Loretta Graziano Breuning - 14 Days to Sustainable Happiness

a workbook for every brain

Loretta Breuning, PhD

Inner Mammal Institute

Copyright 2021

Loretta Graziano Breuning, PhD

Inner Mammal Institute

innermammalinstitute.org

all rights reserved

CONTENTSDay 1Your Power Over Your BrainDay 2The Joy of DopamineDay 3The Safety of OxytocinDay 4The Pride of SerotoninDay 5The Challenge of EndorphinDay 6The Pain of CortisolDay 7Your Dopamine PastDay 8Your Oxytocin PastDay 9Your Serotonin PastDay 10 Your Cortisol PastDay 11 Your Dopamine FutureDay 12 Your Oxytocin FutureDay 13 Your Serotonin Future

Day 14 Design Your Sustainable Path

This book is dedicated to

the many readers who give me

valuable feedback.

They remind me everyday that

were all mammals!

MORE BOOKS BY

Loretta Graziano Breuning, PhD

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

Status Games
Why We Play and How to Stop

Tame Your Anxiety
Rewiring Your Brain for Happiness

The Science of Positivity
Stop Negative Thought Patterns by Changing Your Brain Chemistry

A NEW VIEW OF HAPPINESS

This workbook helps you find your power over your happy brain chemicals: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. Its a step-by-step program that tells you what stimulates good feelings, and how to get more of them. There is no fast, easy way, it must be said. But you can learn sustainable ways to turn on your happy chemicals and replace any unsustainable happy habits you may already have.

Most important, you will build realistic expectations. Our happy chemicals are not meant to flow all the time. They evolved to reward you for taking steps to meet your needs. Small steps are enough as long as you keep taking them. In the next two weeks, you will learn to take realistic steps and enjoy the happy-chemical rewards.

This new approach is rooted in basic biology. More complete explanations of the science can be found in my book: Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin levels . This workbook is a companion to that book.

Our happy chemicals are controlled by neural pathways built from past experience. This book helps you discover your unique neural pathways and your power to build new ones. There is no right way to happiness because each brain is wired from its own lived experience. Each of us must manage the brain we have. You can feel good by understanding the wiring youve built and adding to it as needed. You cant do this if youre focused on the wiring of others, which is why this book has few examples. If you are eager for examples, turn to Day 14 (the happy ending!).

You can use this workbook alone or with professional counseling. You might use it with a group so you can discuss your responses to the exercises with others. You could even create your own Inner Mammal Support Group. Dr. Breuning will do a free Q&A with your group on completion. Contact her at:
innermammalinstitute.org.

The method presented in this book is not affiliated with any religion, therapy, or philosophy. It is only based on the work of the Inner Mammal Institute. Each reader will mesh the new information with their existing beliefs in their own way.

What is the Inner Mammal Institute?

Its not really about animals.

Its not about happiness as your verbal brain defines it.

Its about the happy brain chemicals weve inherited from earlier mammals: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. These chemicals are designed to do a job, not to flow all the time. When you know how they work in animals, you can find healthy ways to stimulate yours. You can train your mammal brain and your verbal brain to work together. Find many free resources to help you do thiat at: innermammalinstitute.org .

Nothing is wrong with you! Nothing is wrong with us! Were mammals.

Disclaimers:
This book is not intended as medical treatment.

Nothing in this book is intended to support breaking the law. The rule of law benefits all of us.

YOUR POWER OVER YOUR BRAIN

Today you will learn:

why everyone has ups and downs

how we produce our feelings

how to find your power over your emotions

When you feel good, your brain is releasing a happy brain chemical: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, or endorphin. We want these great feelings all the time, but our happy chemicals dont work that way. Theyre designed to do a job, and when you know the job, you can find healthy ways to stimulate them. You will find sustainable paths to happy chemicals, and repeat them until they feel natural. You can avoid unsustainable paths to happy chemicals behaviors that feel good in the short run but hurt you in the long run.

It shouldnt be so hard, you may say. It seems like others get happy chemicals easily. The truth is, they do not. The brain evolved to promote survival, not to make you happy. It saves the happy chemicals for moments when they help meet a survival need. It releases unhappy chemicals when you see threats to meeting a need. But our brain defines needs in a quirky way. Those quirks are the subject of todays lesson.

We humans have two brains a cortex thats unique to humans and a limbic system thats almost the same in all mammals. This mammal brain controls the chemicals that make us feel good and bad. It cannot process language, so it cannot tell you why it is releasing a chemical. The human cortex controls language and abstract thought, but it cannot control your chemicals. Our two brains are literally not on speaking terms, and thats why our emotions are so hard to make sense of.

Your mammal brain sees things as a matter of life or death because it evolved to promote survival. Your verbal brain tries to come up with good reasons for these responses. Its not easy being a big-brained mammal!

We have two brains because we need both. Do not assume your animal brain is the bad guy. Do not think your human cortex is the bad guy. Each brain has an essential job. When they work together, you can find good ways to feel good. You can help your two brains work together like a horse and rider. You can make peace with your inner mammal by giving it what it needs in safe, healthy ways.

Research on animals helps us understand what triggers happy chemicals in our lower brain. This week, youll find out what triggers an animals dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin, as well as their threat chemical, cortisol. You will see how these chemicals are controlled by old neural pathways. Next week, youll be ready to find your own pathways and your power to rewire them.