Episode Transcript

Julia Landauer 0:00 Hello everybody, and welcome back to another episode of If I'm Honest with Julia Landauer. I don't do drugs, but I do know that it is really hard to beat the feeling of an incredible high that you get after you've accomplished something amazing, whether that's the high of winning a race or the high of falling in love or the high of getting a promotion, or the high of performing something and coming off stage and feeling that euphoric feeling of applause and knowing that you killed it, it's incredible, and Our brains organically do something that makes us feel so euphoric, and because it is truly, truly a great feeling, I am going to explain how our brains produce this natural high, what we can do in our day to day lives to achieve it, and then also a greater discussion around pleasure in general. So I hope you enjoy this discussion. I originally started thinking about the natural highs that we get a couple years ago. I was discussing my keynote with my communications coach, and she's incredible, and she has helped me navigate how to create fun narratives for different audiences. And we were talking about how great it feels to get off the stage, how great it feels to know that you've inspired and that you've entertained and you've made people laugh. And I remember she said that, yeah, it was a really great feeling. But she said, I know it's not real life, so I try to stop that feeling and get off of that high as soon as I can, because how can I go back to my family or my real life if I'm on this high? And she asked me, what I do to get off of that high? And I looked at her, and I thought about it, and I realized I I didn't try to get off that high. I never once thought that I would try to minimize the incredible feeling I felt after doing a great job. And so we had this conversation, and I understood her point that when you're feeling euphoric and incredible and everyone else around you isn't that it can be a bit of a mismatch on energies. But I also feel that one, the world is so miserable a lot of the time, and there's so much negativity out there, and there are constantly people trying to bring you down or take away credit or minimize your feeling of goodness, that I'm going to ride that wave of that natural high as long as I can, I understand that the elevated heart rate and the, you know, high positive stress levels of that is not Sustainable, not something you want to have all the time. But why would you want to stop that? And it got me thinking, and I hadn't even started my podcast yet, when I started thinking about this, and then with this theme that we have, this season of human performance and excellence and all of that, it seems like it makes sense. Because, you know, I love the feeling of winning. Many people do I love the feeling of doing a great job. And so that's why I wanted to jump into some of the science behind this natural high, recognizing that it can also be addicting, right? Using substances to get a high is not the only way that we might get addicted to something. And so I do want to preface this discussion by saying that if you are struggling with substance abuse, or you think you might be struggling with some addictions, you can call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration national Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 again, that's 1-800-662-4357 you can always also call 988, or 911, in the event of emergency. But back to the discussion of the natural high. It can be addicting, and I'm not advocating for that. I think that compulsory or compulsionary activities of any type, whether that is compulsively exercising to get that high or doing other things to get the high. Isn't healthy either, but a good dose of it, I think, is important. I think as humans, we need to feel happy, we need to feel joy, we need to feel pleasure. So first I'm going to jump into the science of this natural high and what technically happens in our bodies and brains, and then I'll pivot to the greater discussion around pleasure. So a natural high comes from the release of endorphins. And if you've watched Legally Blonde, you know that Endorphins make you happy and happy people just don't kill their husbands. But the more scientific explanation of what happens is that during times of stress or pain, the body releases the chemical endorphin into the brain, and it's near the hypothalamus and the pituitary glands, and endorphins are the natural painkillers. They are what make you feel desensitized to pain or minimize anxiety and make you feel better. Yeah, the word endorphins actually comes from two different words, endogenous, which means inside the body, and morphine, which is the medication that doctors prescribe to relieve pain. And so endogenous, morphine, endorphin. It doesn't quite work with the I any sound at the end, but it's close enough. But yeah, the body releases the chemical endorphin into the brain. And this can happen from things as simple as laughing or eating a delicious meal, bigger things like falling in love, going for a run and getting the runners higher, rigorous exercise, having sex, ultraviolet light, apparently can increase release of endorphins. But interestingly enough, and I did not know this before doing research for this episode, the endorphins are not what causes euphoria, because endorphins don't pass the blood brain barrier, which was a new concept for me. Maybe I learned it in high school. I don't remember. But because that, in addition to to endorphins, the body also produces endocannabinoids, which are like a natural cannabis that comes in the body. And endocannabinoids also get released during that time of exercise or when your heart rate is elevated, and it leaves that temporary feeling of calm and content and minimized anxiety, that euphoric feeling that we think about. The endocannabinoids also serve as regulatory functions for other parts of the body, such as for sleep and for mood, appetite, learning, memory, body temperature, pain, immune functions and fertility. And fun fact, the first endocannabinoid to be discovered, which was in 1992 was called anandamide. I think I pronounced that incorrectly, but that's okay, anandamide, anandamide, and that name comes from the Sanskrit word Ananda, which means bliss or delight, so quite appropriately named in terms of the first cannabis natural high release or feeling. So anyway, when we do something that involves a high heart rate stress, the combination of endorphins and endocannabinoids and probably adrenaline and cortisol, all of that going produces this feeling of high and again, on a personal level, I have felt that a lot at the racetrack, whether it's winning a race or doing significantly better, or, you know, the best that I had done to that point, or that feeling of hitting perfect marks and hitting The Apex perfectly, and running that perfect lap where just everything flows. And it kind of feels like you're on the subconscious level, you're in the zone. It's just it's so hard to explain, but you kind of just feel like you're levitating above everything that's happening. And it's intoxicating. It's incredible. I love it so, so much. And then I also have felt that I do get the runner's high, not if I go