Sometimes technicalities get in the way of practicalities. Who cares about the biochemistry if you can cultivate a rose to bloom!
We can infer a lot about the universe that we don’t totally understand, but we can also discover or suspect at least enough about it to be able to function meaningfully / operationally as we explore further. Scientists hypothesize all the time about stuff they don’t totally understand, but can conjure “educated guesses” about, giving them reason and direction to explore. And, so, we take a leap to try to explain ourselves.
BOTTOM LINE:
If something works, who really cares HOW or WHY it works!
I’ve become immersed in trying to understand and explain human behavior – more precisely, errant human behavior – to help advance civilization in the 21st Century … my own behavior included! This is not to claim that OTHER people don’t know how to solve all of our aberrant behavioral problems, but translating the knowledge for those who NEED it is seriously missing.
Through this exploration, I became “fixated” on the idea of a “Triune Brain”:
The triune brain is a model of the evolution of the vertebrate forebrain and behavior, proposed by the American physician and neuroscientist Paul D. MacLean in the 1960s. The triune brain consists of the reptilian complex (Basal Ganglia), the paleomammalian complex (limbic system), and the neomammalian complex (neocortex), viewed each as independently conscious, and as structures sequentially added to the forebrain in the course of evolution. The basal ganglia is in charge of our primal instincts, the limbic system is in charge of our emotions and the neocortex is responsible for objective or rational thoughts.
[NOTE: In case you find evolution anathema, just consider the possibility that the Almighty used the same template for humans that worked well in animals, but added the neocortex for higher cogitation.]
Since the 1970s, in some circles of evolutionary and developmental neuroscience, the concept of the triune brain has been subject to criticism[1] and is regarded as a myth.[2] Due to its longevity, the triune brain idea has also been called “one of the most successful and widespread errors in all of science.”[3] as the hypothesis is no longer espoused by the majority of comparative neuroscientists in the post-2000 era.[4] The theory has [nonetheless] been embraced by some psychiatrists and at least one leading affective neuroscience researcher.[5] Triune brain – Wikipedia
So, let’s not completely PAN something that has more than marginal OPERATIONAL UTILITY!
Based on more than casual observation – with a keen interest in understanding why we so much more readily do ourselves more HARM than GOOD – I have adopted the idea of an overpowering PLEASURE CENTER in the Triune brain – part of the Animal Kingdom Core.
No real surprises here! Biology universally seeks to minimize pain and maximize PLEASURE:
- Plants grow toward the sun.
- Cold-Blooded alligators “sun themselves” every chance they get.
- Humans can’t get nearly “enough” of anything and everything “Pleasurable” – NOW!
- NOTE: Commercial enterprises are nothing more or less than “Pleasure-Inducing” and “Pleasure-Delivery” machines, with intense advertising “carrying the water” :: “Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee!”
To make matters more complicated, all of our “Animal Instincts” are forever playing in the background – if not in the foreground (!) … and the CARDINAL VICES are always lurking.
So let’s apply what we CAN derive from science and fill in the blanks with OPERATIONAL PHENOMENOLOGY as needed for actionable guidance on how to make things work BETTER – even if the only thing we can understand and agree on is what NOT TO DO and how best NOT TO DO IT!
An exploration of human behavior involving the biological compulsion to FEEL GOOD, and maximize PLEASURE takes us directly to the neurotransmitter, DOPAMINE:
The brain includes several distinct dopamine pathways, one of which plays a major role in the motivational component of reward-motivated behavior. The anticipation of most types of rewards increases the level of dopamine in the brain, and many addictive drugs increase dopamine release or block its reuptake into neurons following release. Dopamine – Wikipedia
[NOTE: Because of dopamine’s association with drug addiction, it should probably be referred to as “DOPE-AMINE” …. which more accurately describes a compound with the chemical identity: 3,4-DihydrOxyPhenEthylAMINE!]
