Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke

Overall Great Book she provides an easy to understand picture of how addiction works. As well as a counter intuitive alternative to break addiction. In that we should run towards pain not from it.

We live in a world that has made it really easy to medicate our problems away, or feed any addiction we want. As she describes it we are like a cactus in a rainforest. Historically we had to work long hours to catch our prey, alcohol wasnt readily available. Theres also a lot more drugs on the market today than there were 50 years ago. More and more people are using drugs to medicate their problems. As I saw in the book most people who use drugs mean well. But over time if the relationship with the drug is abused (which is very easy to do), the negative side effects start to outweigh the pros. Drugs can be like cheat codes. Some one i know takes testosterone injections because they make him feel more manly and productive. In college I heard about people who would take adderall to help them concentrate before a test. Marijuana and Alcohol are used as a way to enjoy and relax. Oxycontin is used to treat pain. It would be cool to be able to concentrate more without using any will power or feel more manly when I need to, but as I saw in the book these cheat codes in the end. Do not fix the problem they just make the problem worse.

In the book there are many anecdotes from the authors personal practice about how the drugs in the end, ended up negatively impacting her patients. One grad student kept delaying graduation because weed was negatively affecting his effectiveness in school. Another patient's porn addiction was causing him trust and marital issues with his spouse. One patient compulsive adderral use was affecting his ability to function at work. And so many other stories like cocaine use and alchohol abuse. When reading these stories I am reminded of what a freind told me in college. Would your 5 year old self be proud of what you have become or what you are currently doing. As a christian using drugs is obviously a non negotiable. The bible instructs us to be sober minded, and put our trust only in god. Not some drug that promises to give us super powers.

Some interesting lessons from the book. In 2012 opioid overdoses killed more americans than gun or car accidents. Our body's dopamine system is like a balance, it wants to keep homeostasis. When we push to much on the pleausure side, the balances pushes on the opposite side(the pain side). The more we use that drug. The body eventually keeps it tipped to the pain side by default, even after coming down from the high. This explains why we need more of the drug to feel the same high. And in extreme cases induced hyperalgesia. As she mentioned one of the great paradoxes is that in the effort to avoid pain, people end up running toward it as a result of drug abuse. With the balance tipped towards the side of pain, people need the drug just to feel normal. In addition regular events that cause pleasure in most people( the smell of coffee in the morning, a nice sunset, time spent with loved ones) no longer feels as pleasurable. Dopamine receptors in addicts brains are less than that of a normal brain.