logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2022
23m 33s

Too much pleasure can lead to addiction....

NPR
About this episode
Dr. Anna Lembke, psychiatrist and author, explains when too much pleasure-triggering dopamine upsets the delicate balance of pleasure and pain our brains need to feel "normal," which can lead to long-term pain and addiction. In today's dopamine-filled world, here's how keep that balance in check.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Up next
Jan 29
Clever kitchen hacks from ‘Bake Off’ judge Prue Leith
Chef and TV host Prue Leith may be an exacting judge with the bakers on The Great British Bake Off. But when it comes to the rest of us, she thinks we could all cut ourselves a bit of slack in the kitchen. That’s the idea behind her cookbook, Life’s Too Short to Stuff a Mushroom. ... Show More
16m 17s
Jan 27
How to save a life with CPR
Every year, more than 350,000 people go into cardiac arrest outside of a hospital setting in the United States. CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, can help double or triple survival rates. In this episode, we'll explain the basics of this emergency procedure so you can feel e ... Show More
19m 21s
Jan 26
How to interpret the new dietary guidelines
In January, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released new dietary guidelines calling for a significant reset in nutrition policy and "an end to the war on saturated fat." The guidelines come with a new food pyramid that emphasizes red meat, full-fat dairy and fats. In this ... Show More
17m 25s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2021
Do You Need to Take a Dopamine Fast?
tail spinning
51m 57s
Aug 2021
Understanding & Treating Addiction | Dr. Anna Lembke
This episode I interview Dr. Anna Lembke, M.D., Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Lembke is a psychiatrist expert in treating addictions of all kinds: drugs, alcohol, food, sex, video games, gambling, foo ... Show More
1h 59m
Aug 2021
Anna Lembke, MD on The Neuroscience of Addiction, Dopamine Fasting & The Opioid Crisis
The relentless pursuit of pleasure always leads to pain. As the world evolves from one of scarcity to overabundance, we increasingly orient our lives around the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain—an instinct that has produced a myriad of unprecedented types of addiction, a ... Show More
2h 24m
Nov 2017
Is It Possible To Break Free From The Chains of Addiction?
Our pleasure centers are intended to handle an intermittent dripping of dopamine, but what happens when we pour dopamine onto our pleasure centers and drench them? In the first episode of a series on addiction, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen explain the science behind our compulsi ... Show More
20m 36s
Dec 2021
Finding Balance In A Dopamine Overloaded World with Dr Anna Lembke #222
CAUTION: Includes themes of an adult nature. Do you think you have an addiction, or perhaps an unhealthy relationship with a certain behaviour? It may be a behaviour that you have tried to stop in the past that you keep returning back to despite your best intentions. Well, if yo ... Show More
1h 42m
Aug 2023
266 - Finding Balance: The Paradox of Pain and Pleasure
Do you think that life should be all pleasure and no pain? This week I want to talk about the balance between pain and pleasure and why if you want more pleasure, you may have to add more pain to your life.“If one oversteps the bounds of moderation, the greatest pleasures cease t ... Show More
14m 4s
Nov 2023
"Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence" by Anna Lembke
Today, 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 we can do about it. 
14m 47s
Feb 2023
Dr. Anna Lembke: Between Pleasure and Pain
Are you scrolling on your phone constantly? How badly do you crave that morning cup of coffee? Are you compulsively gambling, drinking, shopping, or even reading romance novels just to fall asleep? The potential for addiction is everywhere in our society, and on this episode of T ... Show More
1h 8m
Sep 2021
Controlling Your Dopamine For Motivation, Focus & Satisfaction
This episode serves as a sort of “Dopamine Masterclass”. I discuss the immensely powerful chemical that we all make in our brain and body: dopamine. I describe what it does and the neural circuits involved. I explain dopamine peaks and baselines, and the cell biology of dopamine ... Show More
2h 13m
May 2021
Ketamine Therapy with Dr. Mike Dow
Dr. Mike Dow is healing severe mental disorders with ketamine. The certified psychedelic ketamine-assisted psychotherapist advocates for the drug that is more effective than standard antidepressants. Today, Dr. Dow shares the history of ketamine and how it has been developed to h ... Show More
13m 33s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami