Happiness Is Your Friend

Anger isn’t your friend. Even though anger has its uses, mostly it doesn’t do anything good. Other people tend to stay away from you if you’re angry. Remember, your amygdala takes over when you’re angry, and your thinking skills disappear.

But that’s enough of anger. What happens in our brains when we’re happy? Glad you asked. Happiness is your friend. It lets your brain do all sorts of beautiful things.

Introducing: the hippocampus

Your amygdala is always ready to put you in fight, flight or freeze mode. The hippocampus is the brain part that lets in new memories. It helps call up old ones. If you’re in fight, flight or freeze, the hippocampus doesn’t work as well.

A happy brain wants to learn. It opens gateways to let learning flow in.