Monday, 14 February 2022 12:00 PM
Company Update
The Inner Mammal Institute Says It May be Mental-Health Alarmism
OAKLAND, CA / ACCESSWIRE / February 14, 2022 / The US Surgeon General's December 2021 report of a mental-health crisis in the nation's youth set off waves of concern still rippling across America. According to the report, symptoms of depression and anxiety have doubled during the pandemic, with 25% of youth experiencing depressive symptoms and 20% experiencing anxiety symptoms. But some experts question the report and say it may be a form of "mental health alarmism."
"We think ‘normal' means happy because of the disease model of mental health," says Loretta Breuning, Ph.D., founder of the Inner Mammal Institute. "Unhappiness is frequently treated as a disorder, which leads many people to believe their brain can get fixed the way their car is fixed."
The medical approach to mental health is about a century old. Before that, mental health problems were widely blamed on demonic possession and other metaphysical forces. The Inner Mammal Institute states, "we have benefited a lot from the medical view of emotions. It brought access to a wide range of evidence-based solutions. But the risks associated with popular behavioral-health medications are getting increasing attention."
A recent PBS documentary called Medicating Normal explores devastating side effects of widely used depression, anxiety, and attention-deficit medications. Numerous studies, including a 2019 study, showed people on antidepressants were about 2.5 times more likely to attempt suicide.
The Inner Mammal Institute has an alternative for the millions who seek relief through pharmaceuticals. According to biology, "Negativity is our brain's natural default state. Happiness is a learned skill, like riding a bicycle. If you didn't learn yesterday, you can learn today."
Science shows the brain chemicals that make humans feel good, like dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin, are inherited from earlier mammals. Evolutionary biology shows that the human brain evolved to promote survival, not make us happy. The Inner Mammal Institute says, "your happy chemicals are not designed to flow all the time for no reason. They're designed to reward you for survival action. They turn on in short spurts, so you always have to do more to get more. Ups and downs are natural."
The hunter-gatherer ancestor of modern humankind had to forage constantly to survive. Their dopamine turned on when they saw food in the distance, and the good feeling motivated them to go for it. The dopamine stopped when they got the food because it had already done its job. Soon, they'd be hungry again, and dopamine would motivate more survival action by making it feel good.
The Inner Mammal Institute says, "modern humans are frustrated by the ups and downs of our reward chemicals, but when you know they're natural, you can relax a little." For those seeking relief from pandemic angst, Breunig says, "there are ways to find power over our happy chemicals, instead of believing you have a disorder. Our happy chemicals work in animals, so you can manage the animal brain inside you."
ABOUT THE INNER MAMMAL INSTITUTE
The Inner Mammal Institute helps you find your power over your happy chemicals. Books and free resources are available in many languages; it has helped thousands of people worldwide to make peace with their inner mammal. Loretta Breuning, the founder, is Professor Emerita of Management at California State, East Bay. She earned her Ph.D. at Tufts University and has a BS from Cornell University. She is the author of Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain Your Brain to Boost Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin, & Endorphin Levels. For more information, visit the Inner Mammal Institute on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. For additional information, visit https://innermammalinstitute.org.
CONTACT
Loretta Breuning
[email protected]
510-499-2039
SOURCE: Inner Mammal Institute