotonin-triggered cortisol increase; it's chronic cortisol that causes receptor failure to lower serotonin):
Correlation between cortisol level and serotonin uptake in patients with chronic stress and depression

In a recent study (Tafet, Toister-Achituv, & Shinitzky, 2001), we demonstrated that cortisol induces an increase in the expression of the gene coding for the serotonin transporter, associated with a subse- quent elevation in the uptake of serotonin. This stimulatory effect, produced upon incubation with cor- tisol in vitro, was observed in peripheral blood lymphocytes from normal subjects. In the present work we investigatedthe cortisol-induced increase in serotonin uptake in lymphocytes from hypercortisolemic patients, including subjects with major depressive disorder ( n 5 8), and subjects with generalizedanx- iety disorder ( n 5 12), in comparison with a control group of normal healthy subjects ( n 5 8). A sig- nificant increase in serotonin uptake ( 1 37% 1 14, M 1 SD ) was observed in the control group, whereas neither the generalizedanxiety disorder nor the major depression group ex hibited changes in serotonin up- take upon incubation with cortisol. It is likely that under chronic stress or depression, the capacity for in- crease in serotonin transporter has reached its limit due to the chronically elevated blood cortisol level. The physiological and diagnostic implications of this observation are discussed.

 

[tankasnowgod]

According to Peat's work isn't serotonin the hibernation neurotransmitter? The one of darkness. I exhibit a lot of the symptoms in the winter which can to some extent be remedied by chocolate, progesterone and lights, but in the summer life is just happy and optimistic.

I mean most humans are indoors year round. In a dimly lit room (like one 100w bulb) even with big windows on a cloudy day the Lux is 100 or less depending on how close to the window or light you are. When on the same cloudy winter day outside would be 5,000 Lux!! That's a huge difference. In summer it can go up tens of thousands.

Light entering the eye can modulate neurotransmitters to the best of my knowledge. For isntance tyrosine can turn to adrenaline without enough light but with enough light it can go down the dopamine pathway.

He sure does- Serotonin: Effects in disease, aging and inflammation

"The increase of inhibitory serotonin with stress and depression is probably biologically related to the role of serotonin in hibernation, which is an extreme example of "harm avoidance" by withdrawal. A diet high in polyunsaturated fat increases the tendency to go into hibernation, probably by increasing the brain's uptake of tryptophan. When this is combined with an increasingly cold environment, the form of MAO that removes serotonin decreases its activity, while the form that removes norepinephrine increases its activity. The metabolite of serotonin, 5-HIAA, decreases, as the effect of serotonin increases."

 

[Regina]

There are two kinds of people that experience "elightenment". One is the true righteous believer that fasts and prays for a certain reason.

The other is the typical high serotonin person/psychopath that just gets "enlightened" and everyone has to listen to them because they are so spiritual and have all the answers for everyones life.

Like you say, the one is humble and doesn't force his believe, while the other is a narcissist that likes being in control and tell everyone the "truths" because they are so "spiritual" and "enlightened", yet when no one is looking, they do all the sins that they preach other people shouldn't do. Those people are one of the major reasons people hate Christianity.

The ego-istic ones did not actually have kensho which specifically refers to "seeing" rather than "enlightment". The important literature on the subject refers harshly to these types of kensho-ho's ( haha, I couldn't resist). They imagine each sesshin is a feather in their cap--fully entrenched in the false dominance hierarchy construct.

 

[Aymen]

"The High Dopamine Personality" coming soon ?

 

[Hans]

"The High Dopamine Personality" coming soon ?

I was thinking about it lol. Maybe in the future sometime.

 

[firebreather]

That description describes me.

Yet I've had my serotonin checked a couple of times and every time is was in the mid-low end of the range

 

[Hans]

That description describes me.

Yet I've had my serotonin checked a couple of times and every time is was in the mid-low end of the range

There is no direct test for serotonin as far as I know, only 5-HIAA, which doesn't necessarily show you how much serotonin is in your brain.
Another, probably better, measure for serotonin is prolactin. Did you have that tested too?

 

[LUH 3417]

I think spirituality has a lot to do with going back to your roots rather than going out to explore. That means understanding your origins, your family, your ancestors and your own personal history. Acknowledging mistakes, perhaps even seeking others you've hurt and trying to make amends. Also correcting at least your close relationships, especially with parents and siblings. It is very humbling experience to go back home, and trying to improve your relationship with family, but it is the most rewarding. Additionally, acknowledging people that have helped you out, institutions that helped you learn or discover something about yourself. Realizing that without so many other people, you may not have been where you are today. This naturally motivates you to give back and take care of the places you came from. I think any sense of God can only come after all of this. This is obviously a lot easier said than done.

I really like this post. It feels like you’re talking about a humanistic spirituality. I once emailed peat to ask him if he knew of any humanist spiritual writers. He replied A.A. Ukhtomsky, Aldous Huxley, Colin Wilson, David Ray Griffin.

 

[LUH 3417]

I was thinking about it lol. Maybe in the future sometime.

Yes please!

 

[Steven Bussinger]

I really like this post. It feels like you’re talking about a humanistic spirituality. I once emailed peat to ask him if he knew of any humanist spiritual writers. He replied A.A. Ukhtomsky, Aldous Huxley, Colin Wilson, David Ray Griffin.

You could also check out other gnostics like Samael Aun Weor, Rudolf Steiner, Julius Evola. I have not read them heavily in any capacity, so I can't comment on the merit of their work.

 

[Steven Bussinger]

Thank you for the post, Hans. Now I can direct people here when I discuss such a thing.

Unfortunately, many people living modern lifestyles are as you described. I see it in my family and friends, and the internet is of course full of it. Many people hide it, but if you look at their words -- how they construct their sentences and react -- you can see the truth.

I am no exception to this. As my health has improved, I exhibit these traits left often. These characteristics also fluctuate with my general feeling and outlook towards life.

 

[Hans]

Thank you for the post, Hans. Now I can direct people here when I discuss such a thing.

Unfortunately, many people living modern lifestyles are as you described. I see it in my family and friends, and the internet is of course full of it. Many people hide it, but if you look at their words -- how they construct their sentences and react -- you can see the truth.

I am no exception to this. As my health has improved, I exhibit these traits left often. These characteristics also fluctuate with my general feeling and outlook towards life.

Sadly lots of people have elevated serotonin nowadays, and they even think its weird if you're not like them or tell them it's due to serotonin. Most people would actually dismiss it as: "it's just my personallity", and then never want to change.

 

[Steven Bussinger]

Sadly lots of people have elevated serotonin nowadays, and they even think its weird if you're not like them or tell them it's due to serotonin. Most people would actually dismiss it as: "it's just my personallity", and then never want to change.

Indeed, as evidenced by some of the responses in this thread.

 

[Cirion]

Sadly lots of people have elevated serotonin nowadays, and they even think its weird if you're not like them or tell them it's due to serotonin. Most people would actually dismiss it as: "it's just my personallity", and then never want to change.

My own brother is a textbook high serotonin person and literally dismisses it as his personality too. IT kinda makes me sad and frustrated because he literally doesn't care about his health even though he is super unhealthy.

 

[LUH 3417]

My own brother is a textbook high serotonin person and literally dismisses it as his personality too. IT kinda makes me sad and frustrated because he literally doesn't care about his health even though he is super unhealthy.

But the irony is you’re expressing “high serotonin” by acknowledging your own sadness and frustration...
One thing I am feeling lately is it may not be the most conducive to personal growth to see people through the lens of their faults. It makes you feel like you’re in a constant game of one upping others, and you know what’s better for them, because you are better than them, which is the hallmark of authoritarianism.

 

[Cirion]

Not really. You can have those feelings without having those feelings govern you, if that makes sense? In the past, when I express being "sad' I would actually mean I would obsess over it, get depressed etc. Now it's like OK I acknowledge the feeling but it doesn't affect me as harshly. I do still have some serotonin issues but not nearly as pronounced as the past. Way I see it, everyone even low serotonin will still experience "negative" emotions, just through a different lens. IE: high serotonin, will think its the end of the world, woe is me, depression, even suicidal. Low serotonin - acknowledgement of a bad scenario, but acceptance, and then moving on. Low serotonin does not mean you become numb to emotion.

I did indeed use to be authoritative with him to try to get him to turn around, I've since acknowledged that he's gonna do his own thing and there's nothing I can do about it so I don't these days. There's a difference between wanting to help someone for the sole sake of wanting to help them rather than prove you're better, if that makes sense?

I just know from personal experience there's way more to life than living a high serotonin life, so I'm just saying it's unfortunate to witness someone, your own kin, living less than their best life, that's all.