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Rewire Your Natural

Happy Brain Chemicals
Loretta Breuning, PhD
Inner Mammal Institute
dopamine endorphin oxytocin serotonin
dopamine endorphin oxytocinserotonin
It would be nice if our happy
chemicals just flowed all the time
But they are designed to do a
job, not to flow for no reason
The job of each happy chemical is
obvious in animals, from whom we’ve
inherited these chemicals
1. The job of each happy chemical in the state of nature
2. The neural pathways that control these chemicals
3. How to create new pathways to enjoy more of them
Let’s see:
Part 1
The mammalian operating system
Our brain chemicals
are managed
by brain

structures

that all
mammals
have in common
Humans
have a big
stock of extra
neurons to feed
this operating
system with more
information
When you see something

good for you, your brain releases
chemicals that feel good.
dopamine endorphin oxytocin serotonin
Happy chemicals motivate a
mammal to go TOWARD rewards
that promote their survival
Unhappy chemicals (cortisol) 

alert a mammal to AVOID obstacles
to their survival
But the mammal brain defines
survival in 2 quirky ways
1.
It cares
about the
survival of
your
genes
(even risking the survival of its body
to promote the survival of its genes)
2.
It relies
on neural
pathways
built in youth
(even though our early experience is
not necessarily a good survival guide)
This is why our chemicals
flow for reasons that are
hard to make sense of
To complicate
things further,
each flow is
brief and you
have to do more
to get more
This is why we keep seeking
happy chemicals as if it’s a
matter of life and death
dopamine endorphin oxytocinserotonin
Let’s look at
the specific good feeling

of each happy chemical
And the reasons they dip
after they spurt
Dopamine
is the great feeling

that a reward is at hand
Dopamine
releases energy for the chase
When you expect to meet a need,

your Dopamina is released
Dopamine
droops
once you
get the
reward,
until

you set
your sights
on another
reward
To stimulate dopamine,
keep taking steps toward your needs
Oxytocin
is often called
the “love chemical”
Oxytocin is stimulated by
touch,

trust,
birth,

and

sex
Oxytocin droops when you’re
separated from the herd
This causes
the feeling
that your
survival is
threatened
To stimulate oxytocin, keep
taking small steps toward trust
Serotonin
is the pleasure of
social dominance
Serotonin
is not
aggression
but a calm
sense that
“ I
will get the
banana ”
Serotonin

is soon
reabsorbed,

so we are
always looking
for ways to
stimulate more
To stimulate serotonin, focus on
your own strength instead of
the strength of others
Endorphin masks pain
so you can do what

it takes to survive
Endorphin is

“endogenous morphine”
it’s meant for
emergencies,
not partying
Endorphin is triggered
by vigorous exertion
Dopamine rewards you for the effort
of steps toward your needs.
Serotonin rewards you for getting
respect from others.
Oxytocin rewards you for getting the
safety of social support.
Endorphin rewards you for action
that protects injuries.
Part 2
The Neural Pathways that
control our happy chemicals
Our brain chemicals are
controlled by neural pathways
built from life experience
We are born
with billions
of neurons
but no
connections
between them
Connections build each
time our chemicals flow
The pathways built from
experience have more power
than you might imagine
The electricity in your brain

flows like water in a storm,

finding the paths of least resistance
Electricity flows to your

happy chemicals when something
resembles a past reward
Electricity flows to your
cortisol when something
resembles past pain
Mirror neurons help a
young mammal wire in
the experience of its elders
Some neural pathways get
myelinated, and become
the superhighways of your brain.
Myelination peaks before
age 8, and again in puberty
We all face the world with
some quirky pathways
We struggle
to know what
is good for
us, using
the pathways
we’ve got
We all end up with some
pathways we’d rather do without
Part 3
How to build new neural
pathways to enjoy more
happy chemicals in new ways
New
pathways are
hard to build
after your
myelin years
It takes lots of repetition
If you repeat a new thought
or behavior for 45 days
a new
path
will
build
Like carving a new trail through the jungle
The trail disappears unless
you slash it over and over
until it gets established
It’s
not
easy
1. The old path = survival,

