Dr. Anna Lembke

And when we're not using, we're walking around

with a pleasure-pain balance tilted to the side of pain, experiencing the universal symptoms of withdrawal from any addictive substance or behavior, which are anxiety, irritability, insomnia, depression, and craving.

And this is why it is so difficult to stop eating potato chips or whatever it is once we've changed our brain and gotten into a habitual pattern of exposure to our drug of choice or our reinforcing behavior over a long period of time.

Okay.

Okay, it is a brain disease, but we don't have a brain scan or a blood test to diagnose it.

We base it on patterns of behavior.

It is the continued compulsive use of a substance or a behavior despite harm to self and or others.

You could have a range of addictions to mild, moderate, and severe.

And you could have pre-addicted states, right?

Where you haven't quite yet crossed over into addiction, but now you've got a compulsive, habitual behavior where you've lost some agency, but not all agency.

And you know it's not good for you.

You have regret about doing it.

You have some difficulty stopping.

But if you really set your mind to it, you can.

Okay, so let's just frame that as kind of what we're talking about.

It's really a spectrum or a continuum.

Yes.

That is a great example.

And digital media, social media, short-form videos activate the same reward pathway as drugs and alcohol.

They're highly reinforcing.