#rp26 speaker Anna Lembke: Dopamine Nation – Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence

Drugs, gambling, shopping, gaming, social media or smartphones: dopamine kicks await us everywhere. This is why everyone becomes more susceptible to compulsive overconsumption, says psychiatrist, professor and author Anna Lembke. Yet this relentless pursuit of pleasure mostly leads to its opposite: pain. In her book “Dopamine Nation”, she explores this neurological paradox of pleasure and pain by drawing on groundbreaking scientific discoveries and the lived experiences of her patients to finally answer two questions: What makes us prone to addictive behavior?  And how can we moderate compulsive overconsumption? 

Anna Lembke is professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. Accompanying work to her book “Dopamine Nation“  she recently published “The Official Dopamine Nation Workbook” – a practical guide to help you question your own consumption and develop new habits. In line with that, at #rp26, she’ll explain what happens in the brain as we repeatedly consume high-dopamine rewards and simultaneously introduce dopamine fasting as a practical, feasible, and effective way to reset reward pathways.