Endorphin system of the body.
Many people have heard about
the body's endorphin system. It is often said that endorphins and enkephalins
are hormones of joy, hormones of pleasure, hormones of happiness. But in
reality this is not entirely true. This idea is very far from what this system
actually is. The work of this system accompanies us from birth to death.
Namely: the process of childbirth itself, birth, education and instillation of
skills and habits, the learning process, work, illness, aging, dying and death
itself - all this is directly related to the work of the body's endorphin
system. And even if someone thinks that his soul will live after death, then
this widespread misconception is also directly related to the work of the
body’s endorphin system. Endorphins are not only pleasure and joy. It is also
anger, aggression, rage, habits, addictions and mania. This also includes
feelings of happiness and unhappiness. All spheres of public life are built on
the work of the body's endorphin system: science, art, politics, economics, religion.
Without the work of the endorphin system, neither the greatest discoveries nor
the most terrible crimes could be committed.
But our focus will be limited only to the
medical aspects of the operation of this system. To begin with, you need to
decide on the categories. What is what, and what to call it.
What are endorphins?
Endorphins are polypeptide compounds that are
produced in neurons of the brain. That is, these are neuropeptides.
Neuropeptides consist of two main groups - endorphins and enkephalins. Within
these groups there are subgroups.
What is the body's endorphin
system?
The endorphin system includes (cells -
substances - receptors):
Clusters of nerve cells capable of secreting
special substances. These same substances are neuropeptides. Special receptors,
called opiate receptors, which are capable of responding to neuropeptides, as
well as the location of these special receptors in the body. What does this
system regulate?
According to modern data, the endorphin system
exercises control over all regulatory systems of the body, that is, it
regulates the activity of all regulatory systems.
How do endorphins work?
Endorphins enter the blood, like pituitary
hormones, and are distributed to all organs and tissues. From the blood they
enter the nerve endings, where they connect with their receptors. Thus, they
activate or excite opiate receptors.
In what areas of the nervous
system are opiate receptors located?
Opiate receptors are located in synapses
(impulse switching zone). In synapses of other types: acetylcholine, adrenal,
dopamine, GABA, etc.
In which organs are opiate
receptors located?
In the cerebral cortex
In the subcortical nuclei of the brain
In the gray matter of the spinal cord
In the nerve nodes of internal organs: heart,
lungs, kidneys, bronchi, intestines
What types of receptors does
the endorphin system have?
Kappa receptors
Mu receptors
Delta receptors
Sigma receptors
When different types of receptors are excited,
fundamentally different effects are achieved.
What is the role of each type
of receptor?
Functions of individual receptors:
kappa receptors provide pain relief with
simultaneous excitation (combat arousal) Rapid stress response system
mu receptors are associated with potent and
long-lasting analgesia, sedation, respiratory depression and a decrease in
heart rate. Stress Resistance System
delta receptors regulate metabolic processes,
restore the constancy of the internal environment, and cause a feeling of
euphoria. Recovery and regeneration system
sigma receptors stimulate associative processes
in the cerebral cortex. They are the ones who work in a state of supreme bliss,
insight, revelation, visions and hallucinations. System for expanding
associative connections/system for expanding consciousness
What functions does the
endorphin system perform??
There are 2 leading functions:
The body’s protective reaction to stress or pain
during severe physical and mental stress, during freezing and overheating, in
the acute phase of almost all diseases; Incentive - for positive emotions: the
release of endorphins in a person is directly related to the feeling of
happiness, pleasure, achieving a goal, etc.
Thus, endorphins have the ability to reduce pain
and influence a person’s emotional state.
In addition to these leading functions, it also
performs other functions:
Regulation of excitation and inhibition
After the end of the extreme situation -
“quenching” of adrenaline reactions,
return to normal functioning of the
cardiopulmonary system and other internal organs
Pain relief during the wound process with
simultaneous sedation, transferring the nervous system to a half-asleep state
Stimulation of regeneration, activation of the
immune system, restoration of muscle mass. Stimulation of associations to
develop new models of behavior in order to successfully confront
life-threatening situations. This function is performed by an independent class
of receptors, the stimulation of which enhances associations, imaginative
thinking, and creative imagination.
What is the difference between
the functioning of the nervous system under normal conditions and under
stressful conditions?
