How to Stop Falling for Illusions (Video Games, Dating Apps, Doom-scrolling, Weed, Alcohol)

You’re surrounded by illusions that feel good now but rob you later, p*** as the illusion of intimacy, video games as the illusion of achievement, processed food as the illusion of nourishment, dating apps as the illusion of choice, doom-scrolling as the illusion of connection, weed as the illusion of peace, alcohol as the illusion of confidence, and gambling as the illusion of success. In this episode, I not only name these traps and reveal how they pacify your drive and blur your path to fulfillment. I’ll also show you what to do about them, how to recognize them for what they are, and how to take back control when they show up in your life. 

I’m not speaking from a pedestal. I spent a decade dependent on Adderall, fell into compulsive online habits, and learned the hard way that comfort isn’t the cure. I share my story and the science that helped me rebuild, how turning toward pain, not away from it, forged discipline, resilience, and a more meaningful life.

You’ll leave with a simple lens: when a craving hits, ask, “What deep, meaningful work am I avoiding right now?” Then we use that signal to take one honest step today. If you’re ready to trade sedation for purpose and choose the difficult thing on purpose, press play.

Chapters

• 0:00 Teaser
• 1:14 Illusions of modern happiness
• 4:45 Pain as a path to growth
• 9:45 Passion, pain, and purpose
• 14:09 Addictions as signals for insight

