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You Can Manage Your Brain Chemicals Loretta Graziano Breuning, PhD Inner 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 so I searched for a better explanation of human ups and downs.
I learned that happiness comes 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.
Dopamine is the great feeling
 that a reward is at hand
Dopamine releases energy for the chase
Oxytocin is the good feeling we call “trust”
Oxytocin is stimulated by touch and by safety in numbers
Serotonin is the pleasure of social dominance
Serotonin is not aggression but the calm sense that “I will get the banana”
Endorphin masks pain so you can do what
 it takes to survive
Endorphin trickles with laughing, crying, and exercise
Our happy chemicals are not meant to be on all the time
They are controlled by
 brain structures inherited from earlier animals
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 bui...
Ups and downs are inevitable
Happy chemicals droop after they spurt. You have to do more to get more. dopamine oxytocin endorphinserotonin
Dopamine droops once you get the reward until
 you set your sights on another reward
Oxytocin droops when you’re separated from the herd and it feels like your survival is threatened
Serotonin is reabsorbed quickly so we seek another social advantage to stimulate more
Endorphin is
 “endogenous morphine” It droops 20 min. after an injury because pain is vital info
A droop is nature’s reset button A return to neutral makes you ready for the next opportunity to meet your needs
But we end up frustrated
Dopamine Frustration Dopamine quickly habituates to old rewards, so you have to keep finding new rewards to enjoy it.
Oxytocin Frustration Following the herd is annoying but leaving the herd for greener pasture feels unsafe.
Serotonin Frustration Your mammal brain cares about your status as if your life depended on it, so a status threat feels l...
Endorphin Frustration Inflicting 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 you to scan for evidence of potential threat.
We can end up with a lot of cortisol because:
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 excesses well known to us all
You can turn on your happy chemicals in new, more sustainable ways
Your happy chemicals are controlled by neural pathways built from early experience
You can wire in a 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 neurons but very few connections between them
You built the connections from life experience
Each time something felt good or bad, your brain made a connection
Your good and bad feelings are brain chemicals that pave your neural pathways.
We all get wired to feel good in ways that felt good before
And feel bad in ways that felt bad before
The electricity in your brain flows 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 wire in 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 myelin is abundant
And because primal behaviors trigger more happy chemicals in the short run
And because frustrating trade-offs are part of a mammal’s life •When you step toward
 greener pasture (dopamine),
 you mov...
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 good when you do things that are good for you
If you choose a new pattern carefully and repeat it until a new circuit is built
Dopamine Serotonin Oxytocin Endorphin Plan your new circuits:
free resources from the Inner Mammal Institute learn more about your happy chemicals podcasts videos infographics training...
Habits of a Happy Brain Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin Beyond Cynical
 Trans...
Loretta@InnerMammalInstitute.org contact 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
You can manage your brain chemicals
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You can manage your brain chemicals

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It would be nice if our happy chemicals just flowed all the time, but that's not how they're designed to work. When you know the job they do in animals, you know why they turn on in humans, and why they're not on all the time. Here's how to rewire yourself to stimulate happy chemicals and avoid stress chemicals. And more important, how to accept the brain you've got. It's not easy being a mammal!

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You can manage your brain chemicals

