To learn more about this controversy, read Caught in the Net, the first recovery book about on-line behavior and addictive use of the Internet.

While many believe the term addiction should be applied only to cases involving the ingestion of a drug, many researchers have previously applied this same term to high-risk sexual behaviors, excessive television-viewing, compulsive gambling, computer overuse, and overeating without such controversy. Mental health professionals do not agree on what constitutes an "addiction."

The common argument is that we can be addicted only to physical substances to which we have a chemical response in our bodies. If our bodies our hooked, we're hooked. Well, recent scientific evidence suggests that it may be possible to experience habit-forming chemical reactions to behavior as well as substances. Scientists studying the effect of addictions on the brain have focused new attention on dopamine, a substance of the brain associated with pleasure and elation. Scientists believe that levels of dopamine may rise not only from taking alcohol or drugs, but from gambling, eating chocolate, or even from a hug or word of praise. And when something makes our dopamine level rise, we naturally want more of it. Other studies indicate that as our brain reacts to familiar stimuli it can alter our behavior without our ever really knowing it, which may explain our tendency to excessively repeat addictive patterns. Therefore, linking the term "addiction" solely to drugs creates an artificial distinction that strips the usage of the term for a similar condition when drugs are not involved. Ultimately, it is unclear whether physiologic reasons are responsible for all addictive behaviors, rendering the debate between substance-based and behavior-based addictions meaningless.

Another significant issue is that unlike chemical dependency, the Internet offers several direct benefits as a technological advancement in our society and not a device to be criticized as "addictive." The Internet allows a user a range of practical applications such as the ability to conduct research, to perform business transactions, to access international libraries, or to make vacation plans. Furthermore, several books have been written which outline the psychological as well as functional benefits of Internet use in our daily lives such as Howard Rheingold's book, The Virtual Community and Sherry Turkle's book, Life on the Screen. In comparison, substance dependence is not an integral aspect of our professional practice nor does it offer a direct benefit for its routine usage. Therefore, when one juxtaposes a term with such a negative connotation as "addiction" against a positive tool as the Internet, it is easy to understand why people will respond with criticism. However, even positive activities in life such as gambling, food, sex, or the Internet - can be considered an addiction when it causes significant life problems, or when a person loses self-control.

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p>next: Copyright Notice and Disclaimer
~ all center for online addiction articles
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Desiderada is an inspirational prose poem about attaining happiness in life.

"Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant;

They too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons;

they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain or bitter,

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

It is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

Many persons strive for high ideals,

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

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Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love;

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment

it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the council of the years,

Gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a healthy discipline,

Be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here,

and whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore, be at peace with God,

Whatever you conceive Him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life,

keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy."

The author is Max Ehrmann, a poet and lawyer from Terre Haute, Indiana, who lived from 1872 to 1945.

next: Acoustic Expressions: Music for Relaxation Meditation and Massage

If I had to distil my quotidian existence in two pithy sentences, I would say: I love to be hated and I hate to be loved.

Hate is the complement of fear and I like being feared. It imbues me with an intoxicating sensation of omnipotence. I am veritably inebriated by the looks of horror or repulsion on people's faces. They know that I am capable of anything. Godlike, I am ruthless and devoid of scruples, capricious and unfathomable, emotion-less and asexual, omniscient, omnipotent and omni-present, a plague, a devastation, an inescapable verdict. I nurture my ill-repute, stoking it and fanning the flames of gossip. It is an enduring asset.

Hate and fear are sure generators of attention. It is all about narcissistic supply, of course - the drug which we, the narcissists consume and which consumes us in return. So, attack sadistically authority figures, institutions, my hosts and I make sure they know about my eruptions.

I purvey only the truth and nothing but the truth - but I tell it bluntly told in an orgy of evocative baroque English.

The blind rage that this induces in the targets of my vitriolic diatribes provokes in me a surge of satisfaction and inner tranquillity not obtainable by any other means. I like to think about their pain, of course - but that is the lesser part of the equation

It is my horrid future and inescapable punishment that carries the irresistible appeal. Like some strain of alien virus, it infects my better judgement and I succumb.

In general, my weapon is the truth and human propensity to avoid it. In tactless breaching of every etiquette, I chastise and berate and snub and offer vitriolic opprobrium. A self-proclaimed Jeremiah, I hector and harangue from my many self-made pulpits. I understand the prophets. I understand Torquemada.

I bask in the incomparable pleasure of being RIGHT. I derive my grandiose superiority from the contrast between my righteousness and the humanness of others.

