1.
You Have Power
Over Your Brain
Loretta Graziano Breuning, PhD
Inner Mammal Institute
Rewire Yourself for More Happy Brain Chemicals

2.
You were born with billions of neurons
and
very few connections between them

3.
You built the connections
from life experience

4.
Each time something felt good or bad,
your brain made a connection

5.
Your good and bad feelings are brain chemicals
that pave your neural pathways.

6.
We all get
wired to
feel good in
ways that
felt good
before

7.
And
feel bad
in ways that
felt bad
before

8.
The electricity in your brain
flows like water in a storm,
finding the paths of least resistance

9.
Your electricity will keep flowing down
your old paths unless you build new ones

10.
Your old paths support
your valuable skills

11.
But we each have some paths
we’re better off without

12.
You can re-wire yourself to turn on
your happy brain chemicals in new ways, and
avoid some unhappy brain chemicals

13.
But it’s not easy

14.
It helps to
know how
your brain
works

15.
Your brain is designed to
promote survival, not to
make you happy all the time

16.
But it defines survival
in a quirky way

17.
It cares
about the
survival of
your genes

18.
Even if
you don’t
consciously
think that

19.
And it cares about whatever
felt good when you were young

20.
Because that’s when your brain
releases myelin,
which turns
neural trails
into
superhighways

21.
We all end up
with some
quirky circuits
we’d rather
not have

22.
You can build
a new circuit in
your brain if you
repeat a new
behavior every
day for 45 days

23.
That’s hard to do, like slashing
a new trail in the forest

24.
It’s hard to pass along unconnected
neurons, so it feels unsafe

25.
And after all that effort,
your new trail disappears quickly

26.
But a new trail gets established
if you use it every day for 45 days

27.
Every day without fail

28.
What new habit do
you want
to build?

29.
Dopamine Serotonin Oxytocin Endorphin
It helps to know what turns
on our happy brain chemicals

30.
It would be nice if they just
flowed all the time

31.
dopamine oxytocin endorphin
But each happy chemical
has a special job
serotonin

32.
It turns on in short spurts and
then it turns off

33.
You have to do more
to get more

34.
That’s why life feels like
a roller coaster so often

35.
Happy brain chemicals
reward you with a good feeling
when you meet a survival need

36.
All mammals have the same
happy brain chemicals

37.
controlled by the same
core brain
structures

38.
In animals, it’s easy to
understand what turns them on

39.
because
they don’t
cover up
their motives
with words

40.
Dopamine
is the great feeling
that a reward is at hand

41.
Dopamine
releases energy for the chase

42.
Dopamine
droops once you get the reward
until
you set
your sights
on another
reward

43.
How can you enjoy more
Dopamine in your life?

44.
Always have a
short-term goal
a long-term goal
and a medium-term goal
and be ready to replace with new goals

45.
Keep stepping toward your goals
and you will wire yourself
to expect
the good feeling
of dopamine

46.
Oxytocin
is the good feeling we call “trust”

47.
Oxytocin
is stimulated by touch
and by safety in numbers

48.
Oxytocin droops when you’re
separated from the herd
which makes
you feel like
your survival
is threatened

49.
What can you do to build
your Oxytocin circuits?

50.
Build trust in many
small steps

51.
We are not meant to release it
all the time because it’s not safe
to trust everyone always

52.
Serotonin
is the pleasure of
social dominance

53.
Serotonin
is not
aggression
but the
calm sense
that “I will
get the
banana”

54.
Serotonin is soon reabsorbed so we
keep seeking ways to stimulate more

55.
How can you enjoy more
Serotonin without doing things
that will hurt you in the long run?

56.
Focus on the advantages of
what you have instead of
on the advantages of others

57.
Endorphin masks pain
so you can do what
it takes to survive

58.
Endorphin is
“endogenous morphine”
it’s meant for
emergencies,
not partying

59.
Endorphin
trickles with laughing,
crying, and exercise

60.
• Make time to laugh
• Exercise
• Do not create pain

61.
Choose a new way to turn on your
dopamine, serotonin or oxytocin.
Repeat the new thought or
behavior every day for 45 days

62.
A new
pathway
will
build

63.
Each happy chemical spurt
paves a neural pathway that
helps turn it on in the future

64.
Each happy chemical
droops after it spurts

65.
When your happy chemicals droop,
you notice your unhappy chemical
cortisol
the stress chemical

66.
Your brain keeps looking for ways to
promote survival in order to feel good
dopamine endorphin oxytocin serotonin

67.
You can wire
yourself to
feel good
when you do
things that are
good for you

68.
But it’s not easy

69.
It’s as hard as carving a
new trail through the jungle

70.
You will
wish for
your old
road, even
if it led in
the wrong
direction

71.
Keep feeding a new
experience to your brain, and
your neurons will connect

72.
Your happy chemicals
will turn on in new ways

73.
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
learn more

74.
learn more
InnerMammalInstitute.org
dopamine serotonin oxytocin endorphin

75.
Questions
?

76.
more

77.
Nothing
is
wrong
with me

78.
Your
happy
chemicals
will droop
sometimes

79.
They’re just doing their job
Getting ready for new inputs

80.
I can create
pathways
that are
right for me

81.
you can make peace with your inner mammal

82.
for example

83.
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.

84.
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.

85.
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.

86.
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.
But these spurts don’t last.
When she thinks about a new goal, that gets her dopamine
going again.

87.
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.

88.
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.
But these spurts don’t last.
Soon he is thinking about a new goal, and that gets his
dopamine going again.

89.
one more thing

90.
Don’t compare
yourself to others

91.
Don’t compare
yourself to others

92.
Don’t compare
yourself to others

93.
Don’t compare
yourself to others

94.
Don’t compare
yourself to others

95.
Don’t compare
yourself to others

96.
Don’t compare
yourself to others