Copyright ©2022, Dr. COSTA P.

ISBN: 9788835436942

Publisher’s Mark: The One, Independently published.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce all or part of this book in any form whatsoever. Practitioners and patients should always rely on their own experience and knowledge in assessing and using any advice, information, and treatment described herein. Science is advancing rapidly, and therefore readers should rely on their common sense in the personal use of information in the book. The author assumes no liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from product liability, negligence or otherwise, or from the use or application of any information, instructions, products, or ideas contained in this publication.

HAPPINESS

FROM BRAIN HABITUATION

TO FULL BLOOM

To my family,

To my friends,

To my colleagues,

To my patients,

my main sources of inspiration.

Will you be able to change your life

despite the “pranks of the brain”?

The brain often deceives us and plays tricks on us by creating the illusion of joy and happiness. Habituation to happiness is a phenomenon that erodes what makes us happy or joyful.

In this book, you will learn about mechanisms that control the brain and understand why we are never satisfied. In short, you will decipher what creates frustration and how the five ephemeral elements of the brain work. Then, you will take charge of your life and be able to change using the brain’s durable values to focus more on contentment and appreciation of the pleasant sensations offered to you by life. It is a motivational book that will help you discover a lot about yourself.

| FOREWORD |

I would like to begin this book with a few anecdotes from my day-to-day life as a doctor.

My first anecdote concerns a patient. She was a young woman in her thirties who had just become a mother for the first time. She was beaming with happiness. It was the first time I saw her after she gave birth. She was indeed radiant, smiling, and blooming. "I’m a happy and fulfilled woman," she told me at the time.

Seven or eight months later, another medical appointment was scheduled. I no longer found a young radiant and fulfilled mother. Not that she had lost her spirit, but the happiness of being a mother seemed to have "petered out." "There are good things about being a mom, but there are also a lot of changes that transform everyday life..." she said to me in a gloomy tone.

Obviously, the intense joy of having a child had subsided. She was already tired and wondering about the compatibility between work and being able to raise her child. She was also nervous: I remember she kept rubbing her hands uncontrollably. At the end of the consultation, I remember saying to myself, "What a pity: she had thought that by becoming a mother, she would be the happiest woman, that she would be at the height of happiness, but that is clearly not the case." Experience is often more unpleasant than what the brain and mind want us to imagine.

The second example that stuck with me as a practitioner was that of a man, thirty-two years old, who had just bought the house of his dreams with his partner and, after a few weeks of work, was finally enjoying it. He came in for a routine consultation and said, "Now that I've bought the house I've always wanted, I can enjoy life." Several months later, he came back to my office, looking defeated. Problems at work and family worries were weighing on his spirits and had snuffed out the positive energy he had during the previous consultation. He was down. I naively asked, "So, how’s the house? Do you still feel good in it?” His answer was snappy, the tone of his voice bitter: "Oh yeah... well, you know, we’ve gotten used to it."

Clearly, what had been the source of his happiness a few months earlier was no longer so. The house wasn’t as sustainable a source of fulfillment as one might have thought.

The third anecdote that illustrates the brain’s pranks concerns another young man, who had just graduated and had been recruited in a large international consulting firm. Coming from a family with limited financial means, the job, with a permanent contract and extremely well paid, filled him with joy. He was due to start a few days after the consultation and was very excited. First of all, this type of job was appealing to him. Secondly, since he was professionally integrated—and even very well integrated—he could project himself in the future: buy a house, go on vacation, have a family life, etc. He was excited and felt that his studies were finally paying off. To be honest, I thought I’d never see him again, because the firm he had joined was in the heart of Paris, in the very chic 16th district. About one year later, he reappeared, to my great surprise. He had given up his job, moved back to the provinces, and decided to take the competitive exam to become a specialized teacher. As far as I can remember, when I asked him about it, he answered: "At first, I loved the job; it was exciting. But after a few months, I realized that I had no life. I was working until midnight and often on weekends, including Sundays! I thought that the job was going to enable me to bloom, but it was crushing me. What I need is a job that makes sense to me, even if it pays less."