But it is not that simple. It never is with narcissists. Fostering public revolt and the inevitable ensuing social sanctions fulfils two other psychodynamic goals.

The first one I alluded to. It is the burning desire - nay, NEED - to be punished.

In the grotesque mind of the narcissist, his punishment is equally his vindication.

By being permanently on trial, the narcissist claims high moral ground and the position of the martyr: misunderstood, discriminated against, unjustly roughed, outcast by his very towering genius or other outstanding qualities. To conform to the cultural stereotype of the "tormented artist" - the narcissist provokes his own suffering. He is thus validated.

His grandiose fantasies acquire a modicum of substance. "If I were not so special - they wouldn't have persecuted me so".

The persecution of the narcissist IS his uniqueness. He must be different, for better or for worse. The streak of paranoia embedded in him, makes the outcome inevitable. He is in constant conflict with lesser beings: his spouse, his shrink, his boss, his colleagues. Forced to stoop to their intellectual level, the narcissist feels like Gulliver: a giant strapped by Lilliputians. His life is a constant struggle against the self-contented mediocrity of his surroundings. This is his fate which he accepts, though never stoically. It is a calling, a mission and a recurrence in his stormy life.

Deeper still, the narcissist has an image of himself as a worthless, bad and dysfunctional extension of others. In constant need of narcissistic supply, he feels humiliated. The contrast between his cosmic fantasies and the reality of his dependence, neediness and, often, failure (the "Grandiosity Gap") is an emotionally harrowing experience. It is a constant background noise of devilish, demeaning laughter. The voices say: "you are a fraud", "you are a zero", "you deserve nothing", "if only they knew how worthless you are".

The narcissist attempts to silence these tormenting voices not by fighting them but by agreeing with them. Unconsciously - sometimes consciously - he says to them: "I do agree with you. I am bad and worthless and deserving of the most severe punishment for my rotten character, bad habits, addiction and the constant fraud that is my life. I will go out and seek my doom. Now that I have complied - will you leave me be? Will you leave me alone"?

Of course, they never do.

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next: Grandiosity Deconstructed

When deprived of narcissistic supply - primary AND secondary - I feel annulled. It is a strange sensation, I am not sure it can be described.

Words, after all, do exist. But it is very much like being hollowed out, mentally disemboweled or watching oneself die. It is a cosmic evaporation, disintegrating into molecules of terrified anguish, helplessly and inexorably.

I lived through this twice and I would do anything not to go through it again. It is by far the most nightmarish experience I ever had in a rather febrile life.

I want to tell you now what happens to narcissists when deprived of narcissistic supply of any kind (secondary or primary). Perhaps it will make it easier for you to understand why the narcissist pursues narcissistic supply so fervently, so relentlessly and so ruthlessly. Without narcissistic supply - the narcissist crumbles, he disintegrates like the zombies or the vampires in horror movies. It is terrifying and the narcissist will do anything to avoid it. Think about the narcissist as a drug addict. His withdrawal symptoms are identical: delusions, physiological effects, irritability, emotional liability.

I want to tell you now about the two times in my life that I faced an utter absence of narcissistic supply and what happened to me as a result.

The first time was after Nomi abandoned me as I was in jail, deprived of all means of obtaining narcissistic supply and subject to the dehumanizing existence of a brutal penal colony. I reacted by retreating into a life-threatening dysphoria.

The second time was even more frightening.

I found myself in Russia in the throes of its worst economic crisis ever. I was a fugitive, having escaped the displeasure of a nasty regime I dared criticize and attack openly. Gaining access to sources of narcissistic supply was a tedious and narcissistically injurious process and my girlfriend was far away, in Macedonia. I lived in a decrepit apartment, with no hot water, with furniture in wooden death and tried to get accustomed to the brutish nastiness of everyday life there. I had no narcissistic supply of any kind - and this lasted for months. All my frantic efforts to generate supply - failed.

At the beginning it was a mere thought - following an exceedingly stormy night which I spent reading about Jack the Ripper. I imagined a decomposing body of a young woman emerging from the rusty bathroom (its creaking door half-hidden from where I slept). She leaned casually against the doorframe and said: "So, you finally came". Gradually, this gruesome image obsessed me to the point of terror. I was reduced to scribbling crosses on all doors together with special mantras I invented. At last, I could not stay there any longer and I moved to live for a few days with my client, a jolly, young and entrepreneurial Macedonian. His interpretation was that I was simply too lonely.

