Dr. Anna Lembke

Drugs in all their forms are the great human replacement. Addiction is a disease of loneliness. even if we have a lot of great people in our lives, if we get addicted, we will isolate, and we will use our drug to replace that human connection.

Drugs in all their forms are the great human replacement. Addiction is a disease of loneliness. even if we have a lot of great people in our lives, if we get addicted, we will isolate, and we will use our drug to replace that human connection.

Drugs in all their forms are the great human replacement. Addiction is a disease of loneliness. even if we have a lot of great people in our lives, if we get addicted, we will isolate, and we will use our drug to replace that human connection.

And I say that because we sometimes talk about loneliness as the cause of addiction, but more often than not, what I see is that the addiction causes the loneliness. Oh, I like that.

And I say that because we sometimes talk about loneliness as the cause of addiction, but more often than not, what I see is that the addiction causes the loneliness. Oh, I like that.

And I say that because we sometimes talk about loneliness as the cause of addiction, but more often than not, what I see is that the addiction causes the loneliness. Oh, I like that.

I think the irony is that amazing research has been going on for a long time, but for whatever reason, the American public hasn't been particularly interested until very recently. And why that shift? I mean, I have my theories. I think that with the advent of smartphones and 24-7 access to the Internet online,

I think the irony is that amazing research has been going on for a long time, but for whatever reason, the American public hasn't been particularly interested until very recently. And why that shift? I mean, I have my theories. I think that with the advent of smartphones and 24-7 access to the Internet online,

All of a sudden, people who saw addiction as a problem that somebody else had began wondering about their own compulsive consumption of digital media. And then I think COVID just really, like, you know, we just went off a cliff with COVID. Sure did. Yeah. And it was, I think, along the lines of, like, life is really weird.

All of a sudden, people who saw addiction as a problem that somebody else had began wondering about their own compulsive consumption of digital media. And then I think COVID just really, like, you know, we just went off a cliff with COVID. Sure did. Yeah. And it was, I think, along the lines of, like, life is really weird.

Like, I am at home all day long in my pajamas consuming more alcohol, more cannabis, more YouTube shorts. And I think all of a sudden people were like, wow, this addiction thing is real. And I do think that that's been a big cultural shift. And so I think it's more that the spotlight has turned toward this problem.

Like, I am at home all day long in my pajamas consuming more alcohol, more cannabis, more YouTube shorts. And I think all of a sudden people were like, wow, this addiction thing is real. And I do think that that's been a big cultural shift. And so I think it's more that the spotlight has turned toward this problem.

It's not like all of a sudden things shifted in 2020. I think what happened was COVID just accelerated the trends that were already happening. So to put it in perspective, just from my clinical front row seat, such as it is, in the early thousands, what we were seeing is a sudden increase in people addicted to the very same pills their doctors were prescribing to them.

It's not like all of a sudden things shifted in 2020. I think what happened was COVID just accelerated the trends that were already happening. So to put it in perspective, just from my clinical front row seat, such as it is, in the early thousands, what we were seeing is a sudden increase in people addicted to the very same pills their doctors were prescribing to them.

foremost opioids for chronic and minor pain conditions leading to our current day opioid epidemic, but also a signal early on in the early 2000s, middle-aged men coming in with severe internet pornography addiction and compulsive masturbation, primarily men who had been able to consume pornography in reasonable moderation without a lot of harm to their lives until the advent of the internet.

foremost opioids for chronic and minor pain conditions leading to our current day opioid epidemic, but also a signal early on in the early 2000s, middle-aged men coming in with severe internet pornography addiction and compulsive masturbation, primarily men who had been able to consume pornography in reasonable moderation without a lot of harm to their lives until the advent of the internet.

And then especially, you know, in the first decade of the 2000s, the smartphone. And that was probably our earliest signal for behavioral addictions. And then around 2012, 2013, we were seeing a bunch of teenage boys brought in by their parents primarily for Internet gaming disorders.

And then especially, you know, in the first decade of the 2000s, the smartphone. And that was probably our earliest signal for behavioral addictions. And then around 2012, 2013, we were seeing a bunch of teenage boys brought in by their parents primarily for Internet gaming disorders.

And then sort of roughly 2015, 2016, we start to see the earliest signal of social media addiction, online shopping, a huge increase in online gambling addiction. And then what I would say I've seen primarily in the past five years is a sort of diffuse addiction to the Internet, right?

And then sort of roughly 2015, 2016, we start to see the earliest signal of social media addiction, online shopping, a huge increase in online gambling addiction. And then what I would say I've seen primarily in the past five years is a sort of diffuse addiction to the Internet, right?