DOPAMINE –
May 12, 2025 – If you’ve been passed over for a promotion at work or had a romantic partner cheat on you, you know how much it can sting. You may replay these events over and over in your mind and think about how to get back at those who’ve wronged you.
Thinking about grievances and revenge can be so consuming that it feels like an addiction, explains James Kimmel, Jr., J.D., psychology lecturer, co-director of the Yale Collaborative for Motive Control Studies, and author of the new book The Science of Revenge. And many people – though experts aren’t sure exactly how many – become addicted to ‘grievance-triggered revenge craving,’ he says.
Social media and the divisiveness that seems to permeate most aspects of our lives may be making the problem worse, Kimmel says. Think about social media posts that get under your skin… and how social media keeps serving up more of them for you. ‘