Under normal “peaceful” conditions, balance in
regulation is carried out by the sympathetic and parasympathetic parts of the
autonomic nervous system. Under stress, when the adrenal system is fully
activated, it is opposed by the endorphin system. During stress, the body
switches to “military” operating conditions. All resources are switched to
ensuring the most efficient activities in the external environment. At the same
time, there is a ruthless reduction of resources for internal functions.
What clinical syndromes are
formed in the body when the entire endorphin system or its individual links are
insufficient?
Pain syndrome
Withdrawal symptoms. The most striking examples:
the state of withdrawal from narcotic analgesics, withdrawal of a drug addict
Excitement syndrome
Depressive syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Asthenic syndrome (exhaustion)
"Black and white world" syndrome
How does the state of the endorphin
system affect a person’s character?
The enhanced development of individual parts of
the endorphin system makes it possible to form a number of special human
character traits. For example: Detachment, yogis, hermits in various religions,
which are characterized by calmness, peacefulness, and some lethargy;
Aggressiveness: fighters are professionals,
fanatics, distinguished by aggressiveness, the ability to endure extreme pain,
ignoring obvious injuries; Self-centeredness: bodybuilding fans with a huge
sense of superiority, confidence in their own health, inward orientation,
inability to feel the suffering of others;
Internal cerebral pseudo-enlightenment: artists,
poets, mediators of all directions, mystics, spiritualists, people striving to
achieve nirvana.
What factors influence the
natural production of endorphins in the body?
Food (in the intestines)
Music (in the heart, in the cerebral cortex)
Laughter (in the lungs, in the bronchi, in the
heart, in the subcortical nuclei, in the cerebral cortex)
Sports (in the lungs, kidneys, gray matter of
the spinal cord)
Ultraviolet radiation (in the gray matter of the
spinal cord)
Kisses with a loved one (in the heart, in the
cerebral cortex)
Sex (in the heart, in the gray matter of the
spinal cord, in the subcortical nuclei, in the cerebral cortex)
Sleep (neuropeptide synthesis)
Now you and I must understand what we are
talking about when we talk about the endorphin system.
How does the regulatory system
of regulatory systems work, and which parts of the endorphin system are turned
on first, and which ones later?
1. Kappa
link
2. Mu
link
3. Delta
link
4. Sigma
link
The sigma link is activated when the first three
cannot solve the problem. Moreover, it is structured fundamentally differently,
compared to the underlying links.
Currently, sigma receptors are even excluded
from the list of classical opiate receptors. And this is for the following
reasons:
- Once these receptors are activated, opiate
antagonists cannot reverse their effects. Cases have been described in which
people who drove themselves into a state of extreme sigma stimulation remained
in this state for about 100 days. This is what some call the "eternal
high";
- These receptors have a slight affinity for
classical apioids, but their structure is different;
- These receptors are selective for
dextrorotatory isomers of agonists, while the remaining receptors are selective
for levorotatory isomers. Those. are dextrorotatory neuropeptides. And all the
other proteins in our body, including those that stimulate kappa, mu and delta
receptors, are levorotatory.
Thus, stimulation of sigma receptors results in
an expansion of associative-dissociative connections. In practice, this means
that weak stimulation of this link increases imagination, creativity,
creativity, and super-strong stimulation can cause visions and hallucinations. When God created us, he
specially made the sigma link of a special design. Otherwise, in our modern
stressful life, we would all be walking around in continuous hallucinations and
visions.
We have a system in our brain that is
responsible for the “multiplier effect” and the “transfer effect” of nerve
impulses from one area of the brain to another. Sigma receptors belong
precisely to this system. When the problem is not solved by the lower levels of
the endorphinization system, the brain begins to accumulate information,
process it, and transfer it from one zone to another (for example, from the
auditory areas of the cortex to the visual, and vice versa). This and explains the effect of insight, the effect of
discovery, the effectvoice hearing, vision effect. It was by this mechanism
that Mendeleev discovered his periodic table of elements. According to this
mechanism, Buddha appeared on earth. And many more things can be remembered
that appeared on earth through such a mechanism.
I will give below how this system works in
medicine using 3 real examples. So, there is a system for spending endorphins
and a system for restoring them. To make this clearer, you can compare this
process with a personal bank account. We replenish the account and spend funds
from the account. But if we top up with a ruble and withdraw 10 for expenses.
