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Addiction & Sobriety

Understand the pleasure-pain balance behind cravings and support recovery with evidence-based tools, alongside professional addiction treatment.

Every claim below carries an evidence grade. What do these grades mean?

ANNA LEMBKE ADDICTION

What actually drives addiction, according to Anna Lembke

the expert's own view, educational, not medical advice, not endorsed by us

  • StrongA big dopamine spike is followed by an equal dip below baseline afterward
  • ModerateRepeated spikes push your baseline dopamine lower over time, feeding tolerance
SOURCE →
Andrew Huberman
ADDICTION
Understanding the Pleasure-Pain Balance
  1. 1Learn the pleasure-pain balance (Educational, ongoing)
  2. 2Self-binding: put friction between yourself and the behavior (Ongoing; identify one concrete barrier you can add)
  3. 3Time-limited abstinence, as a concept to discuss with a clinician (Lembke describes a roughly 30-day clinical pause as one tool she uses with patients; discomfort is often greatest in the first 10 to 14 days and frequently begins improving by around day 21)
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Gabor Maté
ADDICTION
Addiction (as a Response to Pain)
  1. 1Ask 'what happened to me' instead of 'what is wrong with me' (Ongoing, reflective practice)
  2. 2Learn the pain-soothing function of compulsive behavior (Educational, ongoing)
  3. 3Replace self-judgment with curiosity when a craving or compulsive urge appears (In the moment, as urges arise)
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Anna Lembke portrait
Anna Lembke
Professor of Psychiatry, Addiction Medicine · Stanford University School of Medicine
Gabor Maté portrait
Gabor Maté
Retired Physician, Author & Speaker on Trauma and Addiction · Independent (formerly Portland Hotel Society, Vancouver)

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Andrew Huberman vs Anna LembkeAndrew Huberman vs Gabor MatéAnna Lembke vs Gabor Maté

Experts behind Addiction & Sobriety protocols

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Gabor Maté portrait

Gabor Maté

Retired Physician, Author & Speaker on Trauma and Addiction
1 protocol · 4.7M
Anna Lembke portrait

Anna Lembke

Professor of Psychiatry, Addiction Medicine
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