rewire your natural happy brain chemicals: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, endoprhin
TRANSCRIPT
Rewire Your Natural Happy Brain Chemicals
Loretta Breuning, PhD Inner Mammal Institute
dopamine endorphin oxytocin serotonin
When you see somethinggood for you, your brain releases
chemicals that feel good.dopamine endorphin oxytocin serotonin
These chemicals are inheritedfrom earlier animals
Happy chemicals motivate a mammal to go toward things that meet your survival needs
Unhappy chemicals alert a mammalto avoid obstacles
to your survival needs
But the mammal brain defines survival in a quirky way
It cares about the
survival of your genes
(even risking the survival of its bodyto promote the survival of its genes)
And it relies on neural pathways
built in youth
(even though our early experienceis not necessarily a good survival guide)
We are designed to survive by constantly seeking waysto stimulate happy chemicals and avoid cortisol
Our happy chemicals are not meantto flow all the time.
They’re meant to promote survival.
dopamine endorphin oxytocinserotonin
Let’s look closely atthe good feeling of
each happy chemical
And the reasons they dip after they spurt
Dopamineis the great feeling
that a reward is at hand
Dopaminereleases energy for the chase
Dopaminedroops
once you get the
reward, until
you set your sights on another
reward
Oxytocinis often called
the “love chemical”
Oxytocin is stimulated bytouch,trust,birth,and sex
Oxytocin droops when you’reseparated from the herd
This causes the feeling that your survival is threatened
Serotoninis the pleasure of social dominance
Serotoninis not
aggression but a calm sense that
“ I will get the
banana ”
Serotoninis soon reabsorbed, so we are always looking for ways to stimulate more
Endorphin masks pain so you can do whatit takes to survive
Endorphin is “endogenous morphine”
it’s meant for emergencies,not partying
Endorphin is triggered by vigorous exertion
Dopamine rewards you for the effort of steps toward your needs.
Serotonin rewards you for getting respect from others.
Oxytocin rewards you for getting the safety of social support.
Endorphin rewards you for action that protects injuries.
Our brain chemicals are controlled by neural pathways
built from life experience
They’re managedby brainstructures that all mammals have in common
Humanshave a bigstock of extra neurons to feedthis operating system with more information
The electricity in your brainflows like water in a storm,
finding the paths of least resistance
Electricity flows to your happy chemicals when something
resembles a past reward
Electricity flows to your cortisol when something
resembles past pain
Each mammal wires itself from its unique life experience
Mirror neurons help a young mammal wire in
the experience of its elders
Some neural pathways getmyelinated, and become
the superhighways of your brain.
Myelination peaks before age 8, and again in puberty
We all end up with some pathways we’d rather do without
New pathways are hard to build after your myelin years
It takes lots of repetition
If you repeat a new thought or behavior for 45 days,
you can build a new pathway
Like carving a new trail through the jungle
The trail disappears unless you slash it over and over untilit gets established
It’s not easy
1. The old path = survival, from your inner mammal’s perspective2. The new path doesn’t feel good at first, and requires a huge investment of energy3. The old highway is still there
But you will build a new circuit if you repeat a new behavior for 45 days without fail.
You’ll be glad you
did
We all face the world with quirky pathways
We struggle to know what is good for us, usingthe pathways we’ve got
We all have the powerto wire ourselves for new choices
One step at a time
Habits of aHappy BrainRetrain Your Brain to Boost Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin, and Endorphin
December 2015 pre-order
$11.83
free resources forrewiring your inner mammal 5-day Happy Chemical Jumpstart - opt in at InnerMammalInstitute.org
infographics: You Have Power Over Your Brain
Youtube video: Your Ups and Downs Are Natural …and also learned join Inner Mammal Institute’s Facebook discussion group
my blogs, Your Neurochemical Self thePositivePsychologyPeople;
book excerpts at InnerMammalInstitute.org
InnerMammalInstitute.org © 2015
Habits of a Happy Brainforthcoming December 2015
Meet Your Happy ChemicalsDopamine, Serotonin, Oxytocin, Endorphin
I, MammalWhy Your Brain Links Status and Happiness
Beyond CynicalTranscend Your Mammalian Negativity
my books
Dopamine
Dopamine makes you jump for joy when you reach a goal or get a toy. In nature, it helps find food when you need it. “Eureka, I got it!” A memory gets created. Dopamine causes expectations. Correct predictions bring good sensations. Dopamine feels great so you try to get more. It rewarded our ancestors trudging through gore. Cocaine triggers dopamine. Caution to all: Joy without goal-seeking leads to a fall. Dopamine flows when you feel like “I’ve done it.” When others do it for you, your dopamine will shun it.
Endorphin
Endorphin helps you mask the pain Of injuries that you sustain. Your ancestors escaped from predator attack ‘Cause endorphin felt good while they ran back. Endorphin feels great when it eases your pains. But only real pain makes it flow in your veins. Exercise triggers it, experts alert you. But first you must do it ‘til body parts hurt you. Endorphin receptors let opium in. So you feel like you’re safe without lifting a shin. Laughing and crying can trigger it too. But just for a moment– then the job’s through.
Oxytocin
Oxytocin makes you trust your mates. We love the bonds that it creates. Oxytocin flows when you stick with the herd. “Not me!” you may say, “I’m no bovine or bird.” But without social bonds, your brain feels alarm. This protected our ancestors from all kinds of harm. Though the herd will annoy you, the pack hurt you so. When you run with a pack, oxytocin will flow. “My pack is great and the other is nuts.” This thinking prevailed since the first mammal struts. You’re above all this foolishness, obviously. But it feels good when I trust you and you trust me.
Serotonin swells your chest with pride When you get respect and needn’t hide. Your brain feels good when you boost yourself higher. But when others do this, it provokes your ire. “I don’t care about status. It’s other who do.” But you spurt serotonin when the limelight’s on you. You are quite modest and don’t like to boast. But no serotonin flows when you coast. Status doesn’t depend on money. You can be clever or helpful or funny. But when others one-up you, your mind agitates. ‘Cause serotonin droops ‘til you lift your own weights.
Serotonin