So after more research, I have concluded that a yellow jumper badge is not enough. I thought that I wanted to reduce social pressure, thereby dissolving the need to maintain appropriate status, but actually, there is more to it than that. I have pinpointed what I am looking for, or rather what effect I am trying to induce. What I am looking for is how to trigger the release of endorphins.

I have only just put a name to the sensation that I get when I meet cool people, and learn cool stuff; when I am being inspired, or challenged - the sensation is a potent delivery of endorphins - I am endorphined so to speak - hence why meetforeal.com and crowdscanner.com have been so important to me. They lift me up so high that I am walking on air and I feel super confident and relaxed and happy in the world.

What I didn't know about endorphins is that if a group of people are all experiencing a release of endorphins, then they are more likely to connect, and bond more deeply. Now it makes sense that one of the side effects of my endorphin rush is that I have no problem striking conversations with people everywhere. Everyone is my friend.

In this video, Robin Dunbar, whom I somehow assumed was dead, sorry Robin, talks about his latest book, "How many friends does one person need?", and he discusses this phenomenon with endorphins: how we are better able to connect and bond with one another when endorphins are present.

Laughing, he says, is a super way to release endorphins. You may have noticed yourself after a comedy night, initiating conversations with the people all around you without caring that they are strangers. According to his research, it can even make you much more generous to those you have never met before.

So back on topic, yes, alcohol releases endorphins, so in fact, when a group of people are drinking together, they are "bonding" in the same way that people over the course of history have bonded through rituals which trigger the release of endorphins, such as religious ceremonies, dancing, singing etc. And it's that bonding that I feel excluded from, so it is that release of endorphins that I am trying to replicate.

So it turns out that "drinking only low amounts of alcohol will increase endorphin release and produce pleasant effects," (C. Gianoulakis 2009). From extensive experience under the effects of alcohol, I would say that she has neglected to mention the later release of endorphins due to the wild and out of character behaviour that alcohol leads you to indulge in once the anxiety about your status as been reduced. It empowers you to start conversations with strangers, talk about topics that you would normally be too scared to bring up, dance with freedom, hug everyone (thanks Loes), kiss who you fancy, steal drinks and signs and even roosters (yes indeed), which all trigger the release of endorphins.

Sometimes, you have had such an endorphin filled night that the effects spill over into the next day, before you are abruptly dropped from cloud nine as they slither out of your brain and the hangover slides in.

So, in a quest to feel as good as my drunken friends without the drink, it turns out I am seeking that initial release of endorphins, which would then enable me to participate in behavior that releases still more. This would make my bonding experiences with those who I am hanging out with more profound, and make me more able to relax and have fun, at least until the endorphins die out.

So it turns out, my mechanisms described in the last post, were not so off focus.

I have options. I can eat chocolate, go for a run, be dropped from a climbing wall, go to a comedy show, or listen to an inspiring talk, and it turns out that would probably be sufficient to have that initial boost of feel good factor.

Crazily enough, it occurs to me that we have already invented technology that triggers the release of endorphins, and it consists of following the curve of CrowdScanner until the endorphins explode. It turns out that challenging yourself to talk to strangers, in a scenario that requires you to pop out of your comfort zone, triggers the release of endorphins 100%.



If the question makes the person laugh, then even better, because by releasing endorphins in your stranger's brains, they are number one, less likely to steal your phone because you guys are bonding :) and number two, you are forced, chemically, and subconsciously, to connect with eachother.

So I will take that into consideration in my next question of the week: humour!