Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence

Are we losing the knack of puzzling things out, or being frustrated while we search for the answer, or having to wait for the things we want?

Delay discounting refers to the fact that the value of a reward goes down the longer we have to wait for it.

This study suggests that by restricting drug consumption to a narrow window of time, we may be able to moderate our use and avoid the compulsive and escalating consumption that comes with unlimited access.

naltrexone

I ask my patients, “What kinds of barriers can you put into place to make it harder for you to get easy access to your drug of choice?”

Rather, self-binding openly recognizes the limitations of will.

a month is usually the minimum amount of time it takes to reset the brain’s reward pathway.

Self-binding creates literal and metacognitive space between desire and consumption, a modern necessity in our dopamine-overloaded world. Medications can restore homeostasis, but consider what we lose by medicating away our pain. Pressing on the pain side resets our balance to the side of pleasure. Beware of getting addicted to pain. Radical honest

The relentless pursuit of pleasure (and avoidance of pain) leads to pain. Recovery begins with abstinence. Abstinence resets the brain’s reward pathway and with it our capacity to take joy in simpler pleasures.