Dopamine vs Serotonin And Their "Personality Type"

Dopamine versus Serotonin...

...what are the differences between dopamine and serotonin?

Well this is what we are going to talk about today but first a short disclaimer.

This video / blog post is information only and it’s not medical advice.

If you need medical advice, please see a professional. 

Presenting: Dopamine And Serotonin... 

Ok so let’s put our two guests of honors up on the board right away.

May I introduce, down in the left corner, the somewhat deceptive Mr Dopamine! *applause*

And over here, to your right, you can see the pretty self-contented Mr Serotonin!."applause"

Dopamine Vs Serotonin...90% of your serotonin is produced in your gut...

Did you know that it is estimated that about 90% of your body's serotonin is actually produced in the gut, while only a small part of it is produced in the brain. 

Yes that’s right, and this is not the cause with dopamine, which is produced in different parts of the brain and mostly in the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area.

How to optimize serotonin...

If you want to try to optimize your body's own production of serotonin, make sure to eat foods that are rich in the amino acid tryptophan, because it is a precursor to serotonin.

These are foods like...

• Chicken
• Pumpkin seeds
• Cheese
• Pineapples
• Turkey
• Spinach 
• Milk
• Soy

How to optimize dopamine...

And you want to try to optimize your body's own production of dopamine, well then you wanna make sure to eat foods that are rich in the amino acid tyrosine, because tyrosine is a precursor to dopamine. 

Some food rich in this amino acid are...

• Beef
• Salmon
• Large white beans
• Tuna
• Sweet potatoes 
• Avocados
• Wild rice

What are the differences between serotonin vs dopamine then?

So, what does these two neurotransmitter really do to us?

Well, they are both multifunctional and they are very complex - and science has still a lot to learn, but to make this more interesting let’s take a look at what our two guests would say to us, if the could speak. 

If dopamine could speak, it would say something like this...

If Mr Dopamine could speak, he would say something like...

• You need more...
• You are soon there and then it will feel so good
• When you get “X” you will feel amazing...
• Just one more and the pleasure is complete...
• You need to go after “X” THEN your life will be complete...
• Come on just a little more now and you are there...

 If serotonin could speak, it would say something like this...

• And if Mr Serotonin could speak, he would probably say something like... 
• You know, everything is actually ok now
• You are doing pretty well here in this group
• Yeah I think you may feel ok about yourself now
• We’re good

Serotonin vs Dopamine - Serotonin seems to be a more supportive fellow...

Ok so when we zoom out and take a look at this a bit we get the impression that Mr Serotonin is a supportive and sympathetic fellow....

Dopamine seems to be more restless...

...while Mr Dopamine seem to be a more restless kind of guy! 

Take a look again at all the things dopamine is saying.

Can you see the a common denominator?

Yes, that’s right...dopamine wants us to go get something.

Dopamine wants us to "go get something"...

Dopamine is often called the pleasure chemical, but that’s not really accurate, it is more like the promise of reward.

Since it wants us to go after things it tries to get us to do so by promising rewards like...

...“You just need “X” and then it will be so good!!!”. *desire descends upon us in anticipation*

So is Mr. Dopamine a big fraud?

Is Dopamine lying to us?

Is he always lying to us then?

Well he IS often lying to us, but not always and we really need him.

We need both Mr. Serotonin and Mr Dopamine.

You see Mr. Dopamine will help you achieve things in life and go after your goals. He will also make you go out and get some food so you don’t starve.

He is also highly involved in you getting a partner in order for you to carry your DNA to the next generation.

And of course, that is all helpful.

Mr. Dopamine is sometimes being a big fraud...

But then, yes, he CAN indeed be very deceitful at times.

He can tell you to order a big milkshake and binge eat those 4 donuts while you are on a strict diet.

All this  while telling you that the happiness is to be found somewhere in those donuts. Now, how do you feel when you are done binging and you blew your diet?

Did you find your happiness? 

Heh no man, he clearly played a huge trick on you.

Shame on him...now what if he does it several times?...

…well then shame on you!

You can't always trust your dopamine...

You have to get to know him and know that, while you really do need him, you can not always trust him.

Like for example that time when he makes you binge on online porn for 3 hours in a row. 

All while telling you...

"Just one more scene and you’ll get there...just one more and there it will be, the happiness will be there...just one more and you’ll find the perfect one to finish on!." 

Did he fool you?

So how do you feel after that one?

My guess is that you will feel pretty drained and that you probably didn’t find the much promised happiness. Even though Mr Dopamine was telling you…

… “This is great, all these hot babes, man you have found the evolutionary jackpot...you get to spread all kinds of genes here!”

Well, did you successfully manage to carry your DNA to the next generation?

No you didn’t, so here Mr Dopamine really was the ultimate fraud. 

To sum up Dopamine vs Serotonin...

To put everything in a very simplistic way; while both dopamine and serotonin can feel very good, dopamine is more about instant pleasure or almost having pleasure...

...while serotonin is more about contentment, being happy and satisfied in the now. 

Too much dopamine stimulation...

Now, one of the big problems with today’s world is that we are bombarded with so much input and stimuli that we tend to overtax our whole dopamine system. 

This is why I created the Dopamine Focused Fasting course. A fun way to "reset" your dopamine system. 

You can check it our right here.

Alright, this is Scandinavian bob signing out for today’s and as always i wish you all the best in your journey to become the strongest version of yourself, and remember, if your going through hell, keep going!

Related posts:

• What would happen if you had no dopamine?
• When do we get dopamine cravings (triggers and more)