The Happy Brain

Andrew O’Keefe founded “Hardwired Humans” to solve inner mammal problems in the workplace. He actually trains managers at the zoo!

WHAT IS THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST?

It’s frank conversations between Loretta Breuning and real readers of her book, Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin levels.

Do you wonder what stimulates your happy brain chemicals- dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, endorphin? Read the book and send your questions to Dr. Breuning on the contact form at the Inner Mammal Institute at: InnerMammalInstitute.org. You may be a guest on the show yourself!

The brain chemicals that make us feel good are inherited from earlier mammals. They evolved to do a job, not to make you feel good all the time. When you know the job each chemical does in the state of nature, your ups and downs make sense. More important, you can re-wire yourself to enjoy more of them in sustainable ways.

But it’s hard. Our brain is designed to reward you with happy chemicals for steps that promote survival. But our brain defines survival in a quirky way: it cares about the survival of your genes and it relies on neural pathways built in youth. To make things even harder, our brain habituates to the rewards it has so you always have to do more to get more happy chemicals.

We are not born with survival skills like our animal ancestors. Each newborn human wires itself from its own early experience. Happy chemicals are like paving on your neural pathways, wiring you to repeat behaviors that made you feel good before. This is why our urgent motivations don’t make sense to our verbal brain. It’s not easy being mammal!

When you know how your brain works, you can find healthier ways to enjoy happy chemicals and relieve unhappy chemicals. You can build new neural pathways by feeding your brain new experiences. But you have to design the new experiences carefully and repeat them a lot.

The Inner Mammal Institute has free resources to help you make peace with your inner mammal: videos, blogs, infographics, and podcasts. Dr. Breuning’s books illuminate the big picture and help you plot your course. You can find new ways to feel good, wherever you are right now.

Music from Sonatina Soleil by W.M. Sharp. Hear more of it at InnerMammalInstitute.org/musicbywmsharp

Alison Task, life coach and author of Personal Revolution, chats with me about taking that next step. It's hard, but it's everything!

WHAT IS THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST?

It’s frank conversations between Loretta Breuning and real readers of her book, Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin levels.

Do you wonder what stimulates your happy brain chemicals- dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, endorphin? Read the book and send your questions to Dr. Breuning on the contact form at the Inner Mammal Institute at: InnerMammalInstitute.org. You may be a guest on the show yourself!

The brain chemicals that make us feel good are inherited from earlier mammals. They evolved to do a job, not to make you feel good all the time. When you know the job each chemical does in the state of nature, your ups and downs make sense. More important, you can re-wire yourself to enjoy more of them in sustainable ways.

But it’s hard. Our brain is designed to reward you with happy chemicals for steps that promote survival. But our brain defines survival in a quirky way: it cares about the survival of your genes and it relies on neural pathways built in youth. To make things even harder, our brain habituates to the rewards it has so you always have to do more to get more happy chemicals.

We are not born with survival skills like our animal ancestors. Each newborn human wires itself from its own early experience. Happy chemicals are like paving on your neural pathways, wiring you to repeat behaviors that made you feel good before. This is why our urgent motivations don’t make sense to our verbal brain. It’s not easy being mammal!

When you know how your brain works, you can find healthier ways to enjoy happy chemicals and relieve unhappy chemicals. You can build new neural pathways by feeding your brain new experiences. But you have to design the new experiences carefully and repeat them a lot.

The Inner Mammal Institute has free resources to help you make peace with your inner mammal: videos, blogs, infographics, and podcasts. Dr. Breuning’s books illuminate the big picture and help you plot your course. You can find new ways to feel good, wherever you are right now.

Music from Sonatina Soleil by W.M. Sharp. Hear more of it at InnerMammalInstitute.org/musicbywmsharp

Dopamine creates the feeling of excitement when you anticipate a new way to meet a need, but you have power over the way you define that.

This podcast is a live call-in with Loretta Breuning, PhD, author of Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin levels. Questions? InnerMammalInstitute.org/podcast.

Happiness is caused by four special brain chemicals: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. When you know how they work in animals, you can find your power over them in daily life.

The happy chemicals are not designed to flow all the time for no reason. They evolved to reward behaviors that promote survival in the state of nature. They are only released in short spurts, so you always have to do more to get more. This makes life frustrating!

Our chemicals are controlled by neural pathways built from life experience. Neurons connect when your happy chemicals flow, which wires you to repeat behaviors that felt good before. Fortunately, you can re-wire yourself, but it’s not easy. That’s why we keep discussing and asking questions.

