Anna Lembke

You know, I applaud her for being open about it.

But for other listeners, you know, you can tell somebody else what behavior you're engaging in.

And again, I'll just say that even if we kind of know that we're doing that behavior, it's often not until we've said it out loud to another human being.

that it becomes really real to us.

And then once it's become real to us, we kind of can't unsee it.

And then that awareness allows us then to begin to create the motivation to want to change the behavior.

In fact, it may be true that the dopamine fasting project is best suited for individuals who are not yet fully addicted, but who notice that they're on their way to addiction.

So then with intention, setting a specific quit date for when you're going to give up that substance or behavior, getting that substance or access to that behavior out of the house or creating other self-binding strategies to sort of limit consumption or make it harder to get access.

Those are all things you can plan and do in advance.

Tell people you're going to be dopamine fasting.

Do it with somebody else.

And then really commit to it and frame it not as,

deprivation, but as an opportunity to really do something positive and healthy for yourself.

Yeah, so I get this question all the time.

And of course, every situation is unique, so it's difficult to give a one-size-fits-all answer.

But I think the place we can always start is with compassion and empathy and

and just expressing to the person that we care about that we'd like to talk with them about something that's difficult to talk about, but it's coming from a place of love, which is just very simply our concern for that individual given certain behaviors that we've observed.

So in a time when you are calm and your loved one is calm and not in a time when you're

in a state of anxious dysregulation as a parent or a spouse or a friend and not a time when they're using.

So some other time than that, approach your loved one and say, hey, I'd like to share something with you that I've been observing that makes me concerned for you and I want to share it because I really love you and care about you.