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\u201cWe are living in a world that primes us all for the problem of addiction. So even though some people come into this world more vulnerable than others, simply being alive in the world today has made us all vulnerable to the problem of addiction,\u201d so says our guest today, Dr. Anna Lembke. Dr. Lembke is a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. An expert in all things addiction, Dr. Lembke has published more than a hundred peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and commentaries; she sits on the board of several state and national addiction-focused organizations, has testified before various Congressional Committees, and does so all while maintaining a thriving clinical practice.\xa0\nOn today\u2019s episode, we discuss her instant New York Times Bestseller, Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence, which explores the many faces of addiction. Dr. Lembke notes that addiction is a spectrum disorder, and though we often attempt to otherize \u201caddicts\u201d, the exact same mental machinery engaged in so-called severe addiction is engaged in the compulsive over-consumption that afflicts many of us. We discuss the way in which our brain is wired to balance pleasure and pain and how to know when our consumption has crossed from healthy, recreational use to addictive, maladaptive use. Finally, Dr. Lembke leaves us with some strategies for recalibrating our neural-balance, including the perhaps counterintuitive remedy of exposing ourselves to pain in order to treat our pain.\xa0\n\nEPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:\n\nIdentifying the risk factors for addiction\u2026(5:53)\n\nThe balance between pleasure and pain\u2026(11:45)\n\nThe Dopamine Guideposts\u2026(18:49)\xa0\n\nFinding healing stories and re-calibrating the neuro-plasticity of the brain\u2026(28:21)\n\n\nMORE FROM ANNA LEMBKE:\nAnna Lembke's Website\nDopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence\nDrug Dealer, MD \u2013 How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, and Why It\u2019s So Hard to Stop\n \nTo learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy\n \n Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices