Do we treat our bodies and mind right? Chemically speaking. Part-1

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The human brain, a marvel of intricate neural networks and neurotransmitters, enables the sensation of feeling 'good,' 'GREAT,' 'anxious,' or 'how did you get into my house?'. Among these feelings, there stands out the euphoria inducing chemicals: Dopamines, Serotonins and Endorphins; and the fear inducing chemicals Adrenalins, Cortisols and Noradrenalines. These naturally occurring chemicals act as messengers, transmitting signals within the brain to alleviate pain and induce feelings of pleasure, or the opposite by increasing heart rate, sharpening focus, and removing your senses of pain and fatigue of short duration. Harnessing the power of endorphins involves engaging in various daily activities that trigger their release, leading to a cascade of positive effects on both physical and mental health and a greater day to day survival rate.

To get a better dose of endorphins, more specifically beta-endorphins which look something like this:

Regular exercise is one of the ways for the body to produce beta-endorphin, but basically, any activity in your reward circuit will also produce it. Eating, sleeping, communicating, being in social circles (the evolutionary standards), and now basically anything that is filled with high stimulus and sensory experience such as gaming.

When your brain signals pain, something is wrong; the body can't do much on its own to reduce pain during treatment from healthcare, as it has not evolved to do so. We developed painkillers to help out, fentanyl and morphine being few of the many. Your brain is wired to seek out activities that can produce endorphins and is set to avoid activities that produce too many Adrenlines, Cortisol, and Noradrenalines. The activity that is filled with the highest ratio in favor of endorphins is what most people seek the most and falls highest in the rewarding circuits and is where addictions are born.

Regarding the chemicals behind the fear factor, sometimes we feel the need to have these to achieve a task that will give a surplus of endorphins. Climbing thousands of short mountains is nothing compared to climbing the highest few over the course of a lifespan to most of those who partake in the activity. The body produces small doses of epinephrine, or what most people know it as adrenaline. In the natural doses, you can receive better sight of vision, greater bursts of strength, a greatly increased heart rate, and increased blood flow. This exact chemical is also kept on the shelves and gloveboxes of those who have severe allergies.

If you concentrate adrenaline into an injectable liquid, it does its job TOO well. It reduces all swelling by dilating the blood (just a stronger version of how you get pumped up before a fight), reducing the chances of you choking from blocked airways. It also decreases all hives and allergy-related conditions.

Cortisol, the other fight-or-flight chemical, is a preparator of adrenaline. When in an adrenaline rush, your body flushes out energy stored in the form of fat in the liver. Cortisol helps to stimulate the release of glucose from the liver, which then enters your body. Having too much stress or anxiety can lead to too much cortisol production, and hence too much blood sugar and eventually belly fat. So, having too little stress? Being in too much stress? All will lead to fat imbalance. This shows that the body can be affected by the change of state of mind.

Noradrenaline has similar functions to that of adrenaline but has opposite characteristics regarding those functions. They both are secreted in the adrenal glands, but the difference is that noradrenaline, while a hormone, is also a neurotransmitter. Nor-adrenaline affects local areas, while adrenaline has a body-wide effect.

This was the cover of the main 2 batches of chemicals in the fight or flight response and how this response is prevalent to a degree in almost all activities of the day.