D.O.S.E are your happiness chemicals: Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, and Endorphine - and you need to make sure that you’re getting your daily dose of them. So read on to find out what they are, why you need them, and how you can make sure that you are getting the right amount everyday. 

What are happiness chemicals?

• Dopamine: 

• Enables motivation, learning, and pleasure. 
• Gives you the determination to accomplish goals, desires, and needs.

• Oxytocin:

• Gives the feeling of trust and motivation, and helps to build and sustain relationships.
• Known as the “cuddle” or “Love hormone”, it plays a pivotal role in bonding.

•  Serotonin:

• Feeling significant or important among peers.
• Feel calm accepting yourself with the people around you.

• Endorphine: 

• Release a brief euphoria to mask physical pain
• Improve response to pain and stress and alleviate anxiety and depression

What can a deficiency affect you?

• Dopamine: 

• Procrastination, lack of motivation, mood swings, inability to focus, feeling anxious and feeling hopeless

• Oxytocin:

• Feeling lonely and stressed, lacking in motivation, a disconnect of relationships, feeling anxious, and insomnia

•  Serotonin:

• Low self-esteem, overly sensitive, anxiety and panic attacks, mood swings, social phobia, obsession, and insomnia

• Endorphine: 

• Anxiety, depression, mood swings, aches and pains, insomnia, and iImpulsive behavior

How can you combat these effects?

• Dopamine: 

• Meditate, create a daily to-do list, make long term goals, exercise regularly, get creative and make something like art, music, writing.

• Oxytocin:

• Physical touch socialising, massage, acupuncture, have a cold shower and exercise regularly

• Serotonin:

• Exercise regularly, have cold showers, get lots of sunlight, and have a massage

• Endorphine: 

• Laugh and cry, get creative and make something like art, music, or writing, eat spicy food, have a massage, and meditate

To understand more about how the chemicals in your brain can affect your mental health, or to receive any support for mental health-related issues, get in touch with us at: https://www.thebritishcollege.edu.np/pages/tbc-student-counselling-and-well-being-unit/0/88