Rewire Your Natural Happy Brain Chemicals: Dopamine, Serotonin, Oxytocin, Endoprhin

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

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free resources forrewiring your inner mammal 5-day Happy Chemical Jumpstart - opt in at InnerMammalInstitute.org

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Youtube video: Your Ups and Downs Are Natural …and also learned join Inner Mammal Institute’s Facebook discussion group

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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