Addiction is a Dopamine Game

Insights from “Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence”

Created by the author (using p5.js)

It was a breakthrough. It was 30 days since I last indulged.

I felt healthier, mentally and physically. I gained some control over my life and I felt relieved.

I have escaped an online addiction.

Escaping it, even for 30 days, was a lot more difficult than I thought.

My genetic or psychological makeup drove some of my addictive risky behaviours.

After all, when I was younger, I engaged in risk-taking behaviours that could have ended badly.

I totalled my car; I ran out of air while scuba diving; I almost fell down a mountain.

Considering the sheer number of times I had nearly killed myself, I am blessed — like a proverbial cat with nine lives.

Once, I got lost on a hike.

I staggered into the refuge seven hours later than expected and stammered, with parched lips, to a recently arrived hiker taking off her boots, “Do you know where I can get some water?”

Her eyes widened in astonishment. I assumed she was shocked by how wretched I looked.