Thrilled to Death: How the Endless Pursuit of Pleasure Is Leaving Us Numb

Archibald D. Hart

Sep 2007 · Sold by Thomas Nelson

About this ebook

A fascinating exploration of the profound loss of pleasure in our daily lives and the seven steps for restoring it.

Pleasure. We know what it feels like and many of us spend our days trying to experience it. But can too much pleasure actually be bad for us? Yes, says Dr. Archibald Hart, clinical psychologist and expert in behavorial psychology. Backed by recent brain-imaging research, Dr. Hart shares that to some extent, our pursuit of extreme and overstimulating thrills hijacks our pleasure system and robs us of our ability to experience pleasure in simple things. We are literally being thrilled to death.

In this insightful book, Dr. Hart explores the stark rise in a phenomenon known as anhedonia, an inability to experience pleasure or happiness. Previously linked only to serious emotional disorders, anhedonia is now seen as a contributing factor in depression (specifically nonsadness depression) and in the growing number of people who complain of profound boredom. This emotional numbness and loss of joy are results of the overuse of our brain's pleasure circuits. In Thrilled to Death, Dr. Hart explains the processes of the brain's pleasure center, the damaging trends of overindulgence and overstimulation, the signs and problems of anhedonia, and the seven important steps we must take to recover our wonderful joy in living.

Ratings and reviews

The content is good but the ebook has some errors with the order of things and now i found that a questionnaire on emotional eating seems to be missing completely. Just sent a ticket to Google on this, but fyi on the status quo if anyone is shopping for this ebook.

Dr. Hart puts in great perspective our extremely over-committed lives and the result of such. By following his seven means to recovering pleasure I've added a more simplistic and peaceful approach to my daily life. My hope is that our culture would catch on to some of the principles that he outlines in this book. The perfect time for such a book.

About the author

Dr. Hart is a professional psychologist, a prolific writer and well-known speaker. He covers different topics including the treatment of panic attacks and depression as well as stress.