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Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence
This book is about pleasure. It's also about pain. Most important, it's about how to find the delicate balance between the two, and why now more than ever finding balance is essential. We're living in a time of unprecedented access to high-reward, high-dopamine stimuli: drugs, food, news, gambling, shopping, gaming, texting, sexting, Facebooking, Instagramming, YouTubing, tweeting... The increased numbers, variety, and potency is staggering. The smartphone is the modern-day hypodermic needle, delivering digital dopamine 24/7 for a wired generation. As such we've all become vulnerable to compulsive overconsumption.
In Dopamine Nation, Dr. Anna Lembke, psychiatrist and author, explores the exciting new scientific discoveries that explain why the relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain...and what to do about it. Condensing complex neuroscience into easy-to-understand metaphors, Lembke illustrates how finding contentment and connectedness means keeping dopamine in check. The lived experiences of her patients are the gripping fabric of her narrative. Their riveting stories of suffering and redemption give us all hope for managing our consumption and transforming our lives. In essence, Dopamine Nation shows that the secret to finding balance is combining the science of desire with the wisdom of recovery.
"Brilliant... riveting, scary, cogent, and cleverly argued."--Beth Macy, author of Dopesick
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES and LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER
鈥淏rilliant鈥� riveting, scary, cogent, and cleverly argued.鈥濃€擝eth Macy, author of Dopesick
As heard on Fresh Air
In Dopamine Nation, Dr. Anna Lembke, psychiatrist and author, explores the exciting new scientific discoveries that explain why the relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain...and what to do about it. Condensing complex neuroscience into easy-to-understand metaphors, Lembke illustrates how finding contentment and connectedness means keeping dopamine in check. The lived experiences of her patients are the gripping fabric of her narrative. Their riveting stories of suffering and redemption give us all hope for managing our consumption and transforming our lives. In essence, Dopamine Nation shows that the secret to finding balance is combining the science of desire with the wisdom of recovery.
"Brilliant... riveting, scary, cogent, and cleverly argued."--Beth Macy, author of Dopesick
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES and LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER
鈥淏rilliant鈥� riveting, scary, cogent, and cleverly argued.鈥濃€擝eth Macy, author of Dopesick
As heard on Fresh Air
304 pages, ebook
First published June 1, 2021
9,217 people are currently reading
136k people want to read
About the author
Anna Lembke
8听books545听followersAnna Lembke is an American psychiatrist who is Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic at Stanford University. She is a specialist in the opioid epidemic in the United States, and the author of Drug Dealer, MD, How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, and Why It鈥檚 So Hard to Stop.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 5,588 reviews
September 21, 2021
This book is moralistic hogwash parading as science. Lembke repeatedly uses inappropriate data (Page 38: She quotes a "famous seventeenth century physician" who thinks pain and inflammation are part of the healing process. Guess what?: 21st century research has found the exact opposite to be true: Pain impedes healing, and inflammation IS disease); over generalizes anecdotes from her work with severely addicted individuals to the general population; and uses bogus statistics (She lists lots of increases in drug use as percentage rates without giving a baseline. An increase from zero to one is a 100% increase, but that doesn't make it a significant trend).
While Lembke has had her own brush with a behavioral addiction, she apparently has never suffered from chronic pain or she would not be so cavalier about the suffering and debilitation it causes nor would she make claims about it being good for anybody.
I'm done at page 66 where she states, "Science teaches us that every pleasure exacts a price, and the pain that follows is longer lasting and more intense than the pleasure that gave rise to it." Science teaches no such thing and that statement is hogwash. Even according to Lembke, this is only true of the long list of pleasures that have addicted her clients (or maybe just those pleasures she disapproves of), but it's not true of those that meet her approval, like watching a sunset or taking a walk. Yes, sunsets and walks are nice, healthy, life affirming activities, but so is a glass of wine over dinner with a friend and other moderate indulgences with potentially addictive pleasures by non addicts. Yet, according to Lembke, pleasure is dopamine is pleasure and it's all bad; it all leads to pain ... except maybe sometimes?
While Lembke has had her own brush with a behavioral addiction, she apparently has never suffered from chronic pain or she would not be so cavalier about the suffering and debilitation it causes nor would she make claims about it being good for anybody.
I'm done at page 66 where she states, "Science teaches us that every pleasure exacts a price, and the pain that follows is longer lasting and more intense than the pleasure that gave rise to it." Science teaches no such thing and that statement is hogwash. Even according to Lembke, this is only true of the long list of pleasures that have addicted her clients (or maybe just those pleasures she disapproves of), but it's not true of those that meet her approval, like watching a sunset or taking a walk. Yes, sunsets and walks are nice, healthy, life affirming activities, but so is a glass of wine over dinner with a friend and other moderate indulgences with potentially addictive pleasures by non addicts. Yet, according to Lembke, pleasure is dopamine is pleasure and it's all bad; it all leads to pain ... except maybe sometimes?
September 11, 2021
Moral puritanism disguised as science. The author uses her credentials to make it seem like she is coming from a rational, scientific point of view, and then uses the kind of anecdotes you see in tabloids to cause scare/terrify you. For example, she tells the story of a four year old sodomizing his little brother as an example of the impact of widely available pornography on our society鈥攁s if such a bizarre, singular event had any statistical significance, and wasn't just meant to terrify you.
There is no other way for me to interpret her polemic on "availability" and touting the success of prohibition as tacit approval of the war on drugs.
This is what happens you spend your whole life wielding a hammer. Your love of romance novels and sexy vampires looks like a nail. Having a beer or surfing reddit every day looks like a nail. Everything that brings you any amount of joy that isn't "productive" is on the same spectrum as being an opiate addict or hooking yourself up to a masturbation machine for hours a day. Sorry, "the dark side of capitalism" is not the fact that you can now buy really good weed without fear of jail time鈥擨t's that if you do anything other than work your job and raise your kids, you should feel bad about it.
If you really enjoyed this book despite all that, I would highly encourage you to read Dr. Karl Hart's "Drug Use For Grownups" for a different perspective. I don't agree with everything in it either but I think it's a better bellwether for progress in the world of addiction medicine.
There is no other way for me to interpret her polemic on "availability" and touting the success of prohibition as tacit approval of the war on drugs.
This is what happens you spend your whole life wielding a hammer. Your love of romance novels and sexy vampires looks like a nail. Having a beer or surfing reddit every day looks like a nail. Everything that brings you any amount of joy that isn't "productive" is on the same spectrum as being an opiate addict or hooking yourself up to a masturbation machine for hours a day. Sorry, "the dark side of capitalism" is not the fact that you can now buy really good weed without fear of jail time鈥擨t's that if you do anything other than work your job and raise your kids, you should feel bad about it.
If you really enjoyed this book despite all that, I would highly encourage you to read Dr. Karl Hart's "Drug Use For Grownups" for a different perspective. I don't agree with everything in it either but I think it's a better bellwether for progress in the world of addiction medicine.
February 22, 2024
I have written nearly a thousand reviews on this site. The review that I wrote for this book has gotten hundreds more likes than any other, and it was the most negative one I ever wrote. Rather than continue to spread that negativity, I deleted the content of my original review and if you see this, I ask you to think on why that is.
And no need to tag this with a like. Spare my notifications.
And no need to tag this with a like. Spare my notifications.
November 23, 2021
TL;DR skip it. There are better books about addiction and psychiatry.
A undercooked look at compulsive behavior and addiction, with lots of missing pieces. Seems like the author had a basic, mechanical understanding of homeostasis and tried to build out a global perspective on addiction that she wasn't prepared to give.
25% of this book was just lists of things people get addicted to. 25% was explaining homeostasis, which might be helpful to readers who have never heard of dopamine. The rest is anecdotes about patients and waxing poetic about the dangers of indulgence.
No mention of trauma or neurodiversity, not even a passing acknowledgement. Almost no mention of actual therapy(!?), and extremely stigmatizing discussion of antidepressants.
The author seems generally uninformed about the lives of people who don't come through her Stanford office. All mention of systemic and environmental factors that lend to risk of compulsive behavior, like race, poverty, disability, capitalism, etc are obligatory after-thoughts. It's no coincidence that basically all her patient anecdotes are about financially successful people addicted to food, sex, and prescription drugs.
Discussion of natural means to get dopamine and what healthy living can look like are shallow, and lack any real analysis of why people are so averse to feeling discomfort.
The author talks about some of her own mental health issues and doesn't seem to have a good grasp on herself either. She talks about how her childhood trauma (though she doesn't call it that) somehow made her better, and how she resolved her own compulsive behavior by leaning into...work.
Frankly, I'm shocked this person became chief of the addiction clinic at Stanford University. What the hell is going on at Stanford!?
The Body Keeps The Score isn't even about addiction, but offers much more for understanding why people resort to unhealthy behaviors to cope. Hell, Braiding Sweetgrass isn't even about psychology and has more to say about why people get lost in consumerism.
I only finished it because I was reading it in a book club. Wasn't worth the read.
A undercooked look at compulsive behavior and addiction, with lots of missing pieces. Seems like the author had a basic, mechanical understanding of homeostasis and tried to build out a global perspective on addiction that she wasn't prepared to give.
25% of this book was just lists of things people get addicted to. 25% was explaining homeostasis, which might be helpful to readers who have never heard of dopamine. The rest is anecdotes about patients and waxing poetic about the dangers of indulgence.
No mention of trauma or neurodiversity, not even a passing acknowledgement. Almost no mention of actual therapy(!?), and extremely stigmatizing discussion of antidepressants.
The author seems generally uninformed about the lives of people who don't come through her Stanford office. All mention of systemic and environmental factors that lend to risk of compulsive behavior, like race, poverty, disability, capitalism, etc are obligatory after-thoughts. It's no coincidence that basically all her patient anecdotes are about financially successful people addicted to food, sex, and prescription drugs.
Discussion of natural means to get dopamine and what healthy living can look like are shallow, and lack any real analysis of why people are so averse to feeling discomfort.
The author talks about some of her own mental health issues and doesn't seem to have a good grasp on herself either. She talks about how her childhood trauma (though she doesn't call it that) somehow made her better, and how she resolved her own compulsive behavior by leaning into...work.
Frankly, I'm shocked this person became chief of the addiction clinic at Stanford University. What the hell is going on at Stanford!?
The Body Keeps The Score isn't even about addiction, but offers much more for understanding why people resort to unhealthy behaviors to cope. Hell, Braiding Sweetgrass isn't even about psychology and has more to say about why people get lost in consumerism.
I only finished it because I was reading it in a book club. Wasn't worth the read.
September 21, 2021
Oh this book could have been a 5, I so desperately wanted it to be a 5... But I just had a few complaints that I can't get over:
1. The opening shock-and-awe story of the man with the masturbation machine makes this book un-recommendable for lots in my conservative socal circle - which is super unfortunate because I want to recommend this book but now I have to put a big caveat on it. I felt the story was included for shock value and that disappointed me.
2. It needed more focus on less obviously destructive addictions. AKA - Why was there not a whole chapter on phones?!? Stephan, a reviewer on here, hit it right on the nail: "So for the low-dosing dopamine addict that is most of us inside our phones, it would be nice to discuss how to move the needle from a perceived bad habit to an acceptable escape, which is different from moving the needle from life-destroying addiction to abstinence."
3. I could have done without her personal romance novel addiction narrative - it felt somewhat contrived and did not add to the book.
I really liked this book. I love the idea of this book. We are a dopamine nation and it is destroying us each in different individual ways.
1. The opening shock-and-awe story of the man with the masturbation machine makes this book un-recommendable for lots in my conservative socal circle - which is super unfortunate because I want to recommend this book but now I have to put a big caveat on it. I felt the story was included for shock value and that disappointed me.
2. It needed more focus on less obviously destructive addictions. AKA - Why was there not a whole chapter on phones?!? Stephan, a reviewer on here, hit it right on the nail: "So for the low-dosing dopamine addict that is most of us inside our phones, it would be nice to discuss how to move the needle from a perceived bad habit to an acceptable escape, which is different from moving the needle from life-destroying addiction to abstinence."
3. I could have done without her personal romance novel addiction narrative - it felt somewhat contrived and did not add to the book.
I really liked this book. I love the idea of this book. We are a dopamine nation and it is destroying us each in different individual ways.
June 29, 2022
Short Summary: From simple pleasure such as eating food to watching porn and using drugs, the desire we fill is fueled by a hormone called Dopamine.
Consider a scale in the brain. Whenever we indulge in a pleasure-seeking behavior such as scrolling through the Instagram feed to using drugs, it's like putting pleasure weights on this scale in the brain. The problem is that the brain always seeks to put this scale in equilibrium and balance. When you put pleasure on one side of the scale, the brain compensates by putting pain molecules on the other side of the scale.
The problem is that when the pleasure device is absent, you will have a lot of pain and craving. Why? Because the pleasure is absent on the scale, and the balance has tipped to the side of pain.
What's fascinating is that the other side of the story is also true. Namely, if you induce moderate pains onto yourself through activities such as a cold bath, or running in sprints, the brain tries to store the balance of the scale again. This time, by putting pleasure on the other side of the scale. What happens is that your biological set point for happiness is enhanced. In other words, you will generally have happier and more motivated in life.