He couldn't understand why I was so uninterested in the ravishing girls that worked for him. He could not fathom my behaviour - reading and writing 16 hours a day, day in and day out, without a break.

But I knew better. I knew that my decomposing apparition was a manifestation of a psychotic break, the zombie of my disorder, my self-destructiveness embodied and my virulent self-hatred projected. I knew that "she" was as real an enemy as any I have ever come across. Narcissists often experience brief psychotic episodes when they are disassembled - either in therapy or following a life-crisis accompanied by a major narcissistic injury.

Psychotic episodes may be closely allied to another feature of narcissism: magical thinking. Narcissists are like children in this sense. I, for instance, fully believe in two things: that whatever happens - I will prevail and that good things will happen to me. It is not a belief, really.

There is no cognitive component in it. I just KNOW it, the same way I know gravity - in a direct and immediate and secure way.

I believe that, no matter what I do, I will always be forgiven, I will always prevail and triumph, I will always land safely on all my fours. I, therefore, am fearless in a manner perceived by others to be both admirable and insane. I attribute to myself divine and cosmic immunity - I cloak myself in it, it renders me invisible to my enemies and to the powers of evil. It is a childish phantasmagoria - but to me it is very real.

The second thing I know with religious certainty is that good things will happen to me. Good things always have, I was never disproved, on the very contrary - my belief only grows stronger as I grow older. With equal certitude, I know that I will squander my good fortune time and again in a bedeviled effort to defeat myself and to vindicate my mother and her transubstantiations, all other authority figures. She - and other role models that substituted for her in later life - insisted with a vengeance that I was corrupt and vain and empty. My life is a continuous effort to prove them right.

So, no matter what serendipity, what lucky circumstance, what blessing I shall receive - I will always strive with blind fury to deflect them, to deform, to ruin. And being the talented person that I am - I will succeed spectacularly.

I have lived in fairy tales come true all my life. I was adopted by a billionaire, an admiring student of mine became Minister of Finance and summoned me to his side, I was given millions to invest and have been the subject of many other miracles - but I was and am intent on bringing myself to biblical destitution and devastation.

Perhaps in this - in the belief that I have the omnipotence to conspire against a universe that constantly smiles upon me - lies the real magic of my thinking. The day I stop resisting my endowments and my good fortune is the day I die.

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next: The Music of My Emotions

I feel sad only when I listen to music. My sadness is tinged with the decomposing sweetness of my childhood. So, sometimes, I sing or think about music and it makes me unbearably sad. I know that somewhere inside me there are whole valleys of melancholy, oceans of pain but they remain untapped because I want to live. I cannot listen to music - any music - for more than a few minutes. It is too dangerous, I cannot breathe.

But this is the exception. Otherwise, my emotional life is colourless and eventless, as rigidly blind as my disorder, as dead as me. Oh, I feel rage and hurt and inordinate humiliation and fear. These are very dominant, prevalent and recurrent hues in the canvass of my daily existence. But there is nothing except these atavistic gut reactions. There is nothing else - at least not that I am aware of.

Whatever it is that I experience as emotions - I experience in reaction to slights and injuries, real or imagined. My emotions are all reactive, not active. I feel insulted - I sulk. I feel devalued - I rage. I feel ignored - I pout. I feel humiliated - I lash out. I feel threatened - I fear. I feel adored - I bask in glory. I am virulently envious of one and all.

I can appreciate beauty but in a cerebral, cold and "mathematical" way. I have no sex drive I can think of. My emotional landscape is dim and grey, as though observed through thick mist in a particularly dreary day.

I can intelligently discuss other emotions, which I never experienced - like empathy, or love - because I make it a point to read a lot and to correspond with people who claim to experience them. Thus, I gradually formed working hypotheses as to what people feel. It is pointless to try to really understand - but at least I can better predict their behaviour than in the absence of such models.

I am not envious of people who feel. I disdain feelings and emotional people because I think that they are weak and vulnerable and I deride human weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Such derision makes me feel superior and is probably the ossified remains of a defense mechanism gone berserk. But, there it is, this is I and there is nothing I can do about it.

To all of you who talk about change - there is nothing I can do about myself. And there is nothing you can do about yourself. And there is nothing anyone can do for you, either. Psychotherapy and medications are concerned with behaviour modification - not with healing. They are concerned with proper adaptation because maladaptation is socially costly. Society defends itself against misfits by lying to them. The lie is that change and healing are possible. They are not. You are what you are. Period. Go live with it.

