Garrett Irwin’s Reviews > Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence > Status Update

Garrett Irwin
Garrett Irwin is on page 46 of 290
Chapter 2 (Cont.)
- Are we striving too much for a pain free world? Kids currently receive stars every week in grade school, but then become anxious and depressed when getting into the real world. Should we allow kids to feel some pain and go through some difficulty in safe ways? Doctors in 1900s believed some levels of pain were beneficial.
- 50% increase in new depression cases from 1990-2017
15 hours, 55 min ago
Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence

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Garrett’s Previous Updates

Garrett Irwin
Garrett Irwin is on page 47 of 290
Chapter 2 (Cont.)
- 34% of Americans feel pain often/very often, the most of any country.
Stimulants doubled in children from 2006-2016, nearly 2/3 of American children were giving medicine for ADD symptoms.
Adults are taking more opioids, which have killed more than guns/cars in the year 2012.
“The reason we’re all miserable may be because we are working so hard to avoid being miserable.”
15 hours, 51 min ago
Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence


Garrett Irwin
Garrett Irwin is on page 45 of 290
Chapter 2
- David Story, began taking adderal and anxiety medicine. Ends up getting addicted and taking 3 types of medications every single day. Becomes suicidal, wife gets pregnant and he realizes he needs change. Takes two weeks in a psych ward and turns around
15 hours, 59 min ago
Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence


Garrett Irwin
Garrett Irwin is on page 28 of 290
Jacob is caught by wife who leaves him. As other people control the electricity in chat rooms. “It is never as good as I Imagine. The reality is always less. I tell myself never again and destroy my machine. But at 4am the next morning I am rebuilding it. I want to stop. I want to. I don’t want to die an addict.”
Feb 11, 2026 11:57AM
Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence


Garrett Irwin
Garrett Irwin is on page 27 of 290
Detective story about older brother seeing Japenese cartoon sex drawings and doing them on younger brother.
- “The internet promotes compulsive overconsumption not merely by providing increased access to drugs old and new, but also by suggesting behaviors that otherwise may never have occurred to us”
Feb 11, 2026 11:55AM
Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence


Garrett Irwin
Garrett Irwin is on page 23 of 290
Chapter 1 (Cont.)
- Patient Chi was addicted to the process of ordering and receiving items online. Amazon worsened it, leading to tens of thousands of dollars in debt and returning cheap items the second he received them, because he didn’t even care what he bought
-Jacob’s story. Wife dies, he remarries and moves to Seattle. Uses electricity to pleasure himself and post videos online of masturbation
Feb 11, 2026 11:51AM
Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence


Garrett Irwin
Garrett Irwin is on page 20 of 290
Chapter 1 (Cont.)
An attempt to find less addictive opioid painkillers to replace morphine, chemists found a new compound, Heroin. Named after the German word for courageous, Heroisch, turned out to be 2-5x more potent than morphine.
-Today’s cannabis is 5-10x more potent than the 1960s version, and our food has become filled with artificial flavors.
-Patient Max used timeline to explain drug use. 14 types
Feb 11, 2026 11:44AM
Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence


Garrett Irwin
Garrett Irwin is on page 18 of 290
Chapter 1
Addiction- The continued and compulsive consumption of a substance or behavior despite its harm to self and/or others.
Jacob’s story about masturbation machine he built, figured it would go away. Comes back when moves to Western Europe. Indulges in porn and more technology online, thinks about ending his life.
The more something is available, the more common an addiction is to follow.
Feb 11, 2026 11:36AM
Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence


Garrett Irwin
Garrett Irwin is on page 18 of 290
Feb 11, 2026 11:23AM
Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence


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