Dopamine Nation Why our Addiction to Pleasure is Causing us Pain

All around us people are looking at their phones too much, eating too much, drinking too much. Our world is addicted to fleeting distracting pleasures that get us nowhere. Dr. Anna Lembke provides a clear way back to a balanced life.

This book is about pleasure and pain: how to find the delicate balance between the two, and why finding balance is more essential than ever. We live in a time of unprecedented access to high-reward, high-dopamine stimuli: drugs, food, news, gambling, shopping, gaming, messaging, sexting, tweeting... The smartphone is the modern-day hypodermic needle, delivering digital dopamine 24/7 for a wired generation. We've all become vulnerable to compulsive overconsumption.

In Dopamine Nation, psychiatrist Dr. Anna Lembke 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.

'Her stories have the power to transform your life' Lori Gottlieb, bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

'Radically changes the way we think about mental illness, pleasure, pain, reward and stress' Daniel Levitin, bestselling author of The Organized Mind

THE NEW YORK TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

We are a wired generation. In these fast-paced times we are constantly bombarded by high-reward, high-dopamine stimuli. From texting to social media, food to drugs, gambling to shopping, we have become addicted to fleeting and distracting pleasures that are making us sick.

In Dopamine Nation, psychiatrist and bestselling author Dr Anna Lembke reveals why our relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain and what we can do about it. Bringing together cutting-edge neuroscience with the gripping real life experiences from her clinical practice, Lembke explores how contentment and connectedness are essential tools in keeping dopamine in check. This is an essential book for anyone wanting to find a balance for a happier life.