Spiritual Speed

People taking GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro report their cravings for food, alcohol, and other pleasures suddenly diminish without effort. This experience intrigued the author of this Atlantic article. to visit a Buddhist monastery, where Sister True Vow explained that Buddhism has long considered desire as a central cause of suffering. While some users feel liberated by their vanishing cravings, a result centuries of spiritual practice aim for, others instead describe life as less joyful or even empty, raising new questions about what it truly means to be free from desire.

As these drugs reach millions of Americans, society is confronted with a rare mass experiment: what happens when wanting itself is chemically muted? While weight loss is generally celebrated, many users describe emotional dullness and loss of interest in previously pleasurable activities. Psychiatrists and researchers note that although the drugs do not appear to cause more depression or suicidal thoughts compared to older medications, the loss of desire or motivation, termed "avolition", is a uniquely subtle, even confusing, effect.

Neuroscience has shown that wanting (the drive to pursue a reward) and liking (the enjoyment of that reward) are controlled by separate processes in the brain. This means it’s possible to want things you don’t even like, or enjoy things you no longer crave. The dopamine system is central to this, easily manipulated by drugs: increasing dopamine can flood us with compulsive urges, while lowering it can flatten our mood and make life feel lifeless. GLP-1 drugs “quiet” the brain’s desire circuits in ways researchers are still trying to completely understand.

This abrupt change, suddenly losing the urge to indulge, contrasts with Buddhism’s approach, which recommends gently developing self-awareness and gradually loosening the grip of desire. Sister True Vow points out that letting go of cravings over years, with deliberate reflection, is psychologically different from a medical shortcut. For some, the medication’s effect can be jarring, but it might also present an opportunity to examine what really drives happiness and fulfillment, potentially leading to a deeper personal “Middle Way” of balanced, mindful living.

Ultimately, modern culture is often criticized for overstimulating our dopamine systems, leading many to seek out “dopamine fasts” to tame instant gratification. Yet, as the GLP-1 experience shows, simply erasing all desire can make life unsatisfying too. True contentment seems to lie somewhere between relentless craving and total renunciation, a balance of enjoying the present while understanding the roots of our wanting. Reading this essay made me think about how one may feel connected to the universe after consuming psilocybin mushrooms. The experience is unlike another and truly mind altering. But achieving that sense of oneness with the universe in a deliberate, controlled and practiced manner has to be a different thing altogether and those that can do that are not anything like the average Ayahuasca retreat goer I would imagine.