Owning It: The Anxiety Podcast
Anxiety, Pain + Pleasure with Dopamine Nation's Dr Anna Lembke
May 26, 2024
Dr. Anna Lembke explores the link between anxiety, pleasure, and pain, discussing short-term relief leading to long-term anxiety. Topics include medication, addiction, boredom intolerance, pro-social shame, self-binding strategies, and resetting reward pathways. The discussion also covers the use of antidepressants, managing anxiety and addiction, understanding shame, coping mechanisms, and an upcoming workbook for individuals to address addictive behaviors.
51:02
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Quick takeaways
- Anxiety is linked to pleasure-seeking behaviors, leading to short-term relief but long-term anxiety exacerbation.
- Dopamine, pleasure, and pain intertwine in addiction and anxiety, disrupting the pleasure-pain balance towards pain.
Deep dives
Understanding Anxiety and the Pleasure-Pain Balance
Anxiety is deeply intertwined with our instinct to seek pleasure and avoid pain, rooted in our evolutionary survival mechanisms. Boredom is highlighted as a modern form of suffering that often leads to anxiety, particularly prevalent in a world filled with excess leisure time and stimuli. The relationship between anxiety, pleasure, and pain is explored, emphasizing the short-term relief pleasure-seeking behaviors provide but the long-term consequences of exacerbating anxiety. Strategies like medication, addiction considerations beyond drugs or alcohol, and coping mechanisms are discussed.
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