When your anxiety turns on, you want anything that will turn it off. And it seems you’ve tried everything already. But there’s one thing you’ve probably haven’t: changing your expectations. I can’t tell you which expectations are causing your anxiety, but I can tell you how expectations trigger the cascade…
Loretta Breuning, Ph.D.
Professor & Author
Dr. Loretta Breuning is the founder of InnerMammalInstitute.org and author of Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain Your Brain to Boost Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin, & Endorphin Levels.
Entries Loretta Breuning, Ph.D.
With so much negativity around politics these days, positivity may seem like an impossible dream. It’s easy to blame negativity on others, but when you know the natural negativity of the human brain, you can steer toward the positive zone. Here are four simple ways to start. 1. Broaden your…
When women observe male behavior, they often wonder what is going on in the male brain. An evolutionary perspective makes it easier to see that male impulses are primal survival adaptations, just like female impulses. Here are three familiar frustrations that are easier to accept when we understand their evolutionary…
Social disappointment feels like a survival emergency to the mammal brain. You don’t think this consciously, but your brain turns on its emergency broadcast system when your urge for recognition is disappointed. You can escape this distress when you know how your brain is creating it. We are all born…
When sadness strikes, it's easy to feel powerless over it. But when you know how your brain works, you can turn on more pleasant feelings. Sadness is natural; our brain releases both happy and unhappy chemicals because both have a job to do. Happy brain chemicals turn on in short…
1. Avoid negative comparisons to enjoy more serotonin Summertime tempts you to compare your body to others and focus on your shortcomings. It helps to know that social comparison is a natural mammalian impulse. Mammals avoid conflict by comparing themselves to others and deferring to more powerful individuals. We have…
Relationships are mystifying because they fill you with happy chemicals one minute and drown you with stress chemicals the next minute. You may be shocked and relieved to learn that our brain is meant to work this way. Here’s a brief introduction to your social neurochemistry and the steps you…
Overthinkers, nothing is wrong with you! You are leaning on the skill that makes us human. Overthinking feels bad, of course, so here’s a simple way to turn it off even as you feel the natural impulse to turn it on. Tell yourself, “I’ve done enough” when you find yourself…
Being in control feels safe, you can feel safe when you’re not in control too. The world is unpredictable and your power is limited, so feeling safe without control is a valuable skill. When the world disappoints your expectations, your brain releases cortisol and it feels like an emergency. You…
You know you need more sleep, and you intend to get it. So why do you keep repeating the choices that leave you exhausted? Here are three common reasons, and a simple strategy to unblock them. Before you say “I’ve tried everything already,” learn to challenge these familiar thought loops.…
Your comfort zone is a real physical thing. It’s the network of pathways that your brain built from past experience. These pathways feel comfortable for 2 reasons: Electricity flows through them effortlessly, and this flow is our sense that we know what’s going on around us. Your brain built your…
You have probably heard that stress is good at low levels even though it’s bad at high levels. That may seem hard to put into practice? How do you stop the stress wagon once it starts rolling? It helps to know the job that stress is designed to do. Stress…
1. Pain Endorphin is triggered by pain. That’s surprising because we associate it with joy. “Runner’s high" is only produced if you run to the point of pain, alas, and that’s not safe to do on a regular basis. Endorphin creates a euphoria that masks pain. In the state of…
1. Remember that you have power to build new pathways in your brain. (But it takes more persistence and courage than you may expect, because your old pathways are already well developed and connected to your pleasure and pain centers.) 2. Remind yourself that your frustrations are just electricity flowing down the…
The human brain is good at creating anxiety. You can undo your anxiety when you know how you created it. If you blame it on external forces instead, your internal power is lost. Here are four easy steps to help you locate the “off” switch to your jitters, whether it’s…
Love feels good because it’s a physical letting down of your guard. So why does this lead to pain so often? Because your brain is touchy when your guard is down. The slightest hint of threat triggers cortisol, the chemical messenger of pain and potential pain. Blaming your partner for…
We hear a lot about kindness these days, but sometimes you feel like your toes are being stepped on. You want to fight back but the wrong response will make it worse. Cortisol is released when you feel stepped on, and it surges when you contemplate a fight. You can…
When someone gets on your nerves, it’s a real thing. “Your nerves” send electricity to your cortisol, and that creates the feeling that your survival is threatened. To make matters worse, this activation connects your neurons so they release the stress chemicals even faster the next time. You can end…
1. Touch stimulates Oxytocin, which makes you feel safe Oxytocin is often called “the cuddle chemical” or “the love hormone,” but it’s useful to know how it works in animals. Oxytocin rewards a gazelle when it has the safety of a herd, and a baboon when it grooms the fur…
Do you feel like you should be working when you’re at home, but when you’re at work you feel guilty about something at home? You know this loop saps your energy but you don’t know how to stop it. These three steps will blast away your guilt loop. Accept Guilt…
We all have moments when we feel blue. But what causes us to feel sad? How can we overcome it and feel happy? Here are 5 surprising ways to boost your mood... 1. Know your dopamine Excitement about life is caused by the brain chemical, dopamine. When your dopamine dips,…