It began as a treatment for type 2 diabetes. As anecdotal evidence showed that GLP-1 drugs were amazing at helping people lose weight, further studies were conducted, the drug was reformulated, and then GLP-1 drugs were approved for weight loss.

As the number of people taking GLP-1 drugs exploded, out came more anecdotal evidence. The drugs blunt “food noise” and lead to less binge eating. They quiet alcohol cravings and lead to less binge drinking. They calm pornography addiction, compulsive shopping, and compulsive gambling.

Recently, a massive study of American veterans taking GLP-1 drugs for obesity found that they actually reduce the percentage of people who develop substance use disorders, meaning they’re a type of vaccine. 

The ability of GLP-1 drugs to have such a profound impact on such a variety of compulsive behaviors, whether substance use disorders or behavioral disorders, indicates a common pathway for all compulsive disorders. One might call it a Unified Theory of Addiction, where stress requires displacement, and displacement can be anything that relieves tension.

Faced with a fight or flight situation, where none of the choices available are preferred, animals look for ways to resolve the tension. It can be as simple as pacing, grooming, or grinding the teeth. Regardless of the activity chosen, the fact that it provides relief can quickly make it compulsive. The displacement activity momentarily relieves the stress, usually through a dopamine surge. This remedy then becomes a magic button; press it over and over again, and the behavior becomes addictive.

That magic button can be something innocuous, like working jigsaw puzzles or going for a walk, or something poisonous, like binge drinking or snorting cocaine. Any behavior or substance can become compulsive when used to displace stressful energy. That’s the unified theory of addiction in a nutshell, and it’s been given a huge boost by the near-universal ability of GLP-1 drugs to calm cravings.

Last week, this theory of GLP-1 drugs as a universal cravings-killer was given a lengthy hearing in The Washington Post. Ariana Eunjung Cha, a sometimes tech reporter and sometimes health reporter, turned heads with a lengthy article on “Ozempic personality,” a general flattening of interest in everything. You might call it six-seven syndrome, an inability to get excited about anything.

Doctors tell Cha that GLP-1 drugs dampen their patients’ interests in gardening, sex, dancing, music, and love. We have reported here on studies that show the impact on sex drive is largely neutral, with improved self-image balancing out the loss of excitement. 

Cha reports that early evidence of increased suicidal ideation under the influence of GLP-1 drugs has not been confirmed and, in fact, the latest studies show GLP-1 drugs reduce depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. People taking GLP-1 drugs lose interest in self-harm as a displacement mechanism.

Dr. Spencer Nadolsky, an “obesity and lipid specialist physician,” tells The Washington Post that patients feeling flat from GLP-1 drugs often regain their zest for life by lowering their dosage. When that doesn’t work, he has prescribed Wellbutrin to “enhance dopamine activity.”

The reaction of patients to GLP-1 drugs indicates a common pathway for all compulsive behaviors. However, in curbing the cravings for dopamine surges, these drugs appear to be dulling the appetite for everyday pleasures, a state doctors call anhedonia. Now comes the hard work to see if researchers can formulate GLP-1 drugs that keep the weight off without sapping the joy of being alive.

Written by Steve O’Keefe. First published April 22, 2026.

Sources:

“What is ‘Ozempic personality,’ and why does it make life feel ‘meh’?,” The Washington Post, April 16, 2026.

“People who took GLP-1 drugs had lower risk of all kinds of drug and alcohol addiction,” Scientific American, March 4, 2026.

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