Name: Dopamine Nation
Rating: 3.614754098360656 (61 reviews)
ISBN: 9781524746728

Anna Lembke

"Resettling Your Brain in the Age of Cheap Pleasures"--

Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence

Dopamine Nation

Victoria

The paradox is that hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake, leads to anhedonia, which is the inability to enjoy pleasure of any kind.

Today, I’m finally okay with being a somewhat anxious, slightly depressed skeptic. I’m a person who needs friction, a challenge, something to work for or fight against. I won’t whittle myself down to fit the world. Should any of us?

Dr. Anna Lembke

“Brilliant… riveting, scary, cogent, and cleverly argued.”—Beth Macy, author of Dopesick This book is about pleasure. It’s also about pain. Most important, it’s about how to find the delicate balance between the two, and why now more than ever finding balance is essential. We’re living in a time of unprecedented access to high-reward, high-dopamine stimuli: drugs, food, news, gambling, shopping, gaming, texting, sexting, Facebooking, Instagramming, YouTubing, tweeting… The increased numbers, variety, and potency is staggering. The smartphone is the modern-day hypodermic needle, delivering digital dopamine 24/7 for a wired generation. As such we’ve all become vulnerable to compulsive overconsumption. In Dopamine Nation, Dr. Anna Lembke, psychiatrist and author, explores the exciting new scientific discoveries that explain why the relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain…and what to do about it. Condensing complex neuroscience into easy-to-understand metaphors, Lembke illustrates how finding contentment and connectedness means keeping dopamine in check. The lived experiences of her patients are the gripping fabric of her narrative. Their riveting stories of suffering and redemption give us all hope for managing our consumption and transforming our lives. In essence, Dopamine Nation shows that the secret to finding balance is combining the science of desire with the wisdom of recovery.

Ibrahim Seliman

I’m seriously disappointed with that book as I had much higher expectations out of it. While she shares the story of a particular patient she diverts the entire attention to focus on herself in such a melodramatic way with too much necessary details till you are bored out of your brain. In the introduction, she quoted a Christian theologian to back up her point, and that I don’t appreciate as I expected a work of neuroscience and psychotherapy. Like other reviewers said, the book is moralistic hogwash parading as science. 

very insightful. it has definitely the way i look at my own behaviour. it’s also very well laid out and easy to navigate.

jacq bridge

Comprehensive, study backed summary on negative impact of addiction to dopamine in the fast paced world of immediate gratification wrapped in easy to read stories / client experiences. Includes clear action steps on how to deal with addictions.

Adam Literak

Good book on how dopamine and addiction work.

Few practical tips on how to rebalance dopamine addiction 

Francesco d'Angela

Good book on how dopamine and addiction work.

Few practical tips on how to rebalance dopamine addiction 

If your answer is yes, let me introduce you to the realm of dopamine! In "Dopamine Nation," you will find a friendly and enlightening journey through the impacts of this neurotransmitter. You will discover how dopamine paints the colorful landscapes of our minds, influencing our thoughts, and feelings, and on the other hand how important to keep the balance.

Anna Lembke is an American psychiatrist who is the Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic at Stanford University. This book consists of the highlights and examples of her career with her patients. What she learned from her patients about pain/pleasure balance is presented to us in this book.

To summary: as cliche suggests "no pain no gain". The gain represents pleasure. The more we face our pains the more pleasure we feel, and also the more we feel pleasure the more pain we get. It is a matter of keeping the balance, and dopamine is the chief balance officer of this company.

In the book, you’ll find solid examples and tactics of how to keep control of your dopamine level and the things you should avoid. If you are more curious about why this balance is needed, I strongly recommend reading the book.

burak kantarci

Ever found yourself caught in a rollercoaster of emotions? Remember when something started off feeling fantastic, only to take an unexpected turn into disappointment or discomfort, eventually leading to happiness?

If your answer is yes, let me introduce you to the realm of dopamine! In "Dopamine Nation," you will find a friendly and enlightening journey through the impacts of this neurotransmitter. You will discover how dopamine paints the colorful landscapes of our minds, influencing our thoughts, and feelings, and on the other hand how important to keep the balance.

Anna Lembke is an American psychiatrist who is the Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic at Stanford University. This book consists of the highlights and examples of her career with her patients. What she learned from her patients about pain/pleasure balance is presented to us in this book.


