Addictions start because your brain is flooded with the “feel good” chemicals like dopamine and oxytocin. Pleasure or reward centers in the brain are activated. Legal and illegal drugs activate these centers, as does sugar. Also love, connection and helping others activate these centers.

As we approach Thanksgiving, notice the good feelings you get when you give thanks, when you think of others, and when you help others. These habits that reward our brain with the feel good chemicals can become our addiction where we seek the boost that occurs in our physiology when we give.

Dr. Brian