#245 Dr. Anna Lembke: Dopamine, Addiction & Freedom

Kicking off our addiction series is Dr. Anna Lembke: a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University and one of the world's leading experts on dopamine.    Over the last few years, Anna has appeared in Netflix documentaries like The Social Dilemma and podcasts like The Rich Roll Podcast, The Huberman Lab and The Joe Rogan Experience.   Her new book, Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence was an instant New York Times bestseller and explores how to moderate compulsive overconsumption in a dopamine-overloaded world.   In this conversation we cover: - What dopamine actually is - How it governs our lives - Why the pursuit of pleasure is actually the pursuit of pain - How a dopamine fast can help reset our brains - And practical tools for overcoming addiction   This conversation is probably the most important episode I've shared in my podcasting journey so far (and is probably the one where you will hear me fangirling the most!)   Anna's work has made a profound impact on my life in recent months and I'm both incredibly honoured and excited to share some of it with you today.   — Matt    https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/anna-lembke-dopamine-nation