Neurotransmitters - Your Brain on Chemicals

Your Brain on Chemicals: Why You Feel What You Feel

I was awake at 3:07 AM again last Tuesday. Not 3:00, not 3:15—always 3:07. Staring at the ceiling, making lists of everything I'd screwed up since 2019. My brain doing that thing where it replays conversations but adds worse endings.

Turns out, that's just cortisol being dramatic.

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Here's what nobody tells you about your brain: it's basically running on software from when we had to worry about bears eating us. Now it freaks out about Slack notifications instead. Same panic response, stupider trigger.

I learned this the hard way when my Stress Mastery & Work-Life Balance pillar completely cracked. One day I'm fine, next day I'm crying because the coffee shop was out of oat milk. Real professional moment there.

The Chemicals That Won't Shut Up

Think of your brain like a group chat where everyone's drunk and yelling:

Dopamine - That friend who convinces you to check Instagram "real quick" at 11 PM. Three hours later you're watching videos of people making tiny food. Meanwhile, your actual work? Dopamine ghosted that conversation hours ago.

Actually, wait—let me tell you about last week. I opened LinkedIn to post something work-related. Somehow ended up reading about someone's cat's birthday party. For forty minutes. That's dopamine for you.

Serotonin - When it's working, you're that person who says "it is what it is" and means it. When it's not? That weird look from your coworker definitely means they hate you. That typo in your email? Career over.

Cortisol - The drama queen of hormones. Supposed to help with real danger. Instead it's like: "That email had no exclamation points! They're disappointed in you! Also, remember that thing from 2019!"

GABA - Your brain's brake pedal. Mine's broken. Two hours to write a three-sentence email broken.

Meeting From Hell (You Know The One)

Picture this: important meeting, you're about to present. Your brain—this brilliant organ that got you through college—suddenly forgets how words work. Your voice does that shaky thing. You're sweating through your good shirt.

Your prehistoric brain literally cannot tell the difference between your boss asking about quarterly projections and an actual predator. Both equal danger. Both equal "forget everything you practiced."

I've started using the Center-Breath + Label technique when this happens. Sounds simple, right? Just breathe and name what you're feeling. Except when you're in the moment, remembering to breathe feels like advanced calculus.

Why I Hate 3 AM

My Rest & Recovery pillar didn't just crack—it shattered. Melatonin is supposed to make you sleepy when it's dark. But apparently it didn't get the memo about:

Phone screens (obviously)
That 3 PM coffee that seemed like a good idea at the time
Netflix. All of it. Even the shows I don't like
That thing I said in 2019. And 2020. And yesterday.
Whether I locked the door (I did. I checked three times)

So I tried melatonin supplements. You know what's fun? Feeling hungover at 10 AM when you didn't even drink. Super professional in meetings.

The Middle-of-the-Night Protocol actually helps now. But god, it took me forever to stop fighting it and just... let my brain do its stupid chemical thing. Sometimes I still fight it. Usually lose.

Okay So What Do I Do With This?

Look, I'm not saying knowing this stuff magically fixes your brain. Last week I still had a minor breakdown because Outlook crashed. Like, actual tears. Over email software.

But at least now I can think "oh, that's cortisol being extra" instead of "I'm fundamentally broken as a person."

Oh, and apparently McKinsey or whoever says this whole mess costs the economy $8.8 trillion a year in lost productivity. Honestly? That tracks. Feels low, actually. They probably didn't count the time I spent reorganizing my desk instead of working because my dopamine decided office supplies were today's hyperfixation.

Once you start noticing the patterns, you can't unsee them:

That 3 PM crash where you'd sell your soul for a nap? Dopamine giving up on you
Scrolling Reddit instead of that report that's due tomorrow? Also dopamine (it's always dopamine)
Everything feels like a personal attack, even the weather? Your serotonin tanked
Wide awake at 2 AM planning your entire life but too exhausted to send one email? That's cortisol and melatonin having a cage match in your brain

The Thing Nobody Says Out Loud

Your brain is trying to navigate 2025 with software from 100,000 BCE. No wonder it glitches constantly. We're using stone age equipment for space age problems. Your anxiety about that presentation? Your brain thinks it's a saber-toothed tiger. Your deadline stress? Bear attack. That awkward conversation with your manager? Definitely a predator situation.

Here's what I've figured out

Once you know which chemicals are messing with you, you can start working with them instead of against them. Sort of. Sometimes. When they cooperate.

Or at least understand why you're eating cereal at midnight while simultaneously planning to reorganize your entire life. (That's dopamine and cortisol tag-teaming you, by the way.)

Your feelings aren't random. Your reactions aren't weakness. It's literally chemistry.

And sometimes knowing that makes it suck just a tiny bit less. Not a lot less. But enough.