What happens if we have an Endorphins deficiency?
If we have low levels of Endorphins, we can feel emotionally sensitive and teary, we may experience chronic pain or have a low pain threshold. Often people with low Endorphins suffer from headaches and or migraines or feel intense levels of stress and fatigue. The impact can be significant as we can lose interest in those things that bring us joy and can leave us feeling lost and hopeless with a generally low mood. Long periods with low levels of happy hormones including Endorphones can lead to depression, low self-esteem and self-worth.
How are Endorphins triggered in the body?
Many things can trigger the release of Endorphins, however, the primary triggers are pain, stress and discomfort. When the part of your brain called the hypothalamus senses pain, it steps in to suppress and ultimately block the messages of pain. For example, when you fall over you do not feel the pain straight away, your hypothalamus is sensing your pain and trying to block the messages being sent around your body allowing time for your body to react appropriately and proportionately. All forms of exercise especially those with high intensity flood your body with Endorphins which is where the term "runner's high" comes from, this makes you feel happy and encourages you to repeat the activity.
Being creative makes you feel grounded and triggers the release of Endorphines which is why creatives and artists often feel calm and happy.
Laughing is a great way to boost our Endorphins and the effects of laughter can spread across our whole body. Laughter is the safety valve that shuts off the flow of stress hormones which means the body gets rest bite from the huge pressure stress causes.