So, here I am. An emotional hunchback, a fossil, a human caught in amber, observing my environment with dead eyes of calcium. We shall never meet amicably because I am a predator and you are the prey. Because I do not know what it is like to be you and I do not particularly care to know. Because my disorder is as essential to me as your feelings are to you. My normal state is my very illness. I look like you, I walk the walk and talk the talk and I - and my ilk - deceive you magnificently. Not out of the cold viciousness of our hearts - but because that is the way we are.

I have emotions and they are buried in a pit down below. All of my emotions are acidulously negative, they are vitriol, the "not for internal consumption" type. I cannot feel anything, because if I open the floodgates of this cesspool of my psyche, I will drown.

And I will carry you with me.

And all the love in this world, and all the crusading women who think that they can "fix" me by doling out their saccharine compassion and revolting "understanding" and all the support and the holding environments and the textbooks - cannot change one iota in this maddening, self-imposed verdict meted out by the most insanely, obtusely, sadistically harsh judge:

By me.

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next: Narcissist: I Love to be Hated, Hate to be Loved

MUST HAVE books for people with depression, information for sufferers, family and friends

 

Order the book 

The ABCs of Recovery from Mental Illness" By: Carol Kivler

Author Carol Kivler was a guest on the HealthyPlace Mental Health TV Show. Carol is a depression sufferer, her periodic acute bouts of treatment-resistant depression, are only responsive to ECT (electroconvulsive therapy).

Also from Carol Kivler: Will I Ever Be the Same Again? Transforming the Face of ECT (Shock Therapy)

Back from the Brink: 12 Australians Tell Their Raw Stories of Overcoming Depression.
By: Graeme Cowan
buy the book 

Author Graeme Cowan was interviewed by HealthyPlace Radio and he talked about a depression so severe it nearly ended his life. 

In Her Wake: A Child Psychiatrist Explores the Mystery of Her Mother's Suicide
By: Nancy Rappaport
buy the book 

Ms. Rappaport was interviewed by HealthyPlace Mental Health TV.

Watch the video on how to talk to children about suicide with author Nancy Rappaport.

Postpartum Depression For Dummies
By: Shoshana S. Bennett, Ph.D.
buy the book 

HealthyPlace Mental Health TV interviewed Ms. Bennett, who talked about postpartum depression.

Watch the video on postpartum depression with author Shoshana Bennett, Ph.D.

The Irritable Male Syndrome: Understanding and Managing the 4 Key Causes of Depression and Aggression By: Jed Diamond
buy the book 

Jed Diamond was a guest on our HealthyPlace TV show. He talked about the health and well-being of mid-life men, and why they turn mean. Watch Jed Diamond's video here.

Undoing Depression: What Therapy Doesn't Teach You and Medication Can't Give You
By: Richard O'Connor, Phd
buy the book 

Reader Comment: "The voice addressing these issues is an expert one. He is a psychotherapist who runs a community health center. More importantly, he has suffered from depression himself."

Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide
By: Kay Redfield Jamison
buy the book 

Reader Comment:
"This was a wonderfully informative book to help people with mental illness and their families understand what is going on in the mind."

The Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness
By: Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel Segal, Jon Kabat-Zinn
buy the book 

Reader Comment: "This is truly an excellent method of working to accept and overcome the problems of depression."

Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness
By: William Styron
buy the book 

Reader Comment: "I think it's important that this book was written by an author of the same stature as famous writers who did take their lives. The difference is that Styron came out on the other side of this malady, saw it for what it was."

Self-Coaching: The Powerful Program to Beat Anxiety and Depression
By: Joseph J. Luciani
buy the book 

Reader Comment: "This book is fantastic, not just for anxiety and depression, but for issues of self-esteem, shyness, excessive introversion, anger, perfectionism, etc."

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Since the early 1970s, research into the origins of eating disorders in young women has spotlighted the mother-daughter relationship. Some researchers have suggested that mothers "model" weight concerns for their daughters, although findings have been inconsistent when testing this hypothesis. An alternative conceptualization focuses on more specific, interactive processes between mother and daughter that may contribute to (or mitigate against) the development of these concerns, and could apply to dyads for whom modeling may be a factor as well as for those for whom it is not.

