#606: How to Activate Your Brain's Happy Chemicals

The Art of Manliness

Society & Culture, Education, Philosophy

4.7 • 14.5K Ratings

🗓️ 29 April 2020

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Everyone has experienced the way our feelings fluctuate day by day, and even hour by hour. Sometimes we're feeling up and sometimes we're feeling down. My guest today says these oscillations are a result of nature's operating system and that you can learn to better manage these emotional peaks and valleys. Her name is Loretta Breuning and she's the author of several books on happiness and the human brain, including her latest, Tame Your Anxiety: Rewiring Your Brain for Happiness. We begin our conversation by discussing the similarities between human brains and the brains of other mammals, and how our brains release happiness-producing chemicals like dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin to spur us to seek rewards related to our survival needs. We also talk about the unhappy chemical of cortisol which is released in response to perceived threats, and the factors that have increased our stress and anxiety in the modern world. Loretta then explains that the boost we get whenever the brain's happy chemicals are activated doesn't last, and how we need to plan and execute healthy options for proactively stimulating these chemicals, including creating expectations for rewards and finding small, positive ways of increasing our status. We end our conversation with how to manage spikes of cortisol in yourself, as well as help other people manage their emotional troughs. Get the show notes at aom.is/happychemicals.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Brat and McKay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness podcast.
0:11.4	Everyone has experienced the way our feelings fluctuate day by day.
0:14.6	Even hour by hour.
0:15.6	Sometimes we're filling up, sometimes we're filling down.
0:18.0	My guest day says that these oscillations are a result of nature's operating system,
0:22.0	and you can learn to better manage these emotional peaks and valleys.
0:24.6	Her name is Loretta Brunin, she's the author of several books on happiness in the human
0:28.0	brain, including her latest Tam Your Exiety, requiring your brain for happiness.
0:32.6	We begin our conversation by discussing the similarities between human brains and the
0:35.8	brains of other mammals, and how our brains release happiness producing chemicals like
0:39.6	dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin, dispersed and secret wards related to our survival needs.
0:44.8	We also talk about the unhappy chemical of cortisol, which is released in response to
0:48.3	perceived threats and the factors that have increased our stress and anxiety in the modern
0:52.0	world.
0:53.0	Loretta then explains that the boost we get whenever the brain's happy chemicals are activated
0:56.6	doesn't last, and how we need to plan and execute healthy options for practically stimulating
1:00.8	these chemicals, including creating expectations for rewards and finding small, positive ways
1:05.2	of increasing our status.
1:06.7	We enter conversation with how to manage spikes of cortisol in yourself, as well as help
1:10.1	other people manage their emotional troughs.
1:12.2	After the show's over, check out our show notes at aawim.ias slash happy chemicals.
1:15.9	Loretta joins you now via clearcast.io.
	...

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