  1. 1. You Can Manage Your Brain Chemicals Loretta Graziano Breuning, PhD Inner Mammal Institute
  2. 2. The psychology I learned in school didn’t explain the brain chemicals that cause our ups and downs
  3. 3. “Nature is good. Our society is bad.” We learned that
  4. 4. This takes happiness as a default state that comes effortlessly unless something goes wrong.
  5. 5. This wasn’t working for me so I searched for a better explanation of human ups and downs.
  6. 6. I learned that happiness comes from brain chemicals inherited from earlier mammals. Dopamine Serotonin Oxytocin Endorphin
  7. 7. When you know how these chemicals work in animals, the ups and downs of life make sense.
  8. 8. Dopamine is the great feeling
 that a reward is at hand
  9. 9. Dopamine releases energy for the chase
  10. 10. Oxytocin is the good feeling we call “trust”
  11. 11. Oxytocin is stimulated by touch and by safety in numbers
  12. 12. Serotonin is the pleasure of social dominance
  13. 13. Serotonin is not aggression but the calm sense that “I will get the banana”
  14. 14. Endorphin masks pain so you can do what
 it takes to survive
  15. 15. Endorphin trickles with laughing, crying, and exercise
  16. 16. Our happy chemicals are not meant to be on all the time
  17. 17. They are controlled by
 brain structures inherited from earlier animals
  18. 18. Your mammal brain rewards you with a good-feeling chemical when you see a way to meet a survival need
  19. 19. It alarms you with a bad feeling when you see a survival threat
  20. 20. 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
  21. 21. Ups and downs are inevitable
  22. 22. Happy chemicals droop after they spurt. You have to do more to get more. dopamine oxytocin endorphinserotonin
  23. 23. Dopamine droops once you get the reward until
 you set your sights on another reward
  24. 24. Oxytocin droops when you’re separated from the herd and it feels like your survival is threatened
  25. 25. Serotonin is reabsorbed quickly so we seek another social advantage to stimulate more
  26. 26. Endorphin is
 “endogenous morphine” It droops 20 min. after an injury because pain is vital info
  27. 27. A droop is nature’s reset button A return to neutral makes you ready for the next opportunity to meet your needs
  28. 28. But we end up frustrated
  29. 29. Dopamine Frustration Dopamine quickly habituates to old rewards, so you have to keep finding new rewards to enjoy it.
  30. 30. Oxytocin Frustration Following the herd is annoying but leaving the herd for greener pasture feels unsafe.
  31. 31. Serotonin Frustration Your mammal brain cares about your status as if your life depended on it, so a status threat feels like a survival threat.
  32. 32. Endorphin Frustration Inflicting more pain on yourself to enjoy more endorphin is a very bad survival strategy.
  33. 33. It helps to know that monkeys had similar frustrations 50 million years ago
  34. 34. Frustration is cortisol, the brain’s emergency broadcast system
  35. 35. Cortisol alerts you to scan for evidence of potential threat.
  36. 36. We can end up with a lot of cortisol because:
  37. 37. 1. A big brain anticipates future threats instead of just responding to immediate threats.
  38. 38. 2. Disappointed expectations trigger cortisol
  39. 39. 3. Disappointed social expectations trigger cortisol
  40. 40. Cortisol motivates us to do what it takes to stimulate happy chemicals hence the excesses well known to us all
  41. 41. You can turn on your happy chemicals in new, more sustainable ways
  42. 42. Your happy chemicals are controlled by neural pathways built from early experience
  43. 43. You can wire in a new circuit if you repeat a new behavior every day for 45 days
  44. 44. It helps to know how your brain builds its pathways
  45. 45. You were born with billions of neurons but very few connections between them
  46. 46. You built the connections from life experience
  47. 47. Each time something felt good or bad, your brain made a connection
  48. 48. Your good and bad feelings are brain chemicals that pave your neural pathways.
  49. 49. We all get wired to feel good in ways that felt good before
  50. 50. And feel bad in ways that felt bad before
  51. 51. The electricity in your brain flows like water in a storm, finding the paths of least resistance
  52. 52. Your electricity keeps flowing down your old paths unless you build new ones
  53. 53. Your old paths support your valuable skills
  54. 54. But we each have some paths we’re better off without
  55. 55. You can wire in a new behavior or thought pattern to replace an old one
  56. 56. It feels bad at first
  57. 57. It’s like slashing a new trail in the forest
  58. 58. It feels unsafe because electricity has trouble flowing along unconnected neurons
  59. 59. And after much effort, the new trail disappears quickly
  60. 60. But if you use it every day for 45 days, a new trail gets established
  61. 61. Every day without fail
  62. 62. This is hard to do because the brain’s super-highways are paved in youth when myelin is abundant
  63. 63. And because primal behaviors trigger more happy chemicals in the short run
  64. 64. And because frustrating trade-offs are part of a mammal’s life •When you step toward
 greener pasture (dopamine),
 you move away from the safety
 of social bonds (oxytocin). •When you step toward
 social importance (serotonin) 
 you may get disappointment (cortisol)
 or a strain on social bonds (oxytocin).
  65. 65. It’s nice to know that making tough choices is the job our brain evolved to do
  66. 66. It’s nice to know your survival is not actually threatened when cortisol makes it feel that way
  67. 67. You can feel good when you do things that are good for you
  68. 68. If you choose a new pattern carefully and repeat it until a new circuit is built
  69. 69. Dopamine Serotonin Oxytocin Endorphin Plan your new circuits:
  70. 70. free resources from the Inner Mammal Institute learn more about your happy chemicals podcasts videos infographics training certification slide shows (incl this) 5-day Happy-Chemical Jumpstart www.InnerMammalInstitute.org
  71. 71. Habits of a Happy Brain Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin Beyond Cynical
 Transcend Your Mammalian Negativity I, Mammal
 Why Your Brain Links Status
 and Happiness Books by L. Breuning, PhD
  72. 72. Loretta@InnerMammalInstitute.org contact me
  73. 73. one more thing
  74. 74. Don’t compare yourself to others
  75. 75. Don’t compare yourself to others
  76. 76. Don’t compare yourself to others
  77. 77. Don’t compare yourself to others
  78. 78. Don’t compare yourself to others
  79. 79. Don’t compare yourself to others
  80. 80. Don’t compare yourself to others

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