Transcript

Andres Preschel:
Don't distract yourself. Don't fall victim to these illusions. Notice why they're there, why they exist, and why there's such an incredible demand on these illusions. Why there are literally trillions of dollars behind these illusions. The porn industry, behind video games, behind processed food, behind dating apps, behind doom scrolling, and social media, behind weed, behind alcohol. trillions upon trillions upon trillions of dollars because we know we have figured out that this kind of suffering is inevitable. It's part of everyone's human experience. It's part of our shared experience. But the people that persevere, the people that become great at anything, they see this for what it is. They push it aside and they use this pain as motivation. They have an incredibly intimate relationship with their pain. Before we jump in, quick shout out to today's sponsor, Timeline Nutrition. They've developed MitoPure gummies, the only clinically proven way to restore mitochondrial health and support healthy aging from the inside out. And my listeners get 20% off at timeline.com slash undress. That's timeline.com slash undress, A-N-D-R-E-S. Go try them, your cells will thank you. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Neurophysio podcast. I'm your host Andres Purcell, neuroscientist and physiologist helping you discover your size so you can optimize your life. And today's episode is all about the illusions that we face as modern humans and how these illusions give us the impression of happiness in the short term. but ultimately end up leaving us very dissatisfied, empty, and unmotivated in the long run. We'll start with this. Porn gives you the illusion of intimacy. Video games, the illusion of achievement. Processed food, the illusion of nourishment. Dating apps, the illusion of choice. Doom scrolling, the illusion of connection. Weed, the illusion of peace. Alcohol, the illusion of confidence. Gambling, the illusion of success. And I've fallen for almost all of them. Now, before I continue, I want to make it clear that I'm not speaking from a pedestal. I have in fact lived through 10 years dependent on Adderall. In fact, I was at the high prescribed dose of 60 milligrams per day. Sometimes I'd take two capsules, believe it or not. I've dealt with compulsive online habits, including porn. I've been obsessed with gaming, like it was my life. And honestly, I still definitely indulge from time to time. I've been burnt out from doom scrolling. I mean, countless times. And I'm currently trying to overcome a phone addiction, which is a tricky subject as a self-employed remote entrepreneur and content creator of sorts. I've also been a full-blown pothead. I was a pothead in high school, smoked a lot of weed back when it was cool. I've been a processed food junkie. And I guess the only one that I didn't fall deeply into was alcohol, but I would consider that luck because a lot of people around me did. And a lot of my friends from high school are still indulging in alcohol and it's just part of their you know, weekly agenda. I guess gambling too. I never really got into the gambling scene, but man, I have so many friends that are addicted to it. Well, I guess they're not really friends anymore. They're more like acquaintances. You know, it's interesting. A lot of the people that I grew up with, they fall victim not just to one of these, but typically it's a combination of these illusions, so to speak, because it all comes down to Just one fundamental wiring pattern in the brain. And I'm going to describe what that is, but that's why these things tend to exist together and not so much in isolation. Anyway, as modern humans, it's almost impossible not to fall for these illusions and for these traps. I mean, they're literally engineered to pacify us, to keep us sedated, distracted, and believing that comfort equals fulfillment. That if we numb the pain and pretend that it's pleasure, that we're going to feel better and be fine. And yet, the pain is the path we need to follow to be great in every capacity, in every dimension of our lives. You know, over the years I withdrew cold turkey from ADHD meds after a decade taking them and being totally dependent on them. And at the time, you know, I was, I was nearly anorexic. I had years of my life that I spent without any real friends. I had a really bad stutter because my brain was so jacked up on amphetamines. I've been cheated on by. two of my ex-girlfriends. I'd had a falling out with my family when I moved away to Uruguay for a big job opportunity with one of the founders of Airbnb and I just was completely isolated. Didn't know how to stay connected with my loved ones Had to go through a lot of psychotherapy as a result, but I'm glad I did then I came through on the other side It was definitely the lowest point in my life though, even though I was crushing it on paper. I mean I was living the dream and One of the most beautiful places in the world, Punta del Este, Uruguay, getting paid six figures a year by a single client. And I still have my other online clients and a successful podcast. So you can do the math, but I was very unhappy. I've also lost people that I loved as in they passed away or they have walked out of my life or I've walked out of theirs. I've been fired. I've embarrassed multiple business partners in ways that you cannot believe. I've missed life-changing moments. I've hired the wrong people who completely wasted my time and energy, but I mean, I did learn a lot and now I get to appreciate the folks that are on my team who absolutely are meant to be here. I have failed in the eyes of others, you know, from my parents, professors, friends, my brother. I mean, so many people. And I have definitely felt like a fraud and I've been called a fraud by some people. And in these moments, I have reached for the things that give, I want to say me, but really give us relief. These illusions. And it's not because I was weak or because I am weak, but because my mind and body were screaming for help. The only way that they knew how, and so many people do the same. They don't realize that vices only bury our pain deeper and make it grow. And the reality is that you don't have to waste years on these quick fixes to finally face what's wrong. I want to ask you, I want to invite you to feel it now and to face it now, feel the pain, feel the adversity. Feel it right now. I'll tell you what, I wouldn't change my past because it allows me to empathize with people who are still stuck. And I'm able now with my experience and also my education, I recognize the signals and I recognize that they're not moral failings, but