The Happy Brain

The Happy Brain

Do you wonder what stimulates your happy brain chemicals- dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, endorphin? Answer your questions with these lively conversations between Loretta Breuning and real readers of her book, Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin levels. Still have more questions? Read the book and be a guest on the show yourself! Contact Dr. Breuning and learn more about her work at the Inner Mammal Institute at: InnerMammalInstitute.org. The brain chemicals that make us feel good are inherited from earlier mammals. They evolved to do a job, not to make you feel good all the time. When you know the job of each chemical in the state of nature, your ups and downs make sense. More important, you can re-wire yourself to enjoy more of them in sustainable ways. But it’s hard. Our brain is designed to release happy chemicals to reward steps that promote survival. But our brain defines survival in a quirky way: it cares about the survival of your genes and it relies on neural pathways built in youth. To make things even harder, our brain habituates to the rewards it has so you always have to do more to get more happy chemicals. We are not born with survival skills like our animal ancestors. Each newborn human wires itself from its own early experience. Happy chemicals are like paving on your neural pathways, wiring you to repeat behaviors that made you feel good before. This is why our urgent motivations don’t make sense to our verbal brain. It’s not easy being mammal! When you know how your brain works, you can find healthier ways to enjoy happy chemicals and relieve unhappy chemicals. You can build new neural pathways by feeding your brain new experiences. But you have to design the new experiences carefully and repeat them a lot. The Inner Mammal Institute has free resources to help you make peace with your inner mammal: videos, blogs, infographics, and podcasts. Dr. Breuning’s books illuminate the big picture and help you plot your course. You can find new ways to feel good, wherever you are right now. Music from Sonatina Soleil by W.M. Sharp. Hear more of it at InnerMammalInstitute.org/musicbywmsharp

Episodes

March 19, 2024 38 mins
I’m skeptical of magic bullets, but my guest helps people strap on a device that trains you to change your brainwaves, and it sounds reasonable. (https://www.neuroflex.tech)

The HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you spark your happy brain chemicals in healthy ways. Your host is Loretta G. Breuning PhD, founder of the Inner Mammal Institute and author of "Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin...
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My guest is a Ukrainian-Israeli who just read my book and is putting it into practice right now.

The HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you spark your happy brain chemicals in healthy ways. Your host is Loretta G. Breuning PhD, founder of the Inner Mammal Institute and author of "Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin levels.” Details at: https://innermammalinstitute.org.

Check o...
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February 20, 2024 54 mins
My guest was an elite athlete until she trained too much, and her story can help you make good decisions about whatever you’re training for.

The HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you spark your happy brain chemicals in healthy ways. Your host is Loretta G. Breuning PhD, founder of the Inner Mammal Institute and author of "Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin levels.” Details a...
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February 5, 2024 44 mins
The author of No Willpower Required tells me about strategies that worked for him after years of alcohol dependence. (hardenbrook.com/no-willpower-required)

The HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you spark your happy brain chemicals in healthy ways. Your host is Loretta G. Breuning PhD, founder of the Inner Mammal Institute and author of "Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin le...
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January 23, 2024 48 mins
A horse expert tells me how she guides the animal, and it’s amazingly relevant to guiding our inner mammal.

The HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you spark your happy brain chemicals in healthy ways. Your host is Loretta G. Breuning PhD, founder of the Inner Mammal Institute and author of "Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin levels.” Details at: https://innermammalinstitute.o...
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My new book shows why unhappiness is a natural brain function, and how politics transformed it into a disease. (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGTNQHGZ) You’ve been told that happiness is the natural default state, but that’s bad biology and it also undermines your quest for happiness in the long run.

The HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you spark your happy brain chemicals in healthy ways. Your host is Loretta G. Breuning PhD, founder of the...
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December 1, 2023 45 mins
Dr. Susan Hickman tells me why she created the Mental Fitness Institute, as we compare and contrast our darker days.

The HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you spark your happy brain chemicals in healthy ways. Your host is Loretta G. Breuning PhD, founder of the Inner Mammal Institute and author of "Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin levels.” Details at: https://innermammalin...
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This episode is just me. I get so many questions about parenting that I wanted to address them. In short, we are tempted to reward bad behavior without consciously intending to. The child pays the price because it wires them to repeat the bad behavior over and over. The next time you are tempted to reward a bad behavior by giving it power, ask yourself whether you're really doing it for yourself, to make you feel like a good person...
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November 3, 2023 48 mins
My guest coaches entrepreneurs who dare to leave the cave to find something new, but how does their inner mammal find the courage? joshthomas.net/home1702925582033

The HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you spark your happy brain chemicals in healthy ways. Your host is Loretta G. Breuning PhD, founder of the Inner Mammal Institute and author of "Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endor...
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October 20, 2023 47 mins
Many people get frustrated in their efforts to wire in a new language, so I discuss the challenge with Michael Waite, who teaches English in Japan.


The HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you spark your happy brain chemicals in healthy ways. Your host is Loretta G. Breuning PhD, founder of the Inner Mammal Institute and author of "Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin levels.” D...
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October 6, 2023 50 mins
The TV show “Friends” is my guest's mental-health solution, and you will be surprised at how persuasive she is. @myonlyfriends podcast.

The HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you spark your happy brain chemicals in healthy ways. Your host is Loretta G. Breuning PhD, founder of the Inner Mammal Institute and author of "Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin levels.” Details at: ht...
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September 22, 2023 54 mins
Zack Paul went from Navy SEAL to a deep hole of pain, but he climbed out and now teaches others to do that.

Check out my new video course, Train Your Inner Mammal to Feel Good Now https://innermammalinstitute.org/course

Get 10% off with the code ReaderDiscount at the checkout. You will learn to rewire your happy chemicals with small simple steps!

Check out video clips from this episode and others here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist...
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September 8, 2023 63 mins
Christian Ray Flores became a rock star in the Soviet Union after living in war zones in Third-World countries, and shares the life skills he learned along the way.

(https://www.christianrayflores.com/p/how-is-marxism-eroding-the-west-today)

Check out my new video course, Train Your Inner Mammal to Feel Good Now https://innermammalinstitute.org/course

Get 10% off with the code ReaderDiscount at the checkout. You will learn to rewire...
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August 25, 2023 49 mins
Bianca Brasil treats patients with a huge range of Eastern and Western methods, and even uses them on herself! (institutobiancabrasil.com.br/home)

Check out my new video course, Train Your Inner Mammal to Feel Good Now https://innermammalinstitute.org/course

Get 10% off with the code ReaderDiscount at the checkout. You will learn to rewire your happy chemicals with small simple steps!

Check out video clips from this episode and others...
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August 11, 2023 52 mins
Jared Klickstein tells me about growing up with drug-addicted parents, and about the recovery program that succeeded where so many failed.

Check out my new video course, Train Your Inner Mammal to Feel Good Now https://innermammalinstitute.org/course

Get 10% off with the code ReaderDiscount at the checkout. You will learn to rewire your happy chemicals with small simple steps!

Check out video clips from this episode and others here: h...
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July 28, 2023 65 mins
Troubled classrooms are transformed by my guest Scott Ervin as he rewards positive behaviors & NEVER rewards negative behaviors. (behavioralleadership.com)

You can now enroll in my new video course, which helps you rewire your happy chemicals with small simple steps! https://innermammalinstitute.org/course. Get 10% off with the code ReaderDiscount at the checkout.

Check out video clips from this episode and others here: https://...
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July 14, 2023 50 mins
Kalos Music School founders Eugenia Mendez and Saul Vera tell me how they teach music to children, and how this helps us all find our power over our brain. (kalosmusicandart.com

Check out my new video course, Train Your Inner Mammal to Feel Good Now https://innermammalinstitute.org/course

Get 10% off with the code ReaderDiscount at the checkout. You will learn to rewire your happy chemicals with small simple steps!

Check out video cli...
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I discuss the book Questioning Spirituality with the author, Eldon Taylor, finding common ground despite core differences. (https://amzn.to/3mXdzEy)

Check out my new video course, Train Your Inner Mammal to Feel Good Now https://innermammalinstitute.org/course

Get 10% off with the code ReaderDiscount at the checkout. You will learn to rewire your happy chemicals with small simple steps!

Check out video clips from this episode and othe...
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June 16, 2023 47 mins
I think about eating a lot, so I talk to a health and mindset coach who helps people think differently about food. (https://jeniferparedes.com)

Check out my new video course, Train Your Inner Mammal to Feel Good Now https://innermammalinstitute.org/course

Get 10% off with the code ReaderDiscount at the checkout. You will learn to rewire your happy chemicals with small simple steps!

Check out video clips from this episode and others he...
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June 2, 2023 31 mins
Lisa Cunningham DeLauney shares my interest in travel and animals and management, so I was eager to hear how she helps people deal with change.

Check out my new video course, Train Your Inner Mammal to Feel Good Now https://innermammalinstitute.org/course

Get 10% off with the code ReaderDiscount at the checkout. You will learn to rewire your happy chemicals with small simple steps!

Check out video clips from this episode and others h...
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