There Is a Relationship Between Testosterone and Emotional States
Most men know how important testosterone is to their strength and physical abilities. But did you know that testosterone is also critical to your emotional wellness?
A growing body of evidence indicates how age-related testosterone loss can lead to feelings of anxiety and depression in men diagnosed with low testosterone.
For example, a 2016 study published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology found that
“Low serum testosterone was associated with an 86% increased risk of depression in older men.”
Why should there be this link between low testosterone and increased feelings of depression?
On the one hand, the physical impacts that low testosterone can cause, such as being overweight, tired, and having sexual performance issues, can make you feel “less of a man,” leading to feelings of depression. However, current research suggests that the link between testosterone and depression is much more than that.
Testosterone is necessary to produce serotonin and other important neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters like serotonin are the brain’s “feel-good” chemicals that help regulate mood and stave off depression.
In fact, most antidepressants work by keeping serotonin levels high; neurotransmitters like serotonin help relay messages across areas of the brain. Research has found that a person’s levels of serotonin are related to moods — particularly depression.
People with clinical depression have low levels of serotonin. People with low testosterone tend to be depressed or have anxiety or other mood swings. People with lower than normal testosterone levels also tend to have low serotonin levels. Is this the root cause of the relationship between testosterone and depression?
We know that depression and mood swings are symptoms of low testosterone. Researchers have yet to define exactly how or why low testosterone causes depression. However, studies seem to indicate that it does have something to do with the impact testosterone has on the levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin.
Testosterone stimulates the release of dopamine, another neurotransmitter in your brain responsible for your feelings of pleasure. Serotonin, like dopamine, is also related to “feeling good.” When serotonin levels drop, depression and anxiety are often the results.
Studies have found that testosterone plays a role in regulating serotonin levels. A recent study in mice showed that low testosterone might directly alter brain chemistry –specifically serotonin levels. Studies of humans show that serotonin levels are lower in older adults with clinical depression. Older men also tend to suffer from low testosterone.
Is Testosterone Therapy Used to Treat Depression?
The most effective antidepressant medications are known as “selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors,” or SSRIs. SSRIs work by slowing the “reuptake,” or use of serotonin, so serotonin levels remain higher in the brain for longer periods.
Mental health professionals believe that this boost in serotonin levels increases the production of new brain cells, which helps lift the fog of depression.
Current research suggests that testosterone produces the same “inhibition of serotonin reuptake” effect as SSRIs. Doctors have long known that testosterone replacement therapy improves mood in patients with low testosterone.
This is particularly true in patients with low testosterone showing signs of anxiety and depression before beginning testosterone therapy. But researchers could not explain exactly why the increasing testosterone increased happiness — until now.
This link does not mean that testosterone therapy is used as a specific treatment or a replacement for antidepressant medications for patients with depression. However, it does provide a viable explanation for why men with low testosterone often report depression and anxiety as one of their symptoms.
This now established relationship between serotonin levels and testosterone levels also explains why men taking testosterone injections have improved moods, less anxiety, and an overall “better” outlook on life.”
Testosterone Replacement Therapy: What Is the Best Way to Treat Low Testosterone?
If you are feeling anxiety, depression, or other debilitating symptoms of low testosterone, the best treatment is testosterone replacement therapy.
If you are a man between the ages of 35 and 65 and are not feeling your best, emotionally, physically, or mentally, it is a good chance that low testosterone, a condition sometimes referred to as “andropause,” is to blame.
Testosterone replacement therapy is the key to getting back what time and nature take away.
Bubolo Medical has been successfully treating all of the symptoms of low testosterone with our unique approach to testosterone replacement therapy for many years.
Our medical team has developed a unique approach to treating low testosterone in men that revives energy, focus, and strength so you can be your best self.
Our unique approach to testosterone therapy will reduce or even eliminate the issues you may be facing due to age-related testosterone decline from emotional issues to sexual health – you will be the man you once were, or always wanted to be!”
“I’m about 55. Before I came to Bubolo Medical, I was irritable, depressed, and anxious. I had never felt like this before in my life. I always felt I was a pretty stable guy, but now my anxiety and depression were affecting my work and home life. I thought it was just stress. But come to find out, all the emotional issues I was wrestling with were from low testosterone. Since being on testosterone replacement, I feel like my old self again.” George B., Atlanta, GA
If you would like to learn a little bit more about the many life-changing benefits of testosterone replacement therapy, please get in touch with us today.