Unlocking Dopamine to Break Addictions and Flourish in Life - Dr Anna Lembke

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Dr Anna Lembke is a Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University, a New York Times Bestselling Author, addiction expert, and clinician. There are few people on the planet who know more about dopamine and its role in addiction than Dr Lembke, so it was a real honour to get to sit down and have this conversation with her. I’m growing convinced that understanding how dopamine works in the brain and body is the key not only to breaking addictions, but also to long term flourishing in life, and in this interview, Anna clearly explains why.
Expect to learn:
- Why rates of depression and anxiety are rising rapidly in affluent societies
- Why it’s vital for any mental health professional to understand how dopamine works in the brain
- Dr Lembke’s own battle with addiction and what we can learn from it
- Anna’s science-based strategies for breaking addictions
- The pain/pleasure balance and the role this plays in mental health and wellbeing.
And more.
You can learn more about Anna’s work at www.annalembke.com.
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This session was recorded as part of the Holistic Psychotherapy Summit on January 2023. To access the full conference package, as well as supporting materials, quizzes, and certification, please visit: holisticpsychotherapysummit.com
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Dr Anna Lembke is a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. A clinician scholar, she has published more than a hundred peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and commentaries. She sits on the board of several state and national addiction-focused organizations, has testified before various committees in the United States House of Representatives and Senate, keeps an active speaking calendar, and maintains a thriving clinical practice.
In 2016, she published Drug Dealer, MD - How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, and Why It’s So Hard to Stop (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016), which was highlighted in the New York Times as one of the top five books to read to understand the opioid epidemic (Zuger, 2018). Dr. Lembke recently appeared on the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, an unvarnished look at the impact of social media on our lives.
Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence (Dutton/Penguin Random House, August 2021), an instant New York Times Bestseller, explores how to moderate compulsive overconsumption in a dopamine-overloaded world.
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Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:27 - Dopamine Nation
07:08 - Dopamine's Impact on Mental Well-being
12:27 - Understanding Behavioral Addictions
19:10 - Four Cs: Guide to Addressing Addiction
22:41 - Pleasure to Balance
37:38 - Motivation Redefined
46:14 - Therapeutic Journey Through Dopamine
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Interview Links:
Dr Lembke's website: www.annalembke.com
Dr Lembke's books: amzn.to/47nIg8g
3 Books Dr Lembke Recommends Every Therapist Should Read:
Thoughts without a Thinker - Mark Epstein: amzn.to/3a50Ucw
The Big Book of AA: amzn.to/3AfoU7z
Dying Unto Life - Arthur C. McGill: amzn.to/3OP4mrb

[@poetlaureate7334]

Her voice is so soothing listening to it while quitting bad habits.

[@geraldinefinn7396]

Wonderful, wonderful! So glad to have come across this amazing doctor. At last, clear and comprehensive explanation of addiction - it has given me understanding of the power and destructive effects of my addiction to sugar and fats. I relate to every word. Thank you 🙏

[@5hydroxyT]

Dr Lembke's approach to addiction marks a major change from of old days of AA and 12 step programs. We are starting to see that we are all affected by addiction in some way, and to be free we need to loosen the grips these habits have on us...this is how we will change modern society.

[@GregtheGrey6969]

Hopefully...well said

[@Liberty-rn4wy]

This is fascinating. I personally am outside a lot. I have struggled with addiction issues (like all of us) but I am outside a lot due to my work, including in cold and even harsh and unpleasant conditions, living like my ancestors did every day with some pain. Watching this I realize how critical this is to break through the addiction. I think if you put me in a world where I didn't have to go somewhere and be outside with some pain I probably would be dead.

[@jesseshaver2262]

Anne Lemke is great, her books is eye opening

[@Digital_Ai_Neuro_Artist]

Very Awesome Explanations. But the Questions are so far away from that topic.

[@elowindcoaching]

It's certainly true that the mind craves dopamine and pleasure and that after highs, we can't help than have lows. As is said in one comment, ups and dows are part of life but being aware and making choices that cultivate balance is possible and this is what is thaugt by ancient wisdoms such as Ayurveda.

[@elowindcoaching]

Yoga, for instance, activates the parasympathetic nervous system which induces relaxation.

[@neveragain733]

The cell phone is a 1 stop shop for any addiction in the world. I ended a ltr with a girl that had multiple addictions.

[@konsumekel]

i'm following her and the topic for quite a while but can't fully grasp it. whouldn't an ice bath be counter productive in case one is doing a "dopamine fast"?

[@davidciesluk2433]

As someone who has experienced full blown opiate withdrawal, I have to just shake my head. This lady convinced me of one thing only; she does not understand fully the physical nature of narcotic withdrawal. What turns me completely away from her is how she can even compare the absolute horror of opiate withdrawal to the reading of fucking romance novels. I really have to stop now because my blood is up.

[@NewLife-qj9mx]

Ive been trying to understand the mechanism/s at work when a person enjoys pain - IE a masochist

[@GregtheGrey6969]

Ask a cutter

[@neveragain733]

Its the opposit balance. The rush of pain makes our natural pleasure/pain chemicals kick in.

[@FindAReason-mi7go]

She says that in the last 200 years people have become more prone to an opiated-like state that is balanced by dopamine deficiency. Religion in the past was addictive along with many other things like persecution. People have always been unhappy. How many smiles do you see in Renaissance paintings? Life is uncertain. Fear is always present in life. Fear breeds unhappiness. Multicultural tribalism is now a huge source of fear in Western societies.

[@SS-qk8oc]

Loneliness, isolation, fragmentation. Decline of family, faith, country, economy. It’s not “social media” or “drug addiction” or “mental illness”.

[@Baresark]

Spot on you can't move away from everything that made civilization and expect it to end well.

[@pch5938]

Sleep on the floor, cold showers in the mornings. No process foods, no sugar, get rid of your tv. Am i missing something?

[@bronxcheer1484]

Processed

[@VictorColli]

You're missing the part where you also dopamine fast from addictions that are specific to you

[@FindAReason-mi7go]

What clinical studies have been done to affirm her ideas? Freud was a crock of chicanery too. The fact that the mind emotionally equalizes itself was known 30 years ago when I studied psychology. This woman has a gimmick to try and sell some pulped trees.

[@NewLife-qj9mx]

"Pulped trees" - never heard that before

[@HumanBodyMaintenance]

You’re a whack troll. She has helped me understand my addiction and live a better life. She is a professor, author, and doctor. What are your credentials? KZbin commentator 😂

[@StdsRbop1]

The idea that substance / behavioral use tricks the brains reward system into repeating the same behavior is a core aspect of addiction and supported by pretty much every study out there. Everything she talks about flows form that.

[@Per_se]

Very narrow view

[@breadcrumbtv]

Please expand ?

[@mallorga1965]

She talks as if trying not to wake up someone beside her. Find that quite annoying.