Train Your Brain to Be Happier By Understanding Your Mammalian Brain with Loretta Breuning

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Dr. Loretta Breuning is the founder of the Inner Mammal Institute. She is also an author, a retired college professor, a mom, and a grandma! Loretta’s life work is teaching people about the brain chemicals that make us happy and how we can use our understanding of our mammalian brain chemistry to hack our happiness.

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IN THIS EPISODE WE TALK ABOUT:

Loretta’s background and interest in this work What chemicals in our brain make us happy and how understanding our brain chemistry helps us to moderate our happiness A deep dive into three of our happy chemicals à dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin Why happiness is not a quest for euphoria and why it is not sustainable to feel elated all of the time Why antidepressants are like asprin and are not a long-term solution Some core skills that help us train our brains and moderate a healthy sense of confidence and happiness by building new neuropathways Why bridging fragmented relationships is more important to our health than fleeting feel-good moments with people you will never see again The importance of finding gratitude for your Self and your own abilities in promoting sustainable happiness Plus much more…

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE

Mentioned:

Habits of a Happy Brain by Loretta Breuning

The Science of Positivity by Loretta Breuning

How I Escaped Political Correctness And You Can Too by Loretta Breuning

Playground Politics by Stanley Greenspan

Connect with Loretta:

Website: The Inner Mammal Institute

QUOTES

“What makes us happy are these certain brain chemicals, but they are not designed to be on all of the time. They are designed to be released in short spurts, in situations that would promote, let’s say, a monkey’s survival.”

“If you’re an animal and you go after a bit of food, you don’t always get it. Disappointment is a part of life—if you would get the reward of the good feeling without actually getting the food then our ancestors would have starved to death, so our brain is designed to reward realistic progress.”

“It was sort of a relief to forgive myself and forgive everyone around me and not to imagine that I have to find this perfect place where everybody is happy all of the time, this is just how mammals are.”

“We are meant to have ups and downs, but we can moderate them so that our downs don’t spiral and we can have confidence in our ability to create an up in a healthy way. These are skills that anyone can learn and pills are not going to do it.”

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