In this discussion, we’ll be diving into psychiatrist Dr. Anna Lembke’s compelling and unsettling book, Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence — a piercing exploration of addiction in a world where pleasure is always one click away.

We live in an era of abundance. Endless scrolling. Endless streaming. Endless choices.

And yet — why are so many of us restless, dissatisfied, and quietly hooked?

In Dopamine Nation, Lembke unpacks the neuroscience behind our modern compulsions. From social media and shopping to substances and romance novels (including her own candid confession), she shows how the brain’s delicate pleasure-pain balance is thrown off by constant stimulation. The more we indulge, the more tolerance builds. What once felt thrilling becomes baseline. And so the chase intensifies.

But here’s the paradox: the harder we pursue pleasure, the more pain we create.