The Happy Brain - podcast cover

The Happy Brain

MHNR Network, LLCwww.spreaker.com
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
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Episodes

Music and the Brain

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 clips from this episode and others here: https://www.youtube.com...

Jul 14, 202351 min

Spirituality: Disagreeing Respectfully

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 others here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1hyR2RHXp04...

Jun 30, 20231 hr

Thinking About Eating

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 here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1hyR2RHXp04OmVhF...

Jun 16, 202347 min

Change Catalyst

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 here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1hyR2RHXp04OmVhFUK...

Jun 02, 202331 min

Boost Your Mood 10th Anniversary

Ten years ago, I wrote a blog post on boosting your happy chemicals, and I re-posted it last year. My guest Lisa Williams Edgar wrote to tell me that she read it ten years ago and has been using it with her clients since then. I was excited to hear more about it so I invited her onto the show. ( https://www.newhorizontraining.co.uk ) 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 chec...

May 19, 202339 min

Change Your Branches by Nourishing Your Roots

Andrea Nakayama trains functional nutritional counselors, and teaches me about functional medicine, training, and to tell you the truth, about poop. https://www.fxnutrition.com/about-andrea/ 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...

May 05, 202338 min

Self-Confidence: Can It Be Taught?

Paul Levitin tells me how he teaches people to feel their own strength— though they don't know it's serotonin. (instagram.com/paullevitin) Link to my new course! https://innermammalinstitute.org/course If you like The Happy Brain Podcast, please rate and review it to help others make peace with their inner mammal. THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you blaze new trails to your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. My guests are pioneers in retraining the inner mammal. I love learning from the...

Apr 21, 202343 min

Mean Mammals

Mean Mammals Realtor Matt O-Neill describes people who manipulate, intimidate, and try to get something for free, and how the inner mammal approach helps him manage it. ( https://www.mattoneillrealestate.com/agents/matt-oneill/ ) 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! If you like The Happy Brain P...

Apr 07, 202347 min

Rapid Transformation Therapy

RTT practitioner Valentina Michetti joins me for a deep discussion of what it takes to rewire, and asks me great questions about enabling, myelin, relaxation, abstract thought, and using bad words. (facebook.com/BetterBelief) Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-happy-brain/id1377502232?i=1000558350153 Spotify Podcasts: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1wuRZCKcRWsg0sIPSvcrA6?si=jEJRVF72TSKNaE5b5pk1ig You can now enroll in my new course! https://innermammalinstitute.org/cours...

Mar 24, 20231 hr 1 min

Beyond Burnout

Sharon Grossman, "The Burnout Doc," talks to me about preventing burnout and designing solutions that fit your individual needs. (drsharongrossman.com) Link to my new course! https://innermammalinstitute.org/course If you like The Happy Brain Podcast, please rate and review it to help others make peace with their inner mammal. THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you blaze new trails to your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. My guests are pioneers in retraining the inner mammal. I love lear...

Mar 10, 202346 min

Divorce Lawyer’s Advice

Toni Nieuwhof wrote “Before You Split” after years of watching the toll that divorce takes. (toninieuwhof.com) Link to my new course! https://innermammalinstitute.org/course If you like The Happy Brain Podcast, please rate and review it to help others make peace with their inner mammal. THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you blaze new trails to your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. My guests are pioneers in retraining the inner mammal. I love learning from them! Listen in and subscribe s...

Feb 24, 202340 min

Release Constrictions: Live Lesson

A method for releasing physical and emotional pain is taught to me (and you!) by Roberta Tachi, a senior teacher of The Realization Process. (theselfawakens.com) Link to my new course! https://innermammalinstitute.org/course If you like The Happy Brain Podcast, please rate and review it to help others make peace with their inner mammal. THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you blaze new trails to your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. My guests are pioneers in retraining the inner mammal. I...

Feb 10, 202343 min

The Sex Chemicals with John Gray

The author of the Mars Venus books gives me his view of the sex hormones and tells me how a dog obedience class improved his marriage. ( marsvenus.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! If you like The Happy Brain Podcast, please rate and review it to help others make peace with their inner ...

Jan 27, 20231 hr 2 min

The Problem with Academic Psychology

This episode is just me because I want to explain my skepticism about the research we get from academic psychology. Get the full text here: https://innermammalinstitute.org/theproblem/ or watch it on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emsI9pxYWUQ 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! I...

Jan 13, 202332 min

Your Executive Brain

Dr. Eugene Choi left a career as a pharmacist to teach people how to manage their higher brain, but how does that fit with my work on the lower brain? (destinyhacks.com) Link to my new course! https://innermammalinstitute.org/course If you like The Happy Brain Podcast, please rate and review it to help others make peace with their inner mammal. THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you blaze new trails to your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. My guests are pioneers in retraining the inner m...

Dec 30, 202239 min

Herd Behavior

My guest manages goats, cows, a cheese factory, and a farm tour, so she’s full of insight on mammalian impulses. (achadinha.com) You can now enroll in my new course! https://innermammalinstitute.org/course If you like The Happy Brain Podcast, please rate and review it to help others make peace with their inner mammal. THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you blaze new trails to your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. My guests are pioneers in retraining the inner mammal. I love learning from...

Dec 16, 202239 min

Hospital Drama

My guest tells us how she brings the inner mammal method into her daily work as a Registered Nurse. ( https://RNextdoor.com ) If you like The Happy Brain Podcast, please rate and review it to help others make peace with their inner mammal. THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you blaze new trails to your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. My guests are pioneers in retraining the inner mammal. I love learning from them! Listen in and subscribe so you can turn on your happy chemicals in health...

