The Science of Happiness

The Science of
Happiness
Loretta G. Breuning PhD
Inner Mammal Institute
innermammalinstitute.org
dopamine endorphinoxytocinserotonin

dopamine endorphin oxytocin serotonin
Good feelings come from
brain chemicals
inherited from earlier animals

These chemicals are NOT meant
to ﬂow all the time for no reason

When you know how they work
in the state of nature,
it’s easier to turn them on today

Brain chemicals are nature’s GPS
Happy chemicals
motivate a body to
approach a reward
Unhappy chemicals
motivate a body to
avoid a threat

Our brain
evolved to
promote survival,
not to make you
happy
all the time

Everyone has ups and downs
because:

1.
Happy chemicals
turn on in
short spurts,
so you always
have to do more
to get more

2.
Your mammal
brain cares
about the
survival of
your genes

3.
Our happy chemicals are
controlled by
neural pathways
built from past
experience

Whatever turned on your chemicals
in the past built pathways that 
turn them on today

We keep trying to stimulate
good feelings
with the pathways we have

because that’s how our
brain is designed to work

Let’s see what triggers happy
chemicals in a young mammal

and how you can build
new pathways

to trigger them in new ways
dopamine endorphinoxytocinserotonin

Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute © 2018
Dopamine
is the great feeling 
that a reward is at hand

Dopamine
releases energy for the chase

The good feeling of dopamine
motivates you to take steps that 
meet a need

Dopamine droops once you
get the reward, until you set
your sights on another reward

Neurons connect when dopamine
ﬂows, which wires you to expect a
good feeling when you see things that
stimulated it before

Your expectations & excitement
depend on the pathways built by
your dopamine past

Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute
Oxytocin
is often called
the “love chemical” or the “bonding hormone”

Oxytocin
creates the feeling that 
it’s safe to lower your guard

Oxytocin is stimulated by
trust, 
touch,
birth, 
and 
sex

Our brain evolved to make careful decisions
about when to turn on the oxytocin because
trusting everyone would not promote survival

A mammal longs for the dopamine of greener
pasture, but when a common enemy lurks, it
seeks the oxytocin of safety in numbers

Oxytocin is soon metabolized so
you have to keep stimulating it to
keep enjoying that nice safe feeling

Whatever triggered oxytocin in
your past will turn on your trust
more easily today

Serotonin
is the pleasure of
social dominance

Serotonin
is not
aggression.
It’s the calm
sense that
“ I will get
the banana ”

Serotonin is the mammal brain’s
signal that it’s safe to assert
yourself to meet your needs

It’s easy to see this in others,
but it’s useful to recognize your own
natural urge for social dominance

Serotonin 
is soon
reabsorbed, 
so we are
always looking
for ways to
stimulate more

Your past serotonin experiences
built the pathways that turn on
your social exectations today

Endorphin
is a euphoria that masks pain

Physical pain is what triggers it
We are NOT designed to inﬂict pain on
ourselves. We are designed for survival.

Endorphin means 
“endogenous morphine”
It evolved for
emergencies,
not for pleasure

Fortunately, you get a bit of
endorphin from vigorous exertion

The brain
built by
natural selection
rewards you with
a good feeling
when you do things that
promote survival

This gets confusing in daily life
because our brain deﬁnes survival in
quirky ways

You don’t choose old pathways
consciously, but…

The electricity in your brain 
ﬂows like water in a storm, 
ﬁnding the paths of least resistance

The paths you built 
before age 8 and during puberty are
the superhighways of your brain
because
that’s when
you have a
lot of MYELIN

Myelin insulates neurons, 
making them super efﬁcient

Whatever you do with your
myelinated neurons feels
natural and normal and easy

When you
try
something
new

even dangerous

Fortunately,
you can build new pathways
to turn
on your happy
chemicals
in new ways

Repetition is what it takes
after your myelin years

So choose a new behavior or
thought pattern and repeat it

To build
a new
dopamine
circuit,
focus on
a goal
and take a
small step
each day

Build a new
oxytocin
circuit by
taking a
small step
toward
social trust
each day

Build a new
serotonin circuit by
taking a small step toward
social importance each day

It’s HARD

Blazing a trail through a jungle of
neurons takes tremendous effort

But if you slash the same
trail every day, a new path
gets established

Your electricity has
a new place to ﬂow

Small steps are enough if
you repeat them consistently

You will build a pathway that
expects good feelings

Habits of a
Happy Brain
Retrain Your Brain to
Boost Your Serotonin,
Dopamine, Oxytocin,
and Endorphin
$11

The Science
of Positivity
Stop Negative
Thought Patterns
By Changing Your
Brain Chemistry
$11

books
podcasts
videos
infographics
training certiﬁcation
slide shows (incl this)
5-day Happy-Chemical Jumpstart
all free except the books
innermammalinstitute.org
The Inner Mammal Institute
has the resources you need
to make peace with your
inner mammal

Loretta@InnerMammalInstitute.org
contact me

I, Mammal
$12
How to Make
Peace With the
Animal Urge for
Social Power

ANXIETY
What Turns It On
What Turns It Off
$5
Replaced in 2019 by
Tame Your Anxiety

Dopamine
Dopamine makes you jump for joy
when you reach a goal or get a toy.
Innature,ithelpsfindfoodwhenyouneedit.
“Eureka, I got it!” A memory gets created.
Dopamine causes expectations.
Correct predictions bring good sensations.
Dopamine feels great so you try to get more.
It rewarded our ancestors trudging through gore.
Cocaine triggers dopamine. Caution to all:
Joy without goal-seeking leads to a fall.
Dopamine flows when you feel like “I’ve done it.”
Whenothersdoitforyou,yourdopaminewillshunit.

Endorphin
Endorphin helps you mask the pain
Of injuries that you sustain.
Yourancestorsescapedfrompredatorattack
‘Causeendorphinfelt goodwhile theyranback.
Endorphin feels great when it eases your pains.
But only real pain makes it flow in your veins.
Exercise triggers it, experts alert you.
But first you must do it ‘til body parts hurt you.
Endorphin receptors let opium in.
So you feel like you’re safe without lifting a shin.
Laughing and crying can trigger it too.
But just for a moment– then the job’s through.

Oxytocin
Oxytocin makes you trust your mates.
We love the bonds that it creates.
Oxytocinflowswhenyoustickwiththeherd.
“Notme!” youmaysay,“I’mnobovine orbird.”
But without social bonds, your brain feels alarm.
This protected our ancestors from all kinds of harm.
Thoughtheherdwillannoyyou,thepackhurt you so.
When you run with a pack, oxytocin will flow.
“My pack is great and the other is nuts.”
This thinking prevailed since the first mammal struts.
You’re above all this foolishness, obviously.
But it feels good when I trust you and you trust me.

Serotonin swells your chest with pride
When you get respect and needn’t hide.
Yourbrainfeelsgoodwhenyouboostyourselfhigher.
But when others do this, it provokes your ire.
“I don’t care about status. It’s other who do.”
Butyouspurtserotoninwhenthelimelight’s on you.
You are quite modest and don’t like to boast.
But no serotonin flows when you coast.
Status doesn’t depend on money.
You can be clever or helpful or funny.
But when others one-up you, your mind agitates.
‘Cause serotonin droops ‘til you lift your own weights.
Serotonin

Don’t compare
yourself to others

The Science of Happiness

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