Dopamine Nation Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence by Anna Lembke

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Dopamine Nation Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence by Anna Lembke

Author: Anna Lembke

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.

[highlight color=”green”]Goodreads users review :[/highlight]

The fact that I compulsively read this over the weekend is an irony not lost on me ?. A fascinating book about the importance of balance between pleasure and pain, and how leaning too heavily on either side will lead to misery. Brenda Kavanagh                                                                                    rated it: 5.0 from 5.0

The most thought-provoking non-fiction I’ve read this year. By far. I’m offering my grown kids cash to carve out time to read it so that we can discuss. We are cacti in a rainforest. That will stick with me maybe forever. Catherine                                                                                                rated it: 5.0 from 5.0