This week, we bring you the second part of our 2023 conversation on the perils of too much pleasure. Psychiatrist Anna Lembke explains the neuroscience behind compulsive consumption. She also shares techniques she’s learned from her patients to overcome the lure of addictive substances and behaviors. Then, Anna responds to your questions and comments on everything from dopamine fasts to kids' use of cell phones in our segment "Your Questions Answered."
Duration
1h 38m
Broadcast on
15 Dec 2025
Audio Format
other
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This week, we bring you the second part of our 2023 conversation on the perils of too much pleasure. Psychiatrist Anna Lembke explains the neuroscience behind compulsive consumption. She also shares techniques she’s learned from her patients to overcome the lure of addictive substances and behaviors. Then, Anna responds to your questions and comments on everything from dopamine fasts to kids' use of cell phones in our segment "Your Questions Answered."
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This is Hidden Brain, I am Shankar Vedanta. It seems like the simplest choice in the world. Given the option between pain and pleasure, we ought to choose pleasure. Is it better to be hungry or full, better to be tired or alert, better to watch another episode of our favorite TV show or do the dishes? It isn't just our own minds that tell us to choose the path of enjoyment and indulgence. Our friends remind us that life is short. Say no to dessert or another round of drinks and someone might call you a spoil sport. At Stanford University, psychiatrist Anna Lemke has heard the same messages. But as a scientist, she's also studied the way our brains balance pain and pleasure. The two sit on opposite ends of a neural seesaw and the brain constantly attempts to bring them into equilibrium or what is known as homeostasis. When we press down hard and often on the pleasure side of the seesaw, triggering bursts of the neurotransmitter dopamine, Anna says the brain automatically compensates by pressing down on the other side, producing a dopamine deficit. Over time, as people press down too much or too often on the pleasure side of the equation, the brain compensates so forcefully that we start to walk around with a chronic dopamine deficit. This can manifest as anxiety, irritability and depression. There is complex neurochemistry behind the process of homeostasis, but Anna has come up with a simple way to visualize this. When you press down on one side of the seesaw, imagine a bunch of gremlins inside your head jumping on the other side of the seesaw. We explore how this mechanism works and why it exists in our previous episode. If you missed it, I strongly suggest you listen to it first. Today, we continue with the second part of our story about the paradoxical effects of pleasure, and we ask what it means to live a life of balance and harmony. How to work with the brain rather than against it, this week on Hidden Brain. When it comes to my policy, farmers gives it to me straight, so there's no surprises. It's your coverage you should never be confused. You hear that? An insurance provider with a conscience. We're a choir, but yes, we have that too. Straight forward coverage you can literally understand. That's what you get when you have farmers, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum. Learn more at Farmers.com, underwritten by Farmers Truck or Fire Insurance Exchanges or Affiliate. Products not available in every state. Working as a dedicated fidelity advisor, I always ask, what's important to you? I'll look at those priorities and goals alongside your full financial picture to build a comprehensive plan designed to help grow and protect your wealth. With proactive portfolio insights and an eye on taxes, I'm here to help you make the most of your money. I'm Laura Maxwell, and I'm a dedicated fidelity advisor. Learn more at fidelity.com/wealth. Investment minimum supply, Fidelity brokerage services, LLC member NYSE SIPC. Support for Hidden Brain comes from Defender. Even the boldest journey starts small, with a single decision to go somewhere new. The Defender 110 is a vehicle built for those moments for drivers capable of great things, whether they're headed toward uncharted territory or just a weekend away.
Transcription truncated.
This week, we bring you the second part of our 2023 conversation on the perils of too much pleasure. Psychiatrist Anna Lembke explains the neuroscience behind compulsive consumption. She also shares techniques she’s learned from her patients to overcome the lure of addictive substances and behaviors. Then, Anna responds to your questions and comments on everything from dopamine fasts to kids' use of cell phones in our segment "Your Questions Answered."
