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You Can Manage YourBrainChemicals
Loretta Graziano Breuning, PhDInner Mammal Institute
The psychology I learned in school didn’t explain the brain chemicals
that cause our ups and downs
“Nature is good.Our society is bad.”
We learned that
This takes
happiness as
a default state
that comes effortlessly
unless something goes wrong.
This wasn’t working for me soI searched for a better explanation
of human ups and downs.
I learned that happinesscomes from brain chemicals
inherited from earlier mammals.
Dopamine Serotonin Oxytocin Endorphin
When you know how these chemicals work in animals, the ups and downs of life make sense.
Dopamineis the great feeling
that a reward is at hand
Dopaminereleases energy for the chase
Oxytocin
is the good feeling we call “trust”
Oxytocinis stimulated by touch
and by safety in numbers
Serotoninis the pleasure of social dominance
Serotoninis not aggression but the calm sense that “I will get the banana”
Endorphin masks pain so you can do whatit takes to survive
Endorphintrickles with laughing, crying, and exercise
Our happy chemicals are not meant to be on all the time
They are controlled by brain structures inheritedfrom earlieranimals
Your mammal brain rewards you with a good-feeling chemical when you see a way to meet a survival need
It alarms you with a bad feeling when you see a survival threat
But it defines survival in a quirky way
It cares about the survival of your genes, and
it relies on neural pathways you built in youth
Ups and downs are inevitable
Happy chemicals droop after they spurt. You have to do more to get more.
dopamine oxytocin endorphinserotonin
Dopaminedroops once you get the reward
untilyou set your sights on another reward
Oxytocin droops when you’reseparated from the herd
and it feels like your survival is threatened
Serotonin is reabsorbed quickly sowe seek another social advantage
to stimulate more
Endorphin is “endogenous morphine”
It droops 20 min.
after an injury because painis vital info
A droop isnature’s reset button
A return to neutral makes you ready for the next opportunity to meet your needs
But we end up frustrated
Dopamine FrustrationDopamine quickly habituates to old rewards,
so you have to keep finding new rewards to enjoy it.
Oxytocin FrustrationFollowing the herd is annoying but leavingthe herd for greener pasture feels unsafe.
Serotonin Frustration
Your mammal brain cares about your statusas if your life depended on it, so a
status threat feels like a survival threat.
Endorphin FrustrationInflicting more pain on yourself to enjoy
more endorphin is a very bad survival strategy.
It helps to know that monkeys had similar frustrations 50 million years ago
Frustration is cortisol, the brain’s emergency broadcast system
Cortisol alerts youto scan for evidence of potential threat.
We can end up with a lotof cortisolbecause:
1. A big brain anticipates future threats instead of just responding to immediate threats.
2.
Disappointed expectations trigger cortisol
3.Disappointed social expectations trigger cortisol
Cortisol motivates us to do what it takes to stimulate happy chemicals
hence the excesseswell known to us all
You canturn on yourhappy chemicalsin new, moresustainable ways
Your happy chemicals are controlled by neural pathways built from early experience
You can wire ina new circuit if you repeat a new behavior every day for 45 days
It helps to know how your brain builds its pathways
You were born with billions of neuronsbut
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 keeps 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 wirein a new
behavior or thought pattern
to replace an old one
It feels bad at first
It’s like slashing a new trail in the forest
It feels unsafe because electricity has trouble flowing along unconnected neurons
And after much effort,the new trail disappears quickly
But if you use it every day for 45 days, a new trail gets established
Every day without fail
This is hard to do because the brain’s super-highways are paved in youth when
myelinisabundant
And because primal behaviors trigger more happy chemicals in the short run
And because frustrating trade-offsare part of a mammal’s life
• When you step towardgreener pasture (dopamine),you move away from the safety of social bonds (oxytocin).
• When you step towardsocial importance (serotonin) you may get disappointment (cortisol)or a strain on social bonds (oxytocin).
It’s nice to know that making tough choices is the job our brain evolved to do
It’s nice to know your survival is not actually threatened when cortisol makes it feel that way
You can feel goodwhen youdo thingsthat aregoodfor you
If you choose a new pattern carefully and repeat ituntil anew circuitis built
DopamineSerotoninOxytocinEndorphin
Plan your new circuits:
free resources from the Inner Mammal Institute
learn more aboutyour happy chemicals
podcastsvideosinfographicstraining certificationslide shows (incl this)5-day Happy-Chemical Jumpstart
www.InnerMammalInstitute.org
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
Books by L. Breuning, PhD
one more thing
Don’t compare yourself to others
Don’t compare yourself to others
Don’t compare yourself to others
Don’t compare yourself to others
Don’t compare yourself to others
Don’t compare yourself to others
Don’t compare yourself to others