Pinball Machine

Dopamine makes us feel good, especially if we’ve done something to help others. So, when a parent asks you to tidy your room, you’ll get a dopamine hit when you’re done. Can you feel it working? Well, yes and no.

A tidy room looks better than an untidy one. And your parents will be happy that your room looks better than it did.

The thing with brain chemicals is you don’t feel them working. When you run, you feel your leg muscles working. Brain chemicals work on your emotions.

Today’s chemical is like dopamine.

Its name is oxytocin.

ox-ee-TOE-sin

Like dopamine, oxytocin is linked to feelings. You don’t have to do much to get it working:

• play with a pet

• hug someone

• tell someone they look good

• hold hands (not with yourself–pretty sure that won’t work)

• show kindness

Has your teacher praised your work in school? That warm feeling is oxytocin.

When I was in Year 7 (a long time ago), three students in my class decided to bully me. They laughed at how skinny I was. (spoiler alert: I still am)

They laughed when I told them I was entering a writing competition run by the Assistant Principal. Their laughter didn’t stop me. I entered and came second. The prize was $10. That was a lot of money back then.

Did the bullies quit laughing? They did. They stopped for good when I took them to our local corner store, where there was a pinball machine. I paid for a game for each of them and had enough left to buy a fancy pen I wanted.