Dopamine Nation

I learned so much, gained new perspectives, and enjoyed every moment of it. I loved the research & literature within.

Dr. Anna Lembke uses deeply personal and real patient experiences to illustrate in vivid language the current state of our dopamine addiction. Like Oliver Sacks, she shows us the world of our patients in a way we can easily see ourselves caught up in. Unlike Sacks, Lembke’s patients suffer from something we all most certainly fight against daily. The allure of the easy dopamine fix. Modernity has given us a lot of conveniences. A lot of them make our lives more comfortable, efficient, and productive. Modernity has also given us the convenience of easy consumption of, well, everything. That ease of access allows us to feed our dopamine need without end. What’s worse is that capitalism is the nitro injection that takes overconsumption to epic levels. We are constantly seeking an escape in numerous forms. The epidemic of dopamine addiction has been exasperated by a new entry. Since the internet was introduced, digital dopamine fixes have been in the palm of our hands. What is worse is that some of the smartest among us are being employed to keep us in the grips of digital addiction instead of solving things cancer. All of this reminds me of Blaise Pascal’s observation, "All human evil comes from a single cause: man's inability to sit still in a room." Lembke combines the science of dopamine addiction with the kind of anecdotes and nomenclature that we can all understand. You can’t leave this without seeing where the pull of a dopamine fix creeps into every corner of your own life. Maybe we all need a little more boredom and detoxing on a regular basis. Lembke recommends a step further. Actively leaning into the boredom and pain to build the muscles that have atrophied away in our overindulgent culture.

I can easily relate to the author. It gave me an insight to why my philosophy in life until I read it was a path towards increasing pain.

The best part might have been the science around dopamine, but it is generalized and made more confusing with the metaphors about gremlins. There’s heavy reliance on the author’s dull personal background to make claims, rather than using real research. Writing style is poor and often uses rhetorical questions. Not a lot to learn from this book.

I both loved and struggled with this book: a sign of a rich text. Lembke does oversimplify some neuroscience to make her points, which is frustrating for the curious. BUT for anyone struggling with addiction or just looking for greater balance in life, there are undoubtedly many lessons in this book. Reading it will probably make you uncomfortable, as it did me, but I hope it will also bring you the same sense of hope I now feel armed with the knowledge within.

I highly recommend this book. From the stories told to the statistics used and the tools provided—this book is a must read in the age of mass consumption.

Attention grabbing stories. A good mix of science, stats and story telling. A ready worthy of your time.

So much research and personal experience went into this book. It’s truly changed my perspective on life

Great book with many great story examples. It’s an easy read with great information

The book is very well written with loads of examples and stories of people who have faced different kinds of addictions. It provides you actionable things to inculcate in your life and lead a better life. Even if you’re addicted to anything small, this book is worth the read as it explains a lot of processes of how pleasure and pain work in our complex human brain.