To summary: as cliche suggests "no pain no gain". The gain represents pleasure. The more we face our pains the more pleasure we feel, and also the more we feel pleasure the more pain we get. It is a matter of keeping the balance, and dopamine is the chief balance officer of this company.

In the book, you’ll find solid examples and tactics of how to keep control of your dopamine level and the things you should avoid. If you are more curious about why this balance is needed, I strongly recommend reading the book.


This was an interesting and informative listen. The author shared the stories of some of her clients and how they overcame their struggles with excessive dopamine stimulation. It emphasized the importance of managing excessive dopamine and shared the significance of completing a dopamine cleanse/detox when things seem to be getting out of hand. I think the awareness of excessive dopamine is a good start, and then one can go about balancing, reducing or eliminating the excessive use of things. 

Nav 

*The New York Times bestseller* All around us people are looking at their phones too much, eating too much, drinking too much. Our world is addicted to fleeting distracting pleasures that get us nowhere. Dr Anna Lembke provides a clear way back to a balanced life. This book is about pleasure. It's also about pain. Most importantly, it's about how to find the delicate balance between the two, and why now more than ever finding balance is essential. We're living in a time of unprecedented access to high-reward, high-dopamine stimuli: drugs, food, news, gambling, shopping, gaming, texting, sexting, Facebooking, Instagramming, YouTubing, tweeting... The increased numbers, variety, and potency is staggering. The smartphone is the modern-day hypodermic needle, delivering digital dopamine 24/7 for a wired generation. As such we've all become vulnerable to compulsive overconsumption. In Dopamine Nation, Dr. Anna Lembke, psychiatrist and author, explores the exciting new scientific discoveries that explain why the relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain...and what to do about it. Condensing complex neuroscience into easy-to-understand metaphors, Lembke illustrates how finding contentment and connectedness means keeping dopamine in check. The lived experiences of her patients are the gripping fabric of her narrative. Their riveting stories of suffering and redemption give us all hope for managing our consumption and transforming our lives. In essence, Dopamine Nation shows that the secret to finding balance is combining the science of desire with the wisdom of recovery. 'Dr Anna Lembke is a whiz on why we get hooked on things - and how we can enjoy pleasurable things in healthier doses.' - The Guardian

Nelson Zagalo

The book "Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence" (2021) talks about addiction in general but is dedicated to the discussion of what has been known as "behavioural addiction", sometimes seen as less relevant than addiction to substances, the so-called drugs. Her approach begins with the title itself, which tells of a new era that Anna Lembke calls the "age of indulgence" and that has led society to accept behavioural deviations with addictions such as "food, news, gambling, shopping, digital games, texting, sexting, facebooking, instagramming, youtubing, tweeting" as something natural. Her approach is not merely critical, but constructive, essentially seeking to contribute to the awareness of the problem, exposing herself, and thus, albeit paradoxically, making the reading of the book almost compulsive!

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O livro "Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence" (2021) fala-nos do vício em geral, mas dedica-se à discussão do que tem vindo a ser discutido como "vício comportamental", visto por vezes como menos relevante que o vício em substâncias, as chamadas drogas. A abordagem realizada começa pelo próprio título que dá conta de uma nova era que Anna Lembke designa por "idade da indulgência" e que tem conduzido a própria sociedade aceitar desvios comportamentais com vícios como "comida, notícias, jogos de azar, compras, jogos digitais, mensagens de texto, sexting, facebooking, instagramming, youtubing, tweeting" como algo natural. A sua abordagem não é meramente crítica, mas construtiva, procurando essencialmente contribuir para a tomada de consciência do problema, expondo-se a si mesma, e desse modo, ainda que paradoxalmente, tornando a própria leitura do livro quase compulsiva!
...
... continuar a ler no blog, "Nação de Dopamina", 30 outubro 2021, https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.com...

Nadine 

I picked this up after hearing an interview with the author.
She takes us through the ideas of dopamine as a neurologist-transmitter & its effects through wide ranging stories of patients, public personas and events. 

There’s a lot of interesting food for thought - including the institutions and rituals that grow both around addiction and the prevention or attempts at curing it. The concept of positive shame was a new one for me but makes a lot of sense.

Manohar

** spoiler alert **
           Learned a lot of stuff about the neuroscience aspect of addictive behaviors.
I previously heard about some of these topics on the Huberman Lab podcast. This book served as an intro to some basic concepts of neuroscience.
Some patient case studies were uncomfortable to read.
Overall, it was an illuminating read but could have been better.

Dopamine Nation Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence

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