127: Serotonin Dopamine-Happiness Hormones

127: Serotonin Dopamine-Happiness Hormones

Dopamine isn’t your brain’s “treat.” It’s your brain’s chase signal, and once you see that clearly, a lot of modern life makes uncomfortable sense. We talk through why dopamine spikes show up in everything from social media and gambling-style algorithms to shopping, porn, vacation planning, and signing up for big challenges and why the hit often lives in the anticipation, not the payoff. That same chemistry can fuel ambition, learning, and courage, but it can also carve deep compulsive loops when the reward is uncertain and always one swipe away.  Then we shift to what regulation actually looks like. We share practical ways to stabilize dopamine and reduce the crash: consistent exercise (not necessarily extreme), lowering inflammation with better nutrition, using morning light to support circadian rhythm and cortisol timing, and building daily social connection through small “micro-moments” with real humans. We also lean on a trauma-informed lens: the better question isn’t “why the addiction,” but “why the pain,” and we explore how noticing urges early can keep a pattern from becoming your normal.  Serotonin rounds out the picture as the steadying force behind mood, satiety, bonding, and sleep rhythms, with a big spotlight on gut health since most serotonin is produced in the gut. We close with some of the most underrated tools for nervous system regulation: pets, nature, awe, and wide-open views that bring you back to rest-and-digest when life gets chaotic. If this conversation helps, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s stuck in a loop, and leave a review. What habit will you try first? Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2290567/fan_mail/new] Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject [https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject [https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject] Linktree for ALL THE THINGS: https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject [https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject] Website/About Us: https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/ [https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/]

126: Forgiveness - Why Its Not About Other Person

Forgiveness has a branding problem. People hear the word and think it means letting someone off the hook, pretending harm didn’t happen, or walking back into a relationship that still isn’t safe. We don’t buy that. We frame forgiveness as an intentional release of resentment and blame that loosens the restriction around your heart and gives your nervous system a chance to exhale. We dig into what forgiveness is not: it’s not justice, it’s not denial, and it’s not reconciliation. We talk about severity and why nobody gets to judge what “should” hurt you, plus why forcing a confrontation can be a slippery slope. Then we shift into the real cost of holding on, how anger becomes “glasses” you wear all day, and how memory and rumination keep replaying old footage in the brain. We also name the upside that’s possible when you choose healing: post-traumatic growth, stronger boundaries, clearer communication, and a life that feels lighter. The biggest turn is self-forgiveness. We get honest about shame, guilt, cultural and religious conditioning, and the survival habit of turning pain inward. We lean on self-compassion as the bridge and offer simple practices you can try today: journaling prompts, cleaning things up directly when it’s appropriate, writing yourself a love letter, and letting movement and nature help your body release what your mind keeps gripping. If this conversation hits home, subscribe, share it with someone who needs relief, and leave a review so more people can find it. What’s one thing you’re ready to set down today? Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2290567/fan_mail/new] Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject [https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject [https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject] Linktree for ALL THE THINGS: https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject [https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject] Website/About Us: https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/ [https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/]

125: This 15 Minute Exercise Builds Resilience & Self Compassion. Self-Awareness Practice.

Your week leaves marks, even when you pretend it didn’t. I’m Coach Sam, and I’m sharing a simple weekly journaling practice I call “Highlights and Heartbreaks” to help you get emotionally honest, feel less numb, and stop letting life blur by on autopilot. We start with one blank, double-sided sheet of paper. On one side, you list heartbreaks from the last seven days without overthinking or overexplaining. On the other, you list highlights, even if they feel small. That two-list “weekly inventory” builds self-awareness and mindfulness fast because it shows you the full picture, not just the hard parts or the highlight reel. Then we go deeper where it matters: you circle any heartbreak that still stings. Those “stingers” are the moments that keep looping in your body and mind, draining your energy and raising your stress. I walk you through breathing, letting the emotion move, and writing yourself a short love note that validates what happened and offers you a path forward, whether that’s a boundary, a hard conversation, or a clean release. Finally, you expand on one to three highlights with gratitude and self-recognition, so your brain learns to notice what’s working and co-create more of it. If you want a practical mental health tool that takes about 15 minutes a week and strengthens resilience, self-compassion, and emotional regulation, press play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s been carrying too much, and leave a review so more people can find the practice. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2290567/fan_mail/new] Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject [https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject [https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject] Linktree for ALL THE THINGS: https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject [https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject] Website/About Us: https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/ [https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/]

124 : GUEST: Nissa Noble on Complex Mother-Daughter Relationships

Loving your mom doesn’t automatically make the relationship safe, easy, or even tolerable. We sit down with Nissa Noble, founder and creator of Planet Gayle (@planetgayle), to talk about the reality so many adults carry quietly: complicated mother-daughter relationships where care, fear, resentment, loyalty, and grief all collide. If you’ve ever hung up the phone feeling drained, ashamed, or weirdly furious, you’re not alone and you’re not “bad.”  We get into parentification and what it does to a child who learns to be the adult early, plus the long tail of hypervigilance, people pleasing, and the impulse to solve problems immediately. Nisse shares how Planet Gayle began as a creative practice to see her mom through a new lens, and we unpack the Jekyll-and-Hyde whiplash of an emotionally volatile parent. We also talk about the mind-bending part: when your mom can be pure-hearted and generous and still have behaviors that feel unsafe or emotionally abusive, and why “multiple things can be true” is a lifesaving reframe.  You’ll leave with practical boundary ideas that don’t rely on your mom changing, including the power of pausing before you respond, designing requests that won’t set you up for disappointment, and letting your anger be information instead of evidence that something is wrong with you. We close with a gentler question that can shift everything: is there something strong or beautiful in you that you got from her, even if she never wins any mom-of-the-year awards? If this resonates, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find conversations like this. Follow Nisse Noble and @PlanetGayle at https://www.instagram.com/planet.gayle/ https://www.tiktok.com/@planetgayle https://www.instagram.com/nisse.noble Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2290567/fan_mail/new] Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject [https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject [https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject] Linktree for ALL THE THINGS: https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject [https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject] Website/About Us: https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/ [https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/]

123: You Are Not Your Diagnosis: How Not To Let A Lab Report Run Your Life!

A diagnosis can land like a stamp on your forehead, and if you’re not careful, it starts running your decisions, your confidence, and even your future plans. We’re pushing back hard on that. A diagnosis is a snapshot of what’s happening right now, not a definition of who you are. When we stop treating labels as identity, we get our agency back and we can actually make better choices with less fear and more clarity. We talk through what shifts the moment you get a diagnosis or even an early warning sign on blood work. We dig into why “passive patient” mode is so common, how to become your own advocate, and how to have real conversations with doctors that don’t end with you nodding along in a rushed ten-minute visit. We also unpack the genetics trap: family history and predisposition can matter, but lifestyle factors often decide how risk plays out. If you’ve ever thought “it runs in my family, so it’s inevitable,” this will challenge that story in a grounded way. We also call out the age bucket problem and the bell curve mindset that normalizes decline. If your goal is health optimization, strength, mobility, and a life you actually want to live, your care needs to match that. We share practical steps like knowing what tests you’re getting, reading your lab results, researching markers, asking for deeper panels when needed, and leaning into lifestyle medicine basics like gut health, movement, and sustainable 80/20 habits. If this hits home, subscribe, share it with someone who needs their power back, and leave a review so more people can find the conversation. What’s one health label you’re ready to stop identifying with? Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2290567/fan_mail/new] Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject [https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject [https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject] Linktree for ALL THE THINGS: https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject [https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject] Website/About Us: https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/ [https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/]