What will happen? The account will be depleted. This is the mechanism of many
conditions of modern man. He doesn’t get enough sleep (and neuropeptides, like
all proteins, are actively synthesized during night rest), but in order to feel
alert during the day he drinks coffee, tea, energy drinks, and so on. As a
result, modern man earns exhaustion and all the conditions that accompany it.
But it should be said that the endorphin system is not only a bank account.
This is also a bank loan. I took out a loan for a phone and became dependent
for several months; I took out a loan for an apartment and became dependent for
the rest of my life. In the same way, artificial and extreme stimulation of the
endorphin system creates addictions. And the greater the strength of irritation
of the endorphin system, the stronger the addiction. The larger the loan, the
stronger the dependence. Everything is fair. We conclude that emergency
stimulation is intended only for emergency life-threatening cases.
Medical methods of artificially stimulating the
production of endorphins:
Emergency
Not emergency
Medical non-emergency methods of artificially stimulating the production of
endorphins:
-TES therapy. Transcarnial electrical
stimulation (Endorphin crutches)
-Low dose naloxone method. In 2003, the NLD
technique, low-dose naloxone, was used in New York. Its essence is that a
person takes 2-3 mg of an endorphin receptor locator at night. The body
experiences endorphin starvation and responds by increasing the synthesis of
its own endorphins. As a result, your mood improves during the day and your
immune system improves. The authors of this technique now claim that they
successfully cure many hopeless diseases, including AIDS and tumors.
Medical emergency methods of artificially
stimulating the production of endorphins:
-Energetic techniques of manual therapy (method
of artificial hernia formation). In various manual therapy manuals, the
emphasis is placed on the fact that during the manipulation to eliminate
subluxation there must be a crunch (click), this supposedly indicates the
correctness of the manipulation. Some chiropractors note the fact that during
twisting or other manipulation, after “something crunches,” in many cases the
patient notices significant pain relief. When asked by a patient: “What
happened in the spine?”, as a rule, they answer: “It’s the discs that are
falling into place.”
In this regard, a number of questions arise:
- What is the nature of such a
crunch? The mechanism of crunching in the facet joints
Crunch is a hydrodynamic shock of the
intra-articular fluid of the facet joints. Water hammer is formed due to a
sharp jump in the pressure of the intra-articular fluid and is caused by a very
rapid change in the flow rate of this fluid in a very short period of time. It
is precisely this water hammer with a characteristic sound, formed after
appropriate manipulations by a chiropractor, that generates microtraumatization
of the joint capsule with micro tears, areas of hyperextension, and
microcracks.
Is this a positive or negative result of the
manipulation? Hemorrhage in the cavity of the facet joints after the use of
manual therapy can be considered a negative result.
- Why does the patient experience lightness
after the crunch?
Why, during the manipulation of a chiropractor
after a crunch (in most cases), the patient experiences extraordinary
lightness, almost euphoria, after which “the pain goes away,” “the mood
improves,” and so on. The answer is probably already clear to you: the culprits
of this sudden rush of “pain relief” are endorphins and enkephalins.
But the question is what price the patient will
subsequently pay for this pleasure. After a series of such manipulations, the
joint is weakened, its instability increases and, as a result, the pressure on
the intervertebral disc increases significantly. And this is a direct path to
hernia formation.
Conclusion: every specialist
who uses energy techniques of manual therapy in their practice must be aware of
their responsibility for the consequences of their actions.
Examples of some patients where the work of the sigma link of the endorphin
system is clearly visible
1. An example of an artificial
protective (protective) start of worksigma link. The teacher and communist was
on a business trip to Tibet. He studied the religion of Zen Buddhism.
Associate Professor of the Department of Scientific Atheism at Moscow State
University. Through the Central Committee of the CPSU he was sent to Tibet for
several years to study the religion of Zen Buddhism. In the 1970-80s. In 1978,
he reported to the department and to his students about his experience as a Zen
Buddhist. It must be said that in a Tibetan monastery he received a high level
of training in Zen Buddhism. And after returning from a business trip, he
defended his doctoral dissertation. He described his feelings during the
training course and highlighted the features of the preparatory process for Zen
insight:
Lack of sleep (no neuropeptide recovery)
Food deprivation (no food satisfaction, no building materials for
neuropeptides) Sensory deprivation (limited communication with the outside
world - preparation for activation of the sigma link)
Constant sitting in a dimly lit room reading special prayer texts
(something like meditation)
When the student fell asleep, the overseer or the instructor for entering
nirvana or the instructor for merging with God would give a very strong blow to
the ribs with a bamboo stick. (stimulation and depletion of the kappa unit)
At some point, such many daily encounters with the higher mind, suddenly a
state of indescribable bliss, ecstasy, the feeling that you knew everything and
everyone, connected with the universal mind, felt the real meaning of
existence. After staying for some time in such ecstasy, the Zen Buddhist
returns to the mortal earth and immediately forgets all his insight and all his
knowledge, which it seemed to him was revealed to him from merging with the
Almighty. But something remained, and remained for the rest of my life. A
teacher at the department of scientific atheism, the communist always admitted
to his students that he had never felt so good in his life, and for the rest of
his life he would like to return to this state of bliss.