Jane Ogden and Jo Steward, from the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guys and St. Thomas' in London, evaluated 30 mother-daughter dyads with regard to their degree of concordance about weight concerns (a reflection of the modeling hypothesis) as well as the role such dynamics as enmeshment, projection, autonomy, beliefs about mother's role in the relationship, and intimacy play as predictors of weight concerns and body dissatisfaction in the daughters. The daughters in this study were between the ages of 16 and 19, and the mothers between the ages of 41 and 57. They were primarily white and self-described as upper middle class.

Findings appear in the July 2000 issue of the International Journal of Eating Disorders.

Beliefs About Autonomy and Boundaries Predict Eating and Weight Concerns

Within this sample, while there was a similarity in weight and body mass index between the young women and their mothers, mothers and daughters did not share the same views about dieting or body satisfaction. In this study, therefore, the modeling hypothesis was not supported.

There was, however, support for the interactive hypothesis. In particular, daughters were more likely to be dieting when they had mothers who reported feeling less in control of the daughter's activities as well as if both mother and daughter saw it as important that their relationship lack boundaries (i.e., they were enmeshed). Daughters were more likely to be dissatisfied with their bodies when their mothers reported feeling both less in control of the daughter's activities and feeling the daughter did not have a right to her own autonomy as well as if the mother saw it as important that their relationship lack boundaries.

This study suggests that there is far greater complexity to the development of weight concerns in young women than simple modeling of thoughts and behaviors by their mothers. Clinicians who work with adolescents may want to pay specific attention to relationship dynamics between mother and daughter, particularly aspects of control and enmeshment that may be predictive of the development of eating and body shape concerns if not the development of an actual eating disorder.

Source: Ogden, J., & Steward, J. (2000). The role of the mother-daughter relationship in explaining weight concern. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 28(1), 78-83.

next: How Coaches Inspire Eating Disorders
~ eating disorders library
~ all articles on eating disorders

Ten ways to help yourself deal with an eating disorder

1. Buy a self-help book. Research has proved that self-help books can be enormously effective.
2. Begin to keep a diary - write down feelings. Make your diary personal to you - be your own confidante and friend in whom you confide your thoughts. Scribble, stick in photos, draw pictures - there are no rules about how you have to use the space.
3. Begin to be in touch with the feelings and thoughts around the binge eating. Begin to understand your underlying emotional issues.
4. Ask yourself what is it that you really want instead of food - is it a response to the worry of work? Do you really want a hug, a chat with a friend?
5. Start nurturing and pampering yourself. Set aside time in the day for your own relaxation and leisure periods. Prioritise your needs.
6. Dare to say yes to yourself instead of no. Learn to accept the way you are and begin to appreciate and love yourself.
7. Do not overly criticize or judge yourself harshly. Over zealous self-criticism will drive the compulsion of the eating disorder.
8. Draw a family tree to include all friends and all those living or dead. Write down your family history noting dramatic or eventful periods of change.
9. See if there are emerging patterns of behaviour. Look at the way you relate to others. Do you have equal give-and-take in relationships? If not look at books on assertiveness or join an assertion group.
10. Be gentle on yourself. Accept the way you are. Your eating disorder has enabled you to cope with difficult circumstances. See if you can come up with other coping strategies which are less harmful.

Books

Getting Better Bite by Bite - A survival kit for sufferers of bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorders Treasure & Schmidt - Psychology Press

Eating your Heart Out Buckroyd - Optima

Anorexia Nervosa - A Guide For Sufferers and Their Families Palmer - Penguin

next: Eating Disorders Self-Help Tips
~ eating disorders library
~ all articles on eating disorders

Tyrosine is essential to regulating mood, helping prevent depression and helping the body cope with the effects of physical or psychological stress. Learn about the usage, dosage, side-effects of Tyrosine.

Also Known As:L-Tyrosine

• Overview
• Uses
• Dietary Sources
• Available Forms
• How to Take It
• Precautions
• Possible Interactions
• Supporting Research

Overview

Tyrosine is a nonessential amino acid that is synthesized in the body from phenylalanine. As a building block for several important brain chemicals, tyrosine is needed to make epinephrine, norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine, all of which work to regulate mood. Deficiencies in tyrosine, therefore, have been associated with depression. Tyrosine also aids in the production of melanin (pigment responsible for hair and skin color) and in the function of organs in the body responsible for making and regulating hormones, including the adrenal, thryroid, and pituitary glands. Tyrosine is also involved in the synthesis of enkephalins, substances that have pain-relieving effects in the body.

Low levels of tyrosine have been associated with low blood pressure, low body temperature, and an under active thyroid. This does not mean, however, that taking tyrosine supplements will avoid these particular circumstances.

