The Relationship Between Pleasure and Avoidance

Dopamine Nation is essentially the story of how our primitive brains are not made for our modern environment. Pleasure and pain are co-located in the same parts of the brain, so they work like opposite sides of a balance. When we do something pleasurable, our balance tips slightly to the side of pleasure. But if we repeat that behavior again and again, we eventually end up with so many gremlins on the pain side of the balance that they fill this whole room. That means we have to continue to use our drug just to feel normal. And when we're not using it, we're in a state of withdrawal, craving, irritability, depression, anxiety,.

Transcript

Play full episode

Transcript

Episode notes

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts

Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.

Get the app