The Happy Brain Guide for Teens
and the teen brain in everyone
Your brain is inherited from distant ancestors. This brain rewards you with happy chemicals when you meet a survival need, and alarms you with threat chemicals when you see an obstacle to your needs. But it defines “needs” in a quirky way: with neural pathways built from its own past experience. These pathways shape the things we do to spark happy chemicals and escape threat chemicals, but we’re not even aware of them. This book shows you how to wire yourself to spark happy chemicals in healthy ways.
It’s not easy. Our ancestors lived in a dangerous world, so our brain is designed to scan for threats. Our ancestors had to find food every day to survive, so our brain rewards you for constantly seeking new rewards. It’s not easy to manage this threat-seeking, reward-seeking brain. No one is born with this skill. Anyone can learn. You learn with practice, like riding a bicycle or tying your shoes.
But today’s culture suggests that happiness comes on its own and something is wrong if it doesn’t. This false belief leaves you feeling bad. When you know the facts about our brain, you know why your happy chemicals are not meant to be on all the time. Our brain evolved to promote survival, not to make you happy. But when you know how it works, you can spark happy chemicals the natural way: by focusing on your next step toward meeting your needs.
The Happy Brain Guide for Teens
About the book
Claire Jaynes inherits a goat farm and learns that goats fight a lot. She and her family learn to train goats and start teaching others to train their inner mammal.
Protestors suddenly block their driveway. Why would anyone protest a little backyard biology workshop? Clues lead to the nosy neighbor and the pompous professor, but as the protests spread, Claire suspects a dark force behind them.
She tracks down her adversaries and they seem too big to fight at first. But the Jaynes family builds powerful alliances while trekking wild goats, making viral animal videos, and selling goat cheese to save the farm. They make the world safe for training your mammal brain!
Top reviews
I really enjoyed reading this book! I found it entertaining and educational.
Top reviews
I really enjoyed reading this book! I found it entertaining and educational.
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