Today, I interview best-selling author, Dr. Anna Lembke, on her latest book, Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence. Dr. Lembke carefully maps out the neuroscience, and leads us to an inescapable and uncomfortable conclusion: we have met the enemy, and the enemy is us. Dopamine is merely the messenger.
More often than not, we are the architects of our own addictions, pain, and unhappiness through our endless, compulsive overconsumption of highly potent stimuli like junk food, cannabis, internet porn, smartphones, social media, and the usual suspects of drugs and alcohol. We sacrifice a meaningful and satisfying life well-lived for the short-term dopamine rush that always leaves us wanting more.
With persistent severe brain fog two weeks out from first symptoms, Frank must undergo extensive cognitive testing to rule out a structural brain injury.
Judgment Day arrives for Frank. Maryam gets her test results back.