Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence

Written by Dr. Anna Lembke

Narrated by Dr. Anna Lembke

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES and LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER
“Brilliant . . . riveting, scary, cogent, and cleverly argued.”—Beth Macy, author of Dopesick,
as heard on Fresh Air

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Audio
• Release date: Aug 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9780593409220

Reviews for Dopamine Nation

[Braeden Walker · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Book does not me past chapter 3. Please fix it seems great

[pepperwings · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I wanted more science and understanding from this book than I got, but there are still some interesting and useful insights.

[libraryhead · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well written and engaging, but the overall argument is not entirely convincing. Kind of goes off track toward the end.

[akblanchard_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm not a neurologist or psychiatrist and cannot comment on the science behind Dr. Anna Lembke's interpretation of the dopamine-fueled pleasure/pain balance, but I can make a few points regarding her book, Dopamine Nation. For one thing, it is a quick read and gives an interesting overview about how the actions of a particular neurotransmitter play a crucial role in our mental states. I agree with her that our modern world is a place of "overwhelming abundance" that is at odds with our brains' innate "scarcity" paradigm.

But on the other hand, there are some off-putting things about this book as well. It relies heavily on anecdotes from Dr. Lembke's practice as well as old studies with lab rats and mice. Her attitude towards sexuality combines prudery with fascination. For example, in the opening chapter, she describes in more detail than necessary a certain patient's homemade devices for self-pleasuring. I think Dr. L's fixation on "Jacob's" machines reveals more about her than it does her patient.

Even though she's a trained psychiatrist, she exhibits a disdainful attitude toward psychiatric drugs, despite their life-saving track record. She strongly supports an Alcoholics Anonymous-style approach to treating addictions of all kinds, even though that approach has been shown to be flawed. She advocates "dopamine fasts," although such "fasts" have not been shown to be effective.

In short, I'm sure there are better books out there on the topic of dopamine.

[thewestwing-864351 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Interesting book but not as unique as I thought it would be. I picked it up as I had seen that the author talks about her “addiction” to romance novels. This is an “addiction” I share so was intrigued to see what she had to say. Overall I felt the book was more about long term “hard” addictions like drugs and alcohol rather than the day to day addictions we all find ourselves with like phone use etc. The book seemed kinda dated with very little new information about addiction. Also addiction to romance novels is not a real thing.

[ekerstein-986148 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The book is told through anecdotes and doesn't heavily emphasize the science or current research. Although some of the concept names were new to me, like self-binding, I didn't feel like I learned much from this book.