Tip# 1 – Increase Amount of Neurotransmitters in Your Brain

(Click 3 dots to download MP3)

Sign up below to my Personal Growth newsletter.

If you want to stop WORRYING, the best thing you can do is INCREASE the amount of Neurotransmitters in your brain. 

So, what are Neurotransmitters anyway?

Well, they are body’s chemical messengers which allow communication to happen through the nervous system between neurons or from neurons to muscles. Neuroscientists have discovered that there are over 100 different types of neurotransmitters which can be categorized as 

small amine molecules, amino acids, or neuropeptides.

The cool thing is you don’t have to WORRY about 100 of them, because about 10 of them do 99% of the work.

Out of those, there are 4 which are responsible for boosting your level of happiness. They are:

• Dopamine
  
• Endorphins
• Serotonin
• Oxytocin

Let’s take a closer look at each of these neurotransmitters.

Dopamine – produces the joy of finding the things you really want to have in the now or in the long-term. It is responsible for giving you the drive to make more money, to have sex, to eat delicious food or go on an extravagant vacation. It also what makes you say “Oh I got it!” when you have solved a problem.

Endorphins – create a fake high which masks real pain that you could be experiencing. It is often called ‘Runners High’ because people who run regularly produce a lot of endorphins which makes them feel happy. Endorphins motivate you to ignore pain so you can keep going to solve or escape immediate situation at hand.

Serotonin – is the master regulator which effects your mood, appetite, body’s healing ability, pain awareness as well as the ability to focus. It is by keeping HIGH amounts of serotonin in the brain how depression, stress & anxiety begin to disappear. Since it effects so many aspects of who you are, serotonin also produces the feeling of being respected by others in your social circle.

Oxytocin – produces the feeling of being safe while with other humans. It is the chemical that makes you calm when in the back of your head you know that your friends got your back if you need help with some issue. Mostly responsible for social bonding and building connections with other people on a very personal level.

In her book, “Habits of a Happy Brain”, Loretta Graziano Breuning writes that we have these happy chemicals but they don’t flow consistently.

“The lion only gets more happy chemicals when she finds more prey, and the elephant only releases them when he sees a way to meet a need. There is no free happy chemicals in the state of nature. Good feelings evolved because they get us to do things that promote survival”.

The point here is: To start feeling better, you need to INCREASE the flow of happy chemicals at the MOMENT when you are down.

The problem is that when we are tired or worried, we do not think clearly. Therefore, we are more prone to picking the least best activity to deal with STRESS like:

• Watching TV
• Playing Video games
• Drinking alcohol
• Smoking
• Searching the Internet 
• Gambling
• Shopping
• Partying (Hardcore style…etc.)

These stress management tactics rely heavily on dopamine release because there is a QUICK REWARD to feel good. But, the dark side is that these activities may develop into ADDICTIONS over the long term, which then could become automatic HABITS.

Example:

STRESS TRIGGER (Boss yells at you) -> AUTO HABIT (Beer after work)

The crazy thing about these unconscious behaviours is that ONCE they become part of you, it is really hard to remove it.

So, what should you do?

Well, I want to you to be AWARE when you are stressed and the NEXT ACTION you take. Since, whatever you do will get wired into your brain and become the stress response.

In that moment which is only 1 sec long you will need to choose a more EFFECTIVE stress management technique. Which include:

1. Meditation (any type if you have time)

2. Exercise (Gym, yoga, sports, or in nature)

3. Talking to a friend about the problem

4. Walk outside

5. Listening to relaxing music 

6. Going to Religious Service

7. Focusing on hobby (like building a toy plane, or knitting…etc.)

8. Drawing cartoons

8. Your own custom more positive reaction _____________

Of course, you would not be going to the gym, when you have only 1 sec to decide what to do. Unless you work at the gym, then it would make sense.

The key thing is to pick a BETTER response in the NOW and better pre-plan what else you can do in the future if it happens again.This brings me to the number 1 way to increase the quantity of neurotransmitters in your brain, which is EXERCISE.

This is great for people who love EXERCISE, but I can already hear the others:

- But I hate workouts, I got no motivation

- People would think that I am fat

- I am not as fit as other people in the gym

- I got injured back so I can’t do exercise

- And the list goes on...

If you don't like to exercise and want to feel good, you can try taking real medication or herbal supplements which are discussed in Tip #3.

Here is the thing, all of these statements can be true but all of them are RELATIVE to your origin of COMPARISON. 

Well, lets do an example.

Example: You think you are fat and people are judging you.

I have personally known a few people like that and I found out 3 things.

First, they are FAT relative to the FIT people.

If you could workout with individuals from the BIGGEST LOOSER SHOW, you would be skinny in comparison to them.

Second, when you workout with someone who truly does not judge you like a friend which also happens to be MORE FIT than you. It is super natural for YOU to think that one day you will train at the same intensity as they do and look sexier.

Third, Where or When you workout can be changed so there is no one to judge you.

Did you try going to the gym at 6pm? Or may be on Sun day at 11am? Of course, there will be a lot of people because these are very popular hours for working out no matter what country you are living in.

As a result, you will feel overwhelmed and will start THINKING MORE and MORE that people are judging your because you got a belly or fat ass.

SOLUTION?  Pick a different time WHEN you workout, like early morning.

Yes, there are lots of professionals that come in the morning but that also depends on the gym. So, instead of having 60 people in the gym judging you, there will be 10 not including the staff of course.

Hey, it’s much easier to workout when there is only 10 people judging you rather than 60.

By the way I will tell you another little secret.

95% of the time people are actually NOT JUDGING YOU, they are too busy doing their own thing.

You are judging yourself every 1 second while at the gym, the other people thinking about their own schedules and what they need to get done. So, wake up at 5:30 am and drive straight to the gym, depending how far it is you can start working out by 6:30am.

Just do 30min workout that makes it 7am then add 15min for showering and 15min for changing which takes you to 7:30am. And then, you can still make it to work and feel SUPER GOOD because you have LOADED NEUROTRANSMITTERS to deal with the day!

How do I know that it works? Because I did it myself.

However, later I switched to working out at home, which is your WHERE option.

You might choose to workout at home but just make sure there is an area which would not disturb other family members as much.

Currently the workout that I do is Tony Horton’s P90X3 and I do it in my living room. I don’t even do the whole 30min. I just do 15-20min and that is enough for me. 

Guess what? There is no ONE TO JUDGE you at home and if your family members are judging you, then stick up for yourself or move out. 

That is something you will need to figure out, since everyone's situation is different. I personally moved out after living with my brother. Even though the ability to work out in the morning was not my biggest reason for doing so, it was certainly there.

The key is to START doing SOME type of exercise 2-3 times a week.

Running is the cheapest exercise but you might not be able to run outside during the WINTER months unless you are really hardcore like Wim Hof.

The KEY is to try a few different workouts and see if they fit your life style. You can always try something new until you have your own custom workout routine.

If you want to contact me, you can do so below.