These anecdotes illustrate what I call the "prankster brain." It is a phenomenon that wears down what makes us happy or joyful: as soon as a source of well-being or happiness comes into our life, we gradually forget it, and it loses its power to make us happy. The brain encourages us to always look for "more" instead of "better," that is to say, for ways to achieve well-being and personal fulfillment that are durable, deep, and stable.

The brain deceives us and plays tricks on us by giving us the illusion of joy and happiness, only to let us get used to it and become bored. Why is this so? Simply because this phenomenon makes happiness ephemeral and short-lived; it gets us used to happiness as if it were a given and pushes us to seek even more satisfaction. It encourages us to look for more sensations of well-being and happiness, like a headlong rush toward "always more" joy. Something like addiction, that's for sure.

This phenomenon, so strong in our lives even though we don't realize it most of the time, is easy to recognize for ourselves. Have you ever wanted something badly, imagining that it would make your life different, happier, more exciting? Then, finally, after getting it (e.g., degree, promotion, the latest video game console), after the first few moments, you became accustomed to it, and the joy you had experienced gradually faded away. The brain then projects us toward another goal that we hope will generate happiness again. But the same mechanism is in place and, once again, the feeling of joy is short-lived. This makes us go further and further, seeking other sources of happiness to satisfy our never-satiated brain.

This phenomenon helps to create a society of eternally dissatisfied people, in permanent expectation, who don’t know how to enjoy and be satisfied with what they already have. It’s a bit like our modern society pushing us to get tired very quickly of the things we want. Advertisements encourage us to do so. The world of ready-made clothes is a good example: it encourages us to constantly renew our wardrobe, even though we rarely wear most of the clothes more than once. Advertising and marketing professionals are just playing with our prankster brain and amplifying its mechanism.

Over the past few years, neuroscience has made considerable progress and new discoveries about how the brain works, providing more insight into how we function every day. This is explained by science. We now have better knowledge and understanding of the brain’s mechanisms.

What is certain and universal is that we all want happiness. We find it in small everyday things, great or small moments of satisfaction, but in the end, everything is temporary. Nothing lasts for long. The excitement and satisfaction ebb away. The brain runs the show, so to speak. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily. The essence is to observe, not to judge.

We complain about so many things, we who are privileged to have a full stomach. If we are dissatisfied, it’s because we feel some emptiness in us now and again! Indeed, material things will only satisfy us for a while. Perhaps we need some meaning in our lives. Maybe some love. Some recognition, some gratitude.

When we are lost, we are a bit like dead leaves that are blown from the pavement to the stream and must follow its course. In the evening, when we look at the stars, we should give thanks for all the little moments of contentment that give life extra flavor. Sometimes, life seems bitter, but this perception will help us to better appreciate its sweet moments. We need these contrasts.

We need to be aware of the brain’s deceptive nature, which makes us believe that happiness is always elusive. We often become used to happiness and prosperity mainly because of the brain’s mechanisms. At times, we feel good, happy, and valiant, and then the next day, everything fades away. Our blossoming for a day or a moment evaporates, and we start looking for books, guides, personal development coaches in an effort to maintain the feeling.

Individual well-being and blossoming are not small issues. "Blossoming" is a word that we use in all sorts of ways. Originally, it was used to describe the unfolding of a flower’s corolla. In human beings, it describes a state of being fulfilled, being radiant and comfortable. It means being calm and balanced, benefiting from all opportunities in life, irrespective of the difficulties encountered. Finally, blossoming is the experienced and concrete expression of happiness.

However, if we don’t understand how the brain works, this experience can’t be fully enjoyed. Our deceptive brain is particularly good at making us want to stay in this state of bliss and buoyancy, but it never lasts. Things don't work that way: when we say to ourselves "I'm happy", it doesn't last. Why? It’s simply because that’s our habituation—in other words, our addiction to happiness, which is controlled by the brain.

