Jao Tsung-I Academy | 'A Cup of Coffee' Book Club — What Science Tells Us About Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Happiness

Description

Have you ever wondered why some people can turn pain into motivation, while others suddenly fall into depression after achieving success, to the point they can't even get out of bed?

David JP Phillips, author of 'Your Life, Controlled by These Six!', is ranked eighth globally among communication experts, training top companies like Google and Microsoft. Despite appearing to be a winner in life, he suffered from depression for 19 years. One day, while walking, an inexplicable sense of happiness suddenly surged within him, leading him to discover: dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, cortisol, endorphins, and testosterone—these six substances are the hidden puppeteers controlling our emotions.

But the story doesn't end here.
If Phillips teaches you how to 'use wisely' these six substances, Stanford University addiction medicine professor Anna Lembke’s book 'Dopamine Nation' reveals the aspect we most easily overlook—what happens when dopamine is overconsumed. Scrolling through phones, binge-watching shows, shopping—stimulation is readily available. Drawing from her firsthand experience treating alcoholism, drug addiction, and sex addiction, she tells us: pleasure and pain are two ends of the same seesaw—every extra unit of pleasure you take, you owe an extra unit of pain.

One teaches you how to activate; the other reminds you not to overindulge.
In this book talk, I want to discuss both books together: it's not a matter of willpower, but chemistry; it's not that you're not trying hard enough, but that you've never adjusted the proportions of this cocktail.

What you'll take away

* Six emotional and motivational substances—each has concrete, actionable 'switches'

* Why scrolling through phones, binge-watching, and shopping make you increasingly numb?

* 'Pleasure-Pain Seesaw': How to rediscover true happiness in an age of indulgence

* For neurodiverse friends, highly sensitive individuals, and those who feel 'stuck': a method to re-understand your body

Language | Cantonese

Storyteller | YK

Fee | Purchase one coffee or beverage

Registration | https://forms.gle/r63vkxyqE1pcsjZB8

Organizers & Supporters | Jao Tsung-I Academy, Door Anywhere, YK Book Talk, Golden Island