Because tyrosine binds unstable molecules (called free radicals) that can potentially cause damage to the cells and tissues, it is considered a mild antioxidant. Thus, tyrosine may be useful for people who have been exposed to harmful chemicals (such as from smoking) and radiation.

 

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Tyrosine Uses

Phenylketonuria
This serious condition occurs in people who cannot metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine, which leads to brain damage including mental retardation. The treatment is dietary restriction of phenylalanine. Given that tyrosine is made from phenylalanine, restriction of this latter amino acid leads to deficiency of tyrosine. Many experts, therefore, advocate supplementing the diet with tyrosine-enriched protein. Results of studies, however, regarding whether this is necessary or effective have been mixed. In the case of phenylketonuria, your health care provider will determine if you need a tyrosine-enriched diet and how much tyrosine is required.

Tyrosine for Stress
Human and animal research suggests that tyrosine acts as an adaptogen, helping the body adapt to and cope with the effects of physical or psychological stress by minimizing the symptoms brought on by stress. This is primarily due to the fact that tyrosine is a building block for norepinephine and epinephrine, the body's two main stress-related hormones. Taken ahead of time, tyrosine allows some people to avoid typical bodily reactions and feelings from stressful situations like surgery, emotional upset, and sleep deprivation.

Drug Detoxification
Tyrosine appears to be a successful addition to conventional treatment for cocaine abuse and withdrawal. It may be used in conjunction with tryptophan and imipramine (an antidepressant). Some individuals using tyrosine have also reported successful withdrawal from caffeine and nicotine.

Tyrosine for depression
Tyrosine levels are occasionally low in depressed patients. A number of studies conducted in the 1970s showed encouraging results regarding the use of tyrosine to ease symptoms of depression, especially when used together with another supplement known as 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). In one study from 1990, however, tyrosine failed to demonstrate any anti-depressant activity. More studies are needed in order to draw firm conclusions about the use of tyrosine to help treat mild to moderate depression.

Vitiligo
Vitiligo is a condition characterized by irregular depigmentation (white patches) of skin. Given that tyrosine is involved in making melanin, it has been proposed that tyrosine may be a valuable aid in treating vitiligo. This theory has not been tested, however. Phenylalanine, which in turn makes tyrosine, has been used successfully in combination with ultraviolet radiation therapy for darkening the whitened areas in those with vitiligo.

Other
Some athletes claim that tyrosine helps their performance. However, there is no proof that this claim is true or safe.

Similarly, serotonin levels may be altered in women who have premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Because tyrosine stimulates the production of serotonin, some experts speculate that L-tyrosine supplements may improve serotonin levels and decrease PMS symptoms. This theory has yet to be proven.

Finally, in the mid 1980s some researchers speculated that tyrosine may be useful for treating Parkinson's because this amino acid can increase dopamine levels. (Diminished dopamine levels cause the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.) However, this has never been proven and there is a question about how well oral tyrosine can get into the brain. There are, however, some medications for Parkinson's currently under investigation that incorporate tyrosine along with other chemicals.

 

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Tyrosine Dietary Sources

Tyrosine, which is produced in the body from phenylalanine, is found in soy products, chicken, turkey, fish, peanuts, almonds, avocados, bananas, milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, lima beans, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds.

 

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Tyrosine Available Forms

Tyrosine is also available as a dietary supplement, in capsule or tablet form.

 

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How to Take Tyrosine

Tyrosine supplements should be taken at least 30 minutes before meals, divided into three daily doses. They should also be taken with a multivitamin-mineral complex because vitamins B6, B9 (folate), and copper help convert L-tyrosine into important brain chemicals.

Pediatric

There is no specific dietary recommendation for tyrosine. If laboratory tests reveal that a child has an amino acid imbalance that requires treatment, the appropriate healthcare provider will direct care accordingly.

Adult

A nutritionist or healthcare provider knowledgeable about dietary supplements can prescribe the appropriate dose of this supplement. The dose most commonly recommended is 500 to 1,000 mg three times per day (before each of the three meals).

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Precautions

Because of the potential for side effects and interactions with medications, dietary supplements should be taken only under the supervision of a knowledgeable healthcare provider.

Those who suffer from migraine headaches should avoid tyrosine, as it can trigger migraine headaches and gastrointestinal upset.

Total amount of tyrosine taken in one day should never exceed 12,000 mg.

 

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Possible Interactions

If you are currently being treated with any of the following medications, you should not use tyrosine supplements without first talking to your healthcare provider.

