Dr. Lembke Returns to Discuss Radical Honesty and Self-Awareness (Ep. 100)
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Gill welcomes Dr. Anna Lembke back to the podcast. You may remember Dr. Lembke from episode 76, which was one of the most popular episodes of all time. Dr. Lembke is a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. Her book, Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence, an instant New York Times bestseller, explores how to moderate compulsive overconsumption in a dopamine-overloaded world.
In this episode you’ll learn:
Why lying is common in addiction and how we get into the habit of lying
Why it’s so hard for us to be honest with ourselves about our drinking or drug use
How acceptance and self-compassion fits into this
Why it’s critical for our mental health to accept responsibility for our role in the things that happen to us
How to practice radical honesty in your own life
How the way you tell your story impacts your mental health
How you can recognize destructive patterns in your life and take ownership over them
What to do if you don’t like being sober
How does social media and chasing numbers impact our recovery
How long a dopamine fast takes to reset your reward system
Get your copy of Dopamine Nation here
What to listen to next:
E76: Learning the Truth About Your Drinking with Dr. Anna Lembke, Author of Dopamine Nation
There were many things that Dr. Lembke said that really impacted me (like always!), but let's talk about 2 of them:
“When we get into these narratives where we are always the victim, we will act in ways to perpetuate our victimhood.”
Like I said in the episode, it is very easy for me to identify why other people are responsible for my problems. A pattern I have noticed with myself is that I can sometimes let the fear of failure or looking stupid prevent me from trying. If I don't try, then I'm not as vulnerable. Failure and feeling stupid are my biggest triggers, and I will likely be covering these more in episode 103. Still deciding how vulnerable I want to get. I encourage you to take some time this week and reflect on where you can take more ownership in your life. Are you refusing to try like I do sometimes? Are you blaming your spouse, parents or boss for your problems? What is one step you can take to improve your situation?
“There's a big process in recovery of tempering expectations around what life holds and learning to be at peace with life not being always full of drama and making room for boredom.”
The pink cloud is tough. In the beginning, sobriety can be really amazing and excitable (not for everyone though!). I was so excited every day because I wasn't suicidal anymore. What a think to feel excited about, right?! Many of us start coming up with big dreams and all these things we want to achieve, and then the pink cloud fades and real life hits. It's just a regular old Wednesday after work and you are super bored! We need to learn that not every moment can be full of excitement, and that's okay. Real life has exciting parts, meh parts, boring parts, and sad parts, all of which are totally normal.
Cite this episode
Lembke, A. Tietz, G. Episode 100: Dr. Lembke Returns to Discuss Radical Honesty and Self-Awareness. Sober Powered. 2022.
