Hey Friend,

 

I’ve been reading a book called Dopamine Nation by Dr. Anna Lembke. I first came across her work when she was interviewed on The Diary of a CEO podcast (listen here). 

 

Dr. Anna is an American psychiatrist specializing in the field of addiction. This book unpacks why we get addicted to substances/behaviours and the role dopamine plays in addiction. 

 

As someone who has suffered from (and successfully overcome) severe addictive/compulsive behaviours – I found this book a fascinating read. 

 

And if you or anyone you know is experiencing this, I highly recommend this resource. 

 

Now, you may not have any severe addictions or compulsive behaviours, but I guarantee there is something you would like to change your relationship with. 

 

It could be your phone/social media usage, TV, gambling, drinking, shopping, work, food, smoking, drugs, exercise – the list is endless!

 

Don’t be fooled – any behaviour or substance no matter how ‘socially acceptable’ can still be abused when taken to the extreme. 

 

 

One of the strategies Dr. Anna discusses in her book is self-binding. 

 

This is when you intentionally and willingly create a barrier between yourself and your drug of choice in order to reduce (or eliminate) compulsive overconsumption. 

 

There are three types self-binding she speaks of:

 

In the book, Dr Anna talks about an extreme (but all too common) form of physical self-binding. Weight-loss surgeries such as gastric banding, sleeve gastrectomy, and gastric bypass. 

 

These types of surgeries reduce the size of your stomach and/or bypass the part of your stomach that absorbs calories. It’s an extreme measure to take for people who are suffering from obesity – where other traditional methods have failed them. 

 

But this stat grabbed my attention:

 

“One in four gastric bypass surgery recipients develops a new problem with alcohol addiction.” 

 

Dr. Anna continues:

 

“Most people who are obese have an underlying food addiction, which is not adequately addressed with surgery alone. Few people who undergo these surgeries get the behavioral and psychological interventions they need to help them change their eating habits. Hence many of them resume eating in unhealthy ways, expand their now smaller stomachs, and end up with medical complications and the need for repeat surgeries. When food is no longer an option, many switch from food to another drug, like alcohol.” 

 

Shocking, but not surprising. 

 

Now, this got me thinking about the work I do.

 

I’ve spoken with people who have $100,000+ of credit card debt and personal loans to their names. 

 

We could say they’re ‘financially obese’. 

 

 

They want to consolidate their debts onto one large loan, which often means refinancing their mortgage to achieve this. The benefit to this strategy is they only have one large loan to pay, and the interest rate and monthly repayments will be reduced. 

 

Sounds good in theory.

 

But now you’re paying off the same size debt, over a much longer duration, and likely paying thousands more in interest over the duration of the loan.  

 

It’s the equivalent of gastric bypass surgery for your finances. 

 

An extreme intervention that gives some relief in the short-term, but doesn’t address the real problem – and can create more problems in the long-run. 

 

My hypothesis is that the majority of people who take the easy-route of consolidating debt without addressing the behaviours that led to the accumulation of the debt – will find themselves falling into the same old habits. 

 

And end up being in a worse position.  

 

Because meaningful change rarely occurs with quick-fix solutions like this. 

 

Lasting change happens when you finally understand the long-term consequences of your behaviour, and commit to changing your patterns. 

 

No matter how painful or how long it may take. 

 

And this speaks to the core difference between the work I do as a financial coach, and that of traditional finance experts (advisors, brokers, accountants).

They deal in financial products. I deal in thinking and behaviour.