Hormones affecting brain function
*Rewire* your brain to increase serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphin levels.
To create a new neural pathway, you need courage and focus because you have to repeat a new behavior for forty-five days, whether it’s pleasant or not. Anyone can do this for their own brain, not someone else’s. The feeling we call “happiness” is caused by four specific brain chemicals:
*Dopamine*, *Endorphins*, *Oxytocin* and *Serotonin*
Each of the happy chemicals triggers a different feeling :
*Dopamine*:
It creates the pleasure of acquiring things that fulfill your needs . A feeling like: “I found it/got it.” The pleasure of finding what you are looking for.
*Endorphins*:
It causes a kind of forgetfulness that marginalizes pain and helps you escape danger when you are injured.
*Oxytocin*:
It creates a feeling of security with others, which is today called intimacy *(comfort resulting from social cohesion*)
*Serotonin*:
Creates a sense of pride from being respected (security from feeling socially important)
The human cerebral cortex is able to adapt old neural circuits to new data. For example, you can enjoy math lessons when you didn’t like them before , or resist eating pizza when you used to eat a lot of pizza. How new neural pathways are The answer is simple: you create the circuits you want by *repeatedly* activating a neural pathway . Your emotions are unique. However, the chemicals that create these emotions are the same in all humans❓
*Dopamine hormone*:
Dopamine is the euphoric feeling you get when you expect a reward . Dopamine makes seeking to satisfy a need feel good. But that feeling soon wears off, and humans continue to seek more . Every creature’s brain learns to *associate reward and effort*, whether that reward is getting a needed substance, a social reward, or getting rid
Drugs cause dopamine to be released, but if the brain learns to expect artificial pleasures natural rewards and a large social reward causes a large surge of dopamine. For example, some *mothers* have been seen to pick up a car that has run over their child .
*Endorphin hormone*:
Endorphins create a kind of amnesia that masks physical pain . Of course, pain is good for you, which is why this natural drug only erupts in the body for a short time . Pain sends you a message: “Don’t go near a fire or walk with a broken leg.” Laughing, crying, and making a lot of rational effort also cause endorphins to be released.
*Oxytocin hormone*:
When you trust someone or someone trusts you, *oxytocin* flows through your body . Oxytocin also brings the joy of feeling connected and safe with others .
*Social trust* increases the likelihood of survival, so the brain rewards it with a pleasant feeling, but trusting everyone is not good for survival, which is why the brain analyzes social connections and releases oxytocin for a specific reason. Oxytocin circuits create feelings of attachment to others . A human brain is able to see things abstractly. So even when *others are not physically present* we are able to experience the pleasant feeling of social support. The oxytocin neural pathways in our brains are shaped by life experiences .
*Serotonin hormone*:
When someone respects you, you experience a pleasant feeling because earning respect releases serotonin. This good feeling then motivates you to seek more respect.
*Many ways of social superiority have nothing to do with status or wealth.* A person’s appearance is a good example of this. One person may feel respected because of their appearance, while another person may feel disrespected, even if they are treated very similarly. This is because our brain chemicals rely on circuits we have already built .
Each of the happy chemicals is activated for a specific purpose for survival, then *deactivated* to prepare you for the next survival opportunity.
* ♻️The Vicious Cycle of Happiness*
After the body releases happy chemicals, they wear off . The depletion of these neurochemicals motivates us to continually renew our efforts to survive, but it also makes us strangely vulnerable to despair.
*Disappointment from dopamine release*:
Dopamine is released by acquiring new rewards . Old rewards even if they’re delicious. Scientists call this “*habituation.*” When the brain sees a new way to satisfy its needs, it triggers a feeling of pleasure.
*Dopamine* is the fuel that fuels our bodies to achieve success . The brain’s goal is to reduce the chemicals after they have been released, so that we are forced to keep trying.
*Disappointment from endorphin release*:
Endorphins are released in times of emergency. So the euphoria caused by endorphins is not permanent because we need to feel pain in order to make good decisions.
*Disappointment from oxytocin release*:
We should experience oxytocin despite the discomfort it causes, because while it is true that the feeling of social support is pleasurable, we must balance the strong desire for social support with our long-term needs. The good feeling of trust can make you neglect the skills you need to survive.
*Disappointment from serotonin release*:
When others respect you, serotonin flows through your body, but after a while the respect you previously received no longer excites you and you will look for a way to increase your status and respect. *Happy* habits . Often, redirection and distraction are the basis of happy habits
↩️*New habits for each of the happy chemicals*
Everyone can activate happy chemicals in new ways for themselves, then create this pathway in their brain by repeating the process.
♦️ *A- New dopamine habits
- Celebrate small successes too . Remember that big progress comes from small steps .
- Take small steps towards a new goal. With each step you take each day, dopamine is released in your brain. This way, you expect and seek out the dopamine. You learn that if you keep trying, you will be able to turn your dream into a reality. The key to success is self-motivation, not waiting for others to motivate you.
- Break down an unpleasant task into smaller chunks . When you work on it every day , you’ll feel good about it because the positive anticipation triggers a release of dopamine in your body .
- Choose the optimal challenge We feel good when the level of difficulty of the challenge we face is optimal. *For example* if the basketball hoop is too low it won’t be fun to play, and if it’s too high we won’t find any reason to try.
*B- New endorphin habits
1️⃣. Laughing and giggling releases endorphins .
2️⃣. Cry sometimes*: If you feel like crying , don’t hold back. This way, the awkward moment will pass and a pleasant feeling of release will remain .
3️⃣. Exercise in a different way*; Changing your daily exercise routine is a good way to release endorphins because it involves stretching muscles, and stretching releases endorphins.
4. Make exercise a hobby.* Exercise that stimulates the release of happy chemicals can motivate you to put in more effort in your exercise.
*C- Creating new oxytocin circuits*:
1️⃣. *Be trustworthy*: Oxytocin is released in two ways. Both when you trust others and when others trust you . The goal is to enjoy a moment of trust every day.
2️⃣. Create a trust audit system. You can practice the proverb : *”Trust but not blindly.”* This will help you develop your trust in others.
*And- Creating new serotonin circuits*:
1️. *Be proud of what you have done and express it.* By doing this, you can increase the secretion of serotonin in you.
2️. *Always enjoy your social situations social situation
3. *Pay attention to your impact*: Every day, appreciate yourself for the good impact you have
4.* Come to terms with what you can’t control.* This way, you’ll learn to feel secure despite your inability to control the world.
Source: Habits of a Happy Brain, Loretta Graziano Bruning.
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