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Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'
Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence by Anna Lembke
4 reviews
okayshea's review against another edition
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.
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
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Mental illness, and Sexual content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Fatphobia, and Body shaming
Minor: Self harm and Stalking
emilycheek's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
2.0
If the topic interests you, I recommend listening to a podcast interview or read an article by the author instead.
The whole book circled around the idea that was finally stated at the very end: “I urge you to find a way to immerse yourself 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.”
The lower rating is primarily for some harmful statements about the causes of obesity, praising dieting, and the concept that religious modesty is a tactic to prevent sex addiction. I would have loved to read more about phone/screen addiction or her unpacking of the 12 Steps, but instead the content was focused more on the “shock and awe” stories from her professional work as a psychiatrist. Overall, I found it lacked nuance.
The whole book circled around the idea that was finally stated at the very end: “I urge you to find a way to immerse yourself 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.”
The lower rating is primarily for some harmful statements about the causes of obesity, praising dieting, and the concept that religious modesty is a tactic to prevent sex addiction. I would have loved to read more about phone/screen addiction or her unpacking of the 12 Steps, but instead the content was focused more on the “shock and awe” stories from her professional work as a psychiatrist. Overall, I found it lacked nuance.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Body shaming
kkarinh's review against another edition
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Drug use, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Mental illness
Minor: Eating disorder, Dysphoria, Medical content, Body shaming, Car accident, Chronic illness, Infidelity, and Panic attacks/disorders
streberkatze's review against another edition
Lack of systemic analysis and exploration of the systemic causes of addiction. (And no, "we should work as much as people in the 19th century did" is not that. In fact, it's a deeply problematic, ahistorical argument.) There's also a disturbingly puritan view of some of the sexual preferences discussed in the book. Again, little systemic analysis of what is considered deviant and what is not and why. The straw that broke the camel's back was the superficial reference to the policing of women's bodies in different religious contexts. Good thing there are more interesting explorations of the subject now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming
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