Dopamina

Why do we get obsessed with the things we want and get bored when we get them? Why is addiction not a moral issue? Why does passionate love turn into disinterest so quickly? Why do almost all diets fail? Why do we live attached to social networks? Why are some people staunch liberals and others extreme conservatives? How do we keep hope, even in the darkest of times? The answer lies in a simple chemical in our brain: dopamine. Dopamine is the substance that allowed our ancestors to survive. Today instead, it is responsible for our behavior, addictions and human progress. It is the molecule of desire, the one that controls our impulses and the one that encourages us to always seek new stimuli. Dopamine is the cause of an ambitious worker sacrificing everything for success, or putting our most precious relationship at risk for a night of sex with a stranger. On the one hand, it motivates us to improve ourselves. On the other hand, it leads us to risk everything and fail in the attempt.