The Reward System... Dopamine

Each morning, we wake up to a new day. We may have plans. We may decide to be spontaneous. The fact is, in our entire life, no two days will be the same - no matter how hard we try.

With this in mind, our bodies try to help us experience joy throughout the day, even if it isn't exactly how we planned it.

This is usually how it goes within the mind:  

• You accomplished something, your mind tells you that you need a reward to celebrate.  
• You're hurt. You need a reward to comfort you.
• You're happy. You need a reward to heighten your happiness.
• You're bored.You need a reward to entertain you.
• You're busy. You need a reward so you can keep on going.
• You're angry.You need a reward because you decided not to kick something.

See the pattern. Pretty much anything we do, the brain wants to reward us so we can be happy (or happier). For some people, they will turn to an outside source thinking it will reward them, like alcohol, drugs, nicotine or even food.

When an addiction is addressed and stopped (like drugs abuse for example), some people will turn to another "Reward" like nicotine.  For someone getting off nicotine, they may turn to food.  

To stop this cycle, the dopamine pathways need to be reset.  This can be done with auricular therapy. There's a reason we call the dots we use in Auricular Therapy as Happy Dots. By stimulating the nerve endings in the ear, the body realizes the reward center is already satisfied by releasing its' own chemicals and wont be looking elsewhere to find a reward.