Natural Anxiety Treatments for trichotillomania (Part 1)

photo credit: Mark Cummins

We’ve touched on the Natural Way to Stop Pulling Hair Out.  But let’s take an even deeper look into how the natural anxiety treatment works.

Natural anxiety treatment all takes place in the synapse

We’re going to delve into the nervous system as we detail the natural approach.

Let’s start by defining a synapse.  A synapse is a connection which allows for the transmission of nerve impulses.  These are typically found at points where nerve cells meet other nerve cells.  They also appear where nerve cells interface with glandular and muscular cells.

In every instance, the data being transmitted is on a one-way trip – from the pre-synaptic nerve cell to the post-synaptic nerve cell.

Transmitter imbalances make it hard to stop pulling hair out

A chemical synapse is the small gap between two cells that allows for the first cell (the pre-synaptic cell) to communicate with the second cell (the post-synaptic cell) through a chemical signal.

Those chemical signals are our friends, the neurotransmitters.

Once released by the presynaptic cell, the neurotransmitters act on the post-synaptic cell through specialized protein molecules called neurotransmitter receptors.

There are two main types of neurotransmitters – inhibitory and excitatory.  If there are imbalances between the two, it becomes harder for a person to stop pulling hair out.

They become much more compulsive, and trichotillomania ensues.

Reuptake inhibitors – the unnatural way to stop pulling hair out

Remember, neurotransmitters are sent from the pre-synaptic nerve cell to the post-synaptic nerve cell.  At that point, the post-synaptic nerve acts upon that neurotransmitter.  The neurotransmitter delivers an impulse, and at a certain point, post-synaptic neuron says, “Okay, I’ve had enough.”

Any additional neuro-transmitters are then released back into the chemical synapse, where they head back to the pre-synaptic nerve cell for “reuptake”.

“Reuptake” is generally defined as the reabsorption of a neurotransmitter by a pre-synaptic nerve cell after the neurotransmitter has performed its function of transmitting a neural impulse.

Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors are a class of antidepressant drugs commonly used to treat compulsive disorders like trichotillomania. They block the reuptake of those neurotransmitters in an attempt to restore balance to the trichotillomania sufferer.

The neurotransmitters are now stranded in the chemical synapse with nowhere to go.

The post-synaptic nerve cell wants nothing to do with them, and pre-synaptic nerve cell, where the neurotransmitter could be either recycled or stored, is being blocked by the reuptake inhibitor.

So what’s a neurotransmitter to do?

Perish, unfortunately.

Check out the continuation of the story in Natural Anxiety Treatments for trichotillomania Part 2.