Irresistible summary

For a long time, there was a popular misconception that addicts were immoral and weak-willed. But as we’ve grown to understand how addiction works, it’s become clear that this isn’t the case.

For instance, the situations we find ourselves in often contribute a great deal to the development of an addiction.

You might have noticed that there are a number of support groups these days for people who are addicted to certain behaviors – things like sex or gambling or even obsessive cleaning.

Traditionally, we’ve thought that serious addictions involve substances such as drugs and alcohol, but, in recent years, it’s been shown that many behaviors can affect our brain in the same ways that substances do.

Another trick our brain can play is to make us feel productive by responding to an email within a few seconds of receiving it.

Yet this kind of immediate reaction is just another addictive behavior and it actually reduces the quality of our work.

If you’ve spent any time with babies, you’ve probably noticed how they love to repeat actions. They’ll happily press the same button to switch on the same light or make the same noises over and over again. Babies do this because they enjoy the positive feedback – the look of that pretty light or the sensation of making that strange sound.

As adults, we also have a desire for positive feedback, and when we’re rewarded for carrying out a simple action, we may start to develop an addiction. This is especially true if we don’t know when that simple action will be rewarded.

Today, there are over 30,000 offerings on Google Books for those who want to improve their life. Considering the supply of self-help literature, it would seem that there’s a great demand for this help, that people genuinely want to have a better life. But it isn’t that simple.

In truth, humans are addicted to making things difficult for themselves.

When you were a child, you probably hated it when your parents put a limit on your television or computer time.

But you should be thanking them, since too much time in front of a screen can actually affect a child’s empathy.

If you’ve ever tried quitting something cold turkey – eating junk food, for instance, or smoking cigarettes – then there’s a good chance that you’ve also experienced a relapse.

Our most common reaction to an undesired behavior is to repress or suppress it, but repression often only makes an addiction worse.