Hormones play a crucial role in our well-being, affecting motivation, emotional connections, and mental health. Understanding the following three hormones helps individuals enhance their mental and physical health through conscious choices.

Dopamine

Praise, reward and motivation trigger Dopamine. It’s a chemical most closely associated with feeling good about ourselves. It’s what’s triggered when we get a compliment, drink alcohol (for some) or get a like on a social media post. Unfortunately, social media is not necessarily the best kind of Dopamine hit, as it can be of an addictive nature and linked with low self-esteem. People tend to think of Dopamine as a quick hit, often to escape something else.

Dopamine is more about the pursuit of the goal. What do I mean by that?

Let’s say you want to get fit but have always disliked exercise. Yet you are determined to run your first half-marathon, and you’ve never even run for a bus before. So you decide from tomorrow morning, before work, you’ll go for a jog.

It might be to the end of the street, and back, it doesn’t matter. You get up and do it. You feel quite good about yourself; you made a start. You do it again the next day and run a couple of minutes longer. Afterwards, you feel completely shattered. You are realising it’s a long road (no pun intended) in getting fit.

Nonetheless, you are determined. However, on the third day, it’s raining, you hear it lying in bed, and you turn over, tomorrow, you think, when it’s not raining.

Now this is where most people get stuck and never reach their goals. Not because they are lazy, but because they do not understand how their brains work or how to turn on the dopamine. When you have a goal, the ‘why’ you want it must be very strong.

No matter the goal, if you focus only on the goal, you may soon drop out because it’s too hard or you don’t see results quickly enough.

Motivation and Reward

But you have decided to start this training. Every time you complete those 5, 10 minutes of running or whatever it is, it’s like a little drop of Dopamine comes into the brain (dopamine marker), and as long as you acknowledge it, that you are responsible for that, the next time you do it, you think, great, I’ve done it again, another Dopamine drip. After a while, you want this hit.

When you want to give up because it’s getting a bit hard, STOP, tell yourself, “No, this is the bit where the effort comes in (and also the reward). I’m going to push through this barrier”. It doesn’t matter if you keep going just a few extra reps or minutes; you are laying down a pathway in the brain.

Dopamine is now becoming a habit connected to your fitness. Pushing through becomes the reward. You are priming your brain for next time, where it will recognise ‘this is important’ and will continue with the task. You start feeling good about yourself.

You can reward yourself further by listening to music as you work out.

Make your goal easy to do

Lay out your jogging gear the night before near your bed. As soon as you are up, dress immediately, and have your shoes near the door, along with your water bottle if you are taking it. Do not think about it. Make it a no-brainer.

It doesn’t matter if you keep going for another minute or a few extra reps in the gym; you are laying down a pathway in the brain. Pushing through becomes the reward, the pursuit. You are priming your brain for next time, where it will recognise ‘this is important’ and will continue with the task you’ve set it. But do it consciously, “I’m doing this now, and that makes me feel good/proud”. Reinforcement.

These are a few things that can trigger Dopamine:

• Acts of progress
• Learning something new
• Social connection
• Sunshine
• Laughter
• The pursuit of a goal

Serotonin

If Dopamine is the accelerator, Serotonin is the brake.

Mental strain triggers neuroplasticity, but genuine brain rewiring happens during rest. That’s when serotonin works: it consolidates, resets, and prepares us for what’s next. Missing out on this process can cause burnout, while low levels may leave you feeling flat, unmotivated, or disconnected from life.

Serotonin supports goals, activates hope, and helps us dream bigger. Sunlight boosts serotonin. Sharing a meal with friends or family creates that sense of “enoughness” and safety, another Serotonin effect.

How to replenish Serotonin?

Avoid quick fixes like alcohol or cannabis. While they may feel soothing in the short term, they reduce drive and impair mental clarity over time.

Instead, focus on:

• Sleep
• Meditation and Mindfulness
• Gratitude (you must feel it, not just write it)
• Yoga Nidra (20–30 minutes of deep guided relaxation)
• Self-hypnosis (deep relaxation with focused intention)

Oxytocin

Oxytocin is released through touch. It surges after giving birth, during intimacy, and whenever we connect physically with others. Its levels influence:

• How we communicate and listen
• Our capacity to relate and empathise
• Feelings of safety, support, and belonging

As humans, we are wired for connection. Community, acceptance, and trust are biological needs. Research suggests that low oxytocin may contribute to the unkindness, anger, and resentment we increasingly observe around us.

You can boost Oxytocin through touch, such as stroking a pet or even gentle self-touch, like butterfly cuddles (arms crossed over the chest, lightly stroking up and down the arms to the fingertips).

How to increase Oxytocin?

• Laugh (yes, keep watching those funny videos)
• Practise compassion—first with yourself, then others
• Empathise sincerely
• Share positive stories, memories, and feelings
• Think about people you love or like, and genuinely feel it

Hypnosis is another effective method for directing the brain to produce specific chemicals. I frequently teach self-hypnosis so clients can better manage their emotional states.

So, what hormones do you want to boost today? Because it is a choice. Let’s talk about it. Book your free consultation below.

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy… Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”

W. H. Murray

Onwards & Upwards,

Denise, xxx