from your inner mammal’s perspective
2. The new path doesn’t feel good at first,
and requires a huge investment of energy
3. The old highway is still there
3 Challenges
But you will
build a new
circuit if
you repeat
a new
behavior
for 45 days
without fail
You’ll be
glad you
did
We all have
the power
to wire
ourselves
for new
choices
One step at a time
Habits of a
Happy Brain
Retrain Your Brain to Boost
Your Serotonin, Dopamine,
Oxytocin, and Endorphin
December 2015
pre-order
$11.83
free resources for

rewiring your inner mammal
5-day Happy Chemical Jumpstart - opt in at InnerMammalInstitute.org
infographics: You Have Power Over Your Brain
Youtube video:

Your Ups and Downs Are Natural …and also learned


join Inner Mammal Institute’s Facebook discussion group
Twitter
my blogs, Your Neurochemical Self
thePositivePsychologyPeople;
book excerpts at InnerMammalInstitute.org
InnerMammalInstitute.org © 2015
Habits of a Happy Brain
forthcoming December 2015
Meet Your Happy Chemicals
Dopamine, Serotonin, Oxytocin, Endorphin
I, Mammal

Why Your Brain Links Status and Happiness
Beyond Cynical

Transcend Your Mammalian Negativity
my books
Dopamine
Dopamine makes you jump for joy
when you reach a goal or get a toy.
Innature,ithelpsfindfoodwhenyouneedit.
“Eureka, I got it!” A memory gets created.
Dopamine causes expectations.
Correct predictions bring good sensations.
Dopamine feels great so you try to get more.
It rewarded our ancestors trudging through gore.
Cocaine triggers dopamine. Caution to all:
Joy without goal-seeking leads to a fall.
Dopamine flows when you feel like “I’ve done it.”
Whenothersdoitforyou,yourdopaminewillshunit.
Endorphin
Endorphin helps you mask the pain
Of injuries that you sustain.
Yourancestorsescapedfrompredatorattack
‘Causeendorphinfelt goodwhile theyranback.
Endorphin feels great when it eases your pains.
But only real pain makes it flow in your veins.
Exercise triggers it, experts alert you.
But first you must do it ‘til body parts hurt you.
Endorphin receptors let opium in.
So you feel like you’re safe without lifting a shin.
Laughing and crying can trigger it too.
But just for a moment– then the job’s through.
Oxytocin
Oxytocin makes you trust your mates.
We love the bonds that it creates.
Oxytocinflowswhenyoustickwiththeherd.
“Notme!” youmaysay,“I’mnobovine orbird.”
But without social bonds, your brain feels alarm.
This protected our ancestors from all kinds of harm.
Thoughtheherdwillannoyyou,thepackhurt you so.
When you run with a pack, oxytocin will flow.
“My pack is great and the other is nuts.”
This thinking prevailed since the first mammal struts.
You’re above all this foolishness, obviously.
But it feels good when I trust you and you trust me.
Serotonin swells your chest with pride
When you get respect and needn’t hide.
Yourbrainfeelsgoodwhenyouboostyourselfhigher.
But when others do this, it provokes your ire.
“I don’t care about status. It’s other who do.”
Butyouspurtserotoninwhenthelimelight’s on you.
You are quite modest and don’t like to boast.
But no serotonin flows when you coast.
Status doesn’t depend on money.
You can be clever or helpful or funny.
But when others one-up you, your mind agitates.
‘Cause serotonin droops ‘til you lift your own weights.
Serotonin

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Rewire your natural happy brain chemicals: Dopamine, Serotonin, Oxytocin, Endorphin