This book seeks to radically change the way we see our lives by making us aware of this habituation to happiness, which is endless, because the brain is gradually made to reduce the effect of what we enjoy. Understanding this is fundamental, because it is at the core of the human being’s delicate and complex nature.

Let's use our deceptive brain to rediscover our inner wealth and stop being fooled by the illusions that have often impacted our lives. Let's regain control. Joy, happiness, and contentment are already within us; however, the brain has given us certain habits, and we have lost the spice of life. Yet, everything is there, like a treasure buried within us that must be dug out. This is the key to happiness and inner fulfillment that is healthier, more secure, and more subtle.

Part 1 

| SOME INITIAL CLARIFICATIONS |

1. Hedonism

It’s with this first clarification that I would like to start. It’s important. Indeed, I have noted that many people confuse happiness with hedonism.

So, let's be clear—there’s hedonism and hedonism. What do I mean by this? It simply means that we must distinguish hedonism as portrayed in Greek philosophy from hedonism as it is commonly understood today. In its original sense, hedonism is a philosophy attributed to Aristippus of Cyrene in the fifth century BC. The pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of suffering as the goal of human existence are the essential principles of this ancient school of thought. Epicureanism is sometimes associated with it in a more global sense. In this philosophy, human beings seek after the simple pleasures of life. Hedonism calls for moderation in the pursuit of pleasure. Happiness is found in a simple, direct, and moderate appreciation of small joys, and it is through their moderate enjoyment and real contentment that human life can be appreciated.

However, we are concerned here with the common and confusing meaning. Paradoxically, the original meaning of hedonism has been transformed: whereas it used to refer to moderate enjoyment, it has become synonymous with total and unlimited enjoyment. This is strange. It is as if the brain has played a trick and made us interpret ancient wisdom in a way that suits us, that is, instant gratification. We are in an era of "everything here and now." Whereas originally, hedonism advocated the appreciation of small human joys, even the simplest ones, the current meaning turns rather toward the idea of unbridled satisfaction of our impulses and desires. Thus, Larousse provides these two definitions:

- “philosophy that makes pleasure the goal of life” and

- “motivation of economic activity that seeks maximum satisfaction with minimum effort”.

What is common in both definitions is that they define hedonism as the selfish pursuit of pleasure. We then discover another trick by the brain: a form of guilt that sometimes shows its ugly face when we selfishly "let go" for personal satisfaction, especially when this happens at the expense of others.

The word “hedonism” has therefore evolved over time, creating erroneous interpretations. So as to clarify things from the outset: this book does not advocate the idea of unbridled satisfaction of pleasures and desires. It does not defend the principle of "do and take what you want." The societal damage of such compulsive behaviors is currently so evident that we don’t need to go in that direction.

Our everyday use of language associates epicureanism with hedonism. Here again, there is a lot of confusion with Epicurus’ original philosophy. But that’s not the issue. In the common sense, hedonism and epicureanism have become synonymous and refer to the pursuit of immediate pleasures. "Carpe diem" ("seize the day") for most people means "enjoy." A hedonist or epicurean is one who enjoys. But what does it mean to enjoy? Today, for many people, to enjoy means, for example, buying, going on vacation, having a nice big house, or taking what you want right away. In short, the prankster brain distorts the meaning of the word "enjoy" and makes it synonymous with satisfying useless desires and indulging in impulsive and unconstructive pleasures. Enjoying then amounts to "enjoying without conscience," and we justify our whims in a totally selfish way: "It's my right to have pleasure." We no longer think about the effects of our personal satisfaction on others because we react automatically, guided only by a brain that makes us believe that such and such a thing will make us happy.

