Janet
Janet
Why we get Addicted with Dr Anna Lembke
Why we get Addicted with Dr Anna Lembke
Why we get Addicted with Dr Anna Lembke
Saturday 25th November 2023
Join Dr. Anna Lembke on Tribe Sober as she explains dopamine's role in addiction and shares strategies for recovery and finding balance.
54 minutes
Inspiring
Informative
Empowering
Hopeful
Supportive
About this podcast
Author:
Janet
Overview:
Categories:
Sobriety Toolkit
Sexual Empowerment & Identity
Creative Recovery Journeys
Empowering Recovery Journeys
Understanding Addiction & Recovery
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Episodes:
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Get the buttons here!Dr. Anna Lembke on Dopamine, Addiction, and the Path to Recovery
Episode Overview
- Dr. Anna Lembke defines dopamine and its crucial role in addiction, providing valuable insights into the interconnected processing of pleasure and pain in the brain.
- She emphasizes the importance of abstaining, maintaining, and seeking out pain as a way to reset healthy reward pathways and restore baseline levels of dopamine firing.
- Dr. Lembke discusses the significance of engaging in 'hard things' and pressing on the pain side of the balance to indirectly increase dopamine levels and find balance in a world of abundance.
- The episode addresses the importance of genuine connections in recovery communities, the early sobriety blues, and finding meaning in life while living an alcohol-free lifestyle.
- Dr. Lembke offers valuable advice and insights for individuals navigating addiction and recovery, providing a holistic understanding of the complex dynamics at play in the human brain and the journey to sobriety.
It can't just be about what we're giving up. It has to be about what we're moving toward. And that's why I really like the kind of dopamine fast as a 30-day experiment.
Ever wondered why we get addicted? In this episode of Tribe Sober, Janet Gourand sits down with Dr. Anna Lembke, a psychiatry professor at Stanford and the author of 'Dopamine Nation'. Dr. Lembke breaks down dopamine, the brain's key player in pleasure, reward, and motivation, and how it ties into addiction.
She paints a vivid picture of how our brains juggle pleasure and pain like a seesaw, explaining why repeated exposure to alcohol can lead to addiction—a state she describes as a chronic dopamine deficit. Dr. Lembke shares three pivotal rules about this pleasure-pain balance: the brain's quest for homeostasis, how repeated alcohol use disrupts this balance, and why even a single exposure can trigger relapse in someone who’s crossed into dependence. Her advice for quitting?
Start with abstinence, embrace challenges, and understand that seeking out pain can actually help reset your brain's reward system. But it’s not just about brain chemistry. Dr. Lembke emphasizes the power of genuine connections in recovery communities. These relationships not only release dopamine but also oxytocin, fostering a sense of belonging and support crucial for sobriety. She touches on the 'early sobriety blues' and the necessity of finding meaning in an alcohol-free life.
Packed with practical advice and deep insights, this episode offers a holistic look at addiction and recovery. Whether you're on your own journey or supporting someone else, Dr. Lembke's wisdom provides a roadmap to understanding and overcoming addiction.