Dopamine Fasting: The biggest takeaway for me is the concept of dopamine fasting. If we are addicted to destructive habits such as social media, alcohol, port, etc., since the balance is tipped to the side of pain, we will generally feel less motivated in life. We will have a hard time getting out of bed in the mornings. The way to restore this balance in the brain is by going on a Dopamine fasting. Namely, staying away from the addictive pleasure-seeking behavior that we have. It takes a maximum of one month for the brain to recover.
After that, we will feel much more lively and more importantly, we will derive more pleasure from more productive but maybe less pleasurable activities such as exercise or reading books.
Consider a scale in the brain. Whenever we indulge in a pleasure-seeking behavior such as scrolling through the Instagram feed to using drugs, it's like putting pleasure weights on this scale in the brain. The problem is that the brain always seeks to put this scale in equilibrium and balance. When you put pleasure on one side of the scale, the brain compensates by putting pain molecules on the other side of the scale.
The problem is that when the pleasure device is absent, you will have a lot of pain and craving. Why? Because the pleasure is absent on the scale, and the balance has tipped to the side of pain.
What's fascinating is that the other side of the story is also true. Namely, if you induce moderate pains onto yourself through activities such as a cold bath, or running in sprints, the brain tries to store the balance of the scale again. This time, by putting pleasure on the other side of the scale. What happens is that your biological set point for happiness is enhanced. In other words, you will generally have happier and more motivated in life.
Dopamine Fasting: The biggest takeaway for me is the concept of dopamine fasting. If we are addicted to destructive habits such as social media, alcohol, port, etc., since the balance is tipped to the side of pain, we will generally feel less motivated in life. We will have a hard time getting out of bed in the mornings. The way to restore this balance in the brain is by going on a Dopamine fasting. Namely, staying away from the addictive pleasure-seeking behavior that we have. It takes a maximum of one month for the brain to recover.
After that, we will feel much more lively and more importantly, we will derive more pleasure from more productive but maybe less pleasurable activities such as exercise or reading books.
September 14, 2021
This book did contain some valuable information (mostly for people who are pretty new to the topic) and I found it interesting most of the time, but I had some frustrations with it, namely:
- Complete vilification of cannabis. No mention of how people can use it medicinally or in a healthy way recreationally.
- Praising Islamic and Mormon dress codes, which in my experience as an ex-Mormon, are a dangerous part of toxic purity culture as well as rape culture. The author could have used them to make her point while also mentioning their potential harmfulness.
- Complete vilification of psychedelic drugs, with no mention of research showing that they鈥檙e an amazing tool for many with treatment-resistant depression, anxiety. etc.
- Complete vilification of cannabis. No mention of how people can use it medicinally or in a healthy way recreationally.
- Praising Islamic and Mormon dress codes, which in my experience as an ex-Mormon, are a dangerous part of toxic purity culture as well as rape culture. The author could have used them to make her point while also mentioning their potential harmfulness.
- Complete vilification of psychedelic drugs, with no mention of research showing that they鈥檙e an amazing tool for many with treatment-resistant depression, anxiety. etc.
June 30, 2023
Sorry, but I can't take seriously someone who can read the entire Twilight saga four times.
September 7, 2021
Dopamine Nation is Dr. Anna Lembki鈥檚 plain spoken exposition on the neuropharmacological substrates of addiction, with case study examples from her psychiatry practice, featuring clients who struggled and eventually successfully overcame a variety of substance and behavioral addictions.
The book does a very nice job of normalizing addiction and tying drug addiction together with behavioral issues like sex and porn addiction by elaborating on the way they all operate on the mesolimbic dopamine system, and as such, share a common etiology.
The book also does a fair to middling job of explaining the opponent process theory of addiction whereby elevating so-called 鈥渉appy chemicals鈥� (like dopamine) in your brain (via drugs, gaming and porn etc) make you feel great in the short term, but elicit escalated production of the opposite 鈥渃rappy chemistry鈥� (for example stress hormones like cortisol) that trash your mood and mental heath in the longterm.
I think this book will be useful for people who are brand new to the issue of addiction and who need a brief, reliable, scientifically grounded introduction to the subject.
But may not be interesting to professionals working in the field or sufficient for individuals and loved ones suffering from more severe addictions.
The author seems like a nice person and an excellent psychiatrist.
But in the end I was somewhat underwhelmed.
Hence the 3/5 stars 猸愶笍
The book does a very nice job of normalizing addiction and tying drug addiction together with behavioral issues like sex and porn addiction by elaborating on the way they all operate on the mesolimbic dopamine system, and as such, share a common etiology.
The book also does a fair to middling job of explaining the opponent process theory of addiction whereby elevating so-called 鈥渉appy chemicals鈥� (like dopamine) in your brain (via drugs, gaming and porn etc) make you feel great in the short term, but elicit escalated production of the opposite 鈥渃rappy chemistry鈥� (for example stress hormones like cortisol) that trash your mood and mental heath in the longterm.
I think this book will be useful for people who are brand new to the issue of addiction and who need a brief, reliable, scientifically grounded introduction to the subject.
But may not be interesting to professionals working in the field or sufficient for individuals and loved ones suffering from more severe addictions.
The author seems like a nice person and an excellent psychiatrist.
But in the end I was somewhat underwhelmed.
Hence the 3/5 stars 猸愶笍
January 6, 2022
This entire book can be summed up with two words: Citation needed.
From beginning to end, the book drips with specious claims, not to mention moral puritanism. The author is repeatedly judgmental toward her clients (she is sickened by a client's masturbation machine, for example, and expresses overwhelming moral disdain for her temporary infatuation with romance novels). She alludes to ADHD patients abusing Adderall while ignoring the huge improvement these medicines have offered people with actual ADHD (and that these folks can take the prescribed stimulants and still end up taking a nap -- they aren't getting high). She seems to endorse at least one patient's disordered eating as a healthy lifestyle change! -- because hey, they lost weight, amirite? Another time, she -- a Stanford MD not in a religious therapy practice -- tells her patient to get down on his knees and pray. (Yet another reason why we should stop elevating professionals who attended/work at 'prestigious' schools, but I digress.)
Aside from these issues, the author still does a poor job of educating on the science of addiction/compulsion, and she barely invests any effort in laying out specific strategies readers can use to identify and change problematic, addictive behaviors.
Still considering reading the book? I'll leave you with this - her take on why strict religious/social groups attract more adherents than liberal ones, her quick pivot to "churches," and her rating of churches with larger followings as "generally more successful" (term undefined, religious studies credentials lacking, and citations throughout much needed).
Under Iannaccone's Theory of Sacrifice and Stigma, "behaviors that seem excessive, gratuitous, or even irrational in existing religious institutions, such as wearing certain hairstyles or certain clothing, abstaining from certain foods or forms of modern technology, or refusing certain medical treatments, are rational when understood as a cost to the individual to reduce free riding within an organization. ***You might think that religious organizations and other social groups that are more relaxed, with fewer rules and strictures, would attract a larger group of followers. Not so. Stricter churches achieve a larger following and are generally more successful than free-wheeling ones because they ferret out free riders and offer more robust club goods.***"
TL;DR Skip this unscientific, moralizing drivel.
From beginning to end, the book drips with specious claims, not to mention moral puritanism. The author is repeatedly judgmental toward her clients (she is sickened by a client's masturbation machine, for example, and expresses overwhelming moral disdain for her temporary infatuation with romance novels). She alludes to ADHD patients abusing Adderall while ignoring the huge improvement these medicines have offered people with actual ADHD (and that these folks can take the prescribed stimulants and still end up taking a nap -- they aren't getting high). She seems to endorse at least one patient's disordered eating as a healthy lifestyle change! -- because hey, they lost weight, amirite? Another time, she -- a Stanford MD not in a religious therapy practice -- tells her patient to get down on his knees and pray. (Yet another reason why we should stop elevating professionals who attended/work at 'prestigious' schools, but I digress.)
Aside from these issues, the author still does a poor job of educating on the science of addiction/compulsion, and she barely invests any effort in laying out specific strategies readers can use to identify and change problematic, addictive behaviors.
Still considering reading the book? I'll leave you with this - her take on why strict religious/social groups attract more adherents than liberal ones, her quick pivot to "churches," and her rating of churches with larger followings as "generally more successful" (term undefined, religious studies credentials lacking, and citations throughout much needed).
Under Iannaccone's Theory of Sacrifice and Stigma, "behaviors that seem excessive, gratuitous, or even irrational in existing religious institutions, such as wearing certain hairstyles or certain clothing, abstaining from certain foods or forms of modern technology, or refusing certain medical treatments, are rational when understood as a cost to the individual to reduce free riding within an organization. ***You might think that religious organizations and other social groups that are more relaxed, with fewer rules and strictures, would attract a larger group of followers. Not so. Stricter churches achieve a larger following and are generally more successful than free-wheeling ones because they ferret out free riders and offer more robust club goods.***"
TL;DR Skip this unscientific, moralizing drivel.
January 16, 2022
What a terrible book. This book demonstrates how a buzzworthy title and good cover design can elevate mediocrity to the NY Bestsellers List. It joins the Sixth Extinction, Confederates in the Attic, and Wild as "books that fooled me" with marketing.听
So what was this book about? Not dopamine. Lembke waits 1/3 of her mercifully short book to even explain dopamine (in about two pages). This book was nothing but a loose collection of anecdotes听of Lembke's听patients struggling with their addictions to weed, porn, and prescription drugs. Plus Lembke's听own听2-year addition to paranormal romance novels. Did you know it's easier to get high than ever before? Did you know porn and weed and opioids are readily available? Of course you did, because you can read. So I don't know who Lembke's听book is for, because anyone who can read isn't going to learn anything from this book. Truly, you would learn more information from the Wikipedia article about dopamine. Throw in a little WebMD on breaking addictions and you're good to go, because this book offers nothing. Infinite Jest had better information on addiction, and that was a work of fiction.听
So what was this book about? Not dopamine. Lembke waits 1/3 of her mercifully short book to even explain dopamine (in about two pages). This book was nothing but a loose collection of anecdotes听of Lembke's听patients struggling with their addictions to weed, porn, and prescription drugs. Plus Lembke's听own听2-year addition to paranormal romance novels. Did you know it's easier to get high than ever before? Did you know porn and weed and opioids are readily available? Of course you did, because you can read. So I don't know who Lembke's听book is for, because anyone who can read isn't going to learn anything from this book. Truly, you would learn more information from the Wikipedia article about dopamine. Throw in a little WebMD on breaking addictions and you're good to go, because this book offers nothing. Infinite Jest had better information on addiction, and that was a work of fiction.听
August 22, 2021
I had trouble putting this book down as the learning I was doing each page was supplying its own flow of dopamine to me. A fascinating read by Dr. Lembke which bubbles through a multitude of journeys her patients took through their own addictions to reach a more optimal balance of pleasure and pain in their lives.
Lembke highlights her own personal experiences with addiction which offer a grounded perspective to the reader and establish her admirable honesty as a pillar of the book. To not become too attached to pleasure or pain appears to be the key to maintaining a healthy relationship with dopamine. As someone who previously had not read about addictions or found the topic interesting, I loved this book and could certainly recognize my own self-defeating addictions to dopamine through the text. In the end, this makes for a great questioning of our own personal habits and what feelings or actions we gravitate towards in our lives.
Lembke highlights her own personal experiences with addiction which offer a grounded perspective to the reader and establish her admirable honesty as a pillar of the book. To not become too attached to pleasure or pain appears to be the key to maintaining a healthy relationship with dopamine. As someone who previously had not read about addictions or found the topic interesting, I loved this book and could certainly recognize my own self-defeating addictions to dopamine through the text. In the end, this makes for a great questioning of our own personal habits and what feelings or actions we gravitate towards in our lives.
January 5, 2022
I was looking for a refresher on "finding balance" (as promised on the book cover) in this pandemic time when binging Netflix or a glass of wine have become a bit too habitual. I was looking for a reminder about other ways to experience pleasure (laughter, yoga, joyful movement etc.) and tips on restoring that balance. However the book was focused on serious addictions but without serious help for the reader. The author is a doctor, has won lots of awards and runs an addiction program so I want to believe that her treatments consisted of more than "abstain for one month and then tell me how you feel" but that seemed to be what she was doing with clients. There were a couple of insightful aspects and I may have found this a tiny bit useful when I was a mental health practitioner but what moved my review from a possible 2 star to 1 star is that she lost all credibility when she talked about eating disorders. I'd be willing to bet she has no training in this field. She promotes fasting and doesn't really see any problem with weight loss surgeries/aka stomach amputations. Or rather she knows that it can lead to other significant problems such as alcohol addiction but still thinks that somehow these surgeries are a path to improved health. Overall, this book might have some helpful nuggets for folks with addictions but it could do damage as well especially for those with unaddressed trauma or with eating disorders.
