Dr. Trish Leigh Podcast

Episode #198: Neuroscientist Explains the Dopamine Hijack – How Modern Life Miswires You
Host: Dr. Trish Leigh
Date: November 23, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Dr. Trish Leigh, a cognitive neuroscientist, explores how modern life — especially the constant lure of screens, notifications, and online stimuli — hijacks our dopamine systems, miswires our brains, and erodes our ability to focus, connect, and experience joy in healthy ways. Drawing from neuroscience, personal experience, and practical strategies, Dr. Leigh explains why stillness feels uncomfortable, why willpower often collapses, and how to reclaim your mind’s coherence and fulfillment by tending to “the real fire” of purpose and genuine connection.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Understanding the Dopamine Hijack

• Distraction Over Stillness

  • Modern technology is “engineered to keep your nervous system on a leash of overstimulation.” (01:13)
  • “Distraction feels safer than stillness.” (00:01)
  • Engaging with screens and endless novelty creates a loop: scroll, spike (dopamine surge), crash, repeat.
  • This isn’t due to personal weakness but a systemic miswiring of the brain.

• Ancient Hardware, Modern Saturation

  • Human brains are built for survival, not for managing endless digital stimulation.
  • The dopamine loop that once aided exploration now gets triggered artificially and excessively.

2. Personal Experience and Brain Mapping

• Dr. Leigh shares her experience of overworking and being caught in the notification loop, despite her expertise:
  • “Even me. When I finally mapped my own brain, my high beta waves looked like fireworks. Pure chaos.” (03:00)
  • Realization: It was not lack of discipline but hijacking of her neural systems.
  • “If it can happen to me, it can happen to any single person who's listening right now.” (04:03)

3. Why Willpower is Not Enough

• Dopamine Leash
  • Every spike strengthens the “wanting circuit”; the prefrontal cortex (self-control) tires.
  • "Craving fires before conscious thought can even arrive. That's why willpower collapses by Thursday, if you know what I mean." (05:26)
• The problem is not personal weakness or lack of discipline, but a miswired reward system due to overstimulation.

4. Common Patterns Across Behaviors

• Overworking, Gaming, Binge-watching, Perfectionism

  • The core loop is similar—overstimulation in reward centers, underactivation in focus networks.
  • “Different behaviors, same loop.” (06:21)

• Avoidance Disguised as Drive

  • Dr. Leigh discusses how high achievement or constant activity can be a form of avoidance, not genuine ambition.
  • “It wasn’t ambition per se. It was avoidance disguised as drive. My nervous system had learned that doing felt safer than being.” (07:14)

5. Brain Hacks and Healing Strategies

• Hack #1: Redefining Productivity

  • Observe what your brain calls “productive.”
    • If productivity feels frantic, scattered, urgent, or fear-fueled, it’s the dopamine leash in action.

• Hack #2: Reconditioning Stillness

  • “If stillness feels uncomfortable, that’s not a personality trait or flaw. It’s neuro conditioning. Your brain has equated stillness with withdrawal.” (08:22)
  • The first step is to teach your body that calm is safe.

6. The Analogy of "Counterfeit Fire" vs. "Real Fire"

• Counterfeit Fire:

  • “Bright, instant, and totally addictive.” (09:16)
  • Quick dopamine, superficial pleasure, addictive cycles.

• Real Fire:

  • “Burns slower. It's dopamine plus serotonin. It's warm. It gathers people. It endures.” (09:21)
  • Comes from meaningful connection and purpose.

• Actions that feed counterfeit fire: Mindless scrolling, seeking quick hits of pleasure.

• Actions that tend real flame: Pausing, breathing, choosing one meaningful thing, fostering connections.

• “Every time you pause, breathe, and choose one meaningful thing, you, my friend, are then tending to the real flame.” (09:34)

7. Personal Detox Experience

• Initial withdrawal can feel uncomfortable (jitters, restlessness) but improves over time:
  • “The first week felt like a detox... but by week three, I was sleeping deeper, having full conversations again with my kids, enjoying being in the present moment.” (10:09)

8. Purpose Over Pleasure: Sacred Order

• Quoting C.S. Lewis:

  • “You can’t get second things by putting them first. When we chase pleasure first, we lose both real pleasure and purpose. When we put purpose first, pleasure follows in right measure.” (11:05)

• Neuroscience Perspective

  • Shift from “phasic dopamine spikes” (quick highs) to “tonic balanced baseline arousal” (steady fulfillment). (12:00)

• Neurospiritual Perspective

  • Moving away from compulsive pleasure-seeking toward community and real-world connection.

9. Daily Practice for Restoration

• Dr. Leigh recommends beginning each day with a grounding question:

  • “What would bring order to my brain and my nervous system today?” (13:22)
    • Sometimes it’s silence, sunlight, or saying no.

• Re-centering on purpose and passion, especially in family and personal relationships.

• “Peace isn’t passive. It’s your internal power channeled in the direction that you drive it actively.” (16:01)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Distraction feels safer than stillness." — Dr. Trish Leigh (00:01)
• "The real problem isn't just scrolling too much... It's the world we live in. The apps, the ads, the noise. It's all been very systematically engineered to keep your nervous system on a leash." (01:13)
• "It was avoidance disguised as drive. My nervous system had learned that doing felt safer than being." (07:14)
• “If stillness feels uncomfortable, that’s not a personality trait or flaw. It’s neuro conditioning.” (08:22)
• “Every time you pause, breathe, and choose one meaningful thing, you, my friend, are then tending to the real flame.” (09:34)
• "You can't get second things by putting them first. When we chase pleasure first, we lose both real pleasure and purpose." — C.S. Lewis, quoted by Dr. Leigh (11:05)
• “Peace isn’t passive. It’s your internal power channeled in the direction that you drive it actively.” (16:01)
• "When you calm the chaos, your mind returns to coherence, your body regulates, and your purpose reignites. That's what it means to become super normal... not superhuman, but fully human." (16:42)

Important Timestamps

• 00:00 — Introduction: Distraction and dopamine hijack
• 01:13 — Overstimulation, engineered environment (apps/ads/screen time)
• 03:00 — Personal brain mapping experience: “Chaos in high beta waves”
• 05:26 — Willpower collapses: craving fires before conscious thought
• 06:21 — Patterns in entrepreneurs, gamers, perfectionists
• 07:14 — Avoidance disguised as drive: “human doing” vs. being
• 08:22 — Stillness as withdrawal: neuro conditioning
• 09:16 — Counterfeit fire vs. real fire analogy
• 10:09 — Effects of a personal digital detox
• 11:05 — C.S. Lewis quote and sacred order
• 12:00 — Neuroscientific explanation: phasic spikes vs. tonic arousal
• 13:22 — Daily question to restore order and purpose
• 16:01 — Peace as active power
• 16:42 — Conclusion: “Super normal,” not superhuman

Actionable Takeaways

• Recognize that feeling restless in stillness is a brain adaptation, not a personal flaw.
• Shift your attention from fleeting digital dopamine hits to cultivating real-world purpose and connection.
• Start with small, intentional pauses and daily practices that support nervous system regulation.
• Build habits that foster steady fulfillment rather than peak chasing.

Final Thought

"The world profits from your distraction, but you gain from your clarity. So tend to the sacred fire, not the counterfeit one." — Dr. Trish Leigh (17:15)