Dopamine Nation

Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence

By: Dr Anna Lembke

Narrated by: Dr Anna Lembke

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 audiobook is about pleasure. It's also about pain. Most importantly, it's about how to find the delicate balance between the two, and why now more than ever finding balance is essential. We're living in a time of unprecedented access to high-reward, high-dopamine stimuli: drugs, food, news, gambling, shopping, gaming, texting, sexting, Facebooking, Instagramming, YouTubing, tweeting.... The increased numbers, variety and potency are staggering. The smartphone is the modern-day hypodermic needle, delivering digital dopamine 24/7 for a wired generation. As such, we've all become vulnerable to compulsive overconsumption.

In Dopamine Nation, 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 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.

©2021 Anna Lembke (P)2021 Penguin Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Dr Anna Lembke is a whiz on why we get hooked on things - and how we can enjoy pleasurable things in healthier doses." (The Guardian)

Loved it

10/10 will listen over and over again. Highly recommend. Great reminder in this dopamine saturated world

Stunning book!

Wow, this was the most "addicted" I've been to listening and completing a book. What an insightful book about a world where we as a species want everything in abundance. Would definitely recommend listening to this book. I myself struggle with addiction. Got recommended this book on the Huberman podcast.

So relevant

Loved it. brilliantly narrated by author. relevant and helpful. a must listen enough said

Handling too much and Pain

Author tells us, how to manage life's too much pleasure and pain in healthy way.

An excellent deep dive into addiction and the roles dopamine plays

A compelling listen, with real life insight at times unnerving but excellent in assisting the storytelling. Amazingly valuable book. A must read or listen!

Essential

It has a lot of context in the first few chapters and binds conclusions together beautifully at the end.

The terminology used makes the information accessible to everyone and the narration is perfect. Thank you Dr Anna.

Recovery

This was a gripping listen from start to finish, and only took 3 days, I was surprised when it ended. As someone in recovery I learned a lot from it. I really appreciated her views on AA and the 12 steps, which unfortunately isn't typical of therapists. I also loved her bravery and openness in sharing her personal experiences, also very atypical!

Science based, entertaining and practical

I listened to this after hearing it recommend on the Huberman Lab podcast and it is great. Very human, and covers some big questions about life while also being highly relatable and very practical.

Fantastic read

Finnished in a day! Great insight, good mix between academic and practical! Definitely recommend to those looking to make changes in their outlook and behavior.

Insightful, comprehensive, yet easy to digest

The science behind the hormones and behaviours are well explained, and balanced well with the patient stories.

The impact of our behaviour, our choices, the society and today’s world on our lives, hormones and especially on how we feel is very cleverly and smoothly narrated.