Have you lost your HAPPY?

Get ready… I am going to challenge some of the beliefs you may have about your life today.

The thoughts you think.
The stories you keep telling yourself.
The way you are reacting to stress.

All of these may have very little to do with your life, and everything to do with your gut.

What?!!

I know, hang in there with me for a moment.

The first thing I want you to know is that you are a neurochemical being. No, this is not something out of a science fiction movie. Your brain is run by chemicals.

When you witness something you like, your brain releases four main “feel good” chemicals – endorphins, oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine.

In the presence of danger, the “bad feeling” chemical – cortisol – comes in.

Now here is the mind bending thought I want you to get today.

If your brain is not happy, the old school way of approaching this is to fix your brain. Therapists have been helping people do this for years.

But here is the challenge that I hear from so many of you…

No matter how hard you try to fix your life circumstances, you are still unhappy, anxious, or depressed. Or worse yet, the smallest piece of stress sets you off into a rage.

That’s because the chemicals that the brain releases that make you happy are produced in your gut. If your gut is not producing these happy chemicals, your life could be wonderful and you’ll still feel down.

So how do you get your gut to produce more of these happy chemicals?

It all comes down to the diversity of your microbiome. You have good and bad bugs that live in your gut. The good ones are busy making these happy chemicals, strengthening your immune system, and giving you energy. The bad ones are doing everything possible to destroy the good ones. They are like the bullies of your gut.

The key is to focus on keeping the good bugs alive and happy. How do you do that?

Here are some of my favorite tricks for building an army of happy gut bugs:

  • eat more fermented foods
  • get your hands in dirt (great healthy microbes live here!)
  • avoid antibiotics in everything… your medicines, foods, hand sanitizers, and mouthwashes
  • use a probiotic toothpaste
  • pet your animals
  • eat more prebiotic foods like vegetables
  • every 90 days take a high quality probiotic for 1 month.

The more happy bugs you grow, the more happy chemicals you’ll make. It’s that simple.

Try something for me today. Just for today, put down that painful thought you keep thinking over and over again and turn your attention to making more happy gut bugs. Do one of the above strategies every time you catch yourself thinking that thought that pains you.

Let me know how it works.

Cheers to a happy day!

Dr. Mindy