At what point do we become addicted? And is it possible to break bad habits once and for all, or will they stay with us forever?

In this episode, my guest is Mikhail Tetyushkin, a psychiatrist, addiction specialist, and psychotherapist, with whom we'll explore when addiction begins and whether there's a chance to break free.

We'll discuss why willpower doesn't work, how addiction works, and what prevents people from breaking free. We'll explore what happens to the brain, what mistakes hinder recovery, and what really helps in real-life practice.

And most importantly, we'll discuss where theory ends and the path to regaining control over your life begins.

Timecodes:
00:00 — How to understand that you're addicted and where to find a way out
01:12 — Addictions don't exist?
02:20 — The Logic of Addiction: How We Explain It to Ourselves
04:02 — Why Addicted People Can't Explain Their Addiction
05:15 — Signs of Any Addiction
06:30 — Why Are Addiction So Hard to Fight?
07:23 — Do Addicts Understand They Have Problems?
08:31 — Is It Possible to Overcome Addiction on Your Own?
10:47 — Does Willpower Work for Addiction
13:00 — How the Brain Changes with Addiction
14:15 — The 3 Stages of Addiction
16:25 — Is There a Safe Dose of Alcohol?
18:25 — What's the Difference Between Pleasure and Quasi-Pleasure
19:56 — 5 Ways to Protect Yourself from Addiction
21:05 — Is It Harder for Smart People to Overcome Addiction?
22:20 — When Is There No Turning Back?
23:09 — How is the legalization of substances affecting the rise in mental disorders?
24:35 — Sugar addiction: does it exist?
25:30 — Is 97% of the planet susceptible to addiction?
26:40 — Do weight loss drugs work?
27:43 — Coffee addiction: is it really that bad?
29:45 — The unobvious benefits of coffee
31:23 — Workaholism and achievement are also addictions
33:00 — The main component of addiction
35:02 — Why are there so many addicts among geniuses?
36:30 — Why are "highly sensitive" people more likely to experience addictions?
37:25 — Antidepressants: 21st century addiction
38:36 — Can one addiction trigger another?
40:39 — How much does dopamine affect us?
43:05 — Is light dopamine scary for humans?
44:05 — Why you need to monitor your children's dopamine
46:30 — When can you start giving your child gadgets?
48:45 — The dangers of doomscrolling
49:30 — How social media destroys our motivation
51:32 — Doomscrolling: how it affects sociality
52:28 — Do TV and advertising influence addictions?
53:50 — How to resist the influence of advertising and propaganda
55:45 — Why there's a gambling addiction boom right now
56:50 — How to maintain composure when everything around you is bad
59:10 — How to recognize addiction in its early stages
01:01:30 — Episode Summary

Alexander Shulgin on social media:

Instagram*: instagram.com/aleksander.shulgin_
TikTok: tiktok.com/@aleksander.shulgin

Mikhail Tetyushkin on social media:
Website: mednauka.net/mihail_tetyushkin
Telegram: t.me/mednaukanet
VKontakte: vk.com/mednaukanet

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#psychology #health #habits