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December 12, 2023袙蟹邪谐邪谢褨-褌芯 褟 薪械 写褍卸械 蟹邪写芯胁芯谢械薪邪 褋胁芯褩屑懈 褋褌芯褋褍薪泻邪屑懈 蟹 褨薪褌械褉薪械褌芯屑 (褍褋泻谢邪写薪械薪懈屑懈 褌懈屑, 褖芯 薪邪 褨薪褌械褉薪械褌 蟹邪胁'褟蟹邪薪邪 蟹薪邪褔薪邪 褔邪褋褌懈薪邪 褉芯斜芯褌懈 褨 褋锌褨谢泻褍胁邪薪薪褟, 褌芯卸 锌褉芯褋褌芯 胁褨写褉褍斜懈褌懈 褋芯褑屑械褉械卸褨 cold turkey 褟 薪械 蟹屑芯卸褍) 褨 褕褍泻邪谢邪 泻薪懈卸泻褍, 褟泻邪 写芯锌芯屑芯卸械 胁懈褉芯斜懈褌懈 蟹褉褍褔薪褨褕懈泄 写谢褟 屑械薪械 褋锌芯褋褨斜 褋锌褨胁褨褋薪褍胁邪薪薪褟 蟹 褋芯褑屑械褉械卸邪屑懈 泄 芯褑懈屑 褍褋褨屑. 袧邪 卸邪谢褜, 褑械 邪斜褋芯谢褞褌薪芯 薪械 褌邪 泻薪懈卸泻邪, 褏芯褔邪 薪邪蟹胁邪 泄 邪薪芯褌邪褑褨褩 薪褨斜懈褌芯 芯斜褨褑褟褞褌褜 褉芯蟹锌芯胁褨褋褌懈 锌褉芯 锌芯褕褍泻 谐邪褉屑芯薪褨褩 胁 薪邪褕褍 械锌芯褏褍, 写械 写褍卸械 邪写写褨泻褌褨胁 锌褉邪泻褌懈泻懈 蟹邪胁卸写懈 蟹薪邪褏芯写褟褌褜褋褟 薪邪 胁褨写褋褌邪薪褨 芯写薪芯谐芯 泻谢褨泻邪.
袧邪褌芯屑褨褋褌褜 褑褟 泻薪懈卸泻邪 - 褑械 芯谢写褋泻褍谢褜薪械 斜褍褉褔邪薪薪褟 锌褉芯 褌械, 褖芯 薪邪褕械 锌芯泻芯谢褨薪薪褟 褌邪泻 锌褉邪谐薪械 蟹邪写芯胁芯谢械薪褜 褨 褍薪懈泻邪褌懈 斜芯谢褞, 褖芯 褋褌邪褦 褟泻褉邪蟹 胁褉邪蟹谢懈胁褨褕懈屑 写芯 斜芯谢褞, 邪 芯褌 褉邪薪褨褕械 芯锌械褉邪褑褨褩 褉芯斜懈谢懈 斜械蟹 薪邪褉泻芯蟹褍 褨 薪褨褟泻懈褏 蟹邪谢械卸薪芯褋褌械泄 胁褨写 胁褨泻芯写懈薪褍 薪械 斜褍谢芯 (邪泄 泻褨写 褞 薪芯褌) (屑褨卸 褨薪褕懈屑, 褟 薪械 锌械胁薪邪 薪邪胁褨褌褜, 褔懈 胁 芯斜'褦泻褌懈胁薪芯 斜械蟹锌械褔薪褨褕芯屑褍 褨 褋锌芯胁薪械薪褨褕芯屑褍 薪邪褋芯谢芯写 蟹邪褏褨写薪芯屑褍 褋胁褨褌褨 褋锌褉邪胁写褨 斜褨谢褜褕邪褦 泻械泄褋褨胁 写械锌褉械褋褨褩 褨 褌褉懈胁芯卸薪芯褋褌褨 - 屑芯卸谢懈胁芯, 褍 小褏褨写薪褨泄 袆胁褉芯锌褨 啸袉啸 褋褌芯谢褨褌褌褟 褑械 锌褉芯褋褌芯 薪邪蟹懈胁邪谢芯褋褟 薪械 写械锌褉械褋褨褦褞, 邪 "褔褍谢懈, 褖芯 袦懈泻芯谢邪 胁 褋邪褉邪褩 锌芯胁褨褋懈胁褋褟?") (锌褉懈 褑褜芯屑褍 褟 蟹谐芯写薪邪, 褖芯 褦 锌械胁薪邪 锌褉芯斜谢械屑邪 胁 褌芯屑褍, 褖芯 屑懈 胁 褋械褉械写薪褜芯屑褍 锌褉邪谐薪械屑芯 蟹邪写芯胁芯谢械薪褜, 邪 薪械 蟹薪邪褔褍褖芯褋褌褨, 邪谢械 泻薪懈卸泻褍 褑褞 褟 褔懈褌邪谢邪 薪械 写谢褟 褌芯谐芯 褨 胁芯薪邪 薪械 锌褉芯褌械). 袉 胁褋械 褑械 锌褉懈锌褉邪胁谢械薪芯 胁械谢懈泻芯褞 泻褨谢褜泻褨褋褌褞 邪屑械褉懈泻邪薪褋褜泻芯谐芯 褋械泻褋褍邪谢褜薪芯谐芯 锌褍褉懈褌邪薪褋褌胁邪 - 屑芯卸械, 褑械 褟泻褉邪蟹 芯蟹薪邪泻邪 锌褉芯斜谢械屑懈 薪邪褕芯谐芯 锌芯泻芯谢褨薪薪褟 胁褋械写芯蟹胁芯谢械薪芯褋褌褨, 邪谢械 屑械薪械 写褍卸械 褋屑褨褕懈谢芯, 泻芯谢懈 邪胁褌芯褉泻邪 褉芯蟹锌懈褋褍胁邪谢邪, 褟泻邪 胁 薪械褩 斜褍谢邪 小褌褉邪褕薪邪 袟邪谢械卸薪褨褋褌褜 袙褨写 效懈褌邪薪薪褟 袙邪屑锌褨褉褋褜泻芯褩 袝褉芯褌懈泻懈, 袙芯薪邪 携泻芯褋褜 袟邪褔懈褌邪谢邪褋褟 孝胁邪泄谢邪泄褌芯屑 袛芯 袧芯褔褨 泄 袧械 袙懈褋锌邪谢邪褋褟, 袗 袩芯褌褨屑 袩芯写褍屑邪谢邪, 效懈 啸芯褔械 袙芯薪邪, 袨 袞邪褏, 小械褉械写 袧芯褔褨 效懈褌邪褌懈 袩褉芯 袘邪褌褌锌谢邪谐懈? 袧褨, 袧械 啸芯褔械!!! 效懈 褌邪屑 褉芯蟹泻邪蟹褍褦 锌褉芯 褋胁芯谐芯 锌邪褑褨褦薪褌邪, 褟泻懈泄 泻芯屑锌褍谢褜褋懈胁薪芯 屑邪褋褌褍褉斜褍胁邪胁 褨 胁懈谐芯褌芯胁懈胁 褋芯斜褨 写芯屑芯褉芯褖械薪懈泄 屑邪褋褌褍褉斜邪褌芯褉 - 褨 胁芯薪邪 褌邪泻邪 "褔懈褌邪褔, 薪邪锌械胁薪芯, 胁卸邪褏薪械褌褜褋褟" - 邪 械屑锌褨褉懈褔薪邪 褔懈褌邪褔泻邪 褟 褌邪泻邪 "芯谐芯, 褟泻 胁褨写褋褍褌薪褨褋褌褜 褋械泻褋褕芯锌褨胁 褋锌芯薪褍泻邪谢邪 谢褞写械泄 写芯 褉芯蟹胁懈褌泻褍 褌械褏薪芯谢芯谐褨褔薪懈褏 薪邪胁懈泻褨胁" (褑褜芯屑褍 锌邪褑褨褦薪褌褍 邪胁褌芯褉泻邪 泻薪懈卸泻懈 泻邪卸械 褋褌邪胁邪褌懈 薪邪 泻芯谢褨薪邪 褨 屑芯谢懈褌懈褋褟 褖芯褉邪蟹褍, 褟泻 褍 薪褜芯谐芯 胁懈薪懈泻薪褍褌褜 褟泻褨褋褜 薪械 褌褨 写褍屑泻懈, 褟 胁褨褉褞, 褖芯 褉械谢褨谐褨泄薪懈屑 谢褞写褟屑 褑械 锌芯屑邪谐邪褦, 邪谢械 屑械薪褨 褟泻 谢褞写懈薪褨 蟹-锌芯蟹邪 褑褜芯谐芯 邪屑械褉懈泻邪薪褋褜泻芯谐芯 锌褍褉懈褌邪薪褋褜泻芯谐芯 泻芯薪褌械泻褋褌褍 褑械 胁褋械 写褍卸械 写懈胁薪芯 蟹胁褍褔懈褌褜).
袟邪谐邪谢芯屑, 褟泻褖芯 褍 胁邪褋 写褍卸械 谢邪泄褌芯胁褨 锌褉芯斜谢械屑懈 蟹 褨薪褌械褉薪械褌芯屑 邪斜芯褖芯, 褌芯 胁懈 薪械 褑褨谢褜芯胁邪 邪褍写懈褌芯褉褨褟 泻薪懈卸泻懈. 袗胁褌芯褉泻邪 蟹写械斜褨谢褜褕芯谐芯 锌褉邪褑褞褦 蟹 胁邪卸褔懈屑懈 蟹邪谢械卸薪芯褋褌褟屑懈 泄 褉芯蟹锌芯胁褨写邪褦 锌褉芯 薪懈褏 - 褨 褌芯 蟹褋械褉械写懈薪懈 写褍卸械 褋胁芯褦褉褨写薪芯谐芯 泻褍谢褜褌褍褉薪芯谐芯 泻芯薪褌械泻褋褌褍, 薪械 蟹邪胁卸写懈 褉械谢械胁邪薪褌薪芯谐芯 写谢褟 薪邪褋.
袧邪褌芯屑褨褋褌褜 褑褟 泻薪懈卸泻邪 - 褑械 芯谢写褋泻褍谢褜薪械 斜褍褉褔邪薪薪褟 锌褉芯 褌械, 褖芯 薪邪褕械 锌芯泻芯谢褨薪薪褟 褌邪泻 锌褉邪谐薪械 蟹邪写芯胁芯谢械薪褜 褨 褍薪懈泻邪褌懈 斜芯谢褞, 褖芯 褋褌邪褦 褟泻褉邪蟹 胁褉邪蟹谢懈胁褨褕懈屑 写芯 斜芯谢褞, 邪 芯褌 褉邪薪褨褕械 芯锌械褉邪褑褨褩 褉芯斜懈谢懈 斜械蟹 薪邪褉泻芯蟹褍 褨 薪褨褟泻懈褏 蟹邪谢械卸薪芯褋褌械泄 胁褨写 胁褨泻芯写懈薪褍 薪械 斜褍谢芯 (邪泄 泻褨写 褞 薪芯褌) (屑褨卸 褨薪褕懈屑, 褟 薪械 锌械胁薪邪 薪邪胁褨褌褜, 褔懈 胁 芯斜'褦泻褌懈胁薪芯 斜械蟹锌械褔薪褨褕芯屑褍 褨 褋锌芯胁薪械薪褨褕芯屑褍 薪邪褋芯谢芯写 蟹邪褏褨写薪芯屑褍 褋胁褨褌褨 褋锌褉邪胁写褨 斜褨谢褜褕邪褦 泻械泄褋褨胁 写械锌褉械褋褨褩 褨 褌褉懈胁芯卸薪芯褋褌褨 - 屑芯卸谢懈胁芯, 褍 小褏褨写薪褨泄 袆胁褉芯锌褨 啸袉啸 褋褌芯谢褨褌褌褟 褑械 锌褉芯褋褌芯 薪邪蟹懈胁邪谢芯褋褟 薪械 写械锌褉械褋褨褦褞, 邪 "褔褍谢懈, 褖芯 袦懈泻芯谢邪 胁 褋邪褉邪褩 锌芯胁褨褋懈胁褋褟?") (锌褉懈 褑褜芯屑褍 褟 蟹谐芯写薪邪, 褖芯 褦 锌械胁薪邪 锌褉芯斜谢械屑邪 胁 褌芯屑褍, 褖芯 屑懈 胁 褋械褉械写薪褜芯屑褍 锌褉邪谐薪械屑芯 蟹邪写芯胁芯谢械薪褜, 邪 薪械 蟹薪邪褔褍褖芯褋褌褨, 邪谢械 泻薪懈卸泻褍 褑褞 褟 褔懈褌邪谢邪 薪械 写谢褟 褌芯谐芯 褨 胁芯薪邪 薪械 锌褉芯褌械). 袉 胁褋械 褑械 锌褉懈锌褉邪胁谢械薪芯 胁械谢懈泻芯褞 泻褨谢褜泻褨褋褌褞 邪屑械褉懈泻邪薪褋褜泻芯谐芯 褋械泻褋褍邪谢褜薪芯谐芯 锌褍褉懈褌邪薪褋褌胁邪 - 屑芯卸械, 褑械 褟泻褉邪蟹 芯蟹薪邪泻邪 锌褉芯斜谢械屑懈 薪邪褕芯谐芯 锌芯泻芯谢褨薪薪褟 胁褋械写芯蟹胁芯谢械薪芯褋褌褨, 邪谢械 屑械薪械 写褍卸械 褋屑褨褕懈谢芯, 泻芯谢懈 邪胁褌芯褉泻邪 褉芯蟹锌懈褋褍胁邪谢邪, 褟泻邪 胁 薪械褩 斜褍谢邪 小褌褉邪褕薪邪 袟邪谢械卸薪褨褋褌褜 袙褨写 效懈褌邪薪薪褟 袙邪屑锌褨褉褋褜泻芯褩 袝褉芯褌懈泻懈, 袙芯薪邪 携泻芯褋褜 袟邪褔懈褌邪谢邪褋褟 孝胁邪泄谢邪泄褌芯屑 袛芯 袧芯褔褨 泄 袧械 袙懈褋锌邪谢邪褋褟, 袗 袩芯褌褨屑 袩芯写褍屑邪谢邪, 效懈 啸芯褔械 袙芯薪邪, 袨 袞邪褏, 小械褉械写 袧芯褔褨 效懈褌邪褌懈 袩褉芯 袘邪褌褌锌谢邪谐懈? 袧褨, 袧械 啸芯褔械!!! 效懈 褌邪屑 褉芯蟹泻邪蟹褍褦 锌褉芯 褋胁芯谐芯 锌邪褑褨褦薪褌邪, 褟泻懈泄 泻芯屑锌褍谢褜褋懈胁薪芯 屑邪褋褌褍褉斜褍胁邪胁 褨 胁懈谐芯褌芯胁懈胁 褋芯斜褨 写芯屑芯褉芯褖械薪懈泄 屑邪褋褌褍褉斜邪褌芯褉 - 褨 胁芯薪邪 褌邪泻邪 "褔懈褌邪褔, 薪邪锌械胁薪芯, 胁卸邪褏薪械褌褜褋褟" - 邪 械屑锌褨褉懈褔薪邪 褔懈褌邪褔泻邪 褟 褌邪泻邪 "芯谐芯, 褟泻 胁褨写褋褍褌薪褨褋褌褜 褋械泻褋褕芯锌褨胁 褋锌芯薪褍泻邪谢邪 谢褞写械泄 写芯 褉芯蟹胁懈褌泻褍 褌械褏薪芯谢芯谐褨褔薪懈褏 薪邪胁懈泻褨胁" (褑褜芯屑褍 锌邪褑褨褦薪褌褍 邪胁褌芯褉泻邪 泻薪懈卸泻懈 泻邪卸械 褋褌邪胁邪褌懈 薪邪 泻芯谢褨薪邪 褨 屑芯谢懈褌懈褋褟 褖芯褉邪蟹褍, 褟泻 褍 薪褜芯谐芯 胁懈薪懈泻薪褍褌褜 褟泻褨褋褜 薪械 褌褨 写褍屑泻懈, 褟 胁褨褉褞, 褖芯 褉械谢褨谐褨泄薪懈屑 谢褞写褟屑 褑械 锌芯屑邪谐邪褦, 邪谢械 屑械薪褨 褟泻 谢褞写懈薪褨 蟹-锌芯蟹邪 褑褜芯谐芯 邪屑械褉懈泻邪薪褋褜泻芯谐芯 锌褍褉懈褌邪薪褋褜泻芯谐芯 泻芯薪褌械泻褋褌褍 褑械 胁褋械 写褍卸械 写懈胁薪芯 蟹胁褍褔懈褌褜).
