Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence

I thought I was going to put this book down, but it had some good stuff. The author gave some clear guide lines that still allow for the flexibility of everyone’s individual lives.

Content Warnings

dbumgarner's review

Go to review page

I found this book offensive in a few ways, including the author’s assumption that people in larger bodies are diagnosable with food addiction, citing the only symptom as “an inability to lose weight” and her puritanical beliefs about abstinence, especially around sexual triggers. I was hoping for some insight on how to navigate more mindfully in a world with so many screens and apps designed to steal my attention, but I don’t agree with her base values and beliefs and her supposition that *all* dopamine is bad or a slippery slope to addiction.

Content Warnings

okayshea's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark informative reflective slow-paced

1.5

it always makes me feel icky and voyeuristic reading therapists tell their patients' stories, though i know obviously the patients gave their consent and i can see the value of sharing these real and vulnerable things people go through to create better understanding and give authentic examples. BUT this author came across judgmental of pretty much everyone she discussed in this book, and seemed to often look down on others struggling with addiction, even as she tried to relate personally by sharing her troubled relationship to romance novels. there were just too many cases where, to me, she felt smug and like she knew all the answers and didn't seem interested in actually learning what her patients saw of what they were going through -- and that's from her own retelling of these interactions. but maybe that's just me and that type of attitude might be necessary sometimes in helping someone with a serious addiction.

like other reviewers said, dopamine nation isn't really about modern technology or social media as much as the book advertises itself to be, and is more just about overcoming addiction and how dopamine works in general. there wasn't much scientific information in here that you couldn't gather from just watching a few self-help type youtube videos about dopamine or "dopamine resets". lembke also uses this book to make a few broad claims with flimsy support, so that turned me off too from finding much trust or value from this text. it just showed up on libby and was short, so i picked it.

Content Warnings

oliviahamilton's review

Go to review page

informative medium-paced

5.0

Such an interesting, thought-provoking book. I appreciated the examples from all sorts of dopamine addictions/habits, both the ones we generally consider "bad" (drug abuse, p*rn addiction) and the less obviously bad (reading cheap erotica, obsessive exercise).

The book broke down a complex scientific topic into digestible, interesting chapters and stories, with no dull portions, yet was still rooted in facts and studies. That's a feat. The author's own honesty really shone through as well, as evidenced especially later in the book.

Worth a reread at some point.

Content Warnings

susannadkm's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark informative medium-paced

2.5

"I urge you to find a way to immerse yoursellf fully in the life that you've been given, to stop running from whatever you're trying to escape, and instead, to stop and turn and face whatever it is."

This book was mildly interesting, but it didn't seem to have a clear purpose to distinguish it from similar books about addiction.

One factoid I found notable is the increase in leisure hours in the US. Just before the Civil War, the average laborer worked 10-12 hours a day, 6.5 days a week, 51 weeks a year. In contrast, Americans had 270 more leisure hours per year in 2003 than they did in 1965. And although rich and poor had similar levels of leisure hours in the 60s, those without a high school degree in 2003 had 42% more leisure hours than those with college degrees.

I listened to the audiobook, read by the author. Anna Lembke's voice was so soothing, a real pleasure to listen to.

Content Warnings