Title: Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence
Author: Anna Lembke, MD – Stanford University psychiatrist, chief of addiction medicine, and leading researcher on dopamine dysregulation. Featured in Netflix’s The Social Dilemma.
Key Insights:
This groundbreaking book exposes how modern pleasure overload hijacks our brains:
The Dopamine Trap:
Why binge-scrolling/shopping feels like cocaine
How "pain-pleasure balance" gets disrupted (48-hour "dopamine fast" protocol)
Addiction Redefined:
Not just drugs—social media, porn, gaming, even workout obsessions
The "pleasure-pain pendulum" effect (why indulgence breeds misery)
Rebalancing Tools:
Self-binding: Digital detox tricks (e.g., phone time-lock safes)
Radical Honesty: Breaking addiction’s shame cycle