Brain Chemistry - Serotonin - Page 68 of the book - 'How To Stay Sane In A Crazy World'

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Serotonin is a brain chemical responsible for regulating people's moods. It is our 'happy hormone'. It is the leadership chemical and is responsible for feelings of significance, importance, pride and status. Serotonin is also responsible for social behaviour, appetite and digestion, immune function, sleep, memory and sexual function. 

It has a wide variety of functions which keep us happy and on track. We are social animals and social recognition is important to us. Serotonin re-enforces relationships to give us feelings of fulfilment, love and trust; such as the relationships between parent and child, boss and employee, coach and player, and caregiver and the one receiving care. This is why we have graduations and give out awards. If we fulfilled all the requirements to graduate and simply received an email stating, "Congratulations! Please print your certificate with the attached pdf", we wouldn't feel as good. Instead, we have a big ceremony to celebrate accomplishment. In the audience are our family, friends and teachers: everyone who supported us and watched our backs. We show up on the day, go up onto the stage, receive our diploma and it feels great! 

We feel our status and our pride rise when we have serotonin in our veins and our confidence rises also. The best part is, at the exact moment we receive our diploma, we feel a burst of serotonin go through our body. And our parents sitting in the audience also receive a shot of serotonin and feel immense pride watching our graduation.