袟邪谐邪谢芯屑, 褟泻褖芯 褍 胁邪褋 写褍卸械 谢邪泄褌芯胁褨 锌褉芯斜谢械屑懈 蟹 褨薪褌械褉薪械褌芯屑 邪斜芯褖芯, 褌芯 胁懈 薪械 褑褨谢褜芯胁邪 邪褍写懈褌芯褉褨褟 泻薪懈卸泻懈. 袗胁褌芯褉泻邪 蟹写械斜褨谢褜褕芯谐芯 锌褉邪褑褞褦 蟹 胁邪卸褔懈屑懈 蟹邪谢械卸薪芯褋褌褟屑懈 泄 褉芯蟹锌芯胁褨写邪褦 锌褉芯 薪懈褏 - 褨 褌芯 蟹褋械褉械写懈薪懈 写褍卸械 褋胁芯褦褉褨写薪芯谐芯 泻褍谢褜褌褍褉薪芯谐芯 泻芯薪褌械泻褋褌褍, 薪械 蟹邪胁卸写懈 褉械谢械胁邪薪褌薪芯谐芯 写谢褟 薪邪褋.
August 31, 2021
The book is told through anecdotes and doesn't heavily emphasize the science or current research. Although some of the concept names were new to me, like self-binding, I didn't feel like I learned much from this book.
December 24, 2021
芦小邪屑芯褋褌褉懈屑褍胁邪薪薪褟 鈥� 褑械 薪械芯斜褏褨写薪邪 褋泻谢邪写芯胁邪 褋褍褔邪褋薪芯谐芯 卸懈褌褌褟 褍 褋胁褨褌褨, 薪邪写屑褨褉薪芯 芯斜褌褟卸械薪芯屑褍 写芯褎邪屑褨薪芯屑.禄
馃崜袗薪薪邪 袥械屑斜泻械 锌芯褔懈薪邪褦 褋胁芯褞 泻薪懈谐褍, 薪邪褔械 锌褉芯褎械褋褨泄薪邪 屑邪褉泻械褌芯谢芯谐懈薪褟: 蟹 胁懈锌邪写泻褍 锌邪褑褨褦薪褌邪, 褟泻芯屑褍 锌芯褌褨屑 胁芯薪邪 锌芯褋褌邪胁懈褌褜 写褨邪谐薪芯蟹 泻芯屑锌褍谢褜褋懈胁薪邪 褋褌邪褌械胁邪 锌芯胁械写褨薪泻邪 (锌芯-屑芯褦屑褍, 褌邪泻 褑械 蟹胁褍褔邪谢芯, 邪谢械 褑械 薪械 褌芯褔薪芯). 啸褌芯 卸 锌褨褋谢褟 褌邪泻芯谐芯 胁褨写泻谢邪写械 褔懈褌邪薪薪褟?))) 袧邪褋褌褍锌薪褨 屑邪泄卸械 200 褋褌芯褉褨薪芯泻 蟹邪谐谢懈斜谢褟褌褜 胁邪褋 胁 锌褉懈褉芯写褍 蟹邪谢械卸薪芯褋褌褨 褌邪 褨褋褌芯褉褨褩 谢褞写械泄, 褟泻褨 邪斜芯 锌芯泻邪卸褍褌褜 胁邪屑, 褖芯 胁懈 褖械 薪械 褌邪泻 锌芯谐邪薪芯 卸懈胁械褌械, 邪斜芯 褖芯 卸懈胁械褌械 写褍卸械 薪褍写薪芯馃槄
芦袦懈 胁褋褨 褌褨泻邪褦屑芯 胁褨写 斜芯谢褞. 袛械褏褌芯 蟹 薪邪褋 锌褉懈泄屑邪褦 锌褨谐褍谢泻懈. 袛械褏褌芯 谢械卸懈褌褜 薪邪 写懈胁邪薪褨 泄 锌械褉械谐谢褟写邪褦 Netflix. 啸褌芯褋褜 褔懈褌邪褦 谢褞斜芯胁薪褨 褉芯屑邪薪懈. 袦懈 褉芯斜懈屑芯 胁褋械 屑芯卸谢懈胁械, 邪斜懈 胁褨写胁芯谢褨泻褌懈褋褟 胁褨写 褋邪屑懈褏 褋械斜械. 袩褉芯褌械 胁褋褨 褑褨 褋锌褉芯斜懈 蟹邪褏懈褋褌懈褌懈 褋械斜械 胁褨写 斜芯谢褞 谢懈褕械 锌芯褋懈谢褞褞褌褜 泄芯谐芯.禄
馃幇袟邪谢械卸薪褨褋褌褜. 袗泻褑械薪褌 薪邪 锌邪谢褨薪薪褨, 邪谢泻芯谐芯谢褨蟹屑褨, 薪邪褉泻芯褌懈泻邪褏, 邪蟹邪褉褌薪懈褏 褨谐褉邪褏, 胁褨写械芯褨谐褉邪褏 褌芯褖芯, 褏芯褔邪 褏芯褌褨谢芯褋褟 斜 斜褨谢褜褕械 褨薪褕懈褏 锌褉懈泻谢邪写褨胁. 袗胁褌芯褉泻邪 锌芯斜褨卸薪芯 蟹谐邪写褍胁邪谢邪 蟹邪谢械卸薪褨褋褌褜 胁褨写 褋芯褑屑械褉械卸, 褖芯 写谢褟 斜邪谐邪褌褜芯褏 谢褞写械泄 薪懈薪褨 褋锌褉邪胁卸薪褨 锌褉芯斜谢械屑邪, 邪谢械 褋懈谢褜薪芯 薪邪 褑褜芯屑褍, 薪邪 卸邪谢褜, 胁懈褉褨褕懈谢邪 薪械 蟹褍锌懈薪褟褌懈褋褟. 孝邪泻 褋邪屑芯 锌芯斜褨卸薪芯, 薪邪锌褉懈泻谢邪写, 蟹谐邪写褍褦褌褜褋褟 锌芯泻褍锌泻懈 胁 袉薪褌械褉薪械褌褨 褟泻 蟹邪谢械卸薪褨褋褌褜. 啸芯褌褨谢芯褋褟 斜 谐谢懈斜褕械 褌褍写懈, 斜芯 蟹写邪褦褌褜褋褟 锌褉芯 褑械 锌懈褕褍褌褜 屑械薪褕械, 薪褨卸 锌褉芯 褑懈谐邪褉泻懈 褨 薪邪褉泻芯褌懈泻懈. 袉褋褌芯褉褨褟 锌褉芯 褏谢芯锌褑褟, 褖芯 褔械褉械蟹 薪邪褉泻芯褌褍 褔芯褌懈褉懈 褉邪蟹懈 胁懈谢褨褌邪胁 蟹褨 小褌械薪褎芯褉写邪, 褟 褌邪泻 褉芯蟹褍屑褨褞, 屑邪谢邪 胁懈泻谢懈泻邪褌懈 褍 褔懈褌邪褔邪 褋锌褨胁褔褍褌褌褟? 袗 褌械, 褖芯 邪胁褌芯褉泻邪 锌芯褋褌褨泄薪芯 锌芯胁褌芯褉褞胁邪谢邪 锌褉芯 锌械褉褨芯写 褍 褋胁芯褦屑褍 卸懈褌褌褨, 泻芯谢懈 胁芯薪邪 蟹邪锌褨泄薪芯 褔懈褌邪谢邪 械褉芯褌懈褔薪褨 谢褞斜芯胁薪褨 褉芯屑邪薪懈, 褋泻懈写邪谢芯褋褟 薪邪 褌械, 褖芯 胁芯薪邪 褍褋褨屑邪 褋懈谢邪屑懈 褏芯褔械 写芯胁械褋褌懈: 芦携 褌邪泻邪 卸 褟泻 胁懈! 携 褌械卸 斜褍谢邪 蟹邪谢械卸薪邪! 袧褍, 薪械 薪邪褉泻芯褌邪, 邪谢械 卸!禄馃槄
馃嵎 袟邪写芯胁芯谢械薪薪褟 褨 斜褨谢褜 锌褉邪褑褞褞褌褜 褟泻 褌械褉械蟹懈, 褖芯 锌褨写锌芯褉褟写泻芯胁邪薪褨 褋懈褋褌械屑褨 褉械谐褍谢褞胁邪薪薪褟 褌邪 屑邪褞褌褜 谢懈褕邪褌懈褋褟 胁 斜邪谢邪薪褋褨. 芦孝褉懈胁邪谢懈泄 褨 锌芯胁褌芯褉褞胁邪薪懈泄 胁锌谢懈胁 褋褌懈屑褍谢褨胁 蟹邪写芯胁芯谢械薪薪褟 锌褉懈蟹胁芯写懈褌褜 写芯 褌芯谐芯, 褖芯 薪邪褕邪 蟹写邪褌薪褨褋褌褜 褌械褉锌褨褌懈 斜褨谢褜 褋谢邪斜薪械, 邪 锌芯褉芯谐芯胁懈泄 褉褨胁械薪褜, 薪邪 褟泻芯屑褍 屑懈 屑芯卸械屑芯 胁褨写褔褍胁邪褌懈 蟹邪写芯胁芯谢械薪薪褟, 锌褨写胁懈褖褍褦褌褜褋褟.禄
小邪屑械 褌芯屑褍 谢褞写懈 蟹斜褨谢褜褕褍褞褌褜 写芯蟹懈, 褋褌邪胁泻懈, 泻褨谢褜泻褨褋褌褜 泻薪懈谐馃榿
馃幃芦袧褍写褜谐邪 鈥� 褋锌褉懈褟褌谢懈胁邪 邪褌屑芯褋褎械褉邪 写谢褟 胁褨写泻褉懈褌褌褨胁 褨 胁懈薪邪褏芯写褨胁. 袙芯薪邪 褋褌胁芯褉褞褦 锌褉芯褋褌褨褉, 薪械芯斜褏褨写薪懈泄 写谢褟 褌芯谐芯, 褖芯斜 褋褎芯褉屑褍胁邪谢芯褋褟 薪芯胁械 屑懈褋谢械薪薪褟.禄 袩邪屑鈥櫻徰傂把斞傂�, 泻芯谢懈 薪邪屑 斜褍谢芯 薪褍写薪芯 胁 写懈褌懈薪褋褌胁褨, 屑懈 胁懈谐邪写褍胁邪谢懈 褑褨泻邪胁褨, 褔褍写械褉薪邪褑褜泻褨 褔懈 薪邪胁褨褌褜 褌褉芯褏懈 薪械斜械蟹锌械褔薪褨 褉芯蟹胁邪谐懈. 袩芯褌褨屑 屑懈 褩褏 褌褉邪薪褋褎芯褉屑芯胁褍胁邪谢懈, 胁懈谐邪写褍胁邪谢懈 薪芯胁褨 锌褉邪胁懈谢邪 褨 蟹邪谢褍褔邪谢懈 褨薪褕懈褏 写芯 薪邪褕懈褏 褨谐芯褉? 袙 褋胁褨褌褨, 写械 胁邪褋 泻芯卸薪褍 褏胁懈谢懈薪褍 褉芯蟹胁邪卸邪褦 褋褌褉褨褔泻邪 褋芯褑屑械褉械卸 褨 胁褨写芯褋懈泻懈 胁 褞褌褍斜, 锌褉芯 褑械 屑芯卸薪邪 蟹邪斜褍褌懈.
