Episode 18: Anticipation, Addiction & Alignment: How Dopamine Shapes Your Reality—and How to Take Your Power Back

In this powerful episode, we’re pulling back the curtain on how dopamine—the brain’s reward chemical—shapes not just our habits, but our energy, alignment, and ability to manifest.

As a Substance Use Disorder (SUD) professional and aligned living mentor, I share how I learned that dopamine doesn’t just spike when you receive a reward—it spikes in anticipation of it. This understanding shifted everything for me, and today I’ll show you how it may be silently driving your self-sabotaging behaviors, addictive loops, and even your mindset around success and worth.

Whether you’re navigating recovery, breaking free from numbing behaviors, or simply trying to live more in tune with your highest self, this episode will help you:

• Understand how your reward system actually works (and how it gets hijacked)
• Recognize the connection between addiction and manifestation
• Identify what you may be unknowingly chasing
• Learn how to reset your dopamine system using mindfulness, micro-joys, and alignment-based practices
• Rewire your brain to anticipate pleasure from things that truly nourish you

Plus, I’ll guide you through a simple integration practice you can use today to shift out of the chase—and into clarity.

✨ This episode bridges neuroscience, soul-work, and daily embodiment so you can take your power back—gently, intentionally, and with deep self-trust.

🎧 Tune in now and explore more resources at alignmentwithprairieyana.com

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Learn More: Scientific Sources That Informed This Episode

1. Salimpoor, V. N., Benovoy, M., Larcher, K., Dagher, A., & Zatorre, R. J. (2011). Anatomically distinct dopamine release during anticipation and experience of peak emotion to music. Nature Neuroscience, 14, 257–262. https://www.nature.com/articles/nn.2726
2. Braver, T. S., & Westbrook, J. A. (2016). Reward motivation and cognitive control: A neuroscience framework. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 10, 555. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00555/full
3. Brewer, J. (n.d.). Hacking the Habit Loop. Omega Institute for Holistic Studies. https://www.eomega.org/article/hacking-the-habit-loop
4. Kim, H. R., Malik, A. N., Mikhael, J. G., Bech, P., Tsutsui-Kimura, I., Sun, F., & Watabe-Uchida, M. (2023). Dopamine transients follow a striatal gradient of reward time horizons. Nature Neuroscience, 26, 649–662. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-023-01566-3
5. van Holst, R. J., Veltman, D. J., Büchel, C., van den Brink, W., & Goudriaan, A. E. (2014). Distorted expectancy coding in problem gambling: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 8, 100. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00100/full