Antidepressant medications, Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs)
Tyrosine may cause a severe increase in blood pressure in people taking MAOIs (such as phenelzine, tranylcypromine, pargyline, and selegiline). This severe increase in blood pressure (also called "hypertensive crisis") can lead to a heart attack or stroke. For this reason, individuals taking MAOIs should foods and supplements containing tyrosine.

Appetite suppressant Medications
In a rat study, L-tyrosine increased the appetite-suppressant effects of phenylpropanolamine, ephedrine, and amphetamine. More research is needed to determine whether L-tyrosine produces similar results in humans.

Morphine
Although the application for humans is unclear, animal studies suggest that tyrosine increases the pain-relieving effects of morphine.

Levodopa

Tyrosine should not be taken at the same time as levodopa, a medication used to treat Parkinson's disease because levodopa may interfere with the absorption of tyrosine.

back to: Supplement-Vitamins Homepage

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Supporting Research

Awad AG. Diet and drug interactions in the treatment of mental illness - a review. Can J Psychiatry. 1984;29:609-613.

Camacho F, Mazuecos J. Treatment of vitiligo with oral and topical phenylalanine: 6 years of experience. Arch Dermatol. 1999;135:216-217

Chakraborty DP, Roy S, Chakroborty AK. Vitiligo, psoralen, and meanogenesis: some observations and understanding. Pigment Cell Res. 1996;9(3):107-116.

Chiaroni P, Azorin JM, Bovier P, et al. A multivariate analysis of red blood cell membrane transports and plasma levels of L-tyrosine and L-tryptophan in depressed patients before treatment and after clinical improvement. Neuropsychobiology. 1990;23(1):1-7.

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There are so many things that society and we as individuals can do to help prevent the spread of eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. Described here are just some of them.

being.aware

Awareness plays a big role in eating disorders prevention in that many parents and teachers don't even know the first signs of an eating disorder. Things like the "blues" and going on a "diet" seem trivial and just a phase to someone, while for the person it can be the beginnings of chronic depression and anorexia/bulimia. Blowing such things off as minor phases tells the person that their problems aren't that big, don't matter, and that they themselves don't have to worry about them. This only aggravates the eating disorder even more and will cause the person to go into denial about their issues.

spreading.awareness

Awareness about anorexia and bulimia needs to be spread to middle, high school, and college campuses. Unfortunately, sometimes eating disorders just end up being glamorized and seen as a quick way to lose weight, and also something that people can control, so it is very important that while spreading awareness it is made clear just how easily these demons smash dreams and ruin the lives of those suffering, along with the pain it causes for the families and friends of those suffering.

the.mask

Another aspect of eating disorders prevention is to know that just because someone looks "fine" on the outside doesn't mean that they are fine on the inside. Eating disorder sufferers often trivialize their problems and lie because they feel that they would only be a burden to others if they shared their pain. Because many sufferers wear a mask of happiness, parents and teachers are easily fooled into thinking that the child is fine. Realize that this is just a mask, and that is all it will ever be. It is not the person's true feelings. The person may claim that they are fine when you ask them what is wrong, but don't take this as the truth. Inside they are depressed and tortured by their feelings, and they need someone to talk to and listen to them without getting angry, criticizing their emotions, telling them to ignore their feelings, or responding back with just "not having time" for their problems. Delve deeper into his or her's problems and make sure that when they say they are "fine," that it is just not another mask or the eating disorder trying to throw you off. Keep track of your student or child's self-esteem as well. Let them know that they are doing a good job, that you are proud of them, or that they have accomplished a lot, but don't make your comments solely or mostly based around food. This can lead a person to believe that their worth is associated with food.

the.power.of.listening

Listening is extremely important. When someone comes to you either asking for help or just to let you know that something is not right, make sure you listen. To stop an eating disorder from forming in the beginning you must listen and talk with your child or friend regardless of how trivial the problem seems to you. Remember that even though the issue may not seem that important to you, it can be causing a huge impact on another person's life.

If your child comes to you about a problem in school, please just spare 5 minutes of your time; sit and just listen. For example, say your child comes home from school and lets you know that kids are bullying them or making fun of them. Most parents would blow this issue off as just regular "kid stuff" that they do at that age, but to the child this can really hurt them. Instead of criticizing your child or turning them away because you think this problem is "so small," listen and let him or her know that you are here for them if they want to talk, and if the abuse from the other children continues be sure to go down to the school and have a talk with the administrators. I know that for me I was constantly made fun of and told I was fat, ugly, etc., by other children in school. I was too scared to tell anyone about this because I knew the teachers could care less and my parents had problems of their own, so I shoved bit after bit of food down my throat to comfort the pain I was feeling. Then I spit it all back up to numb the world away. What seems like minor comments or teasing to you can really damage the self-esteem and worth of another.

