For all you curiosity-driven and knowledge-thirsty fellow mammals, I bring great news! 🙂 Essential theoretical and practical information about animal and human cognition, behavior and neurochemical dynamic, along with strategies to create your path to neurochemical happiness, is now available in new book formats: “Science of Positivity” and “Habits of a Happy Brain“, authored by Dr. Loretta Breuning, Professor Emerita of Management at California State University, East Bay. Read and find out everything you need to know about your mammalian brain and discover ways to create new “happy circuits” that will help you see a better version of the world around you.
A first step to understanding your inner mammal is to get to know the characteristics of our neurochemical world and the role it has in shaping our thoughts and behaviors. “Habits of a Happy Brain” provides a great introduction into brain chemistry and the ways we can use to create new “happy circuits”, while “Science of Positivity” takes us a step further and proposes a practical method of rewiring our brains to generate a positive approach about the world we live in, that will trigger better rewards in the long run than our innate proneness to negativity manages to provide so far.
“The Science of Positivity” provides a practical approach to transcending our natural proneness to negativity through rewiring our brains to focus on the positive, rather than the negative in the world around us.
Along with an introduction for subjects such as mammalian brain and happy chemicals that forms the building blocks for the strategy further proposed in the book, “Science of Positivity” helps one understand the apparent paradox of feeling good while searching for or dealing with negative contexts and the profound impact early experience has on the development of our expectations and the creation of neural pathways.
Once you learn the way your brain creates your world, you are set for a great new experience of self-guided change. As mammals, we tend to mentally create the image of a “bad world”, just to have the oportunity to feel the neurochemical rewards of making it “good” again. The author encourages her readers to use their mental energy for creating new “happy circuits” rather than continuously generating and imagining new threats. There are better ways to feel happiness than getting to it through a negativity loop.
Dr. Loretta Breuning proposes the creation of new thought patterns called PARE – Personal Agency and Realistic Expectations – that she estimates can be created in six weeks in which you will train your brain to focus on the positive, rather than the negative or the flaws of the world we live in. She also highlights the benefits of Personal Agency and its implications in aspects like innovation, career and parenting and the fact that Realistic Expectations will help you Act Personally.
The PARE habit will basically help you switch from an external locus of control to an internal one. You will become aware of the fact that you are the creator of the world you live in and that it is up to you to choose positivity over negativity.
The book also proposes an extended version of the “Fight-or-Flight” response pattern (activated when dealing with a perceived threat) that includes “Freeze” and “Fawn” as reactions to threat that help bring down cortisol levels. The difference between “cynicism” and “pessimism” is also approached.
Dr. Breuning uses a personal writing style and provides many examples of personal experience to help the reader understand and assimilate the information presented in the book. Although the context of the teachings included in “Science of Positivity” is neurochemistry, the text is accesible to a wide range of readers since it places the information in everyday life contexts that the reader can identify with.
In this sense, the Appendix of the book presents the concept of Personal Agency as encountered in movies and books. Examples and analyses include “Life Story” (documentary), “Longitude” (mini-series), “October Sky” (movie), “The King’s Speech (movie), “Romantics anonymous” (movie), “Darwin’s Ghost: The Secret History of Evolution” (book), “The Doctor’s Plague: Germs, Childbed Fever, and the Strange Story of Ignác Semmelweis” (book) and Mario Puzo’s “The Fortunate Pilgrim” (book).
“Science of Positivity” ‘s official release date is December 2nd, 2016, but you can pre-order your copy here.
*”Science of Positivity” is the republished and revised version of “Beyond Cynical”, previously reviewed on Psychology Corner here. “Beyond Cynical” is no longer available for purchase.
While you’re waiting for the realease of “Science of Positivity”, why not get acquainted with the basic information every knowledge-thirsty mammal should have under their belt and read “Habits of a Happy Brain”?
“Habits of a Happy Brain” is a wonderful introduction to the subject of brain chemistry and describes the characteristics and roles of each of the main neurochemicals that are involved in human and animal cognition and behavior.
The book will help readers understand the ways in which experience shapes neural circuits, the obstacles we face on our way to happiness and provides strategies that can turn on the “happy chemicals” – dopamine, endorphin, oxytocin, and serotonin.
It’s a new way to analyze one’s inner dynamic, based on neurochemicals and the associated thoughts and behaviors that give their levels away. Use the habit changing recommendations in the book and build new “happy circuits”.
“Habits of a Happy Brain” also provides a neurochemical explanation for Love and Betrayed Trust.
You can purchase your copy of “Habits of a Happy Brain”, here.
*”Habits of a Happy Brain” is the republished and revised version of “Meet Your Happy Chemicals”, previously reviewed on Psychology Corner here. “Meet Your Happy Chemicals” is no longer available for purchase.
If you want to keep in touch with other fellow mammals, visit the Inner Mammal Institute website and sign-up to the “Private Lives of Primates” Newsletter or follow Dr. Loretta Breuning’s blog – Your Neurochemical Self – on PsychologyToday.Com.
P.S. This is not a commercial endorsement deal. I get no commission from the sales of this book.
Photo Sources: Copyright (C) Adams Media. Used with author’s permission.
Positive psychology is worth the investment if we want to keep humans happy.. Neuroplasticity also suggests we have a happy brain.. study this from the amygdala
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