YOU HAVE A MESSAGE –
Feb. 5, 2026 – Dr. Anna Lembke is a Stanford professor of psychiatry who specializes in addiction. Just a few more minutes on Instagram, X, or TikTok turns into hours of doomscrolling, no matter how exhausted you feel or how early you have to work in the morning. Sound familiar? This is your brain on dopamine.
It’s a neurotransmitter that drives us to seek out pleasurable behavior, and it can get hijacked over time by instantly gratifying behaviors like social media.
If you want to get your life and your focus back under control, an addiction specialist’s 30-day reset can help — but first, look out for five subtle signs you might need one.
Dopamine is crucial for motivation, according to Dr. Anna Lembke, Stanford addiction psychiatrist and instructor of a new class about dopamine through MasterClass.
“We don’t get addicted to dopamine per se. Dopamine is a signal in the brain that tells us to approach and explore. We need it to survive,” Lembke told Business Insider.