This is a typical example of an artificially induced protective
(protective) activation of the sigma link of the endorphin system with the
development of a certain form of addiction.
2. An example of the spontaneous launch of a sigma link.
A patient whose sigma link has been triggered in a critical situation.
A man about 45 years old, for an unknown reason, began to experience severe
malaise, general poor health, back pain, anemia, a drop in hemoglobin levels,
shortness of breath, requiring stop and rest. After treatment by a massage
therapist, the condition worsened. They referred me to me, but it was not
possible to accept me due to the large number of patients. Therefore, through
an acquaintance, he went to the Kharkov Railway Hospital for examination and
treatment. Conducted tomography, biochemistry, clinical tests, etc. as a
result, nothing of the kind was found. The last method proposed was a blood
transfusion. The man refused, after which he was told to write a will and was
sent to oncologists as hopeless and incurable. In this state, almost dying, he
is taken home to his son in Kharkov. And suddenly something interesting
happens. According to his conviction, he receives information from above from
God. He hears instructions in his head to get in and steam in the hot bath. He
followed this instruction. After a half-hour procedure, he went to bed. The
next day a similar order followed, and he again obeyed. After he had a good
steam in the hot bath, he felt the urge to, as he says, stretch. He did this,
and something crunched between his shoulder blades. After which he quickly
began to recover and a week later in the same hospital they simply did not
believe his miraculous healing. This is an example of when at lower levels the
problem was not solved and in a critical situation the body resolved the
problem through an emergency launch of the sigma link of the endorphin system.
There was no dependence in this case. Why? Because although it was an
emergency, it was a natural process. And the body stimulated the sigma link, only
to the level of need, no more.
3. An example of a constant redundant function of a sigma link with
insufficient function of all other underlying links.
Woman about 50 years old. By profession: doctor. Psychotype: emotional,
insecure, always looking for new knowledge, having personal unresolved
problems, sacrificial for the sake of children, very conscientious, afraid to
take money for her services. Physical condition: intolerant of pain, afraid of
aggressive manual techniques like fire, weak, ill. In other words, an organism
with very low reserves of the mu, kapa and delta parts of the endorphin system.
This is her usual state. Many insoluble situations are resolved through some
kind of insight, that is, through stimulation of the sigma link of the endorphin
system. In these cases, she hears a voice. She shared with her relatives that
in some cases she hears a voice: soft, gentle, not aggressive, which helps her
solve her most difficult problems. Relatives said that she had gone crazy. I
went to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist said: “You are healthy!” Until we
figured out what was happening in her body, she thought she was hearing the
voice of God. In his life experience he has many such voice prompts. For
example: my heart hurt: the voice said that it was not the heart, but the
spine. I was looking for some kind of grass in the forest: a voice said, here
it is, this grass. The priest in the church treated her inappropriately: the
voice briefly explained the situation and reassured her. Thus, this is a rare
example of the weak links of the mu, capa and delta endorphin system, with an
overdeveloped sigma link of the endorphin system. I say “Buddha in a skirt” to
her.
By the way, an interesting observation is that this woman gives birth in a
state of ecstasy. She had two births and both were in a state of ecstasy more
vivid than during sex. She is ready to give birth and give birth.
Apparently, this mechanism should have been activated in all women on
earth, that is, all women should have given birth with a low level of pain and
in a state of ecstasy. But after Adam and Eve sinned, God said the following to
Eve: “...He said to the woman: “I will increase the pain of your pregnancy, you
will bear children with pain...” (Genesis 3:16). Now this is the common state
of all sinful women. They usually give birth with pain.
What diseases can an artificially strengthened endorphin system help cope
with?