However, in this book, the verb "enjoy" is understood more in the sense that the sages of Antiquity gave it: to live one's life with conscience and without excess, savoring the small things while keeping away from the evil ones.

*****

This book seeks to grasp the mechanisms that control the brain so as to understand why we are never satisfied, even after obtaining what we wanted. In short, it seeks to decipher the notions of frustration, dissatisfaction, and incompleteness, and to focus more on contentment and appreciation of the pleasant feelings offered to us by life. We could say that, in doing so, we seek quality in pleasure more than quantity. The prankster brain pushes us more toward the search for "more" than "better." However, the notion of contentment is not an empty word. It can be put into practice. To do so, it is necessary to understand how the brain works, how it somehow fools us into believing that we never have enough or that such and such a thing will make our life wonderful. It does, but for how long? A day, a week, a year? And then what? We "fall again" and are trapped in ruminations, frustrations, and feelings on the limits.

2. You are happy

Let's start with a simple and straightforward truth that is very scarcely heard: you are happy.

Reread the statement closely and quietly, and assess your own condition. Are you happy? Yes, you are. But something is making you react negatively. A "no, you're not" or an "if" interferes: "if I had such and such a thing, yes, I would be happy" (e.g., got a promotion, met my soul mate, earned more money, went on a trip, had a swimming pool). That little something, that little subtle voice, which is most of the time unconscious, is one of the tricks played by the prankster brain. It is never satisfied with what it has and fantasizes about what it would like. It’s never enough. We need to grasp this endless cycle! Otherwise, we are condemned to live like mice that spin tirelessly on the wheel in their cage.

An inner resistance keeps us from being happy. However, becoming aware that we are in fact happy allows us to overcome this obstacle. We simply need to assess or, so to speak, sort out our needs.

There is a hierarchy of needs. It may seem shocking to put it this way, but that’s the case. Think about it... Isn't happiness the possibility of living life in all its dimensions and seizing all opportunities? For this, the primary needs form the first essential base. So, what are these needs?

- Satisfying our hunger and thirst appears an obvious need. Today, in modern Western societies, eating and drinking safe and clean water is no longer a problem. This need is largely satisfied for most of the population.

- Most people, except for the homeless, have a roof over their head to live and protect themselves from bad weather. Perhaps the home is not big enough, or it has no garden or pool. But sleeping in a bed, protected from the rain and wind, is already some luxury. Let's try to imagine the life of prehistoric humans who didn’t have fixed and solid dwellings. Imagine how difficult it must have been for them.

- Meeting our need for security is fundamental because it is linked to our survival instinct and the primitive brain, and it is essential to moving forward, to living life to the fullest. Overall, and in comparison to ancient times, this need is satisfied: of course, there’s no zero risk, but the risks of being in permanent danger are largely under control. Similarly, we have access to healthcare. And we are living in peace, a precious good, so to speak.

*****

More generally, these primary needs are being satisfied. Societal needs, such as going to school, receiving education, training, or professional guidance, are met. All this is true. Our modern world has largely taken over these basic and natural needs and provided concrete answers.

We often forget what life must have been like fifty years ago. Never in the history of humankind have societies attained our modern level of comfort. It is easy to realize this. Doing so already means regaining control of the prankster brain, which makes us believe that there’s always something missing.

Yes, we are happy because all these concerns that have tormented humankind since the beginning (e.g., eating, drinking, sleeping, surviving) are much less of a concern for us today. Therefore, all the conditions for a fulfilled life are there. All other considerations are just projections of our mind.

The brain doesn’t really recognize the reality of this comfort of life; out of habit, considering it natural, we prefer to focus on the negative aspects of life. We somehow lose lucidity when it comes to our condition, because the brain lulls us with illusions. The brain makes us always hope for more, for better.

Should this be condemned? No, not at all. This is what has allowed humans to move toward steady improvement, toward ever more real progress. However, from the moment we focus on the negative aspects, from the moment we accept only the pleasant things of life, we lose our lucidity, we become more fragile.

