In these crazy times, I don't now about you, but, I am looking for joy thru my animals. When I take Spike, my 10 yr old Alaskan Husky, out for out jaunts thru the state park and I see his ears perk up, his tail wagging as he gets excited about the prospects of tracking a new bunny or he catches the smell of something interesting in the breeze - This brings me joy!!!!  To see Spike fully engaged in the moment with his entire being, not having a care in the world or about the rest of the world happenings is beautiful and inspiring. 

For many of us the activities that we were previously engaging in with our dogs are either no longer happening or they are occurring with restrictions and in atmospheres surrounded by caution and rooted in fear.

As a result,  not as many opiates are being produced in our brains to make us feel good.  We are not smiling as much which also impacts our brain chemistry.  In a nut shell, we are experiencing decreased fun, decreased joy, decreased smiling, leading to decreased opiates, decreased serotonin, and decreased dopamine.  This directly leads to feelings of depression, sadness, and just blah......

The scary part in all of this, is that it negatively effects our immune systems!!!!!

Did you know that we have opiate receptors on our white blood cells that are very important for keeping our immune system healthy and functioning at peak performance.  When we are experiencing the blah's it will directly lower the opiate levels in our brains and immune systems.  This is the work of Candice Pert PhD, who wrote the book "Molecules of Emotions"  in 1999.

Let's look at some of these chemicals and learn what they are,  what they do and how can we increase them in our body and brain.

Serotonin is a very important neurotransmitter  (nervous system communicator) in the brain and body that is believed to help regulate mood, social behavior, digestion bowel movements, sleep, memory, sexual desire and function.  Serotonin is the key hormone that helps give us the feeling of well being and happiness.

Dopamine is a messenger molecule that plays an important role in the brain for executive function (putting things in order), motor control, attention, motivation, arousal, reinforcement and reward.  Your dog understands this one because every time he/she does something positive they are rewarded with a treat and their dopamine levels go up.  No wonder our animals are happy and smiling at us all the time. Wouldn't it be nice if someone gave us a treat every time we did something good?  The world would sure be a more positive place.  Well, are animals do give us a treat and help raise our dopamine levels because when they are happy we are happy.  Wow, so every time my dog goes out to the bathroom and comes back in and I give him a treat in fact I too am raising my dopamine levels.  Humm..... I see more trips outside to pee are in everyone's future.

Opiates are the molecules that are produced in the brain as a result of exercise.  We all have heard of the saying "runner's high".  I am sure you have experienced aches and pains yet, after exercise, an exciting situation or even a dog class you forget about those aches and pains .  Where did they go?  Well,  this happens because your body /brain was enjoying your activity and produced natural pain killers called endorphins that blocked the pain receptors and miraculously - no pain.  Additionally, these opiate molecules are found on white blood cells (WBC).   This very important because opiates bind to the WBC  and help your immune system function better.  Amazing!!!!!

So,  how might we go about elevating these various neurotransmitters in our bodies naturally -  simply by engaging in activities that make us smile/happy.  Whether it is playing ball with your dog in the back yard,  watching your dog enjoy life to the fullest, weeding your garden, taking a walk,  listening to the birds,  cleaning your closet.........  Give yourself a pat on the back for just getting up in the morning and feel your mood go up.

Heck,  we give our dogs treats for going outside and peeing.  Why not give ourselves a treat/pat on the back.  A treat or pat on the back goes a long way in helping our dogs and us feel better.

Please find something or make something happen in your life everyday that will make you smile and bring joy which will directly increase your serotonin, dopamine and opiate levels thus improving  your mental outlook, immune system and reduce pain.

My next post will be a 4 part video series titled "Making Lemonade out of Lemons".  It is inspired by my clients who shared with me their struggles around losing many of the things they enjoy doing in life either because they have been cancelled or the way in which they must now participate is surrounded by precautions, restrictions and at the root of it all fear. 

Here are a few of the topic to be discussed:
🔹The effects of stress/fear on the immune system, brain and body.
🔹Ways  you can improve your health to avoid getting sick.
🔹Exercises for the 2 legged to improve balance, stability, agility and eye - hand coordination so you will be better prepared than you were,  to return to your activities.  As a bonus these exercises will also help keep away dementia.