In this extra-special, kid-friendly edition of The Happiness Question, we interview Loretta Breuning, PhD. Her interview is even easier to understand for kids than many of our episodes, making it a great introductory episode for them or for your younger siblings, while still making it fun and interesting for those of all ages! Dr. Breuning discusses how the brain (and happiness) actually works, from your Happy Chemicals: Dopamine, Endorphin, Oxytocin, and Serotonin, to what makes our brains different than any other species. You'll learn how to rewire YOUR brain in order to be happier more often, and help recognize thought patterns that may be making you depressed. By simply changing how we see the world, can we REALLY be happier? Listen to this week's episode to find out!

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This episode was sponsored by Audible. Support the show (and your mental health) by signing up for a 30-day free trial to get a FREE audiobook and 2 Free Audible Originals, all yours to keep (even if you cancel!) by going to audibletrial.com/thehappinessquestion. You can even listen to all of Dr. Breuning's books on Audible! (The Science of Positivity, Tame Your Anxiety (read by the author), Habits of a Happy Brain, and the brand-new How I Escaped Political Correctness and You Can Too)

Find more of Loretta Breuning by going to her website at InnerMammalInstitute.org

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Want to read the transcript/captions instead? Find it at https://thehappinessquestion.weebly.com/ep-6-loretta-breuning-full-script.html.

I talk with Frank King, a former writer for the Tonight Show, soon-to-be 5-time Ted Talk Speaker, and Mental Health speaker. 

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This episode was sponsored by Audible. Start your free, 30-day trial today to get 1 audiobook and 2 Audible Originals for FREE by going to AudibleTrial.com/TheHappinessQuestion.

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More about Frank:

Frank King, Suicide Prevention Speaker, and Trainer was a writer for The Tonight Show for 20 years.

Depression and suicide run his family. He’s thought about killing himself more times than he can count. He’s fought a lifetime battle with Major Depressive Disorder and Chronic Suicidality, turning that long dark journey of the soul into five TEDx Talks and sharing his lifesaving insights on Mental Health Awareness with associations, corporations, and colleges.

A Motivational Public Speaker who uses his life lessons to start the conversation giving people permission to give voice to their feelings and experiences surrounding depression and suicide.

And doing it by coming out, as it were, and standing in his truth, and doing it with humor.

He believes that where there is humor there is hope, where there is laughter there is life, nobody dies laughing. The right person, at the right time, with the right information, can save a life.

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You can more of Frank by going to thementalhealthcomedian.com. 

The best song/episode match yet! Listen to the original song that's been stuck in my head for the last month, "Lonely Squirrel", today!

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-This episode was sponsored by Audible. Start your FREE 30-day trial today to get 1 audiobook and 2 Audible Originals for FREE by going to AudibleTrial.com/TheHappinessQuestion. (Plus, you'll help support the show so we can continue bringing these episodes to you for free!)

-Find more of The Happiness Question by going to TheHappinessQuestion.com. 

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Cover Image credits:

Creator: Jake Camus Photography

Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Galo Lastra, a local Opera singer from Riverton, Utah, and my great friend joins us on the show to talk about his brother Benji's inspiring cancer story and how his brother having cancer got him into singing Opera.

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-This episode of The Happiness Question is sponsored by Audible. Start your FREE 30-day trial today to get 1 audiobook and 2 Audible Originals for FREE by going to AudibleTrial.com/TheHappinessQuestion. (I'd recommend listening to Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde-- it's one of my ultimate favorite books and I've reread it multiple times!)  

-Make sure to listen to SSSSong #4, today's SSSSong! It's the first Happiness Question Original! 

-Find more of The Happiness Question by following us on Instagram (@thehappinessquestion), Facebook (The Happiness Question Podcast), and on our website at TheHappinessQuestion.com  

-Galo's Instagram: @galolastratenor; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl0bW-N19zKMfo5cf6TKIDw 

*The opera camp mentioned earlier was put on by Utah Valley University. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a site for the camp, but I'll update this if I get a link to share!*

Comedian Marc Yaffee, of Dry Bar Comedy fame, teaches us how to find comedy in everything-- even during a "mid-laugh crisis". We also talk about some of his favorite stories from past performances, advice for aspiring performers, and his recent special on Dry Bar Comedy, Mid-Laugh Crisis. 

(formerly titled "Finding Comedy in Everything With Marc Yaffee".)

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-Find more of The Happiness Question by going to TheHappinessQuestion.com

-Watch Marc Yaffee's Mid-Laugh Crisis for free on the Dry Bar Comedy app (free for iOS and Android) by going to https://www.drybarcomedy.com/specials/marc-yaffee. Like seriously, go do it! It's hilarious! 

-You can also find Marc on his website at https://laughwithmarc.com.

We talk to Mandi Dorrell, a mental health and grief counselor from Somerdale, New Jersey, to discuss how to find happiness in our daily lives in spite of the drama and trauma we are constantly bombarded with.

Make sure to read our new Show Notes for this episode by going to bit.ly/mandinotes! 

-- You can find more of The Happiness Question by going to TheHappinessQuestion.com.

-To find more of Mandi Dorrell, you can visit her at her website at YourZenSelf.com.

For our second Secret Special Silly Song (SSSSong), we chose "Cockapoo", a minor song that's major fun! Listen now! Note: today we decided to release the SSSSong a few minutes before the main episode to ensure that those that can only see the most recent episode can hear the full episode. That means that the SSSSong will be directly BELOW the episode it corresponds with (but you can also just match up the SSSSong # with the episode #). 

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Every episode of The Happiness Question has its own Super Secret Silly Song that ties in with each episode or person we interview with in some way. Our first Super Secret Silly Song (or SSSSong for short) is "Bill Choked and Now He's Dead!" (which we promise is about another Bill). It's my favorite song by far, and now it's yours for free! So enjoy it now!

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-Find more of The Happiness Question by going to TheHappinessQuestion.com

-You can find more of Bill on his website at http://www.billprotzmann.com.

-You can also listen to or purchase his music by going to https://amzn.to/2Q3KeaO or get his book, More Than Human: The Value of Cultivating the Human Spirit in Your Organization at https://amzn.to/2LnxN54.

In our first episode ever, I interview Bill Protzmann, the award-winning music care professional. We discuss the healing power of music, how to deal with emotions, and how Bill became at ease with suicidal thoughts through music.  

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 -Find more of the Happiness Question by going to TheHappinessQuestion.com.

 -You can find more of Bill on his website at http://www.billprotzmann.com.

 -You can also listen to or purchase his music by going to https://amzn.to/2Q3KeaO or get his book, More Than Human: The Value of Cultivating the Human Spirit in Your Organization at https://amzn.to/2LnxN54.