Dr. Anna Lembke: Understanding Addiction and the Role of Faith in Recovery (FULL INTERVIEW)

Dr. Anna Lembke, one of the world’s leading experts on the neuroscience of addiction, helps us understand what’s happening inside the brains of 40 million Americans dealing with some form of unhealthy compulsion. She addresses the opioid crisis and how American doctors are still incentivized to over prescribe drugs. She reacts to the story of former professional baseball player Russell Dixon who nearly lost his life to alcohol and substance abuse, and how his experience in rehab highlights the most important steps to sobriety. Dr. Lembke also explains how new types of addictions, like social media addiction, trigger a dopamine deficit state in our brains, just like in the brains of drug addicts. Most importantly, Dr. Lembke explains the crucial role God and prayer play in the recovery process.

Full interview from Maybe God Podcast episode: https://maybegodpod.com/are-we-all-ge...

Welcome to the Maybe God Podcast - a community of doubtful believers and faithful skeptics bold and courageous enough to seek answers together. No question is too big or too uncomfortable for the Maybe God team; we believe questions and doubts are the fuel of our faith. Hosted by skeptic-at-heart Eric Huffman, each episode tackles some of the toughest issues related to faith through thought-provoking storytelling.

Subscribe to our channel so you catch all our interviews. Head to maybegodpod.com for more info on the podcast and this episode. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @maybegodpod.

---
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Introduction
1:32 - Avoiding Addicted Patients
5:00 - The Opioid Epidemic
18:49 - Other Types of Addictions
21:05 - What is "Addiction"?
27:23 - Our Brains & Addiction
34:07 - Storytelling & Healing
43:02 - How to Reset the Brain
47:38 - Not a Problem with Our Brains
56:16 - Sports & the Brain
59:00 - Too Much Exercise
1:02:58 - Dr. Lembke's Advice to Families
1:06:14 - Prayer as a Tool
1:18:15 - Closing Thoughts