The Inner Mammal Institute has resources that help you make peace with your inner mammal: books, videos, blogs, graphics, and podcasts. You’ll find out what turns on your happy chemicals in the state of nature, and how you can turn them on today. InnerMammalInstitute.org

It’s not easy being mammal! But you can build your power over your mammalian brain chemicals. Listen! Read! Join the conversation! Music from Sonatina Soleil by W.M. Sharp. Hear more of it at InnerMammalInstitute.org/musicbywmsharp.

The social-confidence strategies of Dr. Aziz fit so well with the Inner Mammal method, but I ask him a lot of hard questions!

Loretta Breuning answers readers questions about the brain chemicals that make us feel good. If you have more questions, check out the Inner Mammal Institute, read Habits of a Happy Brain, and then contact Dr Breuning to ask your questions on the show!

Happiness is caused by four special brain chemicals: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. When you know how they work in animals, you can find your power over them in daily life. The happy chemicals are not designed to flow all the time for no reason. They evolved to reward behaviors that promote survival in the state of nature. They are only released in short spurts, so you always have to do more to get more. This makes life frustrating!

Our chemicals are controlled by neural pathways built from life experience. Neurons connect when your happy chemicals flow, which wires you to repeat behaviors that felt good before. Fortunately, you can re-wire yourself, but it’s not easy. That’s why we keep discussing and asking questions.

The Inner Mammal Institute has resources that help you make peace with your inner mammal: books, videos, blogs, graphics, and podcasts. You’ll find out what turns on your happy chemicals in the state of nature, and how you can turn them on today. It’s not easy being mammal! But you can build your power over your mammalian brain chemicals.

People hope to eat their way to happiness in different ways, but we’re better off understanding why our brain is so obsessed with food.

Loretta Breuning answers readers questions about the brain chemicals that make us feel good. If you have more questions, check out the Inner Mammal Institute, read Habits of a Happy Brain, and then contact Dr Breuning to ask your questions on the show!

Happiness is caused by four special brain chemicals: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. When you know how they work in animals, you can find your power over them in daily life. The happy chemicals are not designed to flow all the time for no reason. They evolved to reward behaviors that promote survival in the state of nature. They are only released in short spurts, so you always have to do more to get more. This makes life frustrating!

Our chemicals are controlled by neural pathways built from life experience. Neurons connect when your happy chemicals flow, which wires you to repeat behaviors that felt good before. Fortunately, you can re-wire yourself, but it’s not easy. That’s why we keep discussing and asking questions.

The Inner Mammal Institute has resources that help you make peace with your inner mammal: books, videos, blogs, graphics, and podcasts. You’ll find out what turns on your happy chemicals in the state of nature, and how you can turn them on today. It’s not easy being mammal! But you can build your power over your mammalian brain chemicals.

Giving up can be a fear of criticism or a good decision about the best way to invest your energy; here’s how to tell the difference, and some great listener questions about self-confidence, status, and compassion.

This podcast is a live call-in with Loretta Breuning, PhD, author of Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin levels. Questions? InnerMammalInstitute.org/podcast.

Happiness is caused by four special brain chemicals: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. When you know how they work in animals, you can find your power over them in daily life. The happy chemicals are not designed to flow all the time for no reason. They evolved to reward behaviors that promote survival in the state of nature. They are only released in short spurts, so you always have to do more to get more. This makes life frustrating!

Our chemicals are controlled by neural pathways built from life experience. Neurons connect when your happy chemicals flow, which wires you to repeat behaviors that felt good before. Fortunately, you can re-wire yourself, but it’s not easy. That’s why we keep discussing and asking questions.

The Inner Mammal Institute has resources that help you make peace with your inner mammal: books, videos, blogs, graphics, and podcasts. You’ll find out what turns on your happy chemicals in the state of nature, and how you can turn them on today. It’s not easy being mammal! But you can build your power over your mammalian brain chemicals.

Listen! Read! Join the conversation! Music from Sonatina Soleil by W.M. Sharp. Hear more of it at InnerMammalInstitute.org/musicbywmsharp.

The academic view of the brain is filtered through the presumption that effortless happiness is the state of nature and “our society” is the cause of all unhappiness.

This podcast is a live call-in with Loretta Breuning, PhD, author of Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin levels. Questions? InnerMammalInstitute.org/podcast.

Happiness is caused by four special brain chemicals: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. When you know how they work in animals, you can find your power over them in daily life. The happy chemicals are not designed to flow all the time for no reason. They evolved to reward behaviors that promote survival in the state of nature. They are only released in short spurts, so you always have to do more to get more. This makes life frustrating!

