Dr. Anna Lembke

And the majority of my patients had problems with drugs and alcohol. And when I started treating that problem alongside their other psychiatric disorders, they got better in ways I had never seen prior to that. And the work was fun. It was so enjoyable. People got into recovery. They were amazing people. Their recovery impacted their spouses and their children and their parents and their workers.

And the majority of my patients had problems with drugs and alcohol. And when I started treating that problem alongside their other psychiatric disorders, they got better in ways I had never seen prior to that. And the work was fun. It was so enjoyable. People got into recovery. They were amazing people. Their recovery impacted their spouses and their children and their parents and their workers.

It's like the most rewarding work. So a lot of times people say, well, how can you do this work? I say, are you kidding? It's the best work. It's the best population.

It's like the most rewarding work. So a lot of times people say, well, how can you do this work? I say, are you kidding? It's the best work. It's the best population.

Yeah, there is something trivializing about doing that. And I don't mean to do that. You know, I don't mean to compare my relatively modest compulsive overconsumption of romance novels with people who are struggling with life-threatening addictions.

Yeah, there is something trivializing about doing that. And I don't mean to do that. You know, I don't mean to compare my relatively modest compulsive overconsumption of romance novels with people who are struggling with life-threatening addictions.

On the other hand, by drawing a comparison between what they're struggling with and what I struggled with, I'm also attempting to humanize the behavior and to acknowledge the ways in which we're all vulnerable to compulsive overconsumption given enough access to our drug of choice. So, you know, again, just looking at my own life here,

On the other hand, by drawing a comparison between what they're struggling with and what I struggled with, I'm also attempting to humanize the behavior and to acknowledge the ways in which we're all vulnerable to compulsive overconsumption given enough access to our drug of choice. So, you know, again, just looking at my own life here,

As I mentioned, you know, father with severe alcoholism, alcohol does nothing for me. Absolutely. It's not reinforcing. And so therefore, I've never been vulnerable to alcohol addiction. And so thought I just wasn't vulnerable to addiction, period. But the truth was, I hadn't just hadn't yet met my drug of choice.

As I mentioned, you know, father with severe alcoholism, alcohol does nothing for me. Absolutely. It's not reinforcing. And so therefore, I've never been vulnerable to alcohol addiction. And so thought I just wasn't vulnerable to addiction, period. But the truth was, I hadn't just hadn't yet met my drug of choice.

And my drug of choice turned out to be this behavior I've done as an escape behavior since childhood, which is read. But then once, you know, kind of discovered a certain type of romance, vampire novel at a certain critical period in my life, plus the applied technology of a Kindle, which meant I had immediate access 24-7, I was off and running.

And my drug of choice turned out to be this behavior I've done as an escape behavior since childhood, which is read. But then once, you know, kind of discovered a certain type of romance, vampire novel at a certain critical period in my life, plus the applied technology of a Kindle, which meant I had immediate access 24-7, I was off and running.

And yeah, it never got to the point where it was life-threatening, but it did get to the point where I was staying up till three in the morning every night reading. I was bringing romance novels to work and reading in the 10 minutes between patients.

And yeah, it never got to the point where it was life-threatening, but it did get to the point where I was staying up till three in the morning every night reading. I was bringing romance novels to work and reading in the 10 minutes between patients.

I was taking romance novels to neighborhood parties and going and finding a room during the party and reading romance novels rather than... You mean that's not normal?

I was taking romance novels to neighborhood parties and going and finding a room during the party and reading romance novels rather than... You mean that's not normal?

You know, what I argue for is a combination of trying to avoid using intoxicants in high volume too often. So it's not that I imagine that, you know, we're never going to use intoxicants. We wouldn't be human, and it's a deep part of our culture, and it can be neutral or even beneficial. But we have to really be careful about over-consuming intoxicants or consuming them too often.

You know, what I argue for is a combination of trying to avoid using intoxicants in high volume too often. So it's not that I imagine that, you know, we're never going to use intoxicants. We wouldn't be human, and it's a deep part of our culture, and it can be neutral or even beneficial. But we have to really be careful about over-consuming intoxicants or consuming them too often.

And I do think given this world of abundance that we have to now intentionally seek out things that are hard. Because our lives have become so easy, so convenient, so sedentary, the default is a state of consumption that's ultimately not good for our bodies or our minds.

And I do think given this world of abundance that we have to now intentionally seek out things that are hard. Because our lives have become so easy, so convenient, so sedentary, the default is a state of consumption that's ultimately not good for our bodies or our minds.