The prosocial shame cycle goes like this: Overconsumption leads to shame, which demands radical honesty and leads not to shunning, as we saw with destructive shame, but to acceptance and empathy, coupled with a set of required actions to make amends. The result is increased belonging and decreased consumption.

Prosocial shame is further predicated on the idea that we are all flawed, capable of making mistakes, and in need of forgiveness. The key to encouraging adherence to group norms, without casting out every person who strays, is to have a post-shame “to-do” list that provides specific steps for making amends.

Destructive shame looks like this: Overconsumption leads to shame, which leads to shunning by the group or lying to the group to avoid shunning, both of which result in further isolation, contributing to ongoing consumption as the cycle is perpetuated.

Just as we become tolerant to pleasure stimuli with repeated exposure, so too can we become tolerant to painful stimuli, resetting our brains to the side of pain.

Radical honesty—telling the truth about things large and small, especially when doing so exposes our foibles and entails consequences—is essential not just to recovery from addiction but for all of us trying to live a more balanced life in our reward-saturated ecosystem. It works on many levels.

Exercise increases many of the neurotransmitters involved in positive mood regulation: dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, epinephrine, endocannabinoids, and endogenous opioid peptides (endorphins). Exercise contributes to the birth of new neurons and supporting glial cells. Exercise even reduces the likelihood of using and getting addicted to

Categorical self-binding fails when we inadvertently include a trigger in our list of acceptable activities. We can correct mistakes like these with a mental sifting process based on experience. But what about when the category itself changes?

Dopamine consumption is not just a way to fill the hours not spent working. It has also become a reason why people are not participating in the workforce.

In today’s dopamine-rich ecosystem, we’ve all become primed for immediate gratification. We want to buy something, and the next day it shows up on our doorstep. We want to know something, and the next second the answer appears on our screen. Are we losing the knack of puzzling things out, or being frustrated while we search for the answer, or