Those of us with a virtual, physical or neurochemical disconnect between the neocortex and the brain stem become particularly adept at “Copping a High” by burning the dopamine “candle” at both ends – increasing dopamine RELEASE as well as blocking its RE-UPTAKE, thus substantially magnifying its effect by essentially “clearing the shelves” and “emptying the store” … as often as is logistically feasible.
The problem with achieving this glorious state is that it is unsustainable. With dopamine stores exhausted, its role as a “motivational component of reward-motivated behavior” can’t be conjured, and the result can be devastating.
A huge “triggering” component of drug addiction, in general, is that people with compounded stresses (anxiety is almost universally involved) have poorly cultivated COPING SKILLS and a frightening lack of RESILIENCE … with very little reserve or resourcefulness available “in the tank” to deal with setbacks, dishegiences, or exigencies. So their only “OUT” to “FEEL GOOD” and avoid feeling stressed and unstrung is to call up the drugs they KNOW can make CARING go away and leave them feeling almost “normal” … if only for a few fleeting moments.
What if … instead of BURNING THE CANDLE of dopamine stores at both ends, one could build a reserve?
Building resilience and developing effective coping skills is, ultimately, the prime underpinning of RECOVERY from addiction and sustainably “living well”. There’s no easy “fix” here. It takes incredible time for mind and body to “normalize”, and for the building of meaningful associations with significant others who can reinforce the effort after one has “burned” all the synapses.
I’ve become intrigued by STOIC principles and practices that, fundamentally, protect and/or help build dopamine stores. The FOUR CARDINAL VIRTUES of STOIC living are:
- Courage, bravery, fortitude, honor, sacrifice … take on risk and persist
- Temperance, self-discipline, moderation, composure, balance …
- Justice, fairness, service, fellowship, goodness, kindness …
- Wisdom, knowledge, education, truth, self-reflection, serenity …
CHECK POINT
Dopamine is not the only – or perhaps even major – element in the cascade of stresses involved in addiction and recovery.
Biochemically and physiologically, we know a substantial amount about the reward circuitry of the brain. http://theutopianlife.com/2014/10/14/hacking-into-your-happy-chemicals-dopamine-serotonin-endorphins-oxytocin/
Dopamine, Serotonin, Oxytocin, and Endorphins are, in fact, a quartet responsible for happiness and a sense of wellbeing. Many situations can trigger these neurotransmitters, but instead of being in the passenger seat, there are ways you can intentionally cause them to flow. VIGOROUS EXERCISE is the most “natural” and effective way to increase the levels of the entire reward circuitry.
“serotonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for the sensation of ecstasy that we associate with some forms of spiritual experience” Karen Armstrong, “Fields of Blood”
But, considering it an apt “marker” of what’s happening is no less helpful!
The operational question is: “How do we effect CHANGE for the better?”
NOTE the TED Talk by Marisa Peer @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCv-ZBy6_yU
- Your mind always does what it “thinks” you want to do … Tell your mind what you really want!
- Your mind is hard-wired to move you toward pleasure. Tell your mind that the REAL pleasure you want is much larger than the pain it may require! [TRANSCENDENCE]
- The way you feel at any given time comes down to just two things: The PICTURES you make in your head and the WORDS you say to yourself. Create pictures of winning, of success, of OVERCOMING, of advancement and use words of AFFIRMATION, of commitment to eventual surmountability … and SING while running through the mud with a 75# pack on your back! [Admiral William H. McRaven https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBuIGBCF9jc ]
- Your mind LOVES the FAMILIAR. If you want to succeed at anything, you have to leave home plate, make the familiar Unfamiliar and the Unfamiliar familiar. Make the couch, the TV, social media, drugs, and other gratuitous indulgences unfamiliar.
And remember, GET MOVING – fully involved – to maximally activate the reward circuitry!
Finally, get ENGAGED with significant others. Put those TWO MASTERFUL HANDS to work and trigger a tsunami of FIVE HANDED NAVIGATIONAL fortuity! https://ertiaunlimited.com/?s=five+ Quartermaster
