I love a good neurotransmitter.

Glutamate, GABA, serotonin, endorphins.

And the always reliable dopamine, which just plain makes you feel like this precarious life thing isn’t quite as hard as it often feels. Dopamine helps us feel pleasure and enjoy better focus, concentration, memory, sleep, mood and motivation. There’s a reason why people do super addictive drugs like cocaine and methamphetamines — they act directly on the dopamine system.

But let’s give hard drugs a hard pass, shall we? Let’s explore natural, healthier, cheaper ways of releasing dopamine by creating a dopamine menu, a new TikTok trend. Now, I’m not keen on about 90% of TikTok trends (like slugging — who decided applying a layer of petroleum jelly all over your face at night is good skin care?), but this dopamine menu checks out. Compiling a list of tiny or large ways to release more dopamine and therefore pleasure into my life? Especially in the darkest, coldest time of the year? Yes, for the love of fruitcake, please.

Apparently, the idea comes from a 2020 YouTube video by Jessica McCabe, who said dopamine menus can help people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), who have lower levels of dopamine in their brains and have to work a little harder to access it.

As with any menu, delicacies are organized by the usual categories: appetizers, entrees, desserts and specials.

Appetizers can be short, minutes-long delights that can help put the trash can lid on your inner Oscar the Grouch. Entrees are activities, hobbies or other bigger things that will take up more time and require more energy to digest, but can stick to your ribs a bit longer. Desserts are to be enjoyed sparingly, as with actual rich, sugary confections. Specials are simply that, a big treat once in a while.

I’d like to add amuse-bouche to the lineup, probably because I really like the word. But also because it’s a bite-sized hors d’oeuvre said to awaken the palate and prepare diners for the main course, and I feel you can slip these in between every course throughout the day. And even before nighty night time.

It seems like a wise move to come up with ideas to make yourself feel better before you actually fall into a pit of despair and nobody’s throwing a rope down. We could all endeavor to take better care of our future selves, because we all know we’re going to feel soggy again at some point, or even just later this afternoon when a co-worker annoys us.

Here’s what I’m putting on my menu. Please create your own and send it to me if you’re feeling spicy: jen.mulson@gazettedev.gazette.com. I could always use some new ideas.

Appetizers: Go outside and get sun on your face for five minutes, and yes, wear sunscreen. Have a snack — grapes and a slice of cheese is nice. Wash your hands and face, followed by liberal amounts of lotion. Put on lipstick. Brush your teeth. Do 15 squats. Walk a couple extra flights of stairs. Kiss and hug your dog. Text a funny gif to your best friend. Watch a YouTube video of a Swedish Chef skit from The Muppets or one of your favorite “Saturday Night Live” skits, like last year’s “Washington’s Dream” with comedian Nate Bargatze. Sit and drink a cup of hot black tea. Make the bed. Do alternate nostril breathing (webmd.com/balance/what-to-know-about-alternate-nostril-breathing). Give somebody a meaningful, specific compliment, and tell them they don’t need to give you one in return. Write a list of tasks, half of which you’ve already completed so you can immediately cross them off and feel accomplished.

Amuse-bouche — sprinkle these throughout your day, as needed: Chew a stick of gum. Apply lip balm. Meditate for one minute. Listen to one song that makes you nostalgic. Listen to one brand new song. Say hi to a stranger. Read one poem by Mary Oliver, Marie Howe, Kate Baer, Billy Collins or Tony Hoagland. Stare out the window and daydream for five minutes.

Entrees: Walk for at least 30 minutes, and try to incorporate a few hills so your heart rate increases. Lift heavy weights as many times as you can. Clean out one junk drawer and throw half of it away. Make a homemade dish you can freeze. Schedule your dentist and doctor appointments. Take a bath. Plant something, even just one seed so you can watch it grow. Sit down and have a good cry. Work on a puzzle. Do a YouTube yoga video so someone else can tell you what poses to do for a change. Watch one episode of your favorite feel-good show “Gilmore Girls” while puttering around the house. Take a picnic to a park or forest.

Desserts: Eat an actual dessert — German chocolate cake is the best cake. Get somebody else to clean your face (facial) or rub your shoulders (massage). Spend an afternoon in a coffee shop. Go on a two-night vacation. Buy something online from a site that doesn’t help send Jeff Bezos to space. Eat a slice of pizza al fresco while watching passersby. Go to a hot springs. Splurge on a fancy coffee drink. Buy yourself flowers.