Happy brain chemicals: Dopamine, Serotonin, Oxytocin and Endorphin

Here's a simple introduction to the brain chemicals that make us happy. You can rewire yourself to turn them on in new ways. This simple look at our neurochemistry what turns them on in the state of nature, and why they inevitably droop. Ups and downs are natural, but you can build new circuits to enjoy more ups.

1. Happy Brain Chemicals
Loretta G. Breuning, PhD Inner Mammal Institute
Re-wire Yourself to Turn Them on in New Ways
dopamine endorphin oxytocinserotonin

2. Good feelings come from
4 special brain chemicals
dopamine endorphin oxytocinserotonin

3. We’ve inherited these chemicals
from earlier mammals

4. Your happy chemicals are not meant to
be on all the time. They spurt when you
see a way to promote your survival.

5. But our brain defines survival
in a quirky way:
1.it cares about the
survival of your
genes
2.it relies on neural
pathways built in
youth

6. When a happy chemical
flows, neurons connect
That wires you to repeat
things that feel good

7. This is how our ancestors wired
themselves to survive before there
were schools, or even words
dopamineendorphinoxytocinserotonin

8. Bad feelings are caused by cortisol.
It’s released when a mammal sees a
threat to its survival.

9. Disappointment triggers cortisol,
which leaves you feeling threatened
even if you
don’t
consciously
think that

10. Neurons connect
when cortisol
flows, which
wires you to
turn on the alarm
when you see
things related
to past pain

11. We are always seeking
rewards and avoiding pain
using circuits
built by
past
experience

12. The circuits
built in youth
become the
superhighways
of your brain

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

14. Old patterns tend to repeat
unless we build new circuits

15. That’s hard to do for 3 reasons:

16. 1. Blazing a new trail through a jungle
of neurons is much harder than
flowing down a well-paved highway

17. 2. You feel unsafe when you leave your
old highways because they’re what
you know about rewards and pain

18. 3. The brain loses its highway-paving
substance (myelin) after puberty

19. You can still
build a new
pathway, but it
takes a lot of
repetition just to
build a small one

20. Repeat a new thought or
behavior for 45 days without fail
and a new trail gets established

21. It’s not a superhighway, but it
frees you from an old pattern

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

23. You can give your electricity
a new place to flow

24. It helps to know what turns on
each happy chemical
in the state of nature

25. Then you can choose
new thoughts and behaviors to
stimulate them in new ways

26. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute © 2015
Dopamine
is the great feeling

that a reward is at hand

27. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute © 2015
Dopamine
releases energy for the chase

28. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute
Oxytocin
is often called
the “love chemical”

29. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute
Oxytocin is stimulated by
trust &

touch,
which
go
together
in nature

30. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute © 2015
Serotonin
is the pleasure of
social dominance

31. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute © 2015
Serotonin
is not
aggression
but a calm
sense that
“ I
will get the
banana ”

32. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute © 2015
Endorphin masks pain
so you can do what

it takes to survive

33. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute © 2015
Endorphin is

“endogenous morphine”
it’s meant for
emergencies,
not partying

34. Your happy chemicals turn on in short spurts.
Then they droop, and
you have to do more to get more.

35. Ups and downs are natural because
each happy chemical
droops

36. Dopamine
droops once you get the reward
until

you set
your sights
on another
reward

37. Oxytocin droops when you’re
separated from the herd
and it feels
like your
survival is
threatened

38. Serotonin is reabsorbed quickly, which motivates
people to seek another social advantage
to stimulate more

39. Endorphin is

“endogenous morphine”
It droops 20 min.
after an injury
because pain
is vital survival info

40. A droop is
nature’s reset button
You return to
neutral so you’re
ready for the next
opportunity to
meet your needs

41. But you may feel frustrated

42. Dopamine Frustration
Dopamine stops once a need is met,
so you have to keep finding new rewards to enjoy it

43. Oxytocin Frustration
Following the herd is annoying but leaving
the herd for greener pasture feels unsafe

44. 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.

