How Long Does It Take to Stop Using Drugs?

3min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

For people who have become addicted, 30 days is the bare minimum to begin to reset reward pathways. People start to notice improvements in their baseline mood, anxiety, and functioning after week three or four of abstinence. In a study done by Shucket and Brown many years ago now showing that just stopping alcohol alone resolves the stigma of depression.

Are you scrolling on your phone constantly? How badly do you crave that morning cup of coffee? Are you compulsively gambling, drinking, shopping, or even reading romance novels just to fall asleep? The potential for addiction is everywhere in our society, and on this episode of The Knowledge Project psychiatrist and author Dr. Anna Lembke discusses dopamine, addictive behaviors, warning signs and treatment for addiction, and how our brains handle all that pleasure and pain in life. Dr. Lembke is professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. She appeared in the 2020 Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma to discuss the addictive nature of social media, and she is the author of the 2021 New York Times bestseller Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence, which explores how to moderate compulsive overconsumption in a dopamine-overloaded world.

Want even more? Members get early access, hand-edited transcripts, member-only episodes, and so much more. Learn more here: https://fs.blog/membership/

Every Sunday our Brain Food newsletter shares timeless insights and ideas that you can use at work and home. Add it to your inbox: https://fs.blog/newsletter/

Follow Shane on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ShaneAParrish

Our Sponsors:

MetaLab: Helping the world’s top companies design, build, and ship amazing products and services. https://www.metalab.com

Aeropress: Press your perfect cup, every time. https://aeropress.com