3. Common dissatisfactions of everyday life

We can see that common dissatisfactions of everyday life have a real impact on our lives. They show how the prankster brain functions: to each unfulfilled desire, it reacts with a feeling of something missing, of inner tension. Everything happens as if it were trying to "punish" us for not having "taken the bait."

Above all, it should be noted that all dissatisfactions arise from unfulfilled desires that give us the feeling of something missing and, finally, of not being happy. We must distinguish between desire, pleasure, happiness, and joy—distinguish between them but focus on their correspondence and correlation.

Desire is an inner force that pushes us to satisfy needs and cravings. Pleasure is the nice feeling that is generated by the brain when a desire is satisfied. Joy is the resulting mental component. Happiness, on the other hand, is a concept that makes us realize that we are enjoying a fulfilled life in which desires are satisfied most of the time, at least the most important ones.

The various aspects work in a chain. Conversely, an unfulfilled desire generates a more or less intense unpleasant feeling. Let's take a telling example: a person who is very much in love and who has been rejected by the other person has an unpleasant experience. The more intense the desire, the more unpleasant the experience. Some desperate acts can then be committed...

However, even on a more daily basis, we experience many moments of dissatisfaction in our lives. Sometimes, we are not aware of them; we suffer because of them without seeing them or verbalizing them. One of the most common dissatisfactions concerns the weather: a gray and rainy day will very often depress us because we would have so much liked the weather to be nice... But there are also other trivial examples, for example, late public transport, an umbrella forgotten, a cancelled vacation, a postponed meeting, or a disappointing evening.

These day-to-day dissatisfactions are like small thorns that affect us surreptitiously. They generate anger, jealousy, disappointment, and despair.

*****

We could also say that these dissatisfactions play out on two levels. The first level is personal. We constantly compare ourselves. Our consumer society plays on this mechanism to push us to buy this or that thing, to use this or that service. Over our lifetime, there are so many comparisons! Our self-esteem is undermined so many times!

The other level is more social. In the late 1990s, two astute observers of society, Jean-Paul Fitoussi and Pierre Rosanvallon, wrote a book entitled “Le nouvel âge des inégalités” (“The New Age of Inequalities”). In it, they predicted the reign and multiplication of inequalities for individuals on a societal scale. In short, they predicted dissatisfactions and feelings of injustice and jealousy toward others as massive phenomena, as something that would become a norm. This is indeed the case today: individual (and even individualistic) and personal demands have become a driving force in our society today. The personal and selfish good seems to have taken precedence over the common good.

4. Automatism of happiness

We need to grasp the mechanism of the prankster brain to better understand the notion of happiness (and make it a reality in our lives).

We often notice that when we obtain something or when a situation is in line with what we desire, we are overwhelmed by a feeling of completeness or joy. This can last for several days, months, or even a year. However, the feeling always ends up dwindling. The brain then urges us to look elsewhere and find this pleasant sensation that it likes so much. In other words, we have become accustomed to happiness and most often have the impression that it is short-lived. This is due to the neurobiological functioning of the brain. Chemical and hormonal changes occur in the process: they diffuse and then fade away, "bringing down" our joy and pleasure. This is also a form of mental addiction that will push us to look for something else to reconnect us with the pleasant sensations. It encourages us to challenge ourselves, for example, to buy such and such an object, dare to ask for a promotion, or invite an attractive person to dinner.

On closer scrutiny, we are caught between the cogs of the brain, which controls most of our life. In short, we often function on impulse or compulsion, and then the brain becomes reasonable again once it has had its "dose" of pleasant sensation. We then have the impression that we are no longer happy, that we need to look for happiness somewhere else, and that what made us happy is no longer enough. Compulsion, habituation, and lassitude are synonyms that describe the functioning of the prankster brain. Its greatest joke is to make us believe that the happiness we have acquired is no longer enough and that we must look for it elsewhere.

