Know Thyself

E125 - Dr. Anna Lembke: Addiction To Dopamine Enslaves Us, Reclaim Your Mind & Life

03 Dec 2024

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In a world of overindulgence, from drugs, food, news, and social media, Dr. Anna Lembke reveals the science that explains why the relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain... and what to do about it. She explains how addiction works in the brain and how this plays out on an individual level from the micro decisions we make every single day to the macro. She shares the proven methods to escaping this cycle of suffering and how by intentionally choosing pain through healthy practices like cold plunges, exercise, and meditation, we can reset our dopamine levels in our brain. She explores the concept of delayed gratification as defined by "The Marshmallow Experiment" which discovered a correlation between success in life and ability to delay gratification. This episode is full or practical takeaways for anyone looking to better understand their brain and relationship to dopamine/addiction.André's Book Recommendations: https://www.knowthyself.one/books___________0:00 Intro 2:27 Defining Addiction and Dopamine 8:25 How Pleasure & Pain Work in the Brain14:01 Our Biology Dooms Us in the Modern World16:32 The Plenty Paradox: Convenience is Killing Us22:05 Cold Plunges, Exercise, & Mediation: Healthy 'Pain' that Balances Our Dopamine25:09 Resetting through Vipassana & Darkness Retreats34:58 How She Started Doing This Work37:43 Spectrum of Addiction: From the Intense to the Subtle41:30 Becoming Resilient to Addiction44:23 Breaking the Cycle of Shame and Guilt50:06 Shedding an Addiction to Your Identity54:45 The Pain That’s Good For You56:58 4 Things that Determine Addiction Risk1:00:43 Danger of Social Media Addiction1:08:27 Strategies for Overcoming Compulsive Behaviors1:11:52 How Our Morning Sets Us Up For Success (or failure!)1:13:20 Delayed Gratification: The Marshmallow Experiment1:18:48 Practices to Change Negative Behaviors1:24:54 Your Personal Growth Changes the World1:27:22 The Beauty that Hides in Pain1:30:38 Conclusion___________Dr. Anna Lembke received her undergraduate degree in Humanities from Yale University and her medical degree from Stanford University. She is currently Professor and Medical Director of Addiction Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine. She is also Program Director of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Fellowship, Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic, and a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the American Board of Addiction Medicine.Dr. Lembke appeared in the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, an unvarnished look at the impact of social media on our lives.Her latest book, "Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence" (Dutton/Penguin Random House, August 2021) was an instant New York Times and Los Angeles Times bestseller and has been translated into 30 languages. It combines the neuroscience of addiction with the wisdom of recovery to explore the problem of compulsive overconsumption in a dopamine-overloaded world.Website: https://www.annalembke.comBook "Dopamine Nation": https://a.co/d/ccpgrk4Dopamine Nation Workbook: https://a.co/d/6vADILi___________Know ThyselfInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/knowthyself/Website: https://www.knowthyself.oneClips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ4wglCWTJeWQC0exBalgKgListen to all episodes on Audio: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4FSiemtvZrWesGtO2MqTZ4?si=d389c8dee8fa4026Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/know-thyself/id1633725927André DuqumInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreduqum/

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Know Thyself

E125 - Dr. Anna Lembke: Addiction To Dopamine Enslaves Us, Reclaim Your Mind & Life

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet

Other episodes from Know Thyself

E183 - Nir Eyal: How Your Beliefs Shape What You See (And Hold You Back)

E180 - David Ghiyam: The Universal Laws of Creating Prosperity & Wholeness in Life

E179 - Reggie Watts: The Absurdity of Being a Human Being

E178 - Jesse Michels: What UFO Sightings Reveal About Power, Technology, and the Unknown | Jesse Michels

E177 - Key Insights to Enter 2026 With Clarity, Focus, and Direction

E147 - Zach Bush: 6 Powerful Lessons Nature Teaches Us About Being Human

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