The Integram: an Integral Enneagram of Consciousness;  a model of consciousness, including all aspects, for designing practical paths of personal development and evolution.

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The Magnificent Seven (part 2)
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The Other Three: Threat Neurochemicals
As we learned in part 1, our moods aren't magical reactions to what’s going on around us. We take in information, interpret it, and those interpretations trigger specific brain chemicals. That mixture of chemicals results in what we feel. The 7 brain chemicals that do most of the heavy lifting are the ones we're addressing.

It's a bit oversimplified, but we can differentiate them as reward chemicals and threat chemicals. In part 1 we looked at the four pure reward neurotransmitters of dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins. In part 2, we're going to look at the threat side, which can also serve us in positive ways. This group includes norepinephrine/noradrenaline, epinephrine/adrenaline, and cortisol. We absolutely need them all, but the right mixtures at the right times takes us from over stressed to healthy.

Let's start with a little recap on the four reward neurotransmitters, and how we can trigger them intentionally to ward off stress and feel better. They all have overlaps, so what we do for any of them, helps stimulate all of them. How cool is that?!

1. Dopamine super simplified is the reward you get when you succeed. We set a goal or desired outcome, and when we succeed, we get a reward. Dopamine is tricky, as it comes in different levels of quality, just like food. There's “junk food” dopamine that we get easily, and lose just as quickly. Neurons get exhausted and need to recover, requiring more stimulus. This is behind most addictions from social media likes and scrolling to video games, gambling, etc. We get longer lasting dopamine from more challenging goals being reached, which includes living up to our self-discipline and potential.

2. Serotonin transmits a huge amount of non-verbal information from our heart and gut to our mid-brain, and improves everything from wound healing and a strong heart beat, to fighting depression and migraines. One of the ways we can increase our serotonin release is through contribution, as it gets triggered when we feel valuable and valued. Other activities that help trigger serotonin include cardio exercise, meditation, spending time in nature and natural sunlight, fun social interaction, and even foods high in magnesium and tryptophan.

3. Oxytocin acts as a chemical messenger for social bonding and connection. It's mostly stimulated by relationships based on solid trust. Positive social interactions, hugs and deep eye contact (even with pets) help stimulate its release.

4. Endorphins get released to mediate pain, although any physical exertion will stimulate them. Laughing and having fun, music, massage, more outdoor time in sunshine, and even eating dark chocolate all stimulate endorphins. Author Norman Cousins famously wrote about using laughter to reduce his pain and stress caused by a crippling disease in “Anatomy of an Illness,” (Copyright © 1979 by W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.)

Having reviewed the reward neurotransmitters, let's look at the remaining three of our Magnificent 7. There's often some confusion around two of them, as they have different names for the same chemical. Epinephrine and Adrenaline are basically the same thing as are Norepinephrine and Noradrenaline. It's the difference between the Latin root and the Greek root, which isn't relevant to this conversation, so I'm not going to go down that linguistic rabbit hole. Whew!

5. Norepinephrine/Noradrenaline mobilizes the brain and body for action, primarily mediating the fight-or-flight stress response. It increases alertness, enhances vigilance, facilitates memory retrieval, and focuses attention. It triggers the release of glucose for energy, dilates your pupils for more light, speeds up your breathing, and sends blood to your muscles. Although this is a part of the stressed fight-or-flight response, it's also helpful in maintaining alertness and focus. Low levels can contribute to depression, and short bursts can make you feel happy, but too much causes panic attacks. Balance is key. One way of looking at it is norepinephrine will increase while walking through the woods where there could be a bear, but you haven't actually seen one. Vigilance and caution are useful here.

6. Epinephrine / Adrenaline is produced by the adrenal glands, and initiates the body’s rapid "fight-or-flight" response to stress, fear, or danger. It causes increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, widened airways, and heightened alertness to enhance physical performance. It redirects blood flow toward your muscles, again so you can fight or run. This is where you're walking through the woods and you do see a bear. Now you need your body to be in fight-or-flight. Prolonged adrenaline is very hard on the body. Increased blood pressure, heart rate, and vasoconstriction can lead to hypertension, hyperglycemia, skin damage, and even heart attacks. It can cause anxiety, irritability, panic attacks, insomnia, and a host of metabolic issues. This is something you don't want to be experiencing just because the phone rings or a deadline is coming up.

7. Cortisol is also produced by the adrenal glands, and acts as the body's primary stress regulator. It manages metabolism, controls blood pressure, lowers inflammation, and suppresses the immune system. Chronic stress keeps these levels elevated, leading to anxiety, weight gain, thinning skin, slow healing, high blood pressure, bone density loss, and sleep issues. Low cortisol causes fatigue, weight loss, and muscle weakness. This shows how a low level of controlled stress maintains a balanced level.

So we can see that regardless of the reward neurotransmitters or the threat neurotransmitters, the one rule we can set is moderation. I offered activities that help increase the reward chemicals because they minimize the threat chemicals. I don't think I need to offer you ways to be more stressed as life is probably doing a great job of that already. Understanding the detriment to your body and your life from prolonged stress is important, and knowing how to apply the activities that minimize this puts you back in the driver's seat of your own life. That's my highest hope for you: self-mastery.

Just want to leave you with two questions. How would you feel on your last day on Earth meeting the person you could have become? Would you like to become that person today?

Want to learn more about how to become the best you possible?  Come visit the web site, or better yet, contact me and see how we can design a program to fit your needs and desired outcomes.

     - Ian J. Blei


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Welcome to the Integram, where consciousness meets intentional design.   Enjoy!

The Optimizer
Ian Blei,
Director of the
Institute for Integral Enneagram Studies and
President of
Optimized Results
415.826.0478

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