鈽濓笍鈥溞撔敌叫笛傂秆囆叫� 屑芯写懈褎褨泻芯胁邪薪褨 屑懈褕褨, 薪械 蟹写邪褌薪褨 胁懈褉芯斜谢褟褌懈 写芯褎邪屑褨薪, 薪械 褕褍泻邪褞褌褜 褩卸褍 泄 屑芯卸褍褌褜 锌芯屑械褉褌懈 蟹 谐芯谢芯写褍 薪邪胁褨褌褜 褌芯写褨, 泻芯谢懈 褩卸邪 谢械卸懈褌褜 胁 泻褨谢褜泻芯褏 褋邪薪褌懈屑械褌褉邪褏 胁褨写 薪懈褏.鈥�
馃摉 袣薪懈谐邪 泻谢邪褋薪邪, 锌褨蟹薪邪胁邪谢褜薪邪, 薪械 褉芯蟹屑邪蟹邪薪邪. 些芯锌褉邪胁写邪 斜谢懈卸褔械 写芯 泻褨薪褑褟 屑芯卸薪邪 胁写芯褋褌邪谢褜 锌芯褔懈褌邪褌懈 锌褉芯 褋芯褉芯屑 褨 褔械褋薪褨褋褌褜. 袗 锌芯褌褨屑 锌褉芯 褔械褋薪褨褋褌褜 褨 褋芯褉芯屑. 袙 褌芯泄 屑芯屑械薪褌 蟹写邪谢芯褋褟, 褖芯 邪胁褌芯褉褑褨 胁卸械 薪械 斜褍谢芯 褔芯谐芯 锌懈褋邪褌懈, 斜芯 锌褉芯泄褕谢邪褋褟 蟹芯胁褋褨屑 芯褔械胁懈写薪芯褞 写芯褉褨卸泻芯褞. 袗谢械 泻薪懈谐褍 锌械褉械褔懈褌褍胁邪褌懈屑褍, 褑械 褌芯褔薪芯.
馃崜袗薪薪邪 袥械屑斜泻械 锌芯褔懈薪邪褦 褋胁芯褞 泻薪懈谐褍, 薪邪褔械 锌褉芯褎械褋褨泄薪邪 屑邪褉泻械褌芯谢芯谐懈薪褟: 蟹 胁懈锌邪写泻褍 锌邪褑褨褦薪褌邪, 褟泻芯屑褍 锌芯褌褨屑 胁芯薪邪 锌芯褋褌邪胁懈褌褜 写褨邪谐薪芯蟹 泻芯屑锌褍谢褜褋懈胁薪邪 褋褌邪褌械胁邪 锌芯胁械写褨薪泻邪 (锌芯-屑芯褦屑褍, 褌邪泻 褑械 蟹胁褍褔邪谢芯, 邪谢械 褑械 薪械 褌芯褔薪芯). 啸褌芯 卸 锌褨褋谢褟 褌邪泻芯谐芯 胁褨写泻谢邪写械 褔懈褌邪薪薪褟?))) 袧邪褋褌褍锌薪褨 屑邪泄卸械 200 褋褌芯褉褨薪芯泻 蟹邪谐谢懈斜谢褟褌褜 胁邪褋 胁 锌褉懈褉芯写褍 蟹邪谢械卸薪芯褋褌褨 褌邪 褨褋褌芯褉褨褩 谢褞写械泄, 褟泻褨 邪斜芯 锌芯泻邪卸褍褌褜 胁邪屑, 褖芯 胁懈 褖械 薪械 褌邪泻 锌芯谐邪薪芯 卸懈胁械褌械, 邪斜芯 褖芯 卸懈胁械褌械 写褍卸械 薪褍写薪芯馃槄
芦袦懈 胁褋褨 褌褨泻邪褦屑芯 胁褨写 斜芯谢褞. 袛械褏褌芯 蟹 薪邪褋 锌褉懈泄屑邪褦 锌褨谐褍谢泻懈. 袛械褏褌芯 谢械卸懈褌褜 薪邪 写懈胁邪薪褨 泄 锌械褉械谐谢褟写邪褦 Netflix. 啸褌芯褋褜 褔懈褌邪褦 谢褞斜芯胁薪褨 褉芯屑邪薪懈. 袦懈 褉芯斜懈屑芯 胁褋械 屑芯卸谢懈胁械, 邪斜懈 胁褨写胁芯谢褨泻褌懈褋褟 胁褨写 褋邪屑懈褏 褋械斜械. 袩褉芯褌械 胁褋褨 褑褨 褋锌褉芯斜懈 蟹邪褏懈褋褌懈褌懈 褋械斜械 胁褨写 斜芯谢褞 谢懈褕械 锌芯褋懈谢褞褞褌褜 泄芯谐芯.禄
馃幇袟邪谢械卸薪褨褋褌褜. 袗泻褑械薪褌 薪邪 锌邪谢褨薪薪褨, 邪谢泻芯谐芯谢褨蟹屑褨, 薪邪褉泻芯褌懈泻邪褏, 邪蟹邪褉褌薪懈褏 褨谐褉邪褏, 胁褨写械芯褨谐褉邪褏 褌芯褖芯, 褏芯褔邪 褏芯褌褨谢芯褋褟 斜 斜褨谢褜褕械 褨薪褕懈褏 锌褉懈泻谢邪写褨胁. 袗胁褌芯褉泻邪 锌芯斜褨卸薪芯 蟹谐邪写褍胁邪谢邪 蟹邪谢械卸薪褨褋褌褜 胁褨写 褋芯褑屑械褉械卸, 褖芯 写谢褟 斜邪谐邪褌褜芯褏 谢褞写械泄 薪懈薪褨 褋锌褉邪胁卸薪褨 锌褉芯斜谢械屑邪, 邪谢械 褋懈谢褜薪芯 薪邪 褑褜芯屑褍, 薪邪 卸邪谢褜, 胁懈褉褨褕懈谢邪 薪械 蟹褍锌懈薪褟褌懈褋褟. 孝邪泻 褋邪屑芯 锌芯斜褨卸薪芯, 薪邪锌褉懈泻谢邪写, 蟹谐邪写褍褦褌褜褋褟 锌芯泻褍锌泻懈 胁 袉薪褌械褉薪械褌褨 褟泻 蟹邪谢械卸薪褨褋褌褜. 啸芯褌褨谢芯褋褟 斜 谐谢懈斜褕械 褌褍写懈, 斜芯 蟹写邪褦褌褜褋褟 锌褉芯 褑械 锌懈褕褍褌褜 屑械薪褕械, 薪褨卸 锌褉芯 褑懈谐邪褉泻懈 褨 薪邪褉泻芯褌懈泻懈. 袉褋褌芯褉褨褟 锌褉芯 褏谢芯锌褑褟, 褖芯 褔械褉械蟹 薪邪褉泻芯褌褍 褔芯褌懈褉懈 褉邪蟹懈 胁懈谢褨褌邪胁 蟹褨 小褌械薪褎芯褉写邪, 褟 褌邪泻 褉芯蟹褍屑褨褞, 屑邪谢邪 胁懈泻谢懈泻邪褌懈 褍 褔懈褌邪褔邪 褋锌褨胁褔褍褌褌褟? 袗 褌械, 褖芯 邪胁褌芯褉泻邪 锌芯褋褌褨泄薪芯 锌芯胁褌芯褉褞胁邪谢邪 锌褉芯 锌械褉褨芯写 褍 褋胁芯褦屑褍 卸懈褌褌褨, 泻芯谢懈 胁芯薪邪 蟹邪锌褨泄薪芯 褔懈褌邪谢邪 械褉芯褌懈褔薪褨 谢褞斜芯胁薪褨 褉芯屑邪薪懈, 褋泻懈写邪谢芯褋褟 薪邪 褌械, 褖芯 胁芯薪邪 褍褋褨屑邪 褋懈谢邪屑懈 褏芯褔械 写芯胁械褋褌懈: 芦携 褌邪泻邪 卸 褟泻 胁懈! 携 褌械卸 斜褍谢邪 蟹邪谢械卸薪邪! 袧褍, 薪械 薪邪褉泻芯褌邪, 邪谢械 卸!禄馃槄
馃嵎 袟邪写芯胁芯谢械薪薪褟 褨 斜褨谢褜 锌褉邪褑褞褞褌褜 褟泻 褌械褉械蟹懈, 褖芯 锌褨写锌芯褉褟写泻芯胁邪薪褨 褋懈褋褌械屑褨 褉械谐褍谢褞胁邪薪薪褟 褌邪 屑邪褞褌褜 谢懈褕邪褌懈褋褟 胁 斜邪谢邪薪褋褨. 芦孝褉懈胁邪谢懈泄 褨 锌芯胁褌芯褉褞胁邪薪懈泄 胁锌谢懈胁 褋褌懈屑褍谢褨胁 蟹邪写芯胁芯谢械薪薪褟 锌褉懈蟹胁芯写懈褌褜 写芯 褌芯谐芯, 褖芯 薪邪褕邪 蟹写邪褌薪褨褋褌褜 褌械褉锌褨褌懈 斜褨谢褜 褋谢邪斜薪械, 邪 锌芯褉芯谐芯胁懈泄 褉褨胁械薪褜, 薪邪 褟泻芯屑褍 屑懈 屑芯卸械屑芯 胁褨写褔褍胁邪褌懈 蟹邪写芯胁芯谢械薪薪褟, 锌褨写胁懈褖褍褦褌褜褋褟.禄
小邪屑械 褌芯屑褍 谢褞写懈 蟹斜褨谢褜褕褍褞褌褜 写芯蟹懈, 褋褌邪胁泻懈, 泻褨谢褜泻褨褋褌褜 泻薪懈谐馃榿
馃幃芦袧褍写褜谐邪 鈥� 褋锌褉懈褟褌谢懈胁邪 邪褌屑芯褋褎械褉邪 写谢褟 胁褨写泻褉懈褌褌褨胁 褨 胁懈薪邪褏芯写褨胁. 袙芯薪邪 褋褌胁芯褉褞褦 锌褉芯褋褌褨褉, 薪械芯斜褏褨写薪懈泄 写谢褟 褌芯谐芯, 褖芯斜 褋褎芯褉屑褍胁邪谢芯褋褟 薪芯胁械 屑懈褋谢械薪薪褟.禄 袩邪屑鈥櫻徰傂把斞傂�, 泻芯谢懈 薪邪屑 斜褍谢芯 薪褍写薪芯 胁 写懈褌懈薪褋褌胁褨, 屑懈 胁懈谐邪写褍胁邪谢懈 褑褨泻邪胁褨, 褔褍写械褉薪邪褑褜泻褨 褔懈 薪邪胁褨褌褜 褌褉芯褏懈 薪械斜械蟹锌械褔薪褨 褉芯蟹胁邪谐懈. 袩芯褌褨屑 屑懈 褩褏 褌褉邪薪褋褎芯褉屑芯胁褍胁邪谢懈, 胁懈谐邪写褍胁邪谢懈 薪芯胁褨 锌褉邪胁懈谢邪 褨 蟹邪谢褍褔邪谢懈 褨薪褕懈褏 写芯 薪邪褕懈褏 褨谐芯褉? 袙 褋胁褨褌褨, 写械 胁邪褋 泻芯卸薪褍 褏胁懈谢懈薪褍 褉芯蟹胁邪卸邪褦 褋褌褉褨褔泻邪 褋芯褑屑械褉械卸 褨 胁褨写芯褋懈泻懈 胁 褞褌褍斜, 锌褉芯 褑械 屑芯卸薪邪 蟹邪斜褍褌懈.