Nov 18, 20221 hr 6 min

Addiction MD on Political Correctness

Dr. Vera Tarman tells me about the changes that have taken place in her 20 years of treating addiction. If you like The Happy Brain Podcast, please rate and review it to help others make peace with their inner mammal. THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you blaze new trails to your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. My guests are pioneers in retraining the inner mammal. I love learning from them! Listen in and subscribe so you can turn on your happy chemicals in healthy new ways. Your host,...

Nov 04, 20221 hr 4 min

A Dating and Supply Chain Entrepreneur!

Adam Lyons has applied the inner mammal method to his many businesses, from dating coach to supply chain consultant, with great results! If you like The Happy Brain Podcast, please rate and review it to help others make peace with their inner mammal. THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you blaze new trails to your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. My guests are pioneers in retraining the inner mammal. I love learning from them! Listen in and subscribe so you can turn on your happy chemical...

Oct 21, 202257 min

Tribe Sober

Janet Gourand helps people stimulate their dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin after they give up alcohol (TribeSober.com). If you like The Happy Brain Podcast, please rate and review it to help others make peace with their inner mammal. THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you blaze new trails to your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. My guests are pioneers in retraining the inner mammal. I love learning from them! Listen in and subscribe so you can turn on your happy chemicals in...

Oct 07, 202245 min

Using Happy Chemicals To Reach Goals

Kartini Ariffin is sharing my work with her clients in Malaysia and brought me a long list of great questions about moving toward goals. f you like The Happy Brain Podcast, please rate and review it to help others make peace with their inner mammal. THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you blaze new trails to your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. My guests are pioneers in retraining the inner mammal. I love learning from them! Listen in and subscribe so you can turn on your happy chemicals...

Sep 23, 202235 min

How Coaches Get Coached

Lucy Mullins, founder of #RidetheWave Professional Coaching School, talks to me about learning to jump the waves that crash on us throughout life. https://www.ridethewave.co.uk/ If you like The Happy Brain Podcast, please rate and review it to help others make peace with their inner mammal. THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you blaze new trails to your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. My guests are pioneers in retraining the inner mammal. I love learning from them! Listen in and subscri...

Sep 09, 202239 min

Supply Chain Drama Up Close

You don’t appreciate the supply chain 'til it’s gone, and logistics expert Priscille Livenais tells me about the stress and the career opportunity. (priscillelivenais.com) If you like The Happy Brain Podcast, please rate and review it to help others make peace with their inner mammal. THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you blaze new trails to your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. My guests are pioneers in retraining the inner mammal. I love learning from them! Listen in and subscribe so ...

Aug 26, 202246 min

All Happy Chemicals At Once

My guest has read all of my books and asks great questions so we kept going until I answered them all, especially about stimulating all the happy chemicals at the same time. If you like The Happy Brain Podcast, please rate and review it to help others make peace with their inner mammal. THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you blaze new trails to your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. My guests are pioneers in retraining the inner mammal. I love learning from them! Listen in and subscribe s...

Aug 12, 20221 hr 18 min

How to Gamify Your Life

Renowned gamification expert Yu-kai Chou tells me how anyone can gamify their life to get desired behaviors more easily. ( https://octalysisgroup.com ) If you like The Happy Brain Podcast, please rate and review it to help others make peace with their inner mammal. THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you blaze new trails to your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. My guests are pioneers in retraining the inner mammal. I love learning from them! Listen in and subscribe so you can turn on your...

Jul 29, 202253 min

Entrepreneur Stress

If you’re tempted to quit your job and go solo, here’s a realistic talk with performance coach, Lydia Kathryn. (lydiakathryn.com) If you like The Happy Brain Podcast, please rate and review it to help others make peace with their inner mammal. THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you blaze new trails to your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. My guests are pioneers in retraining the inner mammal. I love learning from them! Listen in and subscribe so you can turn on your happy chemicals in he...

Jul 15, 202242 min

Deep Work vs. Busy Work

Tova Safra tells me about her new app that gives you a virtual co-working space on demand: https://groove.io THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you blaze new trails to your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. My guests are pioneers in retraining the inner mammal. I love learning from them! Listen in and subscribe so you can turn on your happy chemicals in healthy new ways. Your host, Loretta Breuning PhD, is founder of the Inner Mammal Institute and author of "Habits of a Happy Brain: Retra...

Jul 01, 202242 min

A PTSD Success Story

Medric Cousineau explains the cascade of problems that began with a heroic rescue, and the cascade of solutions that began with a service dog. ( https://pawsfurthought.ca ) THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you blaze new trails to your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. My guests are pioneers in retraining the inner mammal. I love learning from them! Listen in and subscribe so you can turn on your happy chemicals in healthy new ways. Your host, Loretta Breuning PhD, is founder of the Inne...

Jun 17, 202248 min

Negotiating with Family

Chris Wilson teaches conflict resolution in prisons, colleges, and corporations, so I ask her about conflict within families. ( https://iheartresolution.com ) THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you blaze new trails to your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. My guests are pioneers in retraining the inner mammal. I love learning from them! Listen in and subscribe so you can turn on your happy chemicals in healthy new ways. Your host, Loretta Breuning PhD, is founder of the Inner Mammal Insti...

Jun 03, 202246 min

Panic Attacks

Maite Crespo tells me how she stopped her panic attacks by creating a “pause for serenity” method, which she teaches now at https://todoyoga.com THE HAPPY BRAIN PODCAST helps you blaze new trails to your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. My guests are pioneers in retraining the inner mammal. I love learning from them! Listen in and subscribe so you can turn on your happy chemicals in healthy new ways. Your host, Loretta Breuning PhD, is founder of the Inner Mammal Institute and autho...

May 20, 202255 min
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