Dr. Anna Lembke

So you see the relativity of that hedonic pathway and how when we're doing that behavior or substance that's so reinforcing that everything else loses its salience, we can really misidentify what is causing our irritability, anxiety, insomnia until we stop that substance for long enough to see its impact on our lives.

So you see the relativity of that hedonic pathway and how when we're doing that behavior or substance that's so reinforcing that everything else loses its salience, we can really misidentify what is causing our irritability, anxiety, insomnia until we stop that substance for long enough to see its impact on our lives.

I mean, I think that romance novels are essentially socially sanctioned pornography for women.

I mean, I think that romance novels are essentially socially sanctioned pornography for women.

And the medium is narrative. And if you're a person for whom narrative is a powerful drug, as it is for me, a story, a narrative, a fiction, very potent since I was a child. then, you know, it was a natural that that would be the thing that I would get addicted to.

And the medium is narrative. And if you're a person for whom narrative is a powerful drug, as it is for me, a story, a narrative, a fiction, very potent since I was a child. then, you know, it was a natural that that would be the thing that I would get addicted to.

And basically, just like we've hacked and bioengineered everything to make it more potent, I mean, people, there's a formula for writing romance novels. Like, if you take a physical copy, if you go to a store and you pick up a romance novel and you literally physically open it to two-thirds of the way through, you will get to the climactic scene, pun intended, right? It's like it's engineered.

And basically, just like we've hacked and bioengineered everything to make it more potent, I mean, people, there's a formula for writing romance novels. Like, if you take a physical copy, if you go to a store and you pick up a romance novel and you literally physically open it to two-thirds of the way through, you will get to the climactic scene, pun intended, right? It's like it's engineered.

I mean, I got to a point where I wouldn't even read it, read after. I wouldn't finish the book. I would go on to the next book.

I mean, I got to a point where I wouldn't even read it, read after. I wouldn't finish the book. I would go on to the next book.

Yeah. And I wouldn't even read the denouement or like what happens to the characters. I didn't care.

Yeah. And I wouldn't even read the denouement or like what happens to the characters. I didn't care.

And also, I got to a point where I didn't care about the quality of the writing or the depth of the care. It didn't matter. It was the drug. It was that moment I was looking for. And there are a lot of free books on Amazon, some of which are high quality and some of which are not. But like any good drug dealer knows, free samples, that's the way you hook people.

And also, I got to a point where I didn't care about the quality of the writing or the depth of the care. It didn't matter. It was the drug. It was that moment I was looking for. And there are a lot of free books on Amazon, some of which are high quality and some of which are not. But like any good drug dealer knows, free samples, that's the way you hook people.

I would search for these free samples. And that's part of it, too, like the searching for the drug. So the working, the upfront work you do for the drug is part of the drug, right? Yeah. It's all that, you know, the machinations and the hiding and the this and the that that gets to be part of like all of the rituals surrounding it.

I would search for these free samples. And that's part of it, too, like the searching for the drug. So the working, the upfront work you do for the drug is part of the drug, right? Yeah. It's all that, you know, the machinations and the hiding and the this and the that that gets to be part of like all of the rituals surrounding it.

I feel for you.

I feel for you.

That's right.

That's right.