鈽濓笍鈥溞撔敌叫笛傂秆囆叫� 屑芯写懈褎褨泻芯胁邪薪褨 屑懈褕褨, 薪械 蟹写邪褌薪褨 胁懈褉芯斜谢褟褌懈 写芯褎邪屑褨薪, 薪械 褕褍泻邪褞褌褜 褩卸褍 泄 屑芯卸褍褌褜 锌芯屑械褉褌懈 蟹 谐芯谢芯写褍 薪邪胁褨褌褜 褌芯写褨, 泻芯谢懈 褩卸邪 谢械卸懈褌褜 胁 泻褨谢褜泻芯褏 褋邪薪褌懈屑械褌褉邪褏 胁褨写 薪懈褏.鈥�
馃摉 袣薪懈谐邪 泻谢邪褋薪邪, 锌褨蟹薪邪胁邪谢褜薪邪, 薪械 褉芯蟹屑邪蟹邪薪邪. 些芯锌褉邪胁写邪 斜谢懈卸褔械 写芯 泻褨薪褑褟 屑芯卸薪邪 胁写芯褋褌邪谢褜 锌芯褔懈褌邪褌懈 锌褉芯 褋芯褉芯屑 褨 褔械褋薪褨褋褌褜. 袗 锌芯褌褨屑 锌褉芯 褔械褋薪褨褋褌褜 褨 褋芯褉芯屑. 袙 褌芯泄 屑芯屑械薪褌 蟹写邪谢芯褋褟, 褖芯 邪胁褌芯褉褑褨 胁卸械 薪械 斜褍谢芯 褔芯谐芯 锌懈褋邪褌懈, 斜芯 锌褉芯泄褕谢邪褋褟 蟹芯胁褋褨屑 芯褔械胁懈写薪芯褞 写芯褉褨卸泻芯褞. 袗谢械 泻薪懈谐褍 锌械褉械褔懈褌褍胁邪褌懈屑褍, 褑械 褌芯褔薪芯.
March 23, 2022
While this book was intriguing and has a few good parts, there are numerous problems.
First: The author has some serious issues when it comes to her understanding of why people are fat. She claims that people are "obese" primarily due to food addiction, which is not supported by the science. But she just presents that as fact without supporting that claim with ANY scientific evidence, studies, etc. I feel like since she treats addictions for her job, she may just be seeing addiction as the root cause of this phenomenon. When your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail and so-forth.
Secondly, she apparently has no awareness whatsoever regarding eating disorders. She praises one of her patients for losing a lot of weight, but then when she shares how this patient lost weight, we learn that this patient basically developed an eating disorder! She seems oblivious to this fact. Specifically, the patient has developed disordered eating strategies in order to ignore his hunger. We know that this level of weight loss is not sustainable in the long term (usually) and when eating disorders are sustained, they can be deadly! In general she thinks that being fat is an indication that a person has an addiction (false!) and that the best way to treat this addiction is with disordered eating! She is absolutely clueless.
Next, at one point she casually offers up the suggestion that people cover themselves up to prevent sex addiction! No evidence that this will work at all, no science. She pulls straight from purity-culture and rape-culture, which we know is so harmful, especially to women/girls who then view themselves as objects to be covered up rather than people with their own agency and inherent value. And again, I expected something scientific rather than the old purity-culture toxicity.
Finally: I listened to the audiobook, which the author herself reads, and it was SO CRINGEWORTHY when she tried to mispronounce words and mess up English grammar exactly the same way her patients do. She has a few patients who are from other countries, and when she tells their stories from their perspective, she mispronounces a lot of words, including the word penis, which is hugely distracting. I respect that people pronounce things differently and that's fine, but there was no value from her trying to recreate how they speak for her book. It was weird and distracting, and it added nothing of value to the stories she was telling.
Looking around here at the other review for Dopamine Nation on goodreads, it is clear that I'm not the only one who thinks this book is a mixed-bag! I've never encountered a book quite this strange.
Other than these MAJOR issues, the book was interesting to read, and it seems like this author is a good psychiatrist, but man, I was frankly shocked by the diet-culture/ disordered-eating / purity-culture / rape-culture BS contained in this book. I expected far better from a book that's supposed to be scientific. Hence my 2 star review.
First: The author has some serious issues when it comes to her understanding of why people are fat. She claims that people are "obese" primarily due to food addiction, which is not supported by the science. But she just presents that as fact without supporting that claim with ANY scientific evidence, studies, etc. I feel like since she treats addictions for her job, she may just be seeing addiction as the root cause of this phenomenon. When your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail and so-forth.
Secondly, she apparently has no awareness whatsoever regarding eating disorders. She praises one of her patients for losing a lot of weight, but then when she shares how this patient lost weight, we learn that this patient basically developed an eating disorder! She seems oblivious to this fact. Specifically, the patient has developed disordered eating strategies in order to ignore his hunger. We know that this level of weight loss is not sustainable in the long term (usually) and when eating disorders are sustained, they can be deadly! In general she thinks that being fat is an indication that a person has an addiction (false!) and that the best way to treat this addiction is with disordered eating! She is absolutely clueless.
Next, at one point she casually offers up the suggestion that people cover themselves up to prevent sex addiction! No evidence that this will work at all, no science. She pulls straight from purity-culture and rape-culture, which we know is so harmful, especially to women/girls who then view themselves as objects to be covered up rather than people with their own agency and inherent value. And again, I expected something scientific rather than the old purity-culture toxicity.
Finally: I listened to the audiobook, which the author herself reads, and it was SO CRINGEWORTHY when she tried to mispronounce words and mess up English grammar exactly the same way her patients do. She has a few patients who are from other countries, and when she tells their stories from their perspective, she mispronounces a lot of words, including the word penis, which is hugely distracting. I respect that people pronounce things differently and that's fine, but there was no value from her trying to recreate how they speak for her book. It was weird and distracting, and it added nothing of value to the stories she was telling.
Looking around here at the other review for Dopamine Nation on goodreads, it is clear that I'm not the only one who thinks this book is a mixed-bag! I've never encountered a book quite this strange.
Other than these MAJOR issues, the book was interesting to read, and it seems like this author is a good psychiatrist, but man, I was frankly shocked by the diet-culture/ disordered-eating / purity-culture / rape-culture BS contained in this book. I expected far better from a book that's supposed to be scientific. Hence my 2 star review.
October 28, 2021
This should be required reading for everyone. It really helped me to understand how the brain maintains homeostasis. Many people in our society are searching for pain free lives, but our brain knows we need equal amounts of pleasure and pain in order to maintain equilibrium. Miss Lembke states that we might need to face pain in our lives in order to find that equilibrium rather than overmedicating ourselves.
"The rewards of finding balance and maintaining balance are neither immediate nor permanent. They require patience and maintenance. We must be willing to move forward despite being uncertain of what lies ahead. We must have faith that actions today that seem to have no impact in the present moment are in fact accumulating in a positive direction, which will be revealed to us only at some unknown time in the future. Healthy practices happen day by day."
"Patients who tell stories in which they are frequently the victim, seldom bearing responsibility for bad outcomes are often unwell and remain unwell. They are too busy blaming others to get down to the business of their own recovery. By contrast, when my patients start telling stories that accurately portray their responsibility, I know they're getting better."
"The rewards of finding balance and maintaining balance are neither immediate nor permanent. They require patience and maintenance. We must be willing to move forward despite being uncertain of what lies ahead. We must have faith that actions today that seem to have no impact in the present moment are in fact accumulating in a positive direction, which will be revealed to us only at some unknown time in the future. Healthy practices happen day by day."
"Patients who tell stories in which they are frequently the victim, seldom bearing responsibility for bad outcomes are often unwell and remain unwell. They are too busy blaming others to get down to the business of their own recovery. By contrast, when my patients start telling stories that accurately portray their responsibility, I know they're getting better."
November 4, 2023
As someone who has an addictive personality and had a 10+ years drinking problem (nearly 4 years
sober) I found this audiobook extremely informative, with relevant case studies to hear about throughout. I have taken on a few of the tips that Lembke recommends and am already feeling the benefits. I am drinking less diet coke, using my phone less frequently, not taking pain killers, and not listening to music on my first walk in the morning. These have all made me feel fresher and have given me good awareness of dopamine and the pleasure and pain scales. I would like to thank my participant at work for recommending this to me and would also like to comment on how well the author does at delivering the audiobook version herself. The Dopamine Nation was an easy listen to follow, using a fine mix of real life examples, scientific studies and papers and Lembke鈥檚 professional experience. Recommended.
sober) I found this audiobook extremely informative, with relevant case studies to hear about throughout. I have taken on a few of the tips that Lembke recommends and am already feeling the benefits. I am drinking less diet coke, using my phone less frequently, not taking pain killers, and not listening to music on my first walk in the morning. These have all made me feel fresher and have given me good awareness of dopamine and the pleasure and pain scales. I would like to thank my participant at work for recommending this to me and would also like to comment on how well the author does at delivering the audiobook version herself. The Dopamine Nation was an easy listen to follow, using a fine mix of real life examples, scientific studies and papers and Lembke鈥檚 professional experience. Recommended.
Shelved as 'gave-up-on'
November 13, 2021Made it 30 minutes in and just couldn't handle how judgmental the author was. Just, wow.
March 4, 2022
I came into this book really wanting it to be good, to be an insightful analysis of the dynamics of pleasure and addiction in America, studying the causes and offering solutions. One of my friends had given it a glowing rating, and thus... I found myself disappointed with the uninformed, surface-level moralizing glazed over the text.
This book isn't for people who want to analyze, curb, or prevent addictions, this is a book that starts with the assumption that you're addicted to something and spends pages moralizing on your and other people's 'addictions', even if it has to define a short-term obsession or a minor bad habit as an addiction.
I honestly feel like this author doesn't have a working grasp on the full topic of addiction. She understands what it looks like on the surface or at its peak, when a person is so compelled to perform an action they come to her for help, but does not seem to understand any of the underlying causes of addiction, preferring to treat the surface-level actions without investigating the root causes and looking for ways to solve and/or cope with those, as well.
Additionally, she has no understanding of systemic or societal causes of misery or addiction outside of what a Buzzfeed article has been able to tell her.
I don't think she's ever met someone who lives in poverty, and if she has, I don't think she's ever seen any aspect of their life or listened to them without filtering it through a moralizing, puritan lens. Multiple times, she's able to cite studies of rats that state they'll rarely become addicted if given enriched, accessible environments fulled with large social groups, and rats isolated in bland environments will almost always become addicted, but fails to make the connection between this study and human environments.
She also doesn't seem aware of the existence of poverty in her own country, as multiple times she wonders why people are addicted to anything in the 'richest country in the world', making her seem deeply ignorant of the material conditions of the non-wealthy. Again, she can plainly state 'cheap entertainment is now more widely available than stable housing, meaningful work, affordable healthcare, meaningful community spaces or consistent community events', then turn around and, consciously or not, assume that the marginalized have all of the same resources her rich community and clientele do and merely choose to ignore them to become addicted to various substances.
When faced with solutions to concerning addiction, rather than proposing systematic changes to provide citizens with the missing resources she's cited before, she trots out the individual solutions her fellow silicone valley residents have used, leading to a large chunk of pages being used to praise how a man uses cold showers to cut down on his own drinking. Combined with a long tirade on how 'high-wage earners' are less likely to be addicted that puts the cart far before the horse (assuming that their high wages come as a result of avoiding addictions), it leads to the uncomfortable implication that the impoverished just haven't applied the right individual solution to conquer their own chemical dependencies.
The book operates under the assumption that everyone in America is drowning in artificial happiness all of the time, and pushes people to eschew pleasure and embrace pain as if most Americans outside her Stanford enclave aren't awash in low-grade malaise caused by structural isolation and increasingly unbearable economic inequality.
Speaking of her Stanford enclave, throughout the book, every single character is EXTREMELY privileged, and the author only acknowledges this in throwaway statements that feel like her editor or or brunch friends had to remind her to use. One character, a young doctor who got a DUI while earning his Ph.D offhandedly says 'if I was POC or poor, I would have lost everything' but thanks to his white wealth, he is given the privilege of showing off his flaws at every application without suffering any loss of status. I wish she'd actually spoken to someone who *had* lost everything to something like that.
Moreover, there is ZERO investigation into the root causes of either societal or individual addiction throughout the book, and, combining this with her well-off clientele, it begins to feel like addictions are oddly-shaped warts stuck onto otherwise perfect lives instead of flawed coping mechanisms for whatever actual struggles they may have, none of which she ever even seems to mention.
Further expounding upon her shallow analysis, throughout the book she keeps making the insulting equation of her short erotic literature obsession with full-blown chemical dependency. She continually causes her brief obsession 'an addiction', as if it could ever rival the drug or alcohol addictions of her clients. She presents many stories about her clients, but none of them ever seem to have the substance or critical analysis the topic deserves. Only ONE of her many anecdotes features someone with a life-long addiction, and his story feels like it's presented for shock value more than anything else.
The low-grade moralistic dog-whistling throughout the book ramps up in the final few pages, as she praises all forms of social restriction (pro-social shame and restrictive rulesets within groups) in the effort of weeding out 'freeloaders', a phrase loaded with connotations I *hope* she misunderstood, because the other implication is yet another instance of her looking down on 'lazy' people with 'no will power'.
Even before the book pulls the canine controlling device out of its' pocket, there's a distinct black-and-white mindset, where anything that isn't tightly and consciously controlled is an 'addiction'. To the point that the author states that people with mental issues or chronic pain shouldn't be using medications to improve their lives, claiming they're 'upsetting their dopamine balances' and further implying that because the drugs they're using could be abused in theory, the patients themselves are on the verge of abusing said drug at any time it becomes too pleasureful.
Referring back to the assumption of America as a nation drowning in artificial dopamine, the author assumes that everyone, at all times, is too joyful and the only way to 'reset their balance' is to pursue long-term asceticism. This dovetails nicely with her prescription of abstinence as the only cure for 'addictions', even to the point of uncritically promotes eating disorders in the form of extreme food restriction.