This is in perfect harmony with our consumer society, which makes permanent accumulation a vector of happiness and accomplishment. But, as we have seen, we let ourselves be fooled.

We deal with automatisms when we are reacting, not when are conscious of what we are doing. When the brain triggers a very strong desire and we rush headlong into it, we are acting on impulse. Often, small cravings and even very minor issues make us act on impulse. We are trapped in automatisms, even though we believe we are fully in control of our actions. We act on mental impulses. How many times have we done something and, afterwards, realized that we hadn’t thought about it and shouldn’t have done it, that we should have refrained from doing it?

It is partly on these impulses, automatic reactions, and tricks by the brain that we try to build our own personal happiness, but this is very complicated. The brain pulls us toward very unstable sources, which bring volatile satisfaction to which we become accustomed very quickly because it is too easy, too materialistic, too routine or excessive. What's more, the brain gets bored so quickly...

What are the neurobiological intricacies of the prankster brain? Neuroscience has made enormous progress: scientists now understand and observe the impulses of the brain. The mechanisms of the active molecules, both generated and absorbed by the brain, are now well known. In general, six hormones are responsible for happiness and pleasant sensations. They are turned on or off depending on the sensations we feel.

Serotonin

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system and in the digestive tract. It affects digestion, bone growth, development, and the good health of organs.

It is involved in mood management and associated with happiness when it is balanced, reducing risk-taking and encouraging the individual to maintain a satisfactory situation. More recently, serotonin has been identified as playing a role in the dynamics of pride and loyalty. When we feel a sense of accomplishment or recognition from others, we are experiencing the effects of serotonin.

To increase serotonin, challenge yourself regularly to pursue things that enhance feelings of accomplishment. Being able to say "I did it!" will boost your self-esteem, thereby pushing you less toward insecurity and raising your spirits.

Oxytocin

Oxytocin is another hormone, directly associated with human bonding and increased trust, sharing, and loyalty. In some studies, high levels of oxytocin have been correlated with romantic attachment. Some research shows that if a couple is separated for a long period of time, the lack of physical contact reduces oxytocin and leads to a desire to bond again.

How can you increase your oxytocin levels? Positive social interactions tend to be the best way to increase the production of this hormone; for example, working with others, sharing a meal, giving a gift, opening up emotionally, giving undivided attention while listening to someone, and cuddling for a long time.

Oxytocin can help fight stress, improve your relationships, and promote lasting positive emotions.

Endocannabinoids

Endocannabinoids are a group of chemical substances that activate cannabinoid receptors in the human body and in mammals.

Anandamide (from the Sanskrit word ananda, meaning happiness) is the best known of the endocannabinoids, which are less famous than other molecules. However, a study from the University of Arizona, published in April 2012, maintains that endocannabinoids are most likely the source of a runner's feeling of euphoria. The study also shows that both humans and dogs have a significant increase in endocannabinoids after a very long run. The endocannabinoid system helps to regulate a wide range of physiological and pathophysiological processes, including neural development, cardiovascular function, inflammation, immunity, appetite, digestion, stress, and sleep.

Endorphins

Endorphins are hormones secreted in the brain by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus, particularly in situations of physical or psychological stress, as well as during sport activities lasting more than thirty minutes. They also play a key role in the pleasure experienced during sexual intercourse and orgasm.

What role do endorphins play in the brain's prankster mechanism? They promote a sense of well-being. Endorphins play a key role in the central nervous system and are involved in the reward and pleasure circuits. They also have an analgesic (pain-reducing) and anxiolytic (anxiety-reducing) effect, and they reduce appetite, the respiratory rate, and stress. While in some people they cause drowsiness and relaxation, in others they lead to euphoria or immediate pleasure. Endorphins are the main reason that exercise is often suggested to help combat stress. A gym routine can help you relax after a long day at work. The predictability of endorphins makes them particularly useful, as we know exactly how to produce them: through prolonged effort, over several minutes.

