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The Paradox of Pleasure

Overview

Shownote

Highlights

Transcript

Chapters

Pins

The Paradox of Pleasure

Hidden Brain

2025/12/08
Hidden Brain

Hidden Brain

2025/12/08
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

All of us think we know what addiction looks like. It’s the compulsive consumption of drugs, alcohol, or nicotine. But psychiatrist Anna Lembke argues that our conception of addiction is far too narrow — and that a broader view might help us to understand ...

Highlights

Addiction is often misunderstood as a moral failing or a problem confined to substances like drugs and alcohol. Yet, it can silently infiltrate the lives of high achievers and everyday people alike, hiding behind success and normalcy. This episode uncovers how deeply wired we are for pleasure—and how today’s world exploits that wiring in ways we’re only beginning to understand.
00:00
Our view of addiction is too narrow, missing hidden struggles behind success.
10:48
Jacob's sex addiction worsened with internet and smartphones
24:05
Addictive behaviors start pleasurable but shift to avoid pain, hijacking the brain's reward pathway
37:10
Dopamine deficit from overstimulation underlies modern mental health crises
44:20
Dopamine is sensitive to novelty, and AI exploits this to drive compulsive use

Chapters

How Success Can Mask a Hidden Addiction
00:00
When Digital Convenience Turns Habits into Traps
07:21
A Psychiatrist’s Secret Struggle with Escapism
14:38
Why the Brain Gets Hooked on Pleasure — and Pain
27:03
Is Modern Life Designed to Keep Us Addicted?
40:42

Transcript

Shankar Vedantam: This is Hidden Brain. I'm Shankar Vedantam. In the hit television show Ozark, a bright financial advisor finds himself suddenly working on the wrong side of the law. What's our story for the kids? Anna Lembke: Well, we could tell them th...