Saturday, November 30, 2019

Hopeful Thinking - Saturday, November 30, 2019 - Getting All Doped Up

It’s all about feeling good, really. Joy. Undiluted, full-strength, lo-and-behold, rapture. That’s what we are meant to know and experience. It is a sacred right to be happy.

But what do we do about that right? We first have to accept it as a right. Allow me to repeat it, then: You have a sacred right to be happy. So often we are taught by society to place our own desires and happiness in second place as compared to the needs of our loved ones, of the community, and of, well, the whole world, frankly. Everyone else comes first. How’s that going for you?

Before we get into how to be happier, let’s address why. Enhanced happiness not only improves the quality of your life, it improves the quality of the lives of all those around you. At the very least, it does no additional damage. Happiness is contagious and few are immune to it.

Plus, happiness is physically healthier.

A preponderance of scientific evidence has clearly illustrated the beneficial effects of serotonin and dopamine in the body. Dopamine, is particularly famous for its effect on the brain and cellular structures. Dopamine is associated with pleasure and motivation in particular and is the reason we often refer to recreational drugs as ’dope’ because their initial effect is to make us feel good; primarily through the increasing dopamine production in our brains. But beware of achieving good brain chemistry through artificial means. It has a tendency to shut off our brain’s natural ability to produce them and requires more drugs over time to achieve the same effect.

Dopamine is a little bit more complex than just acting as a pleasure chemical. Dopamine’s bigger job is as a motivator. It motivates us to repeat our behavior because of how good it feels. When we experience enhanced dopamine levels, we naturally want more of it. One of the bigger moments for this happy little chemical is during excitement and anticipation. Looking forward to something enhances dopamine.

Sometimes I’m so busy preparing for something that I forget to be excited about it. I forget to take the time to imagine and anticipate and look forward to the feelings I will have. But that is doing my body a disservice as well as getting only half of the joy I might otherwise experience during the event itself. My brain needs time to prepare for the festivities. It’s not really looking for a surprise party. It wants to be part of the planning.

In a sense, it’s like trying to hit a golf ball without a backswing. The backswing is what gives it its power almost entirely. The backswing is what prepares us and warms up the motor of our dopamine production so that as we enter into the experience itself, our brains are fully ready to be as happy as possible.

This is ideal, because not only will you experience greater amounts of happiness, that extra dopamine flooding your body is practically a cure-all. You want as much of it as possible and as naturally-occurring as you can manage. It heals your cellular structure, positively affects your kidneys, insulin production, your digestive system and mental health.

Being happy enhances dopamine production and enhanced dopamine production makes us happier. In this case, the horse walks beside the cart.
Which is good news, because it means you can approach your happiness and your health from whichever direction is easiest for you.

If you are already happy, keep at it. Recognize that to build even more upon that happiness will  improve the quality of your life. But if you are less than happy, you can take actions that increase your dopamine levels deliberately, ultimately achieving the same result.

There are many ways to increase the volume of our positive brain juices. Gratitude is first among them. Do everything you can to find ways to be grateful. Especially in the midst of sadness or tragedy, reach for a better thought. When tragedy strikes, look for the helpers who always show up. Be grateful for them even while recognizing the realities of sorrow. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. In fact, finding reasons to be grateful, even amid tragedy, will benefit whatever challenges lay ahead in the recovery process. Get those dopamine levels as high as possible.

Your diet can greatly impact it as well. Eat more protein. Protein rich foods contain important amino acids that are crucial in the production of dopamine. It promotes deep thinking and improves our memory. Increased protein is likely the reason our distant ancestors developed larger brains. Think on that.

Eat less saturated fat, which inhibits dopamine production. Take probiotics which improve gut flora and certain bacteria that also produce dopamine.

Exercise can not only boost dopamine levels but our endorphin levels as well, which helps us move toward happiness even further. Additionally, sleep, music, meditation, and sunlight all do their part to enhance the optimum levels of good chemicals in our brain and body. These chemicals help our cells get rid of fat easier and retain fluids better, allowing them to function at their best.

Sometimes we don’t know where to turn when depression or anxiety overtake us. But we are not powerless to affect them. We are in the driver’s seat more than we realize. It is our choice to turn right or left. Take hold of the wheel.

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