Do you know what it feels like to be happy? Do you know what being happy means to you? If you live in a city then you’re probably being constantly bombarded with adverts telling you what you need to be ‘happy’. That miracle face cream or those ‘I kick arse’ shoes… have you noticed that it’s usually a ‘thing’ though? Happiness is actually an internal feeling and no amount of shoes or cars or other fancy things is going to give us long-lasting happiness. The good news though is that you can train your mind for finding happiness. You can also give it a good supplement boost as well as a natural, healthy chemical kickstart. 

What is Happiness?

If you look into neuroscience, then you’ll probably be told that happiness is about sustaining positive emotions or, that perhaps, we’re simply not designed to be happy. Then again, mindfulness tells you that it’s about being in the present such that you’re not ruminating about the past or worrying about the future. You can take that a step further and say that it’s the acceptance of the things you can’t control. 

I like to think of finding happiness along the lines of Positive Psychology. My take on this is that you’re happy when you’re living life according to your purpose and values. Naturally, this assumes that you’ve first met your basic needs such as having a roof over your head and food to eat. Having said that, none of us can click our fingers and simply remove our stress response or our conditioning and the triggers we’ve developed over time. 

Why is Finding Happiness so Tough? 

We’ve created a world in most of our societies that values material things. Manoeuvring through the modern world of shiny gadgets, instant gratification and escapism isn’t easy. Actually, it’s damn hard. Sadly, we’ve forgotten that finding happiness comes from within. So many of us chase dreams that belong to our families or other people. Moreover, we usually have little self-compassion because we’re taught to keep aiming for more. Let’s not forget that constant flurry of negative thoughts that the brain creates so marvellously well. In fact, it’s simply doing it’s job trying to protect us but it’s perhaps being a little over enthusiastic in its work. 

Work with your Brain 

We all have triggers whether we had the perfect childhood or not. Being alive means to have ups and downs and our brains are designed to protect us through all those experiences. However, sometimes our brains misinterpret situations and create triggers in us. The great thing is that we now know that we can learn to observe these behaviours and change them with time. Mindfulness is one of the many tools although journaling is another great practical exercise that can make a huge difference to your awareness. 

The good news is that you can help your brain as you work through your emotions and behaviours. Of course it takes time but why not give yourself the best support you can get? It’s a bit like training for a marathon and not eating the right food and supplements. Our bodies support our mental well being and we can get a huge positive boost from supplements. Ivee is an interesting company that does this intravenously so that the benefits from the supplements all go straight into your system therefore avoiding any digestive losses. 

Give yourself a Boost

A great article, Boost your Brain, talks about 5 key supplements, including vitamin B to support your cognitive functions such as memory. What if you could enhance this with a natural chemical boost? Dopamine is one of the ‘happiness hormones’ that sits in the reward centre of your brain and also has a huge impact on memory. The best part is that you can trigger it by celebrating small wins. Simply working through a short to-do list will make you feel happier, believe it or not. 

The other happiness hormones that you can boost with supplements are oxytocin, otherwise known as the love hormone, serotonin, the mood stabiliser, and endorphins or the ‘pain killers’. I’ve included below one of my favourite pictures that summarises what you can do to boost each of the happy hormones. 

However, there are many more things you can do for a natural boost and some of them even revolve around food. For example, almonds and bananas trigger dopamine whereas pineapple and tofu boost your serotonin. Spinach and avocados are great for oxytocin and apparently, even pizza promotes endorphins! Spot the vegan list though … naturally, you can research more foods that work for you. 

What’s your Next Step? 

Why not work with everything we can to give ourselves a chance at finding happiness? It doesn’t have to be en elusive concept deep into the future but you can help your happiness today. I still strongly believe in mindfulness but working with your brain also gives you such a great support. It really all comes down to self-care and finding the right balance of activities and foods in our lives. Of course it might take time and patience to change the habits of a lifetime but it’s worth it.

Even if your first step is simply taking supplements and gradually building in other activities and foods. Then, in the long-run, your mental capacity will only thank you, especially as you get older. Remember that we love the illusion of immortality but whether we like it or not, time does catch up with us so why not try changing some of those habits? You might even surprise yourself and enjoy it.