Since the dawn of civilization, human beings have sought ways to control their bodies. Wellness is one of the most desired goals, but in a world where stress is around every corner, some people are turning to new practices to achieve a state of wholeness. And understanding the role of our hormones is just the beginning.
Since the dawn of civilization, human beings have sought ways to control their bodies. Wellness is one of the most desired goals, but in a world where stress is around every corner, some people are turning to new practices to achieve a state of wholeness. And understanding the role of our hormones is just the beginning.

In 2009, the animated series The Simpsons released an episode that, in a subtle and sarcastic way, contributed to the debate on the search for well-being. In The Good, the Sad and the Drugly, Marge discovers that her daughter, Lisa, is suffering from a severe case of eco-anxiety - the name adopted is not this, but the reference to the disease is further proof of the series' ability to predict the future - for which she is prescribed antidepressants. This is followed by a striking scene on a bus trip in which, after taking the medication, all the objects Lisa looks at turn into nice yellow circles, melting away amidst smiles. It was the visual symbol of happiness. And all thanks to a little pill. This article, like the episode, is not an ode to the use of antidepressants. That should be restricted to cases in which there is a medical prescription. But it is, on the other hand, an analysis of the relationship our body has with pleasure. Is there anything we can do to make our existence as pleasurable as that of the smartest yellow character on television during those brief minutes of the episode?
The world of wellness has devoted all its efforts to answering this question. Routines are created, timed to the minute, with the aim of stimulating daily well-being. They are usually based on three pillars of human behavior: good sleep, exercise, and healthy eating. So far, nothing new - most people know how to recite this advice since childhood. However, some go further, trying to understand what is behind the pleasurable sensations that invade the brain in various situations. This is how the wonder-quartet came into our common vocabulary. Dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and adrenaline - four hormones presented as the protectors of human well-being, and which many seek to manipulate, with the aim of achieving a state of permanent plenitude.
Leonor de Oliveira, clinical psychologist, sex therapist and author of the book É Normal?, helped us to decipher the wonderful world of pleasure, starting by explaining that there are other hormones, such as "noradrenaline, vasopressin and prolactin", less known, that also have a role to play in human well-being. To these are added "another class of hormones indispensable to the regulation of sexual behavior: estrogen, progesterone and testosterone (...) which vary throughout the month in people who menstruate, or in key periods such as pregnancy and postpartum." Although they are referred to together, each group reveals its uniqueness. "Catecholamines, in which dopamine, adrenaline and noradrenaline are included, are involved in so-called 'appetitive' behaviors, including sex. The relationship between these is complex, but in general terms, dopamine and noradrenaline seem to be more linked to states of passion, in which we feel a lot of desire to be with the object of our love or attraction and we activate our 'search and reward system,'" the clinical psychologist points out. Contrary to what you might think, "Dopamine is involved in the process of desiring and seeking sexual stimulation, but it is not involved in pleasure itself, that is, in enjoying sexual activity."
Oxytocin, in turn, is known as "the hormone of love and affection", which Leonor de Oliveira considers "a rather reductive view." According to the sex therapist, "it is a fact that oxytocin makes us feel good, and that it activates or is activated by our 'care system', that is, when we care for and want to be cared for by other people. But oxytocin also increases during genital stimulation and during orgasm, including in masturbation situations." Serotonin, meanwhile, is the happiness hormone - and probably the hormone stimulated by Lisa Simpson's antidepressants. Its function, however, is not as simple as the name makes it sound. "When we start a relationship, our levels of dopamine, but also of oxytocin (and vasopressin), are very high and help us focus on what's happening. Curiously, our serotonin levels (...) go down, leading us to think and fantasize about our love object more often." Besides this, Leonor de Oliveira completes with the idea that "the decrease in serotonin, as happens with depression, can contribute to sexual dysfunction".
Having established the differences between each hormone, it becomes easier to understand how they can contribute to well-being. However, is their stimulation the right way to obtain a state of eternal happiness? According to the clinical psychologist, "hormones (…) are not able to give us pleasure. They can help us in the search for pleasure, like dopamine and noradrenaline, and even testosterone (present in all people), or provide us with pleasant sensations, like oxytocin and serotonin, but it all depends on the meaning that each activity has for us." Leonor de Oliveira believes that "we should never think of human behavior in purely biological terms" and, for this reason, stresses that "hormones alone do little. Our personal, relational and social contexts matter much more." Take the case of physical exercise: "Physical activity may be responsible for hormone production, but that doesn't mean it can reverse or prevent depression, for example. Loss of pleasure is one of the most important symptoms of depression and exercise is often recommended in these cases, but it doesn't mean it can cure these states. It can, rather, contribute to greater well-being, self-esteem, energy, and improved sleep, which, in turn, also help combat depression," explains the clinical psychologist.
In short, it is not hormones that have the ability to provide us with a sense of well-being. Dopamine "makes us crave what made us feel good," while "serotonin and oxytocin may be associated with pleasure, but they don't cause it either, they are just biological markers that occur in response to what is happening." Still, their contribution to happiness seems obvious – all of the examples we have mentioned in the last few paragraphs, whether physical activity or sexual relations, are examples of behaviors that society considers positive for human health. However, both these and other actions with less favorable reputations can have negative consequences when done in excess. For example, if sugar has such a harmful impact on human health, why do we derive pleasure from its consumption? "One explanation for the pleasure we derive from eating sugary foods is that it may have given us evolutionary advantages. Sugar, being a quick source of energy, may have been important for our survival, leading us to search for fruit, for example," explains Leonor de Oliveira. In this sense, what will motivate a person to consume sugar in excess? Is it the food itself or the sensation it brings? In the words of the sex therapist, "there is no addiction to pleasure, there are addictions to substances. Some people claim to be addicted to adrenaline or dopamine, but technically that is not possible. It's a myth." The role of hormones, here, is another: "Dopamine can be involved in several ways, one of which is in a personality tendency to seek sensations. This tendency is not necessarily pathological, but a major dysregulation at the dopamine level may be implicated in the mechanisms of addiction/dependence, whether it's to sugar, tobacco, drugs in general." We've already established that "dopamine is used in substance-seeking behaviors." Yet, "the reason we seek them out is because we depend on them [the substances]. This has to do with our capacity for tolerance and habituation and with each substance in particular," elucidates Leonor de Oliveira.
The so-called "manipulation" of hormones is not always linked to the search for pleasure, in fact. In the wellness industry, there has been a lot of talk about biological hacking, namely in the face of dopamine, when seeking to eliminate pleasurable activities in order to increase productivity and concentration. We asked Leonor de Oliveira for her opinion on these practices: "Sometimes we need to relearn behaviors, and we can only do that by extinguishing behaviors that harm us. Even though dopamine is involved in these processes, we can't control it, since dopamine is emitted when we encounter new stimuli. We want new stimuli, but the artifacts we have at our disposal quickly cease to satisfy us and we derive very little pleasure from them. Hence the importance of openness to experience and curiosity..." Nevertheless, there are other agents that must be considered in this type of tendency, namely the prevailing economic systems, such as "capitalism, which are much greater forces than biology in regulating our behavior, even when they make us believe that there are easy, natural or direct ways to become a certain way," summarizes the clinical psychologist. For those looking for a more active role in promoting their well-being, Leonor de Oliveira has some advice: "Mindfulness is a good way of helping us to be present and to pay attention to what is happening to us, and there is already a lot of research proving its benefits for sexuality, for example. It is very likely that Lisa Simpson would also benefit from a mindfulness session, but that will be left for future episodes.
Originally translated from The Pleasure Issue, published May 2023.Full stories and credits on the print issue.
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