  • 1. Rewire Your Natural
 Happy Brain Chemicals Loretta Breuning, PhD Inner Mammal Institute dopamine endorphin oxytocin serotonin
  • 2. dopamine endorphin oxytocinserotonin It would be nice if our happy chemicals just flowed all the time
  • 3. But they are designed to do a job, not to flow for no reason
  • 4. The job of each happy chemical is obvious in animals, from whom we’ve inherited these chemicals
  • 5. 1. The job of each happy chemical in the state of nature 2. The neural pathways that control these chemicals 3. How to create new pathways to enjoy more of them Let’s see:
  • 6. Part 1 The mammalian operating system
  • 7. Our brain chemicals are managed by brain
 structures
 that all mammals have in common
  • 8. Humans have a big stock of extra neurons to feed this operating system with more information
  • 9. When you see something
 good for you, your brain releases chemicals that feel good. dopamine endorphin oxytocin serotonin
  • 10. Happy chemicals motivate a mammal to go TOWARD rewards that promote their survival
  • 11. Unhappy chemicals (cortisol) 
 alert a mammal to AVOID obstacles to their survival
  • 12. But the mammal brain defines survival in 2 quirky ways
  • 13. 1. It cares about the survival of your genes (even risking the survival of its body to promote the survival of its genes)
  • 14. 2. It relies on neural pathways built in youth (even though our early experience is not necessarily a good survival guide)
  • 15. This is why our chemicals flow for reasons that are hard to make sense of
  • 16. To complicate things further, each flow is brief and you have to do more to get more
  • 17. This is why we keep seeking happy chemicals as if it’s a matter of life and death
  • 18. dopamine endorphin oxytocinserotonin Let’s look at the specific good feeling
 of each happy chemical
  • 19. And the reasons they dip after they spurt
  • 20. Dopamine is the great feeling
 that a reward is at hand
  • 22. When you expect to meet a need,
 your Dopamina is released
  • 23. Dopamine droops once you get the reward, until
 you set your sights on another reward
  • 24. To stimulate dopamine, keep taking steps toward your needs
  • 25. Oxytocin is often called the “love chemical”
  • 26. Oxytocin is stimulated by touch,
 trust, birth,
 and
 sex
  • 27. Oxytocin droops when you’re separated from the herd This causes the feeling that your survival is threatened
  • 28. To stimulate oxytocin, keep taking small steps toward trust
  • 29. Serotonin is the pleasure of social dominance
  • 30. Serotonin is not aggression but a calm sense that “ I will get the banana ”
  • 31. Serotonin
 is soon reabsorbed,
 so we are always looking for ways to stimulate more
  • 32. To stimulate serotonin, focus on your own strength instead of the strength of others
  • 33. Endorphin masks pain so you can do what
 it takes to survive
  • 34. Endorphin is
 “endogenous morphine” it’s meant for emergencies, not partying
  • 35. Endorphin is triggered by vigorous exertion
  • 36. Dopamine rewards you for the effort of steps toward your needs. Serotonin rewards you for getting respect from others. Oxytocin rewards you for getting the safety of social support. Endorphin rewards you for action that protects injuries.
  • 37. Part 2 The Neural Pathways that control our happy chemicals
  • 38. Our brain chemicals are controlled by neural pathways built from life experience
  • 39. We are born with billions of neurons but no connections between them
  • 40. Connections build each time our chemicals flow
  • 41. The pathways built from experience have more power than you might imagine
  • 42. The electricity in your brain
 flows like water in a storm,
 finding the paths of least resistance
  • 43. Electricity flows to your
 happy chemicals when something resembles a past reward
  • 44. Electricity flows to your cortisol when something resembles past pain
  • 45. Mirror neurons help a young mammal wire in the experience of its elders
  • 46. Some neural pathways get myelinated, and become the superhighways of your brain.
