Escape dopamine addiction and train your brain to be truly happy

THE ROUTE TO HAPPINESS IS THE RIGHT DOSE OF NATURAL CHEMICALS, NEUROSCIENTIST TJ POWER

- VICKY JESSOP

What is at the root of true happiness? If you ask the Finns, who were recently named the happiest nation for the eighth year running, it’s predominantly about having trust in your community, combined with resilience and realism.

But amid all the noise, TJ Power's message cuts through. A trained neuroscientist, Power has written a bestselling book called the “DOSE effect”. That stands for dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins — aka the chemicals that power our states of wellbeing. We need a balance of all four. As Power puts it, “Those four chemicals are pivotal to the experience we're having in our day-to-day life.”

They all have very different effects on the body. Dopamine is credited with a general sense of wellbeing and motivation; oxytocin (often called the “bonding hormone”) rewards close interpersonal connections. Serotonin creates a feeling of emotional stability, while endorphins are the body's antidote to inflammation and stress, activated mainly through exercise.