It would be appropriate to pay attention to those diseases that, as a rule,
official medicine cannot cope with (some of them):
Panic attacks (suddenly occurring destabilization of cell membranes)
Vegetative-vascular dystonia
Vasomotor rhinosinusopathies
In principle, if the endorphin system is a regulator of regulatory systems,
then all dystonias, pathies and the like, all spherical diagnoses that are
quickly made but are almost never cured, should be corrected.
Endorphin system training:
General conditions for training all parts of the endorphin system:
Remove mechanisms that weaken the will
Creating conditions for the full restoration of neuropeptides
Creating conditions for partial sensory deprivation Creating conditions for
the harmonious development of all parts of the ES
In details:
— Complete refusal of strong and low-alcohol drinks (Mechanisms that weaken
the will);
— Sharp restrictions on television, radio, video (Creating conditions of
partial sensory deprivation);
— Complete rejection of energy drinks, stimulants of nervous activity
(mechanisms that impede the development of one’s own endorphin system);
— If possible, limit coffee and tea. Hypotonic patients can have no more
than 1 cup of one drink or another in the morning (mechanisms that prevent the
development of their own endorphin system);
— Forbid yourself to be nervous, sulk, whine, complain, get angry, sort
things out, make trouble, try to work on a mobile phone and solve work issues
(mechanisms that prevent the imbalance of the mu and kappa parts of the
endorphin system);
— Minimize the use of mobile phones and other means of communication
(creating conditions of partial sensory deprivation);
— Full sleep: complete sleep during treatment is considered to be sleep
under the following conditions (mechanisms that contribute to the restoration
of one’s own neuropeptides):
Sleep 5-10% more than your usual amount of sleep
Go to bed as close to sunset as possible
Wake up without an alarm, taking into account the amount of sleep needed
for recovery
Daytime and afternoon naps are advisable
- Walk at a leisurely pace for at least 2 hours a day (a mechanism that
involves all parts of the endorphinization system);
— Morning leisurely jogging (a mechanism that involves all parts of the
endorphinization system);
— Daily morning facial exercises in front of the mirror: grimaces, antics,
playing with facial muscles (conditioned feedback mechanism mainly for the
sigma link);
— Full water regime: the amount of water per day is calculated by the
formula: weight (in kg) * 30 = amount of water in ml/day that should be drunk
daily (mandatory background regime).
Specialized activities to strengthen the endorphin system:
This is something that you can apply in your practice.
Mu link:
The key to training is two factors: enduring pain and holding your breath.
Guasha therapy
Cupping massage
Vacuum cans
Breath holding training
Training for staying underwater with breath holding Training for scuba
diving without an apparatus and a breathing tube
Kappa link:
Pain associated with tissue damage.
Guasha therapy for moderate bruising
Cupping massage with bruises
Acupuncture
Cauterization (points E-36)
Muscle stretching with moderate to above moderate pain
Daily lying on the Lyapko or Kuznetsov applicator
Daily tapping on bones and joints until moderate pain occurs
Delta link:
Anything that promotes muscle growth.
Abdominal, back,
Push-ups, squats, pull-ups.
Exercises with weights
Sigma link:
Strengthening the mechanisms of associative connections
Positive emotional attitude
Contemplation of the beauty of the world: feeling beauty with all the
senses with a feeling of delight, satisfaction, happiness, etc.
Reading, studying, thinking, insight, epiphany, discovery Positive
emotional communication Mushroom picking, hiking, fishing
Tea ceremony... everything that requires the ability to hear and enjoy
silence
Conclusion
Any artificial violent extreme stimulation of the endorphin system will
require some kind of payment. This fee is not always acceptable and justified.
For example:
Energy techniques of manual therapy – herniated discs
Chemical stimulants of the system - dependence and addiction
Excessive muscle load (muscle pumping) – deformation of the individual’s
mentality
Derivational techniques – dependence, addiction, delusion
Thus, any imbalance, both in social life and in human health, is due to the
work of the endorphin system. But we are not here to solve the problems of all
humanity, we are talking about medicine.
The only reasonable acceptable option: harmonious, balanced development of
all parts of the endorphin system. This should be the basis of the work of a
doctor and health specialist who cares about the well-being of his patient.
This is the direction in which a specialist, an expert and his ward collaborate:
the client, the patient. This is how the most socially adapted individuals are
formed.
In the Wellness Lifestyle project, course healing is built on the basis of
the above-described mechanisms of the body’s endorphin system, taking into
account the individual physiological characteristics of a person.