Our chemicals are controlled by neural pathways built from life experience. Neurons connect when your happy chemicals flow, which wires you to repeat behaviors that felt good before. Fortunately, you can re-wire yourself, but it’s not easy. That’s why we keep discussing and asking questions.

The Inner Mammal Institute has resources that help you make peace with your inner mammal: books, videos, blogs, graphics, and podcasts. You’ll find out what turns on your happy chemicals in the state of nature, and how you can turn them on today. It’s not easy being mammal! But you can build your power over your mammalian brain chemicals.

Listen! Read! Join the conversation! Music from Sonatina Soleil by W.M. Sharp. Hear more of it at InnerMammalInstitute.org/musicbywmsharp.

The roots trip I took to explore my early wiring, and questions about building a strong spine vs external armor when dealing with people who get on your nerves.

This podcast is a live call-in with Loretta Breuning, PhD, author of Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin levels. Questions? InnerMammalInstitute.org/podcast.

Happiness is caused by four special brain chemicals: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. When you know how they work in animals, you can find your power over them in daily life. The happy chemicals are not designed to flow all the time for no reason. They evolved to reward behaviors that promote survival in the state of nature. They are only released in short spurts, so you always have to do more to get more. This makes life frustrating!

Our chemicals are controlled by neural pathways built from life experience. Neurons connect when your happy chemicals flow, which wires you to repeat behaviors that felt good before. Fortunately, you can re-wire yourself, but it’s not easy. That’s why we keep discussing and asking questions.

The Inner Mammal Institute has resources that help you make peace with your inner mammal: books, videos, blogs, graphics, and podcasts. You’ll find out what turns on your happy chemicals in the state of nature, and how you can turn them on today. It’s not easy being mammal! But you can build your power over your mammalian brain chemicals.

Listen! Read! Join the conversation! Music from Sonatina Soleil by W.M. Sharp. Hear more of it at InnerMammalInstitute.org/musicbywmsharp.

The mammal brain focuses on the survival of your unique individual essence, so it is terrified by the human brain’s awareness of mortality until you soothe it with thoughts of a legacy.

This podcast is a live call-in with Loretta Breuning, PhD, author of Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin levels. Questions? InnerMammalInstitute.org/podcast.

Happiness is caused by four special brain chemicals: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. When you know how they work in animals, you can find your power over them in daily life. The happy chemicals are not designed to flow all the time for no reason. They evolved to reward behaviors that promote survival in the state of nature. They are only released in short spurts, so you always have to do more to get more. This makes life frustrating!

Our chemicals are controlled by neural pathways built from life experience. Neurons connect when your happy chemicals flow, which wires you to repeat behaviors that felt good before. Fortunately, you can re-wire yourself, but it’s not easy. That’s why we keep discussing and asking questions.

The Inner Mammal Institute has resources that help you make peace with your inner mammal: books, videos, blogs, graphics, and podcasts. You’ll find out what turns on your happy chemicals in the state of nature, and how you can turn them on today. It’s not easy being mammal! But you can build your power over your mammalian brain chemicals.

Listen! Read! Join the conversation! Music from Sonatina Soleil by W.M. Sharp. Hear more of it at InnerMammalInstitute.org/musicbywmsharp.

Your mirror neurons activate when you see someone else enjoy a reward or risk harm; thus, your happy circuits are influenced by those around you, and your happy circuits were shaped by those you mirrored in youth.

This podcast is a live call-in with Loretta Breuning, PhD, author of Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin levels. Questions? InnerMammalInstitute.org/podcast.

Happiness is caused by four special brain chemicals: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. When you know how they work in animals, you can find your power over them in daily life. The happy chemicals are not designed to flow all the time for no reason. They evolved to reward behaviors that promote survival in the state of nature. They are only released in short spurts, so you always have to do more to get more. This makes life frustrating!

Our chemicals are controlled by neural pathways built from life experience. Neurons connect when your happy chemicals flow, which wires you to repeat behaviors that felt good before. Fortunately, you can re-wire yourself, but it’s not easy. That’s why we keep discussing and asking questions.

The Inner Mammal Institute has resources that help you make peace with your inner mammal: books, videos, blogs, graphics, and podcasts. You’ll find out what turns on your happy chemicals in the state of nature, and how you can turn them on today. It’s not easy being mammal! But you can build your power over your mammalian brain chemicals.

Listen! Read! Join the conversation! Music from Sonatina Soleil by W.M. Sharp. Hear more of it at InnerMammalInstitute.org/musicbywmsharp.