Understanding & Treating Addiction | Dr. Anna Lembke

In this episode I interview Dr. Anna Lembke, MD, Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Lembke is a psychiatrist and expert in treating addictions of all kinds: drugs, alcohol, food, sex, video games, gambling, medication etc. She is also an expert in the opioid crisis and the author of Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence. We discuss the biology and psychology of why people become addicted to certain substances and behaviors and the key role that our “dopamine balance” plays in creating addiction. We also explore the science and practice of how to conquer addictions, why people relapse and how to avoid relapsing. Dr. Lembke shares her expertise on topics closely related to addiction such as community, shame and lying, and she explains why telling the truth—even about the most basic things in daily life—adjusts dopamine levels in our brains. This episode is an important one for anyone struggling with addictions of any kind, for their friends and families and for health care professionals. It is also for anyone who has defeated addiction and is determined to stay clean. Last but not least, it helps explain why all humans do what we do and how we can all maintain a healthy sense of pleasure seeking in life. For an up-to-date list of our current sponsors, please visit our website: https://www.hubermanlab.com/sponsors. Previous sponsors mentioned in this podcast episode may no longer be affiliated with us. Social & Website Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab Threads: https://www.threads.net/@hubermanlab Twitter: https://twitter.com/hubermanlab Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hubermanlab Website: https://www.hubermanlab.com Newsletter: https://www.hubermanlab.com/newsletter Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3thCToZ Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3PYzuFs Dr. Anna Lembke Website: https://www.annalembke.com Stanford Profile: https://profiles.stanford.edu/anna-lembke Dopamine Nation (new book): https://amzlink.to/az09noicps3RR Timestamps 00:00:00 Dr. Anna Lembke, Addiction Expert 00:02:25 Disclaimer & Sponsors: ROKA, InsideTracker, Headspace 00:07:00 Dopamine, Happiness & Impulsivity 00:15:56 What Is Pleasure? 00:18:20 Addiction, Boredom & Passion for Life 00:24:00 Pain-Pleasure Balance Controls Addiction 00:29:10 Dopamine Deficits, Anhedonia 00:30:47 Are All Addictions the Same? 00:35:38 Boredom & Anxiety Lead to Creativity 00:40:35 Finding Your Passion Starts with Boredom & Action Steps 00:50:05 How to Break an Addiction 00:55:25 Relapse, Craving & Triggers 01:07:40 Can People Get Addicted To “Sobriety”? 01:11:45 Are We All Wired for Addiction? 01:15:57 Bizarre Addiction 01:18:14 Recovered Addicts Are Heroes 01:20:10 Lying, Truth Telling, Guilt & Shame 01:30:40 Clinical Applications of: Ibogaine, Ayahuasca, Psilocybin & MDMA 01:40:20 Social Media Addiction 01:51:25 Narcissism 01:53:30 Goal Seeking, Success & Surprise 01:58:10 Reciprocity 02:01:15 Closing Comments, Resources Disclaimer: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer

Andrew HubermanhostAnna Lembkeguest

Aug 16, 20212h 2mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: August 16, 2021
Duration: 2h 2m
Channel: Huberman Lab
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

In this episode I interview Dr. Anna Lembke, MD, Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Lembke is a psychiatrist and expert in treating addictions of all kinds: drugs, alcohol, food, sex, video games, gambling, medication etc. She is also an expert in the opioid crisis and the author of Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence. We discuss the biology and psychology of why people become addicted to certain substances and behaviors and the key role that our “dopamine balance” plays in creating addiction. We also explore the science and practice of how to conquer addictions, why people relapse and how to avoid relapsing. Dr. Lembke shares her expertise on topics closely related to addiction such as community, shame and lying, and she explains why telling the truth—even about the most basic things in daily life—adjusts dopamine levels in our brains. This episode is an important one for anyone struggling with addictions of any kind, for their friends and families and for health care professionals. It is also for anyone who has defeated addiction and is determined to stay clean. Last but not least, it helps explain why all humans do what we do and how we can all maintain a healthy sense of pleasure seeking in life. For an up-to-date list of our current sponsors, please visit our website: https://www.hubermanlab.com/sponsors. Previous sponsors mentioned in this podcast episode may no longer be affiliated with us. Social & Website Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab Threads: https://www.threads.net/@hubermanlab Twitter: https://twitter.com/hubermanlab Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hubermanlab Website: https://www.hubermanlab.com Newsletter: https://www.hubermanlab.com/newsletter Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3thCToZ Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3PYzuFs Dr. Anna Lembke Website: https://www.annalembke.com Stanford Profile: https://profiles.stanford.edu/anna-lembke Dopamine Nation (new book): https://amzlink.to/az09noicps3RR Timestamps 00:00:00 Dr. Anna Lembke, Addiction Expert 00:02:25 Disclaimer & Sponsors: ROKA, InsideTracker, Headspace 00:07:00 Dopamine, Happiness & Impulsivity 00:15:56 What Is Pleasure? 00:18:20 Addiction, Boredom & Passion for Life 00:24:00 Pain-Pleasure Balance Controls Addiction 00:29:10 Dopamine Deficits, Anhedonia 00:30:47 Are All Addictions the Same? 00:35:38 Boredom & Anxiety Lead to Creativity 00:40:35 Finding Your Passion Starts with Boredom & Action Steps 00:50:05 How to Break an Addiction 00:55:25 Relapse, Craving & Triggers 01:07:40 Can People Get Addicted To “Sobriety”? 01:11:45 Are We All Wired for Addiction? 01:15:57 Bizarre Addiction 01:18:14 Recovered Addicts Are Heroes 01:20:10 Lying, Truth Telling, Guilt & Shame 01:30:40 Clinical Applications of: Ibogaine, Ayahuasca, Psilocybin & MDMA 01:40:20 Social Media Addiction 01:51:25 Narcissism 01:53:30 Goal Seeking, Success & Surprise 01:58:10 Reciprocity 02:01:15 Closing Comments, Resources Disclaimer: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer

SPEAKERS

Andrew Huberman
host
Anna Lembke
guest
Narrator
other

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Huberman Lab, featuring Andrew Huberman and Anna Lembke, Understanding & Treating Addiction | Dr. Anna Lembke explores dopamine, Addiction, and Finding Balance In a World of Excess Neuropsychiatrist Dr. Anna Lembke explains how a single dopamine-based reward system underlies both substance and behavioral addictions, from opioids and alcohol to work, sex, gambling, gaming, and social media. She introduces the pleasure–pain “balance” model, where repeated high-dopamine experiences drive the brain into a chronic dopamine-deficit (pain) state that feels like depression and fuels compulsive use. Recovery, she argues, depends on abstaining long enough to let this system reset, re-engaging in low-potency, real-world rewards, and rebuilding honesty and community. The conversation also explores boredom, passion, social media, truth-telling, and why people in long-term recovery often become powerful models for living a meaningful, balanced life.

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