Dopamine

This neurotransmitter is perhaps the best known to the general public. It is a biochemical molecule that allows communication within the nervous system, directly influencing behavior.

Dopamine is inevitably linked to reward and pleasure-seeking. Every type of behavior that aims to obtain a reward increases the level of dopamine transmission in the brain. So, if you want to get a good dose of dopamine, set a goal and achieve it.

However, as perhaps the best known of all the molecules, dopamine also tends to be misunderstood. Many addictive drugs, such as cocaine and methamphetamine, act directly on the brain by simulating the effect of dopamine. This effect can become a real problem because of its addictive nature and is closely linked to our bad habits and addictions of all kinds.

Worse still, the effect of dopamine is ephemeral. It’s not the kind of lasting happiness you can enjoy, and it’s probably not the goal of your quest for happiness. Dopamine has the effect of a rush of excitement that goes down as quickly as it came up. This boost, which provides strong, pleasant, and exciting sensations, fades away very quickly. A feeling that something is missing, frustration, or a strong desire to return to it then develops. It’s endless.

Gamma Aminobutyric Acid (GABA)

GABA is a small molecule that is abundant in the brain and acts as a chemical messenger, or neurotransmitter, between two neurons. It is a primary inhibitory neurotransmitter: when it is released at a synapse and binds to its post-synaptic receptor, it increases the negative electrical potential of the neuron. Consequently, the neuron is less likely to be excited. Neurons that release GABA are often interneurons that control others.

GABA therefore acts as a regulator: it is a mitigating force that moderates excitement and induces a more diffuse sense of well-being. In other words, it doesn’t have the dopamine-boosting effect; rather, it acts as a quiet force in the brain.

*****

These molecules play a key role in the relationship between the brain and being happy or enjoying well-being. For the brain, happiness is a matter of biochemical and molecular mechanisms. This is also the basis of our conception of happiness, because we often fall into the malicious traps of the brain, which believes that we will be happy when we buy such a car, when we graduate with such a diploma, when such a person is by our side... It seems so true when it happens. We feel so good... Yet, it’s short-lived. The effect of the biochemical complex of the molecules dwindles. We become accustomed to what, until some time ago, was undoubtedly the source of a wonderful life. It becomes gray and dull, and we don't even pay attention to it anymore. The brain again tricks us into looking for a new source that, we are convinced, will ensure our happiness. The brain just looks for a new source of pleasure by releasing dopamine, endorphins, oxytocin… This is a form of addiction. It’s also the spice of life. No judgment is being made here; the aim is only to observe and note one thing: we are reacting automatically, on impulse, to the brain, and we allow ourselves to be deceived because we haven’t taken enough time to reflect. We believe that we will find happiness and joy by following paths that will turn out to be disappointing or ephemeral.

Each of the abovementioned chemical products plays a major role in the way our body functions physically, mentally, and emotionally. I have only superficially touched on them, and I encourage you to learn more for yourself. By understanding the role of these hormones, you can better understand how they affect us in everyday situations. The more you know, the more you will be able to control their effects and enjoy a healthier and happier life. The more you know, the more you'll be able to outsmart the brain's pranks and find stronger pillars for happiness in your life.

5. The negativity loop

We have already talked about everyday dissatisfactions and have just seen how these and their opposite—a feeling of completeness, satisfaction, and well-being—are mainly based on neurological mechanisms.

Although the brain is made to look for pleasant sensations, it hates unpleasant experiences. The human being functions in a binary manner. We can philosophize endlessly about the complexity of human thought, but the "pleasant/unpleasant" functioning is at the core of our attitudes, habits, and behaviors. Our whole life is guided by the fact that we seek pleasant sensations and avoid what generates discomfort and unpleasantness.