  • 47. Myelination peaks before age 8, and again in puberty
  • 48. We all face the world with some quirky pathways
  • 49. We struggle to know what is good for us, using the pathways we’ve got
  • 50. We all end up with some pathways we’d rather do without
  • 51. Part 3 How to build new neural pathways to enjoy more happy chemicals in new ways
  • 52. New pathways are hard to build after your myelin years
  • 53. It takes lots of repetition
  • 54. If you repeat a new thought or behavior for 45 days a new path will build
  • 55. Like carving a new trail through the jungle
  • 56. The trail disappears unless you slash it over and over until it gets established
  • 58. 1. The old path = survival,
 from your inner mammal’s perspective 2. The new path doesn’t feel good at first, and requires a huge investment of energy 3. The old highway is still there 3 Challenges
  • 59. But you will build a new circuit if you repeat a new behavior for 45 days without fail
  • 61. We all have the power to wire ourselves for new choices
  • 62. One step at a time
  • 63. Habits of a Happy Brain Retrain Your Brain to Boost Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin, and Endorphin December 2015 pre-order $11.83
  • 64. free resources for
 rewiring your inner mammal 5-day Happy Chemical Jumpstart - opt in at InnerMammalInstitute.org infographics: You Have Power Over Your Brain Youtube video:
 Your Ups and Downs Are Natural …and also learned 
 join Inner Mammal Institute’s Facebook discussion group Twitter my blogs, Your Neurochemical Self thePositivePsychologyPeople; book excerpts at InnerMammalInstitute.org InnerMammalInstitute.org © 2015
  • 65. Habits of a Happy Brain forthcoming December 2015 Meet Your Happy Chemicals Dopamine, Serotonin, Oxytocin, Endorphin I, Mammal
 Why Your Brain Links Status and Happiness Beyond Cynical
 Transcend Your Mammalian Negativity my books
  • 66. Dopamine Dopamine makes you jump for joy when you reach a goal or get a toy. Innature,ithelpsfindfoodwhenyouneedit. “Eureka, I got it!” A memory gets created. Dopamine causes expectations. Correct predictions bring good sensations. Dopamine feels great so you try to get more. It rewarded our ancestors trudging through gore. Cocaine triggers dopamine. Caution to all: Joy without goal-seeking leads to a fall. Dopamine flows when you feel like “I’ve done it.” Whenothersdoitforyou,yourdopaminewillshunit.
  • 67. Endorphin Endorphin helps you mask the pain Of injuries that you sustain. Yourancestorsescapedfrompredatorattack ‘Causeendorphinfelt goodwhile theyranback. Endorphin feels great when it eases your pains. But only real pain makes it flow in your veins. Exercise triggers it, experts alert you. But first you must do it ‘til body parts hurt you. Endorphin receptors let opium in. So you feel like you’re safe without lifting a shin. Laughing and crying can trigger it too. But just for a moment– then the job’s through.
  • 68. Oxytocin Oxytocin makes you trust your mates. We love the bonds that it creates. Oxytocinflowswhenyoustickwiththeherd. “Notme!” youmaysay,“I’mnobovine orbird.” But without social bonds, your brain feels alarm. This protected our ancestors from all kinds of harm. Thoughtheherdwillannoyyou,thepackhurt you so. When you run with a pack, oxytocin will flow. “My pack is great and the other is nuts.” This thinking prevailed since the first mammal struts. You’re above all this foolishness, obviously. But it feels good when I trust you and you trust me.
  • 69. Serotonin swells your chest with pride When you get respect and needn’t hide. Yourbrainfeelsgoodwhenyouboostyourselfhigher. But when others do this, it provokes your ire. “I don’t care about status. It’s other who do.” Butyouspurtserotoninwhenthelimelight’s on you. You are quite modest and don’t like to boast. But no serotonin flows when you coast. Status doesn’t depend on money. You can be clever or helpful or funny. But when others one-up you, your mind agitates. ‘Cause serotonin droops ‘til you lift your own weights. Serotonin