![]() "And intimacy is an incredibly valuable and potent source of dopamine," she says. She explains that even though we're often terrified of being radically honest with others because we think they'll go running, the opposite actually happens: radical honesty promotes intimacy. In her work treating people with addiction, Lembke says she sees the most success in long-term recovery when people can't lie. Cutting out reality TV from your life would be categorical binding.įor long-term change, radical honesty and community are key Categorical binding: This means limiting yourself from certain types of "substances" – maybe reality TV sucks you in beyond your control, but you can consume a sitcom in moderation.This could also look like intermittent fasting for someone who has a food addiction, or a time limit control on social media apps. Chronological or time-related binding: The 30-day fast from your addictive behaviors counts as chronological or time-related binding.For someone who's addicted to video games, that could mean a separate laptop for work and one for play. That could mean just removing the addictive substance from your home and spaces. Physical self-binding: Create actual distance between you and your addiction.Employing these strategies can help you enjoy some version of that behavior without letting it take over. ![]() There are three ways to "bind" yourself from – or place limits on – the behavior to which you're addicted. Place obstacles between you and your addictive behaviors Going cold turkey can actually cause life-threatening withdrawal, and should be done under the care of a professional. ![]() There is one caveat: this is not the approach one should take for highly addictive substances like drugs and alcohol. But she says to stick with it – after about two weeks, the pleasure-pain see-saw in your brain will start to restore to its natural balance and you'll be able to enjoy more modest rewards, like just one scoop of ice cream or just one episode of a TV show. Lembke warns that you'll probably feel a lot worse before you start feeling better. And to restore our sanity, collectively we must rethink how to navigate a dopamine overloaded world. Ultimately, Lembke says, this is a universal problem – not one limited to those of us struggling with the disease of addiction – that has come with living in modern life. And when we're not using, we're experiencing the universal symptoms of withdrawal from any addictive substance, which are anxiety, irritability, insomnia, dysphoria and craving." "Now, our drug of choice doesn't even get us high. "We're not able to take joy in more modest rewards," Lembke says. That's called a "dopamine deficit state," and the cycle that leads us there can actually lead to depression, anxiety, irritability and insomnia. ![]() When we're repeatedly exposed to our pleasure-producing stimuli, our brains adjust and, eventually, we need more and more just to feel "normal," or not in pain. In short, Lembke says, almost every behavior has become "drugified." It doesn't last very long and it's followed by pain so that immediately we're searching again," she explains.īut, in modern life, we live in a world of abundance rather than scarcity, and Lembke says our brains weren't evolved for the "fire hose of dopamine" of sugar, social media, TV, sex, drugs or any number of dopamine-triggering stimuli so easily available. "It's really an ingenious method to make sure that no matter what we do, that's pleasurable. Lembke says this balancing see-saw of pleasure and pain made sense in the time of early humans, when we had to constantly search for our basic needs – food, water, shelter. Anna Lembke, a Stanford Medical School psychiatrist, researcher and author of the new book, Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence.Ī dopamine hit brings about pleasure, and then is quickly followed by pain, or a come-down, in order to keep us motivated. "It may be even more important for motivation than for actual pleasure," says Dr. Then we need more on repeated use, just to feel a the marginal pleasure boost – and, eventually, just to feel "normal."īe it sugar, social media or sex, the response in our brain is the same: It produces the "feel-good" neurochemical called dopamine, which brings on feelings of pleasure and motivation. When we're repeatedly exposed to pleasure-producing stimuli - social media, sugar, alcohol or any number of readily-available substances - our bodies adjust.
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