Watching this video on the science of happiness.
Has a nice mental model (not too sure if its accurate at all) about each neurotransmitter that evolved over time filling a set of glasses. The hope is that you have an equal balance of all these neurotransmitters in each glass.
The glasses:
- Dopamine: Creates motivation to find food.
- Testosterone: Sexual desire, when paired with dopamine.
- Serotonin: Experience of recognition.
- Oxytocin: Together with dopamine provides family love.
- Cannabinoid: Friendship love for collaboration.
- Opiods: Combined with dopamine provides pleasure in gratitude.
He states every emotion we consciously experience is a combination of these 6 molecules. All the influences around us offer equations for balancing these glasses. For instance, status and money would fill up the first two glasses but they will never overflow into the others.
This is all from a guy called Axel Bouchon, not too sure how credible.