Oxytocin: The Chemicals that keep us Happy
Do you feel that you need a pick me up?
A Happiness boost?
I know there are many folks, including myself, writing about how Happiness is an inside job —and it is.
What's an inside job? I think about inside jobs as mediation, which can help with an attitude adjustment; Yoga, walking in nature, exercise, and dancing (for Body support); and any self-discovery explorations that invite you to look at what your heart holds essential and what makes you happy (or not).
Over the past year, we've needed to rely on ourselves to fill our happiness cup more and more. And, I don't know about you, but no matter how hard I tried to keep myself well and happy, something was still missing.
Connecting to what makes us happy is a passionate topic for me, so I stared to read a bit about the chemicals that fill our happiness cup. I noticed how some chemicals I was accessing and others, not so much.
Throughout this month, I put together a few short blogs about chemicals that can help you Happiness Cup filled up.
❤️ Oxytocin
Often considered the Love Drug or Hugging drug, because Oxytocin gets released during physical contact. This hormone helps you release stress, allows you to feel calm, helps you think clearly, and boosts your immune system.
I suspect that many of us are severely lacking in Oxytocin these days; so in lieu of hugging a person you can pet a canine or feline friend. And if it's safe to do so, hug a human friend too.
And because Oxytocin is a social drug, you not only stimulated this chemical in you, but in the other person as well, simply by :
• embracing
• giving a gift
• sharing a meal
• or by opening your heart and listening deeply to yourself or another.