I’d shared in Stories a few wks ago that amidst a heavy travel schedule, I had time on planes to finish the book: “Dopamine Nation” by Anna Lembke, MD. I highly recommend it…learned so much more abt how the brain works.
There are so many great nuggets in it abt the relationship btwn pleasure & pain – the balance we are typically looking to strike. Think of those two on a seesaw – which can get tipped heavily to one side or the other. Too much of one – even something as “good” as pleasure, isn’t actually good FOR us bc of how out of balance we become.
What I love most abt the book is how the author, a decorated MD, is vulnerable, herself. She had PLENTY of stories abt what her patients faced…so she didn’t need to reveal her own challenges (& even “questionable” behaviors) but she chose to, & bc of it, she draws ppl in & allows the reader to be real abt their own challenges & even flaws.
One of her big reveals is how early in her career, amidst all of the heaviness & monotony of seeing her patients, day in & out, she developed an addiction for escapism via romance novels…& not just any romance novels…but ones that teetered on the risqué side – like the story arnd 50 Shades of Gray. She talks abt how it hurt her own relationships w her husband…how she would escape in the books & they became what she craved most. She couldn’t get enough – & how it counter-balanced the heaviness & monotony from her office work.
A doctor – revealing an addiction – w a sexual/questionable undertone?
I’d done a poll over 2yrs ago I’ll never forget: Would you want your therapist to be 100% “professional” & make sessions all abt you, or a little more personal & reveal a little abt their own “stuff.” 97% of you chose the latter!! I’ve not since had a poll w one answer so overwhelmingly the choice.
We all think we have weird/“crazy stuff” in our heads – until we hear others willing to be vulnerable & realize our weirdness ain’t that weird or different.
When ppl are collectively open, together, we create community- that is healing, & that can save lives. Thank you for being part of this community here – whether you just listen, or share🙏.