All of this, from the assumption of too much joy to the praise of restriction, all stems from a puritan mindset of 'pain will make you stronger' no matter what, and pleasure is just a loss of mental muscle mass that can only be regained by forcing yourself to abstain from what pleases you and lean into what hurts.
In summary, I feel like an alien wrote this book. Someone trapped in a misinformed, centuries-old mindset and a wealthy enclave who sincerely believes they have been given the answers when they still can't even comprehend the question.
This book isn't for people who want to analyze, curb, or prevent addictions, this is a book that starts with the assumption that you're addicted to something and spends pages moralizing on your and other people's 'addictions', even if it has to define a short-term obsession or a minor bad habit as an addiction.
I honestly feel like this author doesn't have a working grasp on the full topic of addiction. She understands what it looks like on the surface or at its peak, when a person is so compelled to perform an action they come to her for help, but does not seem to understand any of the underlying causes of addiction, preferring to treat the surface-level actions without investigating the root causes and looking for ways to solve and/or cope with those, as well.
Additionally, she has no understanding of systemic or societal causes of misery or addiction outside of what a Buzzfeed article has been able to tell her.
I don't think she's ever met someone who lives in poverty, and if she has, I don't think she's ever seen any aspect of their life or listened to them without filtering it through a moralizing, puritan lens. Multiple times, she's able to cite studies of rats that state they'll rarely become addicted if given enriched, accessible environments fulled with large social groups, and rats isolated in bland environments will almost always become addicted, but fails to make the connection between this study and human environments.
She also doesn't seem aware of the existence of poverty in her own country, as multiple times she wonders why people are addicted to anything in the 'richest country in the world', making her seem deeply ignorant of the material conditions of the non-wealthy. Again, she can plainly state 'cheap entertainment is now more widely available than stable housing, meaningful work, affordable healthcare, meaningful community spaces or consistent community events', then turn around and, consciously or not, assume that the marginalized have all of the same resources her rich community and clientele do and merely choose to ignore them to become addicted to various substances.
When faced with solutions to concerning addiction, rather than proposing systematic changes to provide citizens with the missing resources she's cited before, she trots out the individual solutions her fellow silicone valley residents have used, leading to a large chunk of pages being used to praise how a man uses cold showers to cut down on his own drinking. Combined with a long tirade on how 'high-wage earners' are less likely to be addicted that puts the cart far before the horse (assuming that their high wages come as a result of avoiding addictions), it leads to the uncomfortable implication that the impoverished just haven't applied the right individual solution to conquer their own chemical dependencies.
The book operates under the assumption that everyone in America is drowning in artificial happiness all of the time, and pushes people to eschew pleasure and embrace pain as if most Americans outside her Stanford enclave aren't awash in low-grade malaise caused by structural isolation and increasingly unbearable economic inequality.
Speaking of her Stanford enclave, throughout the book, every single character is EXTREMELY privileged, and the author only acknowledges this in throwaway statements that feel like her editor or or brunch friends had to remind her to use. One character, a young doctor who got a DUI while earning his Ph.D offhandedly says 'if I was POC or poor, I would have lost everything' but thanks to his white wealth, he is given the privilege of showing off his flaws at every application without suffering any loss of status. I wish she'd actually spoken to someone who *had* lost everything to something like that.
Moreover, there is ZERO investigation into the root causes of either societal or individual addiction throughout the book, and, combining this with her well-off clientele, it begins to feel like addictions are oddly-shaped warts stuck onto otherwise perfect lives instead of flawed coping mechanisms for whatever actual struggles they may have, none of which she ever even seems to mention.
Further expounding upon her shallow analysis, throughout the book she keeps making the insulting equation of her short erotic literature obsession with full-blown chemical dependency. She continually causes her brief obsession 'an addiction', as if it could ever rival the drug or alcohol addictions of her clients. She presents many stories about her clients, but none of them ever seem to have the substance or critical analysis the topic deserves. Only ONE of her many anecdotes features someone with a life-long addiction, and his story feels like it's presented for shock value more than anything else.
The low-grade moralistic dog-whistling throughout the book ramps up in the final few pages, as she praises all forms of social restriction (pro-social shame and restrictive rulesets within groups) in the effort of weeding out 'freeloaders', a phrase loaded with connotations I *hope* she misunderstood, because the other implication is yet another instance of her looking down on 'lazy' people with 'no will power'.
Even before the book pulls the canine controlling device out of its' pocket, there's a distinct black-and-white mindset, where anything that isn't tightly and consciously controlled is an 'addiction'. To the point that the author states that people with mental issues or chronic pain shouldn't be using medications to improve their lives, claiming they're 'upsetting their dopamine balances' and further implying that because the drugs they're using could be abused in theory, the patients themselves are on the verge of abusing said drug at any time it becomes too pleasureful.
Referring back to the assumption of America as a nation drowning in artificial dopamine, the author assumes that everyone, at all times, is too joyful and the only way to 'reset their balance' is to pursue long-term asceticism. This dovetails nicely with her prescription of abstinence as the only cure for 'addictions', even to the point of uncritically promotes eating disorders in the form of extreme food restriction.
All of this, from the assumption of too much joy to the praise of restriction, all stems from a puritan mindset of 'pain will make you stronger' no matter what, and pleasure is just a loss of mental muscle mass that can only be regained by forcing yourself to abstain from what pleases you and lean into what hurts.
In summary, I feel like an alien wrote this book. Someone trapped in a misinformed, centuries-old mindset and a wealthy enclave who sincerely believes they have been given the answers when they still can't even comprehend the question.
October 22, 2022
I had high hopes for this book and was disappointed. There were several positions Lembke took that I just don鈥檛 agree with: 1) abstinence is gold standard for addiction (my opinion is that this is true for some, but not a universal truth) 2) 鈥減ro-social shame鈥� is great for recovery 馃 (no) and 3) absolute honesty is essential for a well balanced life (she gave the example of telling her daughter she was like the tone-deaf penguin on Happy Feet)鈥� idk, the book felt very moralistic and judgmental. Didn鈥檛 love it.
November 3, 2021
So absolutely horrible that I couldn't finish it. Moralistic high horse bullshit and not a real science book.
September 19, 2024
Dr.Lembke i ran 17 km while listening to the audiobook. And greatly enjoyed learning from you.
If you锟斤拷锟絩e a person with a growth mindset this book is a must read; a part of bettering yourself is being able to see your flaws clearly and see validated when faced with them instead of rejected and i think finishing this book will give you some perspective on that.
In this day and age almost all of us are battling some type of addiction or i rather say 鈥渟elf soothing鈥� mechanism in order to survive being anxious and stressed out about achieving more and more and then some more; and it makes sense. If you were born 100 years ago and did your chores and studied a little bit you鈥檇 be a respected person but now with the kind of access we have to resources and the expectations of our respective social classes it鈥檚 impossible to feel like a respected member or a successful one. Even if you鈥檙e your own person you might feel this way only by your own standards. The added pressure leads to us turning to methods to escape and therefore not being honest and true to ourselves. The chapter about radical honesty is something i intend to implement in my own life. I鈥檓 not one for re-reads but I鈥檒l definitely check some parts of this book out again in the future.
If you锟斤拷锟絩e a person with a growth mindset this book is a must read; a part of bettering yourself is being able to see your flaws clearly and see validated when faced with them instead of rejected and i think finishing this book will give you some perspective on that.
In this day and age almost all of us are battling some type of addiction or i rather say 鈥渟elf soothing鈥� mechanism in order to survive being anxious and stressed out about achieving more and more and then some more; and it makes sense. If you were born 100 years ago and did your chores and studied a little bit you鈥檇 be a respected person but now with the kind of access we have to resources and the expectations of our respective social classes it鈥檚 impossible to feel like a respected member or a successful one. Even if you鈥檙e your own person you might feel this way only by your own standards. The added pressure leads to us turning to methods to escape and therefore not being honest and true to ourselves. The chapter about radical honesty is something i intend to implement in my own life. I鈥檓 not one for re-reads but I鈥檒l definitely check some parts of this book out again in the future.
August 25, 2021
Neurodivergence and dopamine is a trending topic on TikTok right now and if you read the comments on popular videos, you will see a lot of people that struggle with ADHD, addiction, mood disorders, and other symptoms that leads to extreme and unproductive behavior in the pursuit of dopamine highs. I picked up this book to get a better understa nding of my own history with addiction and dopamine chasing and to find out more about the science behind it.
The blend of clinical and anecdotal storytelling makes this book an easy read. I also appreciated the humanization of shameful behaviors and looking at it from a neurological standpoint. Lembke keeps it simple by organizing the topic by extreme behaviors that lead to the pursuit of pleasure and pain. She does a really good job of identifying the problem without judging people's individual solutions. Interspersed between client stories, she also shares her own extreme behavior which I really appreciated and it gave me a better understanding overall of my own struggles.
The blend of clinical and anecdotal storytelling makes this book an easy read. I also appreciated the humanization of shameful behaviors and looking at it from a neurological standpoint. Lembke keeps it simple by organizing the topic by extreme behaviors that lead to the pursuit of pleasure and pain. She does a really good job of identifying the problem without judging people's individual solutions. Interspersed between client stories, she also shares her own extreme behavior which I really appreciated and it gave me a better understanding overall of my own struggles.
October 28, 2021
Most helpful passage came at the very end on page 233 "I urge you to find a way to immerse yourself fully in the life that you've been given. To stop running from whatever you're trying to escape, and instead to stop, and turn, and face whatever it is."
There it is. Be present.
There it is. Be present.
May 16, 2022
I was so excited to learn what makes my monkey brain so excited to stare at screens all day. Instead, this book was full of blatant plagiarism. Who was plagiarized you may ask? The Mormons. To be honest, I may not have caught it if it was not for my Mormon upbringing. So let me fill you in, so you don't have to read it. In short...masturbation bad, weed bad, porn bad, gambling bad, drugs bad, women cover your bodies with all the clothes to protect dudes, and pray. If you would like more details you can visit mormon.org and they will send two professionals your way, for free (mostly)!
October 9, 2022
I would like to read a different version of this book.
I agree with the author that in contemporary US society, overconsumption as a way to numb emotional pain has become the norm for most people with the resources to do so. And addictions, from drugs to phones to Netflix to wine to exercise to dieting to Fortnite, have been normalized.
Unfortunately, this book lacks the kind of nuance that would allow most readers to really connect with her message. She keeps mentioning that even morally neutral behaviors, like alcohol consumption and video games, can become an addiction when you are unable to regulate your use. And then she uses only the most extreme anecdotes about behaviors that are actively destroying the lives of her patients. Her only "moderate" example is of her own addiction to steamy romance novels. This was a fine example of the concept, but having . . . yourself . . . be your only example of a less frightening addiction felt, uh, really tone deaf?
The author just kept making these wild claims, hyping the claims up for pages, and then giving a two-sentence aside about how "even this can also be bad, of course, but we won't go into any detail whatsoever on that."
There's a bizarre section where she explains that "throughout Western history" it has been acceptable to scream at, hit, scare, threaten, and otherwise abuse children to promote good behavior. Then she talks about how parents these days are "too scared of traumatizing their children" to let them face adversity. Uh, you can talk about how to help kids build healthy confidence through challenges without not-so-subtly suggesting that a movement away from child abuse is destroying our nation. And then she's like "child abuse is bad, of course, but we also can't coddle kids." So . . . no examples of what she considers real harmful abuse and what she considers coddling, just, if you worry TOO much about abuse your kids will become entitled whiny college babies who achieve nothing. Cool!
See also: "radical honesty is transformative and the only path to healing. This med student got a DUI and pleaded guilty instead of bribing the judge. It made his life harder but ultimately he believes it saved him from alcoholism to be honest about it and now he's a successful doctor. If he'd been poor, a woman, or a person of color, he probably would have rotted in prison, but I still think radical honestly is a blanket solution for all people everywhere." I'm not exaggerating, that is her actual take. She's constantly MENTIONING factors like racism, poverty, or trauma that might invalidate what she's saying, then totally failing to address those things in any way or provide helpful alternatives.
Perhaps most stunning is the part of the book where she talks about how strict in-group requirements increase group loyalty by reducing freeloading, then cites the devotion of people to extremist religious groups as proof that people "want" these strict rules and benefit from the sense of belonging they create, with absolutely NO examination of the threats, emotional conditioning, and need for safety that cause people to remain in abusive situations. This is supposed to teach us that we are most "human" and most "in control" when we choose to abstain from things. (????!!!!????) The problem is that there is a huge difference between a sex addict and serial cheater restricting himself of his own volition in order to heal his interpersonal relationships and stop living in misery and, say, a young woman raised in a fundamentalist cult feeling a strong sense of loyalty to the cult. I mean, you can't pretend that "rigid modesty dress codes increase personal investment" and just never acknowledge that these dress codes AREN'T an active personal choice, AREN'T connected to real morality, and AREN'T a form of self-binding chosen by the individual as a response to a harmful, cruel, or destructive personal behavior. Yikes, yikes, yikes.
