Dr. Anna Lembke

Exactly. That's exactly what it is. That's the hangover, the comedown, the blue Monday, or on a much smaller scale, just that moment of craving, right? That moment of wanting to have one more shot, right?

Exactly. That's exactly what it is. That's the hangover, the comedown, the blue Monday, or on a much smaller scale, just that moment of craving, right? That moment of wanting to have one more shot, right?

Such a great question.

Such a great question.

Yeah. Why did Mother Nature do that to us? So cruel, right?

Yeah. Why did Mother Nature do that to us? So cruel, right?

Okay. I'm going to tell you an evolutionary just-so story. What we mean by that is we don't really know why, you know, this mechanism exists. But from an evolutionary perspective, if you're living in a world of scarcity and ever-present danger, this is the perfect mechanism to make sure that we're never satisfied with what we have, that we're always wanting more. It's made us the ultimate seekers.

Okay. I'm going to tell you an evolutionary just-so story. What we mean by that is we don't really know why, you know, this mechanism exists. But from an evolutionary perspective, if you're living in a world of scarcity and ever-present danger, this is the perfect mechanism to make sure that we're never satisfied with what we have, that we're always wanting more. It's made us the ultimate seekers.

Perfect.

Perfect.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Right. So now that's – so why is that, right? It's because alcohol is a product of human engineering. that releases so much dopamine all at once in the reward pathway that our brains are reeling to compensate, right? We really weren't evolved for this much pleasure with this much easy access. As you said yourself, we were really evolved to have to do quite a lot of work upfront in

Right. So now that's – so why is that, right? It's because alcohol is a product of human engineering. that releases so much dopamine all at once in the reward pathway that our brains are reeling to compensate, right? We really weren't evolved for this much pleasure with this much easy access. As you said yourself, we were really evolved to have to do quite a lot of work upfront in

and to be hungry and to be lonely and to be tired, and then get a little bit of reward that would then bring us back up to homeostasis. So really, we were evolved to be pressing on the pain side of the balance in our effort to find pleasure. And then when we find it, that little bit of food or clothing or shelter or a mate would bring us back to the level position. Does that make sense?

and to be hungry and to be lonely and to be tired, and then get a little bit of reward that would then bring us back up to homeostasis. So really, we were evolved to be pressing on the pain side of the balance in our effort to find pleasure. And then when we find it, that little bit of food or clothing or shelter or a mate would bring us back to the level position. Does that make sense?

Right. Coming to a website near you. Yes. I guess I would qualify that a little bit by saying we're wired for survival in a world of scarcity. That's not the world we live in now. We live in a world of overwhelming overabundance. And so there is a mismatch between this ancient wiring that has us relentlessly pursuing pleasure in order to survive and

Right. Coming to a website near you. Yes. I guess I would qualify that a little bit by saying we're wired for survival in a world of scarcity. That's not the world we live in now. We live in a world of overwhelming overabundance. And so there is a mismatch between this ancient wiring that has us relentlessly pursuing pleasure in order to survive and

And a world that's so infused with pleasure and so many rewarding stimuli that now we're overwhelming our reward system and our brains are reeling in response to try to compensate.

And a world that's so infused with pleasure and so many rewarding stimuli that now we're overwhelming our reward system and our brains are reeling in response to try to compensate.