Never Enough
A recent study found that 91 percent who overdose on medication continue to refill their prescriptions.
Judith Grisel • Never Enough
Bernard observed that “the stability of the internal environment [milieu intérieur] is the condition for the free and independent life.”1 We face a constant stream of challenges to the milieu intérieur, he continued, and he noticed that in each case, at “every instant,” we maintain a dynamic equilibrium, essentially a stable milieu intérieur,
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As far back as I can remember, I felt hemmed in, frustrated by imposed limits and my own limitations. Longing for other, for something else, is at the core of my experience of self. Even today, below the persona of nurturing friend, committed partner, determined scientist, and adoring parent is a heartbreaking desire to embrace oblivion.
Judith Grisel • Never Enough
everything is highlighted as meaningful, then nothing can really stand out. What use is a watering can after all, if the fields are flooded? The lack of contrast disables the sorting machinery that helps us make sense of our environment by separating relevant from irrelevant. After one comes down, the lack of sorting makes it hard to recall the
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In general, the more predictable and frequent the dosing, the more addictive a drug will be.
Judith Grisel • Never Enough
To sum all this up, dopamine in the mesolimbic circuit leads us to appreciate opening doors, and dopamine in the nigrostriatal circuit enables us to do so. Drugs of abuse (as well as natural reinforcers like food and sex) stimulate both of these pathways, which is how drugs make us feel good and why we seek them.
Judith Grisel • Never Enough
I don’t suppose those refusing cocaine or even marijuana encounter the mix of incredulity and pity that those of us refusing alcohol regularly experience.
Judith Grisel • Never Enough
Worldwide, addiction may be the most formidable health problem, affecting about one in every five people over the age of fourteen.
Judith Grisel • Never Enough
The outcome for our feeling state is that it is stable over the long run—though not static. While different people may have different set points, for any individual the neutral state is robustly maintained throughout life.