Let me start by dispelling the notion that depression is just feeling sad or having a bad day. Sadly, it’s much more complicated than that.

It’s a complex mental health disorder characterized by a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest in once-enjoyable activities. This condition can interfere with daily functioning, relationships, and overall quality of life.

It occurs when the neurotransmitters serotonin or dopamine (molecules that signal a message to another cell, muscle, or gland) are out of whack. Of course, it can also result from both hormones being unbalanced simultaneously.

And while both are considered our “happiness molecules”, they have some distinct differences.

• Serotonin helps to regulate our temperament, appetite, sleep, and social behavior. Thus, it’s critical to establish a pleasant mood. Poor serotonin regulation typically expresses itself as a lack of enthusiasm for activities and things that were previously entertaining. This can range from hobbies, relationships, and food, to work. It can also cause insomnia, anger, and binge-eating.
• Dopamine’s primary function is to stimulate our body and mind to act. It regulates our pleasure-reward system. Dopamine dysregulation is regularly expressed as a lack of motivation, apathy, and a general sense of hopelessness. That’s why people suffering from dopamine-related depression regularly try to counteract that imbalance by self-medicating with substances and activities that release dopamine in the brain. Think of actions such as watching an excessive amount of porn, binge-drinking alcohol, a lot of coffee, or engaging in risky, yet exciting behavior such as gambling.

The clinical term for depression is Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Still, it can also manifest in various forms, such as Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD), which is a long-term (chronic) form of depression. Another type is bipolar disorder, which includes episodes of depression alternated with periods of mania or hypomania.

Robert Lustig, MD and author of the book, “The Hacking of the American Mind”, considers the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin to be the neurological pathways of pleasure and dopamine respectively.