Your Very Own Chemical Lab
That Emotional High you may get from shopping can be addictive.
Your body is full of chemicals, with glands that can make chemicals that can dramatically affect your mood.
Happiness is both something that happens in your mind as well as in your body. Your environment can trigger the release of chemicals in your brain, and your brain can also signal for that same chemical release! In truth its usually a combination of brain activity and the environment.
So lets do a quick look at “happy time chemicals!” that contribute to that emotional high.
There are four primary signalling chemicals:
- Serotonin: Helps balance mood and promote feelings of well-being and reward.
- Being kind to others and yourself
- Spending time outdoors
- Exercising
- Eating a well-balanced diet
- Dopamine: The “Feel Good” hormone, plays a role in feeling happiness, pleasure and reward.
- Being kind to yourself and others
- Getting plenty of sleep
- Exercising
- Listening to music
- Endorphins: Your body’s natural pain killers, helping overcome stress and discomfort.
- Spending time outdoors
- Exercising
- Meditating
- Laughing
- Oxytocin: Technically not a happy hormone but when triggered by social interaction may help you feel positive emotions.
- Showing love and affection
- Spending time with loved ones and friends
- Sharing a laugh
- Listening to music
So where does shopping fit into all this emotional high?
As you may know shopping is an adaption of the ancient hunting and gathering habit, and that would have been an emotional affair, cause, ya know your life likely depended on it!
To go into this further I’m going to do this in reverse order.
When you give gifts to others it releases Serotonin, and as a side affect as you are with others there is a chance that Oxytocin will be released as well.
I believe this reaction goes back to when we were living in tribes. Giving fruits of our labours to others in the tribe increased social cohesion, improved relationships, and reduced stress.
