The short answer is yes, human growth hormone treatment (HGH treatment) may be helpful if you have anxiety or depression.
Human growth hormone is a hormone made by the pituitary gland that controls body growth and development, but it also has an impact on mood and cognitive functioning as well. Human growth hormone can be prescribed to those with a growth hormone deficiency to help bring their levels back to a normal range.
For those that have a growth hormone deficiency, growth hormone therapy may be helpful in supporting mental health.
Studies show that HGH therapy may help to balance mood, enhance mood, boost concentration, and help find more mental clarity. For those with anxiety and depression, this help with the symptoms of depression and anxiety could be very helpful in feeling more mentally clear.
It should be noted that while human growth hormone may be helpful with mental health symptoms it should not be the only method to help your anxiety and/or depression. Therapy such as psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, or interpersonal therapy, prescription antidepressant medications like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and positive lifestyle changes are all critical to addressing mental health conditions like major depressive disorder or panic disorder. More information on this is provided below. Consult with your health care provider if you have questions about how to get professional help for mental illness.
How Else Can HGH Help?
In addition to human growth hormone’s support of the mind, it also has other health benefits as well. Most commonly HGH is praised for its ability to boost muscle mass, support fat loss, and boost energy levels. All of these benefits can be great for someone that is struggling with physical issues due to an HGH deficiency.
Boost Muscle Mass
The human growth hormone’s main function is to help the body grow and develop. Part of this is to support the muscles to grow and gain strength. As you age your levels of HGH naturally decline and can even get to a point of deficiency. When this occurs you may notice a decline in muscle mass and strength.
When you begin taking HGH you may begin to notice more muscle mass and strength building. This is especially true when you are pairing it with exercise to help build your muscles as well. Boosting your muscle mass can be helpful in feeling healthier and stronger in everyday life as well as boosting your self-confidence.
Support Fat Loss
With the same decline in HGH with age, you may also begin to notice an increase in fat deposits around the body, especially in the abdominal area. It can also be more difficult to get rid of because your metabolism is not the same as it used to be and your hormones may be working against you.
Human growth hormone can help to support fat loss since one of its functions is to decrease fat deposits around the body. This is a benefit to decreasing the fat in the body to help prevent future health concerns and support your quality of life.
What Are Other Ways To Help Manage Anxiety and Depression?
Anxiety and depression often go hand in hand and can happen at the same time, but they can also happen independently of one another. The treatments and techniques for helping anxiety and depression are often very similar. Talk therapy, meditation, exercise, and medication can all be helpful ways to manage anxiety and depression.
Talk Therapy
Talk therapy is probably the most well-known option when it comes to treatment for anxiety and/ or depression. In talk therapy that you will talk to a licensed therapist about your anxiety or depression and things that may be causing it. You can talk through events in your life that are currently happening, that have happened, or you are anticipating to happen and how you are feeling about them.
The therapist will be able to guide you through exercises and conversations to help you navigate your problems and hopefully come to a place of peace. Talk therapy takes dedication, but over time may be able to help you feel better overall.
Meditation
Meditation is another option for helping you to deal with your anxiety or depression. Meditation can be a great tool to help you center yourself and calm your emotions. Meditation can help you to recognize when you are feeling a certain way, acknowledge it, and move on. There are many different meditation exercises and it doesn’t always have to be you sitting in silence and thinking about nothing.
A great meditation exercise is to complete a body scan from your toes to your head. Think about each part of the body and how it feels to be it, such as how it feels to have your feet on the floor or the way it feels to have the chair supporting underneath your legs. Exercises like these will help to get you out of your head and better handle feelings of worry or distress as they come up, especially when it comes to anxiety attacks and panic attacks.
Regular Exercise
Good old-fashioned exercise is another tried and true method of supporting you through anxiety or depression. The role of exercise for mental health is not exactly understood, but the correlation between the two is strong.
Take some time to go on a walk to relieve restlessness, or enjoy shared hobbies with your friends like rock climbing, yoga, or just swimming laps together at the local pool.
Whatever it is trying to get your heart pumping can truly support you in feeling better, even if it is just a little bit anything is welcome.
Medication
Medication for your anxiety or depression is usually part of the first line of defense — medications can be very helpful in supporting you by balancing the chemicals in your brain responsible for mood.
If you are prescribed medication by your healthcare provider you should not feel any shame in this. There may be a stigma around mental health concerns, but it should be taken just as seriously as if you broke your leg and needed antibiotics or pain medicine.
Conclusion
Mental health concerns like anxiety and depression can be life-altering and should be taken seriously. Many people deal with anxiety and depression and thankfully there are solutions to helping them feel better.
Human growth hormone may help with anxiety and depression, but only if you have an HGH deficiency.
Other techniques such as meditation, exercise, medication, and talk therapy can all be helpful in managing anxiety and/or depression.
If you are dealing with anxiety or depression, do not do it alone and reach out to someone you know and trust, or seek professional help.
Resources:
Anxiety disorders – Symptoms and causes
Impact of growth hormone (GH) therapy on quality of life along the lifespan of GH-treated patients