Insufficient serotonin levels are associated with depressive states.  That's why some anti-depressant medications aim to keep serotonin longer in the body so the body's reservoir of serotonin fills up.  With higher serotonin levels depressed people seem to feel less down. 

Kolb points out that many activities in normal life trigger increases in serotonin.  He focuses on four:  sunshine, exercise, massage and thinking about happy experiences. 

I would add several others, for instance, winning.  Winning is a big piece of what makes sports fun to do, and even to watch.  When my city's football team, the Bronco's, just won a major game, citizens all over the city felt uplifted.  Serotonin surges kicked in for all of us. 

My hunch is that giving to others, good music, beauty in any form, nature, and newness also impact your serotonin levels.  You can tell because they make you feel good.

New anything triggers boosts serotonin levels.   Whereas boredom comes from too much of everything being the same, shopping involves hunting for and acquiring something new. Shopping for new love can be especially exciting.

Shopping interestingly may boost serotonin in multiple ways.  Gift-giving involves purchasing something new, with the added bonus of then giving it to someone.  Giving tends also to boost serotonin, so gift-buying followed by gift-giving, brings us thedelight we feel in seeing that we have given someone else delight. 

Gratitude is another serotonin booster, so the receiver also, feeling grateful for your gift, gets to enjoy the lovely feelings of a serotonin surge.  No wonder the holiday season is so full of good cheer! 

No wonder many people like to go shopping when they are feeling bored or down. 

There can be of course too much of a good thing.  Using shopping, either for things or for new relationships, as an anti-depressant can lead to shopaholic patterns.  People with serotonin excesses in the manic phase of bipolar illness are at risk for going on break-the-bank major shopping sprees and hunts for new romantic partners. 

Serotonin's impact may be circular.  The more we acquire something new, the more we feel joyful.  At the same time, feeling joyful may trigger an impulse to do more of what feels good, creating a vicious cycle of feeling good, shopping, feeling good at even higher levels of intensity, more shopping, etc.  Beware of shopping, including shopping for new love, addictions!

What other kinds of activities besides shopping give a boost of positive energy because of the element of newness? 

Getting to know a new person.  Finding a new lover. Travel to a new place.  Doing a new activity. 

On a grey day when the sun emerges through the clouds pay attention and you could experience a triple burst of serotonin: the new lighting, plus sunshine, plus beauty. 

I recently was hiking in the mountains.  As I became increasingly tired, I began to feel bored with the repetitive motion of just putting one foot ahead of the other, so I paused for a bit. A few deep breaths helped the fatigue.  Even more potent though were the new sights I saw now that I had paused and could look around me.  The long view of the valley below startled me.  "New" view number one.  Then as I looked next to me, I saw sunlit leaves.  I saw a small multi-colored beetle crawling purposely along the ground.  I saw softgreen moss and white marbled stones.  All these new sights felt invigorating.  My boredom had lifted, replaced by replenished  serotonin and well-being.

Back to shopping, the serotonin burst from newness is, alas, only one of the multiple phenomena that may occur for people when they shop. 

Shopping can be an emotionally complex activity.  In addition to the element of newness, shopping may trigger problems with making decisions.  Indecisiveness is likely to invite rises in dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with anxiety.  

Furthermore, regret, guilt, or envy can play a spoiling role, not to mention anxiety about how you will pay the credit card bill at the end of a month of giving and good cheer.  

However, lest we end on a discouraging note, here's one last serotonin-boosting thought on the activity of shopping. 

Every time you buy a gift, say for a young child, you are giving the gift of employment to many, many people.  

Your money goes to the factory workers who made the toy, to the toy company's marketing and management employees, to those who work for the distributor who arranged for the toy to be sold in stores, not to mention to the sales staff and management of the store where you made the purchase, the restaurant workers and owner where you ate lunch between stores, and the taxi driver who brought you home when you were carrying too many bags to take the bus.  

So gift-givers unite and pat yourselves on your collective backs.  You are saving America's economy!  How's that for a feel-good serotonin surge!

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Susan Heitler, PhD, a Denver Clinical psychologist, is author of multiple publications including From Conflict to Resolution and The Power of Two.  A graduate of Harvard and NYU, Dr. Heitler's most recent project is a marriage skills website, PowerOfTwoMarriage.com.