Dopamine Nation

Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence

By: Dr. Anna Lembke

Narrated by: Dr. Anna Lembke

Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2021 Dr. Anna Lembke (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Anna Lembke deeply understands an experience I hear about often in the therapy room at the nexus between our modern addictions and our primal brains. Her stories of guiding people to find a healthy balance between pleasure and pain have the power to transform your life.” (Lori Gottlieb, “Dear Therapist” columnist at The Atlantic, New York Times best-selling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone)

“Just when you thought you knew all you needed to know about the addiction crisis, along comes Dr. Anna Lembke with her second brilliant book on the topic—this one not about a drug but about the most powerful chemical of all: the dopamine that rules the pain and pleasure centers of our minds. In an era of overconsumption and instant gratification, Dopamine Nation explains the personal and societal price of being ruled by the next fix—and how to manage it. No matter what you might find yourself over-indulging in—from the internet to food to work to sex—you’ll find this book riveting, scary, cogent, and cleverly argued. Lembke weaves patient stories with research, in a voice that’s as empathetic as it is clear-eyed.” (Beth Macy, author of Washington Post Best Book of the Year, New York Times Notable Book of 2018, and best seller Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America)

“We all desire a break from our routines and those parts of life that upset us. What if, instead of trying to escape these things, we learn to turn toward them, to reach a peaceful harmony with our selves and the people we share our lives with? Lembke has written a book that radically changes the way we think about mental illness, pleasure, pain, reward, and stress. Turn toward it. You’ll be happy you did.” (Daniel Levitin, New York Times best-selling author of The Organized Mind and Successful Aging)

"Explore[s] the dichotomy between seeking a readily accessible hit of dopamine—from our phones, gambling, or a bag of Fritos—and maintaining healthy, productive, stable lives.” (The New York Times, Inside the Best-Seller List)

Unbelievably Candid — A Great Book

I heard about this book on Dr. Andrew Huberman’s podcast last week. I was eager to read the book after Dr. Huberman’s conversation with Dr. Lembke. The book absolutely exceeded my expectations. For starters, the book is a quick read and/or listen— I did a bit of both on this one. Dopamine Nation is full of valuable scientific and medical content (at least for a layperson), which is explained in a clear and concise manner. Valuable context is also given with the use of various real world examples. The author does an outstanding job of blending her personal experiences as a physician with the overwhelming, and in some cases unimaginable, trials of her patients. The author’s confessions about her personal failings, mistakes, feelings, and challenges are incredibly forthcoming and utterly refreshing. To see such an accomplished and credentialed person, who is an active professional in the medical field and academia, candidly share her experiences for the benefit of readers is almost unheard of lately. Few in such esteemed positions would have the courage to be so vulnerable. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in health and wellness—particularly brain health.

Wow! Great book

Fantastic! Great book from start to finish. It was both interesting and also practical. Highly recommend for anyone who wants to change any addictive habit/behavior. I already started by deleting several apps on my phone.

This book saves lives

Are you struggling with addiction? Lacking human connection? Have you lost your sense of self? Dr. Lembke masterfully guides the reader through the perils of addiction and subsequent recovery from addiction by sharing stories of her patients. She also provides a unique perspective using her own struggles, as well as scientific data to help the reader understand the fundamental root causes of addiction and other related mental illnesses. This truly is a book of hope for people who struggle with addiction. It has forever changed my perspective on addiction and provided me the necessary tools to better myself and move forward.

Addiction is Everywhere

The dopaminergic reward system was placed within us by evolution so we can feel rewarded for taking actions that may enhance our chances of survival. Unfortunately, especially in our time, that system is subject to being highjacked by substances and behaviors. The producers and dealers of substances, foods, social media engineers, advertisers, politicians and more know this all too well, sometimes instinctively, sometimes in great scientific detail. I see us as living in a hyper-consumer slave culture, both willingly and unwillingly manipulated by forces acting out of self-interest, to our great detriment. Dr. Lembke has written an excellent primer on this phenomenon and is doing great work to educate us so that we might save ourselves from our own illusions and delusions. She is a voice well worth listening to.

A must read in this futuristic world

This book unveils the circuits of how the brain works giving examples through previous patient’s stories in an easy to digest but also extremely elaborate and informative way.

Great book.

On my list of life changing books

Some of the stories were hard to hear but so worth reading and learning

Excellent Book on the Topic of Dopamine

I learned things from this book that I have immediately implemented into my life and am already benefitting from. I am grateful I listened to this entire book and not just a summary of it on my book summary app. I plane to relisten once a year.

Enjoyed It Very Much

I listened to the audio version while driving, getting ready, or cleaning and it kept my attention from beginning to end. This book made it to my collection and I know I will be listening to it again and again. Thank you, Anna.

Amazing Book - Audible Stopped Playing?

Amazing book. Anyone else have Audible stop playing it? Love the message and would certainly recommend, even if you are not an addict.

Why do we get addicted?

I hope to apply some ideas from this book into my own life. The doc tells in the beginning to brace yourself for her patient's experiences but wow. I am thankful for all that contributed and Dr.Lembke for putting the information together