@Felix I definitely wouldn’t consider myself as having expertise in this area haha.
As you’ve pointed out yourself it is too simplistic to think of things in terms of individual neurotransmitters. We need to be able to think on the level of circuits and the interactions of different circuits using a combination of neurotransmitters. There is quite of bit of interplay between domaminergic and serotonergic neurons.
That said I was pretty taken by Kent Berridge’s wanting vs. liking systems which map onto dopaminergic vs. serotonergic subsystems:
Crudely put, it does seem like what we do with the actualism method (feeling good) is about liking rather than wanting (good feelings). But the truth is no doubt a lot more complicated.
There is probably other stuff out there that I’m just not aware of.
That is an awesome article, I remember reading it a while back I just re-read and it seems super relevant to Actualism. In my experience this is very much what it is like, that over time I am finding more freedom to do that which I like/enjoy and find sensible and a movement away from that which I am driven/have a compulsion towards, it seems like the very definition of the word freedom.
I remember this article too. In fact, I think I saved it once somewhere to potentially use as a subject but never did. As I get more and more felicitous, I notice that I am more interested and fascinated by everything with some preferences for things I like such as sounds of music and types of sport I like, and areas of science, but things I would feel a negative turning away from is reduced, like I am fascinated and curious about those things that never became my interests and addictions too. My addictions had more of a closed/escapist type compulsion, like using them to get away from experience…I am not sure I am articulating this correctly, it is hard to explain.
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