Dopamine Nation

What do you picture when you hear the word addict? Is it a sweaty, skinny junkie handing over a crumpled bill in exchange for a bag of white powder? Or is it a suburban mom frantically uncorking a bottle of rosé? How about a man pulling an all-nighter to watch pornography? Or a college sophomore who can’t put down her smartphone long enough to study? 

Broadly speaking, addiction is the sustained, compulsive use of a substance or behavior – such as gambling, sex, or video games – even though it causes harm to you and those around you. And all of the examples mentioned earlier are addicts. 

Probably none of that sounds that shocking since all of us are struggling with one bad habit or another. In fact, Anna Lembke, the author, readily admits that she was an addict too – hooked on derivative romance novels like Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey – compulsively reading them on her Kindle in between sessions with patients. 

The key message here is: In an age of compulsive overconsumption, we’ve all basically become pleasure addicts. 

Whether our drug of choice is video games, page-turners, or cocaine, a major risk factor for addiction is easy access. For instance, the opioid epidemic currently ravaging the United States was caused in large part by the over-prescribing of pain medication in the early 2000s. 

And even though the vast supply of drugs is more potent than ever – opioids tend to be pharmaceutical grade and marijuana is almost ten times stronger than it was in the 60s – narcotics are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to our dopamine economy. For instance, consider that not only are our foods more addictive – loaded with vast amounts of sugar and fat – but with its countless clicks and endless scroll, so is our technology. 

The rates of addiction are rising; and globally, 70% of deaths are caused by risk factors such as smoking, obesity, and lack of exercise. While the poor suffer from lack of meaningful work and healthy opportunities, they have a plentiful supply of dopamine-inducing escape. Similarly, among undereducated middle-aged white Americans, overdose, suicide, and alcohol-related liver disease are the top three causes of death. 

In the next blink, you’ll learn how the consequence of living to seek pleasure has left us in a lot more pain.