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

Loretta@InnerMammalInstitute.orgcontact me

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