The hacking of the American mind

What Hacker News says

1. plexmanJan 2024
   Sugar is poison.

   Check out the latest talk from Dr Robert Lustig https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n28W4AmvMDE&pp=ygUGbHVzdGln

   Its a 3.5h video, but roughly sugar is as toxic as alcohol and the food industry is adding it to most products. In short if it has a label (like most processed foods with many ingredients) you should avoid, switch to the ones that don't have (like an apple).

   This book is also great "The hacking of the American mind"

   `While researching the toxic and addictive properties of sugar for his New York Times bestseller Fat Chance, Robert Lustig made an alarming discovery—our pursuit of happiness is being subverted by a culture of addiction and depression from which we may never recover.

   Dopamine is the “reward” neurotransmitter that tells our brains we want more; yet every substance or behavior that releases dopamine in the extreme leads to addiction. Serotonin is the “contentment” neurotransmitter that tells our brains we don’t need any more; yet its deficiency leads to depression. Ideally, both are in optimal supply. Yet dopamine evolved to overwhelm serotonin—because our ancestors were more likely to survive if they were constantly motivated—with the result that constant desire can chemically destroy our ability to feel happiness, while sending us down the slippery slope to addiction. In the last forty years, government legislation and subsidies have promoted ever-available temptation (sugar, drugs, social media, porn) combined with constant stress (work, home, money, Internet), with the end result of an unprecedented epidemic of addiction, anxiety, depression, and chronic disease. And with the advent of neuromarketing, corporate America has successfully imprisoned us in an endless loop of desire and consumption from which there is no obvious escape.

   With his customary wit and incisiveness, Lustig not only reveals the science that drives these states of mind, he points his finger directly at the corporations that helped create this mess, and the government actors who facilitated it, and he offers solutions we can all use in the pursuit of happiness, even in the face of overwhelming opposition. Always fearless and provocative, Lustig marshals a call to action, with seminal implications for our health, our well-being, and our culture.`

   https://robertlustig.com/hacking/

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2. isolliAug 2022
   A book developing similar ideas: The Hacking of the American Mind.

   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34237719-the-hacking-of-...

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3. bckrJul 2022
   A lot of good advice here; I'll throw in my 2c.

   What do you actually care about in life? Is it people? Ideas? Circumstances or something you can give yourself? If you can find just a tiny seed of caring about something outside of yourself, bigger than yourself, something that goes beyond basic pleasures, cultivate that, and it can lead to much greater happiness.

   Speaking of pleasure and happiness, these two things are not the same. There's a book called The Hacking of the American Mind which really helped me understand this. Essentially, we have been conditioned to confuse pleasure with happiness. Pleasure is fleeting, a feeling we get from good food, or sex, or drugs, or video games; or, confusingly, from realizing that we are happy. Happiness is a deeper and longer-term circumstance. Replace "pleasure" and "happiness" with whatever words work for you.

   Others have mentioned the importance of human connection. +1 to that. +1 to therapy as well.

   I'll mention about the weed. Others are suggesting you detox / go cold turkey. This could work, or you could enter into a cycle where you stop and start again and just throw your emotions into greater chaos. Most likely, you are using the weed to self-treat depression/anxiety. Unfortunately, it does became habit forming, as much as pro-weed folks want to think it doesn't. So it's probably now causing some depression/anxiety which will get worse if you stop. What I recommend, from experience, is to start to play a game of finding the smallest dose that still works for what you're using it for. Try skipping a whole day once a week, then every few days, etc. and pay attention to how you feel on days you use and days you don't use, as well as the days after. I bet you'll feel great after a week of no using. It may also help to use and don't do anything else, just sit and be high, and perceive what it is about being high that you actually enjoy.

   Best fortunes to you on your journey.

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4. chakintoshFeb 2022
   Recommended reading: The Hacking of the American Mind by Prof. Robert Lustig https://www.amazon.com/Hacking-American-Mind-Corporate-Takeo...
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5. pcdoodleDec 2020
   I agree with you 100%, Regulations are typically never the answer. However sugar is so damn bad for not only the user, but the economy as well, that I'd be willing to limit the impressions sugar gets when every parent brings their kids through a check out.

   If you're interested at how bad sugar is all in, check out Robert Lustigs "Hacking of the American Mind" on youtube.

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6. ChazprimeApr 2019
   If you haven’t read it, check out The Hacking of the American Mind by Robert Lustig. It might be right up your alley; it opened my eyes as to what influences my dietary choices.
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