past like four miles, if I go past four miles, I'm like, this is now just painful, but the runner's high, and that feeling of satisfaction afterwards, and certainly when I'm on stage, that's the that's the place where I'm getting that feeling of incredible high the Most, I think, and the most intense version of that when I know that I've entertained and made people laugh and hopefully inspired, but I also realize how many ways we can find it in our day to day lives, and maybe it's a slightly different intensity level. But back to the list I read, you know, laughing letting our guard down enough to welcome in humor and to react to situations, even if it's not what's socially acceptable, like letting our guards down so that we can really experience in the moment, I think can provide some of that feeling of euphoria. I also will die on this hill that it's important to have little joys, and so really taking a moment to appreciate that perfect culinary experience of breathing in as you're taking the bite and all of your sensories are overloaded, it's that perfect bite of whatever it is, whether it's ice cream or whether it's a, you know, Michelin star meal, like really taking the time to Appreciate that. Meditating is another way where I haven't gotten into it, but I've heard from a lot of people firsthand that you can kind of have this out of body mind experience when you're going through meditation, to be able to have that that calmness and that delight and that stress free moment. There are also other things, like having intercourse or flirting with people, and, you know, building up that tension. So there are a lot of different ways that you can have this this high. And so again, please be responsible. Please reach out if you need help. But that is a summary of the science behind the euphoric feeling of a natural high. High and different ways that you can go about finding it. I will also link resources in the description if anyone needs them. So back to my discussion with my communications coach, when she said that the natural high is not real life and that she should get back to real life. I want to revisit a subtext that I picked up on, which was the minimization of pleasure, focusing in on the US specifically, I think we have a big problem when it comes to our cultural desire to minimize pleasure, and this spans a lot of different areas, right? We minimize vacation time, if we have any at all, we don't emphasize the importance of meal time or healthy and pleasurable eating. We don't have comprehensive sex education, and we shame people for not being productive. Silliness as adults is not considered professional or good. And I think this is a really problematic thing. Life is so dense. Life has so many things out of our control. Why would we try to minimize things that make us feel better? Why would we try to minimize things that bring joy or make us happy? It spans a lot of different things that we do in our culture, and I think it really hurts personal expression. I think it really hurts a feeling of contentness and being proud of who you are. And I hate that, I really, really hate that I want people to feel like they are enjoying themselves. And I think minimizing that or shaming that I don't have the answer to it, but I really do notice a difference between being in Europe and being in the US. And I'm sure there are other countries that also have that, that shift, but it really is a big difference, and that's part of the reason I love New York so much. You can be as expressive, weird, silly, in love with yourself, whatever it is, as you want, and everyone else is like that too. And so it doesn't stick out. And I think there's this desire to fit a mold, to be respectable, to do what's culturally deemed right. But what's the point of that? Who are we doing that for? Are we deriving joy and satisfaction from minimizing our own feelings of pleasure and joy and happiness? I know that I don't when I'm doing that. I know that I feel much, much better when I am living my true self. I've noticed recently that I'll listen to music in the car on the way to work, and then I'll keep humming it to myself. I don't want to, you know, I don't want to impose on someone else's space or someone else's your drums, but I will keep singing it to myself, and people will hear me singing it to myself. People will see me doing that and it's okay. My call to action for everyone, including myself, is to try to stop censoring ourselves, try to lean into expressing how we're feeling. Try to lean into feelings of joy and sharing those joys with other people. Try not to worry about what other people are thinking, try not to fit into the mold or do what's deemed appropriate. Obviously don't cause harm to people, but this idea of running with your feelings and letting the world be as colorful and bright and engaging as you can make it will make each moment that much more enjoyable. It will make the hard times more manageable. It will make the great times even better. And I think that's a much happier way and a much more joyous way to go through life. Life is tough enough as it is. Right? You know, plenty of people will try to get in the way and make us feel bad and make us feel miserable. And so if there are moments that really light us up in the best way possible, we need to latch on to them. To summarize our discussion today, the feeling of a natural high is incredible. Our bodies are so cool that we produce these chemical reactions so that we can feel really great in times that are otherwise stressful and high intensity. It's a feeling that doesn't last forever. It's not sustainable. It is fleeting, and therefore we have to be careful that we don't kind of actively seek it, just for the sake of seeking it, but rather through the whole process that we're working on. And feeling that high is allowing ourselves to let our guard down and feel pleasure, and it's something that I think we don't emphasize the importance of pleasure and happiness and joy enough in our day to day lives. And so I really encourage you to look at your life and think, How can we make this better? We have one life to live, and it's really important to take it by the reins and make our own choices and not be worth. Worried about the norms that we might not be fitting in. Obviously, we don't want to cause harm to ourselves or other people, but for the most part, that's not going to be an issue to close out, because the incredibly euphoric feeling of a natural high is fleeting. I want you to let yourself ride that wave. I want you to feel good. I want you to express yourself and to savor those moments, because they won't always be there, and the more that we can tap into that that joy and happiness, the easier the hard times will be, and the even better and brighter the good times will be. Everyone that is our show. I hope that you enjoyed this episode. Would love to get your feedback in the reviews comments on social. You can follow me at Julia Landauer, and if you have any additional thoughts, please let me know. I'd love to hear them. And again, I hope that you enjoy the little things in life and savor those great moments as always. Thank you for letting me be honest with you, and I look forward to seeing you in two weeks.