Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence | 
pickTW: NSFW anecdotes that include topics such as addiction (in many forms), harmful behavior, depression, and suicidal tendencies. Nonetheless I think everyone who is able should read this. Some of it seemed like common sense (although apparently, not so common) but a lot of it included concepts I never even considered. In an increasingly modern world where we give into instant gratification and overconsumption with ease… (continued in comments ⬇️)
jen_the_scribe …we definitely all need to relearn (or learn anew for younger generations) how to reset our pleasure/pain balance (homeostasis). Too much dopamine creates symptoms that mirror mental illness and then we either load up on medications or stimulants (or both) that in turn keep our dopamine out of balance. Dr. Kemble offers insights with the science to back it up so that we can all reset the balance. It seemed unbiased to me, as she mentions… 13mo
jen_the_scribe topics such as religion and medications in the sense that it might help some people, but it‘s not for everyone. She even mentions if abstaining from the thing we‘re addicted to (even things like social media or books 😬) for 30 days doesn‘t help, then that data helps us see that it‘s not dopamine that‘s the issue (but possibly actual mental illness). The author narrates this and does a good job, but she reads slow so I just upped the speed. 13mo
jen_the_scribe Overall, this is an important book and helped me realize that if we take a deeper look, we‘re all addicted to something. The world we live in now makes it so easy to be. And a lot of us need to learn to embrace discomfort more, and to reset while leaning into the simpler joys in life. 13mo
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