physiological and psychological cries for help. And with the adversity that I faced early in my life, you know, that's really why I ended up studying physiology, neuroscience, psychology, nutrition, because I wanted to, not wanted to, I needed to understand what my body and mind were really asking for and how to give them what they needed to thrive. And also how these systems work together, the mind and the body and how they all are part of one system. So I want to invite you to cut the vices, to sit with your pain and to witness what is here to teach you because comfort is for the dead or those dead inside. The road to hell often feels like heaven and the road to heaven often feels like hell. At the end of the day, the choice is yours. And I know that up until this point, this has been a difficult A series of difficult ideas to swallow. I know that this can be, how do I put this? A very, for the lack of a better term, thought-provoking podcast episode that you've now tuned into. Maybe you regret tuning in, but I want you to take a moment to reflect on everything that I just shared and to recognize that fire inside of you that you have right now. That right there is passion. That right there is incentive. That right there is a purpose. Don't let that slip. Don't let that go. That pain, that passion, that purpose needs to be met with the right opportunity. And if you add all that up, that is greatness. Don't distract yourself. Don't fall victim to these illusions. Notice why they're there, why they exist, and why there's such an incredible demand on these illusions, why there are literally trillions of dollars behind these illusions. trillions of dollars behind the porn industry, behind video games, behind processed food, behind dating apps, behind doom scrolling and social media, behind weed, behind alcohol, trillions upon trillions upon trillions of dollars, because we know we have figured out that this kind of suffering is inevitable. It's part of everyone's human experience. It's part of our shared experience. But the people that persevere, the people that become great at anything, They see this for what it is and they push it aside and they use this pain as motivation. They are, they have an incredibly intimate relationship with their pain. This is what I've done. I mean, obviously this is anecdotal evidence, right? My story is anecdotal evidence and there's survivorship bias. I completely understand that, but I'll tell you that if you study any successful person in any capacity, it could be, they could be financially successful. They can be spiritually successful. They can be emotionally successful. They can be successful with their relationships, et cetera. But all of the most successful people, they have incredible willpower. They have the largest anterior midsingular cortexes, right? The willpower centers of the brain are highly developed in these people because they choose to do the difficult things. And you can't choose to do the difficult things if you're constantly being pacified by these illusions. You can't. It all comes down to that neural network, if you don't give yourself permission to deal with pain and to face it head on, you're not going to give yourself permission to pursue greatness. Let's take a quick break because this ties right into today's topic. Recovery is something we all care about, and one reason it slows down as we age is mitochondrial decline. Timeline Nutrition's longevity gummies with MitoPure deliver Urolithin A, which activates mitophagy, your body's natural process of replacing worn-out mitochondria with new efficient ones. In clinical trials, people improved energy and even increased muscle strength by 12% over 16 weeks. No stimulants, no gimmicks, just healthier cells doing their job. You can try them with 20% off at timeline.com slash undress. Again, that's timeline.com slash undress, A-N-D-R-E-S. Your sales will thank you. So there's something I want to expand on, and I'm actually adding this in the post-production of this episode. It's an insight that came to me after the original recording, and I feel like I have to share it with you. And that's that nowadays, when I catch myself falling for these illusions, falling into my vices, my addictions, I recognize that these are signals. I catch myself now and I go, what's the deep meaningful work that I'm avoiding right now? Because if you understand that these are in fact illusions, that these are in fact distractions, okay, well, ask yourself, what are they distracting you from? What are they distracting you from? There is magic behind the work that you're most avoiding. What does that work? What does it look like? I've doubled my fair share of addictions. I've truly been addicted to amphetamines, to gaming, to porn, to doomscrolling. And because I've been through these cycles time and time and time again, and because I've, as a result, I've been motivated to study, you know, neuroscience and physiology. I mean, that's not the only reason why, but it's definitely one of the main reasons why I pursued this journey to overcome my dependence on Adderall and find my genius, whatever that meant. I've been through this cycle multiple times, enough to know that now when I catch myself pursuing these illusions, it's a signal. It's an opportunity to derive insight and go, okay, there's something here that I'm avoiding. What is it? And then boom. So I want you to give this a try. See things for what they are and acknowledge these cravings as signals for something deeper and just watch what happens. Anyway, back to the show. So again, I know that this might seem like a negative thing that we're discussing here. I know that it might seem heavy and difficult to bear, but smile, smile through it. I want you to smile. with me because I'm smiling too. I want you to smile with me because for the first time, maybe in your life, you've realized that there's something incredible you can do with the pain that you feel. And maybe you have finally realized that this is pain that we all feel. Some of us aren't even aware of it, but the more aware that we become and the more deliberate we are. turning this pain into purpose and into passion. Inevitably we will have the opportunity to do something great with it. So anyway, that's all for now. Much love and keep shining bright. Keep that smile on your face. All right. Thanks for listening and I will see you on the other side. Thanks for listening and thanks again to Timeline Nutrition for sponsoring the show. If you want to stay strong and energized as you age, try their longevity gummies at timeline.com slash undress. Again, you get 20% off and trust me, your cells will thank you.