She derails into this extremely strange section on a guy who curbed a "bad" addiction by taking cold baths, and now creates colder and colder and colder baths for himself because of the incredible rush he gets afterword. This is proof that pain creates pleasure. Should you uncritically suggest to people struggling with addiction that daily physical pain will lead to longer and truer pleasure than pleasant physical sensations? Seems like you should not? His story ends with him talking about how he gets a better high from cold water than he ever did from any substance and how he craves it each day and how he's building freezers for cold water immersion and then he laughs and says "I guess it's almost like an addiction." Like . . . is this funny? Should I be laughing too? She goes on to warn us that pain can become an unhealthy addiction as well, but doesn't offer meaningful solutions and clearly feels much better about this guy getting a high via physical pain than through substance abuse. At this point I was like . . . what is happening here.
By the end of the book, she has not once talked seriously about smartphones, TV, or any other tech addiction. She has not discussed how to tell if your behavior is healthy or addictive. She hasn't talked about how to set healthy boundaries around something that you're required to use in everyday life, or something you want to keep using in moderation. Plenty of people want to enjoy gaming with friends for a few hours on the weekend without neglecting responsibilities to grind out more digital XP, or want to reduce that twitchy check-my-phone impulse without refusing to answer emails from their boss. And we all have to eat, and should be eating without constant self-condemnation! She kind of hints at a 10-step process that was okay advice (taking an extended break, then reintroducing with boundaries, can be a helpful way to see if you're dependent on something optional) but everything is so anecdotal that she doesn't draw a clear path for the reader to address their own possible dependencies.
There were some interesting insights here about how too much sustained, repetitive pleasure can lose its effectiveness and recondition your brain to make it harder to feel any positive emotion. It was a thought-provoking book and did make me want to be more vigilant about making sure I'm in control of my own relationship to things like food or technology. But her confusing and often judgmental takes really muddled the whole thing.
I agree with the author that in contemporary US society, overconsumption as a way to numb emotional pain has become the norm for most people with the resources to do so. And addictions, from drugs to phones to Netflix to wine to exercise to dieting to Fortnite, have been normalized.
Unfortunately, this book lacks the kind of nuance that would allow most readers to really connect with her message. She keeps mentioning that even morally neutral behaviors, like alcohol consumption and video games, can become an addiction when you are unable to regulate your use. And then she uses only the most extreme anecdotes about behaviors that are actively destroying the lives of her patients. Her only "moderate" example is of her own addiction to steamy romance novels. This was a fine example of the concept, but having . . . yourself . . . be your only example of a less frightening addiction felt, uh, really tone deaf?
The author just kept making these wild claims, hyping the claims up for pages, and then giving a two-sentence aside about how "even this can also be bad, of course, but we won't go into any detail whatsoever on that."
There's a bizarre section where she explains that "throughout Western history" it has been acceptable to scream at, hit, scare, threaten, and otherwise abuse children to promote good behavior. Then she talks about how parents these days are "too scared of traumatizing their children" to let them face adversity. Uh, you can talk about how to help kids build healthy confidence through challenges without not-so-subtly suggesting that a movement away from child abuse is destroying our nation. And then she's like "child abuse is bad, of course, but we also can't coddle kids." So . . . no examples of what she considers real harmful abuse and what she considers coddling, just, if you worry TOO much about abuse your kids will become entitled whiny college babies who achieve nothing. Cool!
See also: "radical honesty is transformative and the only path to healing. This med student got a DUI and pleaded guilty instead of bribing the judge. It made his life harder but ultimately he believes it saved him from alcoholism to be honest about it and now he's a successful doctor. If he'd been poor, a woman, or a person of color, he probably would have rotted in prison, but I still think radical honestly is a blanket solution for all people everywhere." I'm not exaggerating, that is her actual take. She's constantly MENTIONING factors like racism, poverty, or trauma that might invalidate what she's saying, then totally failing to address those things in any way or provide helpful alternatives.
Perhaps most stunning is the part of the book where she talks about how strict in-group requirements increase group loyalty by reducing freeloading, then cites the devotion of people to extremist religious groups as proof that people "want" these strict rules and benefit from the sense of belonging they create, with absolutely NO examination of the threats, emotional conditioning, and need for safety that cause people to remain in abusive situations. This is supposed to teach us that we are most "human" and most "in control" when we choose to abstain from things. (????!!!!????) The problem is that there is a huge difference between a sex addict and serial cheater restricting himself of his own volition in order to heal his interpersonal relationships and stop living in misery and, say, a young woman raised in a fundamentalist cult feeling a strong sense of loyalty to the cult. I mean, you can't pretend that "rigid modesty dress codes increase personal investment" and just never acknowledge that these dress codes AREN'T an active personal choice, AREN'T connected to real morality, and AREN'T a form of self-binding chosen by the individual as a response to a harmful, cruel, or destructive personal behavior. Yikes, yikes, yikes.
She derails into this extremely strange section on a guy who curbed a "bad" addiction by taking cold baths, and now creates colder and colder and colder baths for himself because of the incredible rush he gets afterword. This is proof that pain creates pleasure. Should you uncritically suggest to people struggling with addiction that daily physical pain will lead to longer and truer pleasure than pleasant physical sensations? Seems like you should not? His story ends with him talking about how he gets a better high from cold water than he ever did from any substance and how he craves it each day and how he's building freezers for cold water immersion and then he laughs and says "I guess it's almost like an addiction." Like . . . is this funny? Should I be laughing too? She goes on to warn us that pain can become an unhealthy addiction as well, but doesn't offer meaningful solutions and clearly feels much better about this guy getting a high via physical pain than through substance abuse. At this point I was like . . . what is happening here.
By the end of the book, she has not once talked seriously about smartphones, TV, or any other tech addiction. She has not discussed how to tell if your behavior is healthy or addictive. She hasn't talked about how to set healthy boundaries around something that you're required to use in everyday life, or something you want to keep using in moderation. Plenty of people want to enjoy gaming with friends for a few hours on the weekend without neglecting responsibilities to grind out more digital XP, or want to reduce that twitchy check-my-phone impulse without refusing to answer emails from their boss. And we all have to eat, and should be eating without constant self-condemnation! She kind of hints at a 10-step process that was okay advice (taking an extended break, then reintroducing with boundaries, can be a helpful way to see if you're dependent on something optional) but everything is so anecdotal that she doesn't draw a clear path for the reader to address their own possible dependencies.
There were some interesting insights here about how too much sustained, repetitive pleasure can lose its effectiveness and recondition your brain to make it harder to feel any positive emotion. It was a thought-provoking book and did make me want to be more vigilant about making sure I'm in control of my own relationship to things like food or technology. But her confusing and often judgmental takes really muddled the whole thing.
October 31, 2024
It was an enjoyable simple read. It鈥檚 based not just on pure theory, but also on the hands-on experience the author has as a psychiatrist. The problem the book exposes is the increase in dopaminergic consumption in our modern societies. We became obsessed with the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake. That leads to neuroadaptation and tolerance to pleasure, ending in all sorts of nasty and harmful addictions. The solution is to find and maintain a pleasure-pain balance that allows us to experience the pleasure of simple things, without needing to resort to overconsumption of high dopamine substances or behaviours.
The first part of the book explains the terminology: the substances involved in the brain's reward pathway, how the addiction is formed, and the ways in which today鈥檚 society presses on the side of pleasure to sustain this vicious cycle.
The second part explores personal solutions to the problem of addiction, like dopamine fasting, self binding (physical, chronological, and categorial strategies), embracing mild intermittent exposure to pain, practising radical honesty, and finding compassionate persons or groups that can keep you accountable. While the analysis of the problem is done both at individual and society level, the solutions are explored only from the individual point of view.
I especially liked the realism of the book, it doesn鈥檛 offer cookie-cutter solutions, like many books on this subject are tempted to do. Moreover, it somehow adds value to an already over-saturated subject. I think that鈥檚 because the author knows how to go sideways and to digress in relevant ways. On the other hand, there are no citations to the studies, for those who want to fact check. All references are added at the end. And beware, some discreet readers might find one particular counselling example disgraceful.
The first part of the book explains the terminology: the substances involved in the brain's reward pathway, how the addiction is formed, and the ways in which today鈥檚 society presses on the side of pleasure to sustain this vicious cycle.
The second part explores personal solutions to the problem of addiction, like dopamine fasting, self binding (physical, chronological, and categorial strategies), embracing mild intermittent exposure to pain, practising radical honesty, and finding compassionate persons or groups that can keep you accountable. While the analysis of the problem is done both at individual and society level, the solutions are explored only from the individual point of view.
I especially liked the realism of the book, it doesn鈥檛 offer cookie-cutter solutions, like many books on this subject are tempted to do. Moreover, it somehow adds value to an already over-saturated subject. I think that鈥檚 because the author knows how to go sideways and to digress in relevant ways. On the other hand, there are no citations to the studies, for those who want to fact check. All references are added at the end. And beware, some discreet readers might find one particular counselling example disgraceful.
June 26, 2024
I feel a little shocked getting on here to review this book to see that so many other readers found it objectionable. I did not. At all. It seemed like an unemotional, non-morally superior explanation of the endocrine system's homeostasis mechanism to balance pleasure and pain. I'd heard quite a bit of the same things from a few Huberman Lab podcasts but found Dr. Lembke's anecdotes and citations a bit more helpful, BECAUSE they felt less emotionally based.
The book starts uncomfortably. The very first chapter is about a masturbation machine and sex addiction and it feels disturbing and jarring at first. As Dr. Lembke continues sharing the notes and conversations from her therapy sessions with this client, it quickly becomes obvious that her intention is not to shock or be gratuitous, but to explain how something that many consider a common source of easy and harmless pleasure can be taken to an extreme level that does, in fact, become harmful.
Lembke weaves in the science of how we experience pleasure and pain when she shares other client experiences and even her own relatively mild anecdote of middle-aged-marital-stress-escapism for a few years reading repetitive vampire erotica on her kindle. I found her vulnerability and experience to be the most relatable compared to some of the other more chemically dangerous addictions, such as a reliance on opiates, cannibis and psychedelics, which are now a thousand times more potent and lethal with today's use of synthetics and the illegal and unregulated drug trade.
She gives some helpful suggestions of applied therapy she calls self-binding. Again, the vitriol against this book surprised me because this section of the book felt the least judgmental to me. Sometimes a certain way to overcome addiction works for some and a different way works for others and sometimes abstinence (like AA) works for some and for some other lucky people, moderation become possible. She brings up the difficulty of some modern addictions where total abstinence is impossible, such as with food and certain forms of technology. I found her tone to be hopeful and compassionate towards her clients and the pain so many find themselves trying to alleviate due to abuse, trauma and poverty.
She finishes her book addressing the use of pain in therapeutic ways. Think of the current popularity of ice baths or cold plunges and intense exercise, which she explains actually cause the body to experience pain, which forces the endocrine system to bring the body back to homeostasis by then releasing dopamine for an extended feeling of pleasure afterwards. There's that runner's high or good mood. This also explains the less palatable behavior of cutting or BDSM. I found that interesting.
I don't give this book five stars because I think it is the end all be all explanation of mental health, addiction or the only solution to any of our problems. I actually rarely give five stars because, for me, that fifth star is an emotional reaction to a book. I experienced that while reading this. I felt a light bulb turn on and felt grateful for access to the information and experiences of someone with her knowledge and credentials. I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to know more about how, why and when we experience pleasure and pain. It would be an excellent book to discuss with someone.
The book starts uncomfortably. The very first chapter is about a masturbation machine and sex addiction and it feels disturbing and jarring at first. As Dr. Lembke continues sharing the notes and conversations from her therapy sessions with this client, it quickly becomes obvious that her intention is not to shock or be gratuitous, but to explain how something that many consider a common source of easy and harmless pleasure can be taken to an extreme level that does, in fact, become harmful.
Lembke weaves in the science of how we experience pleasure and pain when she shares other client experiences and even her own relatively mild anecdote of middle-aged-marital-stress-escapism for a few years reading repetitive vampire erotica on her kindle. I found her vulnerability and experience to be the most relatable compared to some of the other more chemically dangerous addictions, such as a reliance on opiates, cannibis and psychedelics, which are now a thousand times more potent and lethal with today's use of synthetics and the illegal and unregulated drug trade.
She gives some helpful suggestions of applied therapy she calls self-binding. Again, the vitriol against this book surprised me because this section of the book felt the least judgmental to me. Sometimes a certain way to overcome addiction works for some and a different way works for others and sometimes abstinence (like AA) works for some and for some other lucky people, moderation become possible. She brings up the difficulty of some modern addictions where total abstinence is impossible, such as with food and certain forms of technology. I found her tone to be hopeful and compassionate towards her clients and the pain so many find themselves trying to alleviate due to abuse, trauma and poverty.
She finishes her book addressing the use of pain in therapeutic ways. Think of the current popularity of ice baths or cold plunges and intense exercise, which she explains actually cause the body to experience pain, which forces the endocrine system to bring the body back to homeostasis by then releasing dopamine for an extended feeling of pleasure afterwards. There's that runner's high or good mood. This also explains the less palatable behavior of cutting or BDSM. I found that interesting.
I don't give this book five stars because I think it is the end all be all explanation of mental health, addiction or the only solution to any of our problems. I actually rarely give five stars because, for me, that fifth star is an emotional reaction to a book. I experienced that while reading this. I felt a light bulb turn on and felt grateful for access to the information and experiences of someone with her knowledge and credentials. I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to know more about how, why and when we experience pleasure and pain. It would be an excellent book to discuss with someone.
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