Do mood stabilizers make you happy?

If aliens were to visit planet earth and observe humans taking tiny colorful pills in the morning, they’d be forgiven for believing that the human race is obsessed with consuming jellybeans disguised as medication. However, these pills are not sugar bombs but mood stabilizers used to manage various mental illnesses like bipolar disorder or depression.

Do these tiny miracles boost your happiness quotient? In this highly subjective article, we’re going to examine whether there’s any truth behind the notion that mood stabilizers make you happy.

What exactly are mood stabilizers?

Mood stabilizers are primarily psychotropic medications aimed at preventing a full-blown manic episode while also suppressing depressive symptoms. These drugs act on specific areas of the brain affecting neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin responsible for maintaining stable moods.

So no, mood stabilizers do NOT cure all ills related to anxiety or other issues but merely work towards providing temporary relief by curbing extreme shifts in one’s emotional state(s).

How do mood disorders affect one’s disposition?

Before diving deeper into whether using meds helps uplift moods let us briefly understand what happens when suffering from unregulated emotions & temperament :

  • Mania: Individuals suddenly feel overwhelmingly euphoric and experience intense energy levels leading them towards reckless decisions.
  • Hypomania: A less severe yet still exaggerated version of mania where individuals show much up-tempo behaviour.
  • Depression: Intense feelings of sadness for extended periods can severely impact daily wellness capacity due to lack of motivation etc.

We’re sure most readers would agree that neither feeling high nor hitting lows constantly makes anyone happy/motivated/productive cue dramatic sigh

So Can Mood Stabilisers Make You Happy afterall ?

As promised earlier, we’ll examine how effective prescription drug use could be in brightening someone’s outlook on life:

1. “Mood”-stoppers?

Many folks that have gone down the med route, some would argue that meds left them technically stable but feeling lacked a sense joy in their daily life. While others experienced mild happiness spikes but predominantly remained numb where they were previously subject to extreme mood swings.

It all boils down to how an individual’s physiology and psychology react when exposed to medication. Mood stabilizers ultimately only help manage your mood from swinging too far one way or another, adherence is a means of navigating towards normalcy & regain control; that’s about it!

2. The placebo effect?

There’s anecdotal evidence suggesting that for other patients these medications genuinely worked wonders on uplifting their moods (will those humans ever be able of agreeing on something?) Often causing people around them to notice improvements like better productivity as well!

We mustn’t forget though the power of the mind, as our minds can unintentionally trick us into thinking everything we do is working correctly [placebo effects] even if nothing necessarily changes biologically-speaking In this context “Yay Mind over matter!”

3. Side-effects related saddness

A pretty common side-effect prominent across SSRI(A type of antidepressants) usage could potentially lead someone towards feelings such as sadness or suicidal ideations etc; (pls speak with your clinician before taking any medical advice)

While also some might experience feeling drowsy making them usually slow and lethargic during use which tends to kill enthusiasm levels rather than elevating happiness Allowing for sedentary behaviour eventually harming one’s psyche since our body-mind is primarily designed for movement/Action -> reward system :).

4.The impact of exercise

Besides medication, several relaxation techniques like talk therapy have been known, helping combat mental health afflictions positively; however there exists a much more natural course -exercise! Research critically demonstrates how engaging in physical activity boosts feel-good endorphins(natural opioids) and Combats symptoms of stress alongside feelings associated with anxiety, great no?

Additionally, a 16-week work-out regimen was also shown to be just as if not more helpful than regular medication use. That’s right folks music to all our ears regardless of personal beliefs about antidepressants 🙂

Conclusion

So yeah, Mood stabilizers may at some point provide temporary relief from the more debilitating grips of poor mental health when managed simultaneously by consulting with your clinicians allied therapy aid & other lifestyle choices such as eating healthy/sleeping/wading through Stressful days one battle at a time.

However- relying solely on any mood-stabilizing substance strain warrants caution BUT asserting that medications can’t consistently make you happy is like saying shoes have nothing to do with catching flights;keep in mind though they’re both essential mean creatures dependent upon how they’re applied!

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket; should you feel blue reach out exercise properly take care of yourself before seeking third-party intervention [A man much wiser once said laughter always keeps away the blues]

Stay Happy 🙂

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