Dr. Anna Lembke

Right.

Right.

Yeah. And that's true. Many people change jobs every two to three years. I recently read that the average life of a business now is like 15 years, whereas, you know, 50 years ago, it was 50 years. And there's all this turnover, all this churn, chasing novelty.

Yeah. And that's true. Many people change jobs every two to three years. I recently read that the average life of a business now is like 15 years, whereas, you know, 50 years ago, it was 50 years. And there's all this turnover, all this churn, chasing novelty.

Also, you know, I do want to emphasize that people who are in work that's not like intrinsically rewarding but is the opposite, kind of soul-sucking, that's also a risk factor for addiction because people just wait till the end of the day till they can go home and then use a drug to numb themselves from the stress of work.

Also, you know, I do want to emphasize that people who are in work that's not like intrinsically rewarding but is the opposite, kind of soul-sucking, that's also a risk factor for addiction because people just wait till the end of the day till they can go home and then use a drug to numb themselves from the stress of work.

Yeah, or simply opt out of the workforce as many young men are doing now in the United States. And what we know from data that's been collected is many of them are playing video games, right? They've just completely opted out of the workforce.

Yeah, or simply opt out of the workforce as many young men are doing now in the United States. And what we know from data that's been collected is many of them are playing video games, right? They've just completely opted out of the workforce.

You know, maybe that's partially true, but even people doing like doctors and lawyers, there are equal rates of alcoholism among those groups. I think what's happening there, though, is that the nature of the work is just so stressful, whether it's white collar or blue collar, that there's this kind of work hard, play hard, right?

You know, maybe that's partially true, but even people doing like doctors and lawyers, there are equal rates of alcoholism among those groups. I think what's happening there, though, is that the nature of the work is just so stressful, whether it's white collar or blue collar, that there's this kind of work hard, play hard, right?

Where I'm going to work all day, and at the end of the day, I'm going to reward myself. So now you've got a pleasure-pain balance that's going pleasure-pain, pleasure-pain. And remember, the biological definition of stress is any deviation from neutrality.

Where I'm going to work all day, and at the end of the day, I'm going to reward myself. So now you've got a pleasure-pain balance that's going pleasure-pain, pleasure-pain. And remember, the biological definition of stress is any deviation from neutrality.

So that every time our brain has to work to restore a level balance, we're actually triggering our stress response, triggering our own adrenaline. It's stressful to have to restore the balance from those extremes of pleasure and pain.

So that every time our brain has to work to restore a level balance, we're actually triggering our stress response, triggering our own adrenaline. It's stressful to have to restore the balance from those extremes of pleasure and pain.

Yes.

Yes.

You know, I really think that it depends on the person. And we've got to look at drug of choice, right? I mean, potent drugs like methamphetamine, like opioids, like alcohol, like nicotine, like cannabis are going to be very reinforcing for many people, but not for all people. And most people do have their one drug that they sort of prefer above all others.

You know, I really think that it depends on the person. And we've got to look at drug of choice, right? I mean, potent drugs like methamphetamine, like opioids, like alcohol, like nicotine, like cannabis are going to be very reinforcing for many people, but not for all people. And most people do have their one drug that they sort of prefer above all others.

So although generally speaking intoxicants release a lot of dopamine in the reward pathway, I think every person is going to be different. And also we don't really have good ways of measuring absolute values of dopamine in human beings, right? We can do that in rats, but we can't really do that in humans. It's relative values.

So although generally speaking intoxicants release a lot of dopamine in the reward pathway, I think every person is going to be different. And also we don't really have good ways of measuring absolute values of dopamine in human beings, right? We can do that in rats, but we can't really do that in humans. It's relative values.