45. Endorphin Frustration
Inflicting pain on yourself to enjoy
endorphin is a very bad survival strategy

46. It helps to know that monkeys had
similar frustrations 50 million years ago

47. Dopamine
Serotonin
Oxytocin
Endorphin
What new circuits will you build?

48. Dopamine
suggestion:
Always have
•a short-term goal
•a long-term goal &
•a medium-term goal

so you can always
step toward meeting
a need right now

49. Oxytocin suggestion:
Build trust in many small steps
Trusting everyone
all the time

is not a good

survival strategy.
Our brain is
designed to build
trust gradually.

50. Serotonin suggestion:
Enjoy the strengths you have instead of
worrying about the strengths of others
Insisting on the one-up
position is harmful,

but taking the one-down
position automatically
hurts you too.
It’s not easy to make peace
with your mammal brain.

51. Endorphin suggestion:
Laugh
Find what makes you
laugh and make time
for it, often.
Don’t rush it, fake it,

or expect yourself to
laugh when others do.

52. It helps to know that your
ups and downs are part of
nature’s operating system

53. This operating system motivated
our ancestors to do what it takes
to survive

54. It helps to know that frustrating trade-offs
are part of every 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).

55. It helps to know that making
tough choices is the job our
brain is designed to do

56. It helps to know that you can re-wire
yourself to turn on your
happy chemicals in new ways

57. It’s not easy.
It’s the
challenge
that comes
with the gift
of life.

58. The Inner Mammal Institute
has free resources to help
videos
podcasts
blogs
infographics
training certification
slide shows (incl this)
5-day Happy-Chemical Jumpstart
www.InnerMammalInstitute.org

59. Habits of a
Happy Brain
Retrain your brain to boost
your serotonin, dopamine,
oxytocin and endorphin
a fun step-by-step guide by Dr. Loretta Breuning
$10.23 paper, $9.99 e-book

60. and remember

61. Don’t compare
yourself to others

62. Don’t compare
yourself to others

63. Don’t compare
yourself to others

64. Don’t compare
yourself to others

65. Don’t compare
yourself to others

66. Don’t compare
yourself to others

67. Don’t compare
yourself to others

68. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute © 2015
Dopamine
Dopamine makes you jump for joy
when you reach a goal or get a toy.
In nature, it helps find food when you need it.
“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 !ows when you feel like “I’ve done it.”
When others do it for you, your dopamine will shun it.

69. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute © 2015
Endorphin
Endorphin helps you mask the pain
Of injuries that you sustain.
Your ancestors escaped from predator attack
‘Cause endorphin felt good while they ran back.
Endorphin feels great when it eases your pains.
But only real pain makes it !ow in your veins.
Exercise triggers it, experts alert you.
But "rst you must do it ‘til body parts hurt you.
Endorphin receptors let opium in.
So you feel like you’re safe without li#ing a shin.
Laughing and crying can trigger it too.
But just for a moment– then the job’s through.

70. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute © 2015
Oxytocin
Oxytocin makes you trust your mates.
We love the bonds that it creates.
Oxytocin flows when you stick with the herd.
“Not me!” you may say, “I’m no bovine or bird.”
But without social bonds, your brain feels alarm.
$is protected our ancestors from all kinds of harm.
Though the herd will annoy you, the pack hurt you so.
When you run with a pack, oxytocin will !ow.
“My pack is great and the other is nuts.”
$is thinking prevailed since the "rst mammal struts.
You’re above all this foolishness, obviously.
But it feels good when I trust you and you trust me.

71. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute © 2015
Serotonin swells your chest with pride
When you get respect and needn’t hide.
Your brain feels good when you boost yourself higher.
But when others do this, it provokes your ire.
“I don’t care about status. It’s other who do.”
But you spurt serotonin when the limelight’s on you.
You are quite modest and don’t like to boast.
But no serotonin !ows 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