While the article reproduced below is fairly technical, dealing as it does in brain chemicals, I thought it was worth reproducing here because it has some interesting observations from independent researchers currently working in the area of depression and mental health. The article states “… supportive close relationships are known to protect against the development of mental illnesses and to promote recovery in those affected by psychiatric conditions. The opposite is also true: dysfunctional relationships can be triggers for those at risk of these conditions.”

Alicia and I have seen time and time again that this is indeed true, especially that close relationships are beneficial for those struggling with conditions such as depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The simple truth is that being with loved ones makes us feel safe and secure, not threatened or exposed as can be the case in wider society and this is beneficial for any of us but especially for recovered and recovering depressives and stress related disorders.

Serotonin: A critical chemical for human intimacy and romance

Philadelphia, PA, 14 April 2011 - The judgments we make about the intimacy of other couples' relationships appear to be influenced by the brain chemical serotonin, reports a new study published in Biological Psychiatry.

Healthy adult volunteers, whose levels of serotonin activity had been lowered, rated couples in photos as being less intimate and less romantic than volunteers with normal serotonin activity.

The approach involved giving amino acid drinks to two groups of volunteers in order to manipulate blood concentrations of the amino acid tryptophan, which is a vital ingredient in the synthesis of serotonin. One group received drinks that contained tryptophan. The other group received drinks that did not contain tryptophan. They were then asked to make judgments about sets of photographs of couples. Differences in the judgments made by the two groups reflected changes in their serotonin activity.

"Serotonin is important in social behavior, and also plays a significant role in psychological disorders such as depression," explained Professor Robert Rogers of Oxford University, who led the research. "We wanted to see whether serotonin activity influences the judgments we make about peoples' close personal relationships."

The volunteers who received the drink without tryptophan consistently rated the couples in the photos as being less 'intimate' and 'romantic' than the participants who received the control drink.

This finding is an important reminder that our relationships with other people are influenced by processes beyond our awareness and control. But we should not be surprised by this revelation. Serotonin function drops in association with episodes of depression, where the capacity for intimacy also is often compromised.

Understanding the powerful influence of these chemicals is important as supportive close relationships are known to protect against the development of mental illnesses and to promote recovery in those affected by psychiatric conditions. The opposite is also true: dysfunctional relationships can be triggers for those at risk of these conditions.

The results raise the possibility that lower serotonin activity in people with depression and other psychiatric conditions could contribute to changes in the way they perceive personal relationships, or even in their ability to maintain positive personal relationships.

"Although this is only a small study, the same patterns may well extend to the way we perceive our own relationships," said Professor Rogers.

"The ability to chemically influence the capacity for intimacy could be very important. Reduced capacity for intimacy can be a vexing symptom of many psychiatric disorders and an important target for treatment," noted Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry. "Drugs that ameliorate the impact of serotonin deficits might play a role in the treatment of this symptom."

Although much more research is necessary before a drug might come to market that can help promote intimacy, it is clear for now that our chemistry has an impact on nearly aspect of our lives, from our most public actions to our most private, as we see here with human intimacy and romantic feelings.

Notes to Readers: The article is "Serotonergic Activity Influences the Cognitive Appraisal of Close Intimate Relationships in Healthy Adults" by Amy C. Bilderbeck, Ciara McCabe, Judi Wakeley, Francis McGlone, Tirril Harris, Phillip J. Cowen, and Robert D. Rogers. Bilderbeck, McCabe, Wakeley, Cowen, and Rogers are affiliated with Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom. McGlone is affiliated with University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom. Harris and Cowen are from King's College, London, United Kingdom. The article appears in Biological Psychiatry, Volume 69, Number 8 (April 15, 2011), published by Elsevier.

ENEMY WITHIN THE GATES

Can Belief in God Cure Depression?

Robyn McClure

If you, like me, have ever suffered from depression, or are possibly battling with its symptoms at the moment, you might identify it as an insidious invader of our emotional well-being.

To many people who step out into the world on a daily basis, reacting to life’s ups and downs with hope and optimism, it can perhaps be difficult to imagine, or even understand the prison of darkness that can suck any of us at any time into  its negative spiral. The frustration of not being understood is coupled with the frustration that, while many people have developed different theories about its causes and treatment, it seems that no real agreement can be reached. The known and often publicized side effects of psychiatric medicines cause alarm rather than ready acceptance and it is often difficult to know where to go for treatment. Sadly, too, treatment does not always provide relief.

As a psychologist I am interested in spirituality and faith. I am interested in the blind faith that sends terrorists or kamikaze pilots to destroy ships, or buildings or people even at the cost of their own lives. I am interested in the faith of Christian martyrs who faced lions in the Colosseum or the fires of the inquisition rather than renounce their own beliefs.

Someone asked me the other day whether I thought that the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington would lead to a lasting rebirth of religious faith in Western nations. Certainly there was a rush to places of worship in the immediate aftermath of September 11. However, one of the problems in answering the question of this upsurge's longevity is the confusion in what we mean by what we call 'faith' or 'spirituality.' In reality there is an amalgam of three quite distinct things. These are:

• Belief in religious dogmas
• Spiritual practices including meditation, prayer etc.
• The search for community and the need to belong

In neurological terms the first two use different areas of the brain. We are wired for belief, there is a part of the central cortex known as the 'god spot' which predisposes us to accept things on faith, to believe. Meditation, prayer and perhaps the sense of oneness with All There Is (or Universal Consciousness) and religious ecstasy are controlled by a part of the cerebrum just above the visual cortex at the rear of our heads.

 As a psychologist I was very interested in an article in USA TODAY (9 September '06) about how Americans view God. Four distinct impressions emerged about perceptions of the essential character of the divine.

About 31.5% see their god as "authoritarian," 24.5% as "distant," 23% as "benevolent," and 16% as "critical." The researchers then break this down into regions: for example if you live in the South you have a 43.5% chance of seeing God as authoritarian, but if you live in California He (or She or It) is more likely to be viewed as either benevolent or distant (a creative force who plays no part in the affairs of the creation).

Obviously no god, or person, can be all these things at once so the descriptions probably mirror something else besides the character of the Divine. Maybe these descriptions imply something about the human family, about how we've been treated in childhood, perhaps by our fathers.