Dr. Anna Lembke: Understanding & Treating Addiction

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 discuss the science and practice of how to conquer addictions, why people relapse and how to avoid relapsing. Dr. Lembke also 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 brain.

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.

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Dr. Anna Lembke

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

#HubermanLab #Addiction #Dopamine

[dgbhmmt]

I got clean off meth 13 months ago had a relapse 7 months ago and have been clean since. Watching your podcast and Rhonda Patrick’s podcast changed my life. I reversed all the anxiety and depression symptoms with sleep, cruciferous vegetables, fish oil pills, turmeric, weight lifting, cardio, light exposure, getting on a circadian rhythm, sauna, cold exposure, and tart cherries. Things that may have helped as well were surfing, a will to get better, vitamin d, and fermented foods. I quit alcohol and cannabis a little over a month ago after watching Dr. Mathew Walker on the JRE to get better REM sleep and this is the first time in 16 years I have been anxiety free! I’m thankful I learned from my mistakes at 29 years old and I’m gonna go back to school for neuroscience and nutrition because I have a passion for learning now and a will to help others. I recently became a Buddhist and this has helped me learn to be okay being alone. I used to get high because of failed relationships and now I just work on myself and got very fit for my own benefit! Thank you Andrew Huberman! I love you for putting all that life changing information out there!

[AstoriaHeard]

I was deeply moved by the concept of not searching for your passion, but rather looking around you and doing the things which need to be done. I love that.

[If-Cats-Could-Talk]

This lady is so beautiful the way she explains her findings. She's seems so kind and non judgemental. She explains the science but also seems to have such empathy. Love this chat. I'm back here listening a second time. Thank you both

[ccppp]

“Stop looking for your passion. Look around right where you are. Look at the life you have right now. And do what needs to be done “❤ made me in tears

[alexismcdonell]

I listen to this conversation every time I feel the urge to indulge in my addiction. It is saving my life and my family. Thank you endlessly.

[willowmacdonald]

10 years of homelessness and iv meth and heroin use 3 months clean. Thank you everyone for what you're doing. Best of luck to everyone don't give up 🥰

[Danimal]

I'm 9 months sober in large part because of this episode and Dr. Lembke and Dr. Huberman. Thank you.

[kylesimington]

Dr. Lembke's book was so helpful during my recovery. I quit drinking and smoking (weed) 8 months ago. The examples in the book (both extreme and relatable) helped me through the darkest times of withdraws. One idea that became abundantly true for me is that what once was mundane in life (made "better" by drinking/smoking) becomes SO much more enjoyable without and is something I now look forward to: Working out, Cooking, Connecting more meaningfully with friends and significant others, and more engaged at work. Only once you take a step back from your habits can you really see how much life was passing you by. I wish anyone reading this the courage to try wrestle down their addictions and being to enjoy life again.

[rushtonstablesla]

I love that I live in a world where I can have a favorite neuroscientist. Yay Dr. Huberman!!!

[danyj]

My life is being transformed due to the Huberman Podcast.

[imripeh]

I was 3 years sober from Alcohol and relapsed. I thought I was crazy but through this video I don’t feel alone. Now I’m back to day 1 and ready to be more aware of my triggers. Thank you Dr. Huberman for creating a safe space for such important important topics

[ScorpioIsland]

When Anna says she can't relate to people without regret... I related to that very I've spent decades in a living nightmare of guilt, shame, and regret. Doing way better now, and continuing to get better every day. You can do it, y'all

[jasongravely]

Her love for addicts and pointing out their courage is beautiful

[Bogusuap]

I quit alcohol 5 years ago. This was the best dection of my life. I have had the best and most productive last sober 5 years. Thank you for this episode Dr.Huberman.

[BrownGeorge-pwxo]

I started taking Crack since my teenage, spent my whole life fighting Crack addiction. Also suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Not until my mom recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean. This is something that really need to be use globally to help people with related health challenges.

[rainkie]

Gabor Maté is also a very good read on addiction. He talks also a lot about how trauma and addiction are relation. His argument is that addiction is always a form of avoiding some trauma (in the broadest sense) related feelings. He states therefore that it is always important to look at the trauma as well as the addiction when becoming clean.

[gandalfontech]

Having smoked pot for 2 years I just binned all my weed stuff after listening to this. Realised i was in total denial about how unhappy and unmotivated it was making me. The point about the tonic level got me thinking about how happy and productive i used to be when i was sober. Thanks you two ❤️🙏

[Goldenmaskduets]

This lady just described me. She said “your brain is not made for this world” and I understood this. She said people with mental problems actually “might need more friction in their life.” And I was thinking maybe I need more friction, and challenges. I found that I was more happy in the past when I had challenge.

[waynevarn]

I've learned so much from this video. I watch this regularly because I'm fascinated by how the brain works in relation to addiction. One thing that has stuck with me for months after first watching this video is the way Dr. Anna Lembke describes the "teeter totter" between pain and pleasure in our brain. She says, "once you tune into it, you can see it a lot. It gives people a way to imagine what they're experiencing on a neurobiological level, and understand it. And in that understanding gain some mastery over it."
The way she explains this is exceptional. Those who are familiar and involved with addiction likely resonate with this. Awareness of the neurological and psychological effect of addiction on our behavior, is the most powerful resource in resolving the issue. If an addict understands their addiction and how addiction is biologically possible, they recognize the problem earlier with a better chance to recover sooner. Understanding your addiction is so beneficial in recovering and "gaining mastery" over it.

[srsr-eqsp]

This IS the most profound, the most insightful, the best podcast I’ve listened to & watched. I’ve taken notes, and I’m ordering her book. So thankful to Andrew Huberman for making this available to all of us. We have such a long way to go, yet there is hope as we evolve to becoming a community of people restored from our addictions, and we ALL have addictions (alcohol, drugs, social media, etc), don’t we? I’ve learned so much from this podcast. Thank you!