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“Happiness is inside”, “Happiness is in you”, “If you want to be happy – be it” – all these phrases have long since set the teeth on edge. True, if you put into them not an esoteric meaning, but a completely physiological one, you get a completely different story.
The scheme is simple: a word (it’s a clearly formulated thought) + the required neurotransmitter (or hormone) = the correct state of mind. You can get to know some of the “blacksmiths of happiness” through food, with one but: the pleasure obtained from food is quickly destroyed. Well, addicted people use a completely non-ecological way. They were the least fortunate of all, because quickly attainable happiness requires more and more investments, naturally no longer standing out, since the existing neural connections are destroyed. Being happy without chemical doping is a real art! And everyone can learn it with the help of knowledge and introspection.
About joy
What: serotonin.
Responsible for: motor activity, cognitive activity, motivation.
Contained in: tomatoes, chocolate, bananas, dates, plums, figs, cheese and other dairy products, cereals.
Highlights: when the sun is shining, during light physical activity (such as walking, yoga), during meditation, after a good sleep, while doing what you love.
How else to start the process? 1. Wake up in the morning, stretch with your whole body and at least mentally, but with all your soul, say: “How good!” 2. Practice an inner smile, light version: lift the tips of the lips, relax the area between the eyebrows and hold this expression for several minutes, serotonin will not take long.
What: dopamine
Responsible for: pleasure, “reward system”, motivation, desire to learn, adaptation to stressful situations.
Contained in: almonds, avocados, bananas, soy products, low fat dairy products, fish, meat.
Highlights: while having sex, eating delicious food, walking, laughing, stretching.
How else to start the process? Dopamine is often combined with serotonin, so the recommendations are the same – get a good night’s sleep (sometimes you just need to go to bed earlier), wake up cheerful and “put on” a smile. Dopamine is also released when you reach a goal. In this case, it is not necessary to reach for the moon, it is enough to go to the store for milk and thank yourself for the feat.
About Love
What: phenylethylamine.
Responsible for: sympathy, love, emotional warmth.
Contained in: chocolate and other sweets, but breaks down quickly.
Highlights: in moments of falling in love, promotes unconditional love, in moments of meeting with a person you like.
How else to start the process? Psychedelics, but since we are for a healthy lifestyle, then meditation. This path is longer, but sure and effective. It gives a state when the surrounding colors are brighter, when you love the whole world without conditions and expectations.
What: oxytocin.
Responsible for: trust in another person, reduces the level of anxiety and tension.
Contained in: medicines.
Highlights: during the period of falling in love, during moments of sexual arousal from breast stimulation, during orgasm with uterine contraction, during childbirth and breastfeeding.
How else to start the process? Have sex with your loved one. There is an opinion that she will never leave a man, thanks to which a woman released oxytocin, because the level of trust is very high. And men who were injected with the hormone additionally became more friendly to others.
What: vasopressin.
Responsible for: loyalty, affection, paternal love.
Contained in: person.
Highlights: during the period of love. True, unlike phenylethylamine, it is the result of conventionally loved. Jealousy, demands, expectations and wishes in relation to a partner are all the result of the action of vasopressin, unconditional love ends here. Most often it is mixed with the previous two hormones.
How else to start the process? Love, meditate.
About other
Testosterone is a male sex hormone and is responsible for masculinity in the same way that estrogen is for femininity. Both sexes have them in different proportions. Large amounts of testosterone lead to hypersexuality and masculinity in women, and estrogen feminizes. It is believed that fair-haired women have increased levels of estrogen and pheromones. Perhaps that is why gentlemen prefer blondes.
Adrenaline and noradrenaline get involved in work during stress, mobilize all the capabilities of the body according to the “fight or flight” principle. Experiments show that under the influence of these hormones, an animal driven into a corner is able to disperse “offenders”, and a person can do the impossible, for example, climb a tree without branches, running away from a bear. If he tried to repeat this trick without adrenaline, nothing would come of it.
Melatonin it is released from serotonin and is its opposite – it inhibits the nervous system to give the body a rest. Generated in the absence of light. Therefore, a darkened room contributes to a calm, meditative mood. At night, 70% of the daily dose of the hormone is secreted in the human body, the peak occurs at 2 am. And since melatonin slows down the aging process and enhances the efficiency of the immune system, it is helpful to sleep during this time rather than stay awake. Well, then get up, stretch, smile – and hello, new happy day!