OXYTOCIN THE "LOVE HORMONE"
Oxytocin was the first peptide hormone to be biochemically described and synthesized. It has been called the “best understood neuropeptide” (Jurek and Neumann, 2018) having been extensively studied over the years.
Oxytocin may be considered a “natural medicine” potentially capable of preventing and treating various disorders.
Oxytocin has been tested in the treatment of many conditions such as:
- Anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder
- Chronic pain
- Addiction
- Post partum depression
- Schizophrenia, and borderline personality
- Cardiovascular disease
- Insulin resistance/ diabetes (Hurlemann and Grinevich, 2018)
Oxytocin influences the immune system and plays a role as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant substance (Szeto et al., 2011; Bordt et al., 2019; Kingsbury and Bilbo, 2019).
Areas of Study and Research: Chronic or Traumatic Stress
Oxytocin is of importance in the face of chronic stress when “stress-coping” effects may take precedent. Oxytocin may protect against shutting down or “immobilization with fear” (Porges, 1998)
Social Support and Perceived Safety- Behavioral Effects of Oxytocin
Oxytocin appears to be relevant to physical and mental protective adaptations involving sociality and social support, and a sense of psychological safety as well as emotional regulation and autonomic stability necessary for mental health and higher levels of cognitive function(Carter, 2014).
Postpartum Depression
Because of its central role in birth and lactation, oxytocin was a logical target as an explanation for and treatment of postpartum depression. (Gust et al., 2020). Comparatively lower levels of oxytocin, both prenatal and postpartum, may be associated with increased symptoms (Skrundz et al., 2011; Stuebe et al., 2013; Cox et al., 2015; Garfield et al., 2015).
Oxytocin Balances Cortisol
Chronic stress causes the excess production of cortisol which has a number of negative consequences. Signs of elevated cortisol are sugar cravings associated weight gain and the development of insulin resistance and diabetes. Sleep disturbance, headaches, anxiety and depression are all consistent with cortisol excess. Oxytocin has the opposite effect on the body providing stress relief and lowering cortisol production to help alleviate the list of conditions characteristic of excess cortisol. Because of these actions, oxytocin may act as an anti-inflammatory substance as well.
Oxytocin is called the “love hormone”. It can play a critical role in our mental and emotional health. It’s the hormone we release in abundance during. It is released with orgasm, laughter, play, hugging and giving. If we’re deficient in oxytocin, we won’t feel as connected to others, or feel as good about ourselves. The lack of oxytocin in the brain can produce anxiety and fear.
Chronic Stress and PTSD Trigger the Cortisol-oxytocin Disconnect
Oxytocin deficiency has been linked to increased risk of developing:
- Autism
- Depression
- Fibromyalgia
Oxytocin reduces:
- Anxiety
- Stress
- Depression
- Pain
What contributes to oxytocin deficiency?
- Loneliness, lack of familial and social contacts
- Fear
- Anger
- Drug abuse
- Detachment
- Bad social experiences
- Prolonged stress
Enhancing Oxytocin Naturally
Oxytocin levels increase with soft touch, hugs, laughter, play, giving gratitude and thanks. Other activities that promote oxytocin are massage, reading, viewing pictures of loved ones, music, singing, physical exercise, positive environments, positive social contacts, living with others, partner support, mothers love, romantic love.
Chronic Pain Treatment and Oxytocin
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/14/2/253 In this study the effects of a Mindfulness-Based Pain Management program on chronic pain were investigated. Potential mechanisms through which Mindfulness-Based Pain Management could be working were explored by measuring stress, inflammation markers, oxytocin levels, as well as psychometric measures of pain experience and mood.
In this study, a novel finding is that, after the Mindfulness-Based Pain Management intervention, oxytocin levels significantly increased in chronic pain patients, linking mindfulness to oxytocin regulation. There are only a few studies investigating the role of oxytocin in mindfulness-related practices [115,116], and to our knowledge none investigating the role of oxytocin in the context of mindfulness-based chronic pain management intervention.
Previously, it was suggested that oxytocin may impact pain perception through the central nervous system, particularly the limbic system [117], stabilizing mood and reducing depressive symptoms [118]. This study found that after an 8-week mindfulness-based pain intervention, oxytocin levels significantly increased while depression symptoms reduced, suggesting that oxytocin could affect the pain experience through a psychological mechanism where oxytocin dampens pain sensitivity by improving mood [53,54,56].
The evidence also suggests that oxytocin could affect the pain experienced by improving mood and by reducing stress [56,119,120]. The reduction of stress markers observed in other meditation intervention studies [121,122,123] could potentially involve oxytocin, since oxytocin is also associated with lower stress levels measured using cortisol during exercise [57], conflict [58], and/or social stress [59]. It is also thought that pain reduction observed in our chronic pain patient sample was not solely related to stress reduction, and that oxytocin-linked analgesia is not only through stress reduction pathways.
This study is among the first to bring evidence that a mindfulness-based intervention can increase oxytocin levels. Moreover, this oxytocin increase was associated with reduced pain severity, pain perception, and depression in chronic pain patients. This does not confirm causality.
To do that further studies are needed to explore the role of oxytocin in chronic pain modulation related to mindfulness. The current study presents preliminary data on the effects of oxytocin, potentially through stabilizing mood and linking it to stress pathways. However, it does not explore the potential mechanistic link between oxytocin and the endogenous opioid system. Further studies are needed to expand our understanding of oxytocin in the management of chronic pain with regards to this potential frontier.
Despite its prevalence, chronic pain management has heavily relied on opioid-based treatments, raising concerns about addiction and misuse. Non-pharmacological interventions, such as Mindfulness-Based Pain Management/MBPM, provide alternate potential strategies for treating chronic pain. This study investigated the impact of a mindfulness-based pain management intervention on inflammatory markers, stress physiology, and oxytocin, as well as the clinical pain symptomatology and perception of pain in chronic pain patients.
The study puts forward preliminary data suggesting that oxytocin may play a larger role in modulating pain experience and pain perception through mindfulness than previously considered, and highlights its potential as a therapeutic target moving forward.
Moreover, the evidence presented suggests that maybe stress is not the primary mechanism of pain reduction through mindfulness. It also presents preliminary data suggesting that mindfulness acts on the inflammatory response. The present study additionally puts forward non-negligible evidence regarding the beneficial psychological effects of mindfulness in chronic pain patients. Future studies are needed to explore the mechanistic intricacies of mindfulness and the potential causality between oxytocin, stress reduction, pain symptomatology, inflammatory response, and psychological effects in chronic pain patients. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7495339/