Listening is also very important in relation to not just school and friends, but of course family problems. Eating disorder sufferers have often grown up in a household where true feelings could not be expressed. They have been told to not be a bother with their feelings because mommy is sick or the father has a drinking problem, and the child cannot bring up their own issues. However, the whole idea that as long as the problem is "out of sight, it's out of mind" is wrong. Since the child can't bring up their emotions and feelings, they instead go to food or reject it in order to deal with the pain and chaos. By not letting a person express their issues at an early age, before an eating disorder, you are also teaching them that having feelings are "wrong" and that they are unacceptable - that it is not ok to feel.

When we wore a heart of stone we wandered to the sea
Hoping to find some comfort there yearning to feel free
And we were mesmerized by the lull of the night
and the smells that filled the air
And we laid us down on sandy ground
it was cold but we didn't care-Sarah McLachlan

"casual".dieting

Realize, also, that if you, as a parent or close family member, are dieting constantly that your child will inevitably pick up these habit patterns as well. If your child or a friend says that they have gone on a diet, it is important that you watch that their 'diet' doesn't get out of control. Purging or not eating is never an acceptable way to lose weight and will only endanger their health and yours as well. Always remember that eating disorders spawn from emotional problems inside of the person, and cannot be solved through "dieting."

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To better understand how you can prevent and look out for an eating disorder in a friend, your child, a student, or a patient if you are a doctor, I have added some comments that my friends have been gracious enough to let me print here in cyberspace. Each one of them suffers from an eating disorder.

One comment from a sufferer shows just how easily it is to be caught into the trap of an eating disorder:

"I thought I could control this, I thought it was my control. Because I couldn't see myself right I believed that my feelings about myself were actual facts, so I kept on losing weight. I was always regarded as the 'perfect' child. No one thought that I could possibly have an eating disorder, not perfect little Veronica. I didn't tell anyone about my problem with food for fear that they would think I was a psycho or hate me for having this problem, or just problems in general. For that I've been in and out of hospitals and I've ruined my life. It was only until my third hospitalization that I realized just how much I was truly out of control, and just how much the eating disorder was. It's too bad I couldn't have just realized this about 3 years ago. Maybe it wouldn't have been so hard to recover then."

A male victim recalls how his eating disorder, bulimia, started and how it progressed:

"We had to do a report in health class on eating disorders and I learned that you could lose some kind of weight by puking up what you ate (bulimia, binging and purging). I totally forgot about the medical problems that you get from it, which was what our whole reports were about. I just started doing it. I was caught once by a family member, but they figured that it was no big deal and when my folks found out that I was doing it everyday, they didn't really do anything. I figured they just didn't give a damn about me and I got even worse. The thing is, I never thought I'd be this bad. I thought I could start and stop, but I was so stupid in thinking that 'cause this is an addiction. I should've listened to what my other friend (who also has an ED) had told me in the beginning, but I was too hell-bent on doing my own thing and now I'm stuck with this without a clue as to how to stop."

"I wanted to be liked, that's all I wanted. I guess instead of getting other people to like me, I should have gotten myself to like me. Only, I didn't have a 'me'. I never knew what I liked or what I wanted to do, or what I should be. I just went with what others thought was best because I was too afraid to have a difference of opinion and cause conflict. I thought others would think that I was stupid for what I may like. When the eating disorder came along, I thought that that was finally 'me'. I was a starver, a bag of bones. The ED told me that if I just lost more and more weight that with each fallen pound, someone would finally like me. But with each pound lost, I started feeling worse and worse. I did get more attention, but then it got out of control and my friends and family went away because my obsession caused me to be depressed and isolate myself.
I haven't recovered yet. I've been to treatment and I've had doctors tell me I'm going to have to be hospitalized or I'll die, but I just can't stop. Who am I without the anorexia?"

As I've said so many times, recovery IS always possible. When an eating disorder does form there is no need to blame yourself or those around you - the most important thing is to work towards recovery. I only made this page in hopes that as a parent, friend, or teacher you can look within yourself and at others and be able to recognize someone that is on the verge of developing a full-blown eating disorder. Eating disorders prevention truly is the key.

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