You Have Power Over Your Brain

You Have PowerOver Your Brain

Loretta Graziano Breuning, PhDInner Mammal Institute

Rewire Yourself for More Happy Brain Chemicals

You were born with billions of neuronsand

very few connections between them

You built the connectionsfrom life experience

Each time something felt good or bad, your brain made a connection

Your good and bad feelings are brain chemicalsthat pave your neural pathways.

We all get wired to

feel good in ways that felt good

before

Andfeel bad

in ways that felt bad before

The electricity in your brainflows like water in a storm,

finding the paths of least resistance

Your electricity will keep flowing down your old paths unless you build new ones

Your old paths support your valuable skills

But we each have some paths we’re better off without

You can re-wire yourself to turn onyour happy brain chemicals in new ways, and

avoid some unhappy brain chemicals

But it’s not easy

It helps to know how your brain

works

Your brain is designed to promote survival, not to

make you happy all the time

But it defines survival in a quirky way

It cares about the

survival of your genes

Even ifyou don’t

consciously think that

And it cares about whatever felt good when you were young

Because that’s when your brain releases myelin,which turnsneural trailsintosuperhighways

We all end up with some quirky circuits we’d rather not have

You can builda new circuit in your brain if you repeat a new behavior every day for 45 days

That’s hard to do, like slashing a new trail in the forest

It’s hard to pass along unconnected neurons, so it feels unsafe

And after all that effort,your new trail disappears quickly

But a new trail gets establishedif you use it every day for 45 days

Every day without fail

What new habit do you wantto build?

Dopamine Serotonin Oxytocin Endorphin

It helps to know what turns on our happy brain chemicals

It would be nice if they justflowed all the time

dopamine oxytocin endorphin

But each happy chemicalhas a special job

serotonin

It turns on in short spurts and then it turns off

You have to do more to get more

That’s why life feels likea roller coaster so often

Happy brain chemicalsreward you with a good feeling when you meet a survival need

All mammals have the same happy brain chemicals

controlled by the same core brainstructures

In animals, it’s easy to understand what turns them on

becausethey don’tcover uptheir motiveswith words

Dopamineis the great feeling

that a reward is at hand

Dopaminereleases energy for the chase

Dopaminedroops once you get the reward

untilyou set your sights on another reward

How can you enjoy more Dopamine in your life?

Always have a

short-term goal

a long-term goal

and a medium-term goal

and be ready to replace with new goals

Keep stepping toward your goals and you will wire yourselfto expectthe good feelingof dopamine

Oxytocinis the good feeling we call “trust”

Oxytocinis stimulated by touch

and by safety in numbers

Oxytocin droops when you’reseparated from the herd

which makes you feel like your survival is threatened

What can you do to build your Oxytocin circuits?

Build trust in many small steps

We are not meant to release itall the time because it’s not safe

to trust everyone always

Serotoninis the pleasure of social dominance

Serotoninis not aggression but the calm sense that “I will get the banana”

Serotonin is soon reabsorbed so wekeep seeking ways to stimulate more

How can you enjoy more Serotonin without doing things

that will hurt you in the long run?

Focus on the advantages of what you have instead of

on the advantages of others

Endorphin masks pain so you can do whatit takes to survive

Endorphin is “endogenous morphine”

it’s meant for emergencies,not partying

Endorphintrickles with laughing, crying, and exercise

• Make time to laugh• Exercise• Do not create pain

Choose a new way to turn on yourdopamine, serotonin or oxytocin.

Repeat the new thought or behavior every day for 45 days

A new pathway

will build

Each happy chemical spurtpaves a neural pathway that helps turn it on in the future

Each happy chemical droops after it spurts

When your happy chemicals droop,you notice your unhappy chemical

cortisol the stress chemical

Your brain keeps looking for ways to promote survival in order to feel good

dopamine endorphin oxytocin serotonin

You can wire yourself to feel good when you do things that are good for you

But it’s not easy

It’s as hard as carving a new trail through the jungle

You will wish for your old road, even if it led in the wrong direction

Keep feeding a new experience to your brain, and

your neurons will connect

Your happy chemicals will turn on in new ways

Habits of a Happy BrainRetrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin

Beyond CynicalTranscend Your Mammalian Negativity

I, MammalWhy Your Brain Links Status and Happiness

learn more

learn more

InnerMammalInstitute.org

dopamine serotonin oxytocin endorphin

Questions ?

more

Nothing is wrongwith me

Your happy chemicals will droopsometimes

They’re just doing their job

Getting ready for new inputs

I can createpathways that areright for me

you can make peace with your inner mammal

for example

Vinayak sits all day, and wants to take better care of his body. He thinks walking one mile a day will make him happy, and decides to build the habit.On Day 2 he is not happy about it. He would rather do other things with his time and energy.

But he decides to honor his promise to himself, so he does it every day for 45 days. At the end, he looks forward to his walk and it feels so normal that he cannot imagine ever spending a day without walking.

Vinayak enjoys dopamine when he steps toward meeting his needs.

He enjoys serotonin when he feels pride in his accomplishment.

He enjoys oxytocin when he walks with a friend.

But these spurts don’t last.

Soon he is thinking about a new goal, and when he takes a step, his dopamine flows.

Amana wants to develop her career skills, but she never actually takes the steps. She decides to build a habit of spending a half hour each day building a career skill. At first, it’s hard work. She feels frustrated and wants to avoid that bad feeling by forgetting her goal.

But she decides to honor her promise to herself, so she does it every day for 45 days. At the end, she loves her new skill and she loves her power to learn, so she keeps doing it.

Amana enjoys dopamine when she steps toward meeting her needs.

She enjoys serotonin when she feels pride in her accomplishment.

She enjoys oxytocin when she talks to others about career skills.


When she thinks about a new goal, that gets her dopamine going again.

Anand would like more harmony with friends and family. He decides to spend five minutes a day communicating his sincere feelings, and five minutes a day listening to the sincere feelings of others. On Day 2, it’s uncomfortable and he starts to hate the idea.

But he decides to honor his promise to himself, so he does it every day for 45 days. At the end, he is surprised to find that he looks forward to these difficult conversations. He feels like a different person.

Anand enjoys dopamine when he steps toward meeting his needs.

He enjoys serotonin when he feels pride in his communication skills.

He enjoys oxytocin when he trusts others and enjoys their trust.


Soon he is thinking about a new goal, and that gets his dopamine going again.

one more thing

Don’t compare yourself to others







You Have Power Over Your Brain

Self Improvement