It should be noted that our mind retains negative experiences, and they have a greater force of gravity than positive experiences. When we allow ourselves to be gradually swallowed up, or even carried away by negative experiences or thoughts, we enter a new trap that is difficult to escape if we are not aware of it. This is another of the brain's pranks: it takes us on paths to unstable and fleeting satisfaction and happiness that lead to ruminations and efforts to satisfy them despite everything. The desire for love is a very explicit example: the brain makes us think that if we manage to live with such and such a person, our life will be marvelous; when things don’t go as planned, we find ourselves brooding, trapped as we are in a vicious circle of negativity (e.g., self-depreciation, sadness, jealousy).

You may have already spotted this characteristic in someone around you, whether a friend, a colleague, or a family member: the person’s negativity is such that whatever happens, everything is turned into pessimism. Every opportunity is good for grumbling. Without going that far, we can note how much we are, to varying degrees, ourselves locked in a spiral of negativity that generates incessant rumination, stress, anxieties, and fears.

We can refer to this negativity loop as a process that keeps repeating itself, leaving us powerless to act, troubled internally, or in a negative state of mind: angry, frustrated, empty, desperate, or disappointed.

Negativity loops inhibit clear thinking and positive action. They tend to paralyze us and interfere with our real freedom of movement and focus. One of the most impressive attributes of negativity loops is that they have the power to fool us into believing that we are productive, that we have a critical and analytical approach to the trigger situation, but what is really happening is nothing but a replay of the same internal scripts, repeated over and over again to make us feel better. A false impression and a new trick of the brain! Such a negative spiral only distances us further from our creative, open, and positively energized self. What's important to realize is that this loop happens again and again and holds us back, distracts us from what's really important in our lives; it distracts us from what we have direct control over, or it keeps us in situations from which we should withdraw for our own good. Also helpful to understand is what might initiate or suggest a negativity loop. Every moment we spend in the grip of negativity loops is a moment of joy, inner peace, or creative thought that we have lost. By following the brain's pranks, we can fall into the loop’s spiral when we are not aware or do not have enough insight into its working mechanism.

Will you be able to change your life

despite the brain’s pranks?

Let’s find out together!

Part 2 

THE BRAIN’S FIVE EPHEMERAL Elements

1- repetition

2- EASY solutions

3- TIME

4- possession

5- EXCESS

Sorting out what is important is a first step toward defusing the brain's pranks.

To do that, I suggest that you distinguish between ephemeral elements and more durable and solid values that are more conducive to personal growth and a sense of accomplishment.

What do we mean by "ephemeral elements"? They are components of happiness that fade away almost as quickly as they appear. Very often, they lead to a strong sense of excitement and euphoria, making us feel "finally" happy and fulfilled, but the fall-off is just as quick. In other words, the effects on the brain are very fast, strong but brief. They are, in a way, pranks because they give us the impression of achieving happiness. But very quickly, the brain ends up getting used to and even tired of this source of joy that we thought was imperishable. It becomes dull, and even insipid. It no longer has any value or interest for the brain and for us. We then start looking for something else. It’s indeed endless.

We will therefore examine five elements that fool us into illusion. Then, we will be able to start identifying them in our lives and sorting them out so as to work on reinforcing durable values.

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| Repetition |

Among the fragile pillars of our happiness, repetition is certainly the one we often don't expect. Why? First of all, because repetition is something our mind likes. It’s reassuring. We are on familiar ground. The primitive part of the brain doesn't need to be triggered every ten minutes.

The human brain has been constantly evolving for more than 250 million years, and throughout this process, it has acquired new functions and increasingly complex skills. The oldest brain is the primitive brain. Also known as the "reptilian complex," it is what we share with other mammals and reptiles. It is primarily responsible for carrying out our most basic and primitive functions, such as protecting us from potential threats, defending us, and enabling us to flee for our own survival. This accounts for instinctive reactions such as removing our hand from fire. The main function of this part of the brain is therefore to protect us from any threats that may arise and to ensure our survival. While this is certainly an