You are bored or stressed or hurt. Something is hard in life and you want a break. What do you grab for that you hope will protect, soothe, and comfort? Whatever it is—shopping, overeating, drinking, drugs—promises relief, but never delivers. Instead, you are left feeling empty, anxious, guilty, and wanting more. David Powlison shares that God made us for rest and pleasure, not for an obsessed and unsatisfied life. Understanding the true pleasure that comes from loving God and enjoying the good gifts he has given us will reorder your thinking and bring you freedom from your obsessions. Take the practical suggestions that David Powlison outlines here and see how your pleasures increase and your obsessions decrease.
Anyone who has struggled with sex addiction knows that living with constant sexual compulsions can be extremely difficult. But summoning the courage to find help for this condition can be even more of a challenge. If addictions to pornography, strip clubs, massage parlors, prostitutes, phone sex, or chat rooms have made you feel trapped, this book can help you find a way to break free. Written by a former sex addict who specializes in counseling people who suffer from sexually compulsive behavior, Breaking the Cycle presents a step-by-step plan to enjoying a life of productivity and purpose. You can free yourself from the powerful, compulsive urges that may have damaged your career, finances, or relationships with friends and family. The exercises in this book will show you how to regain control of your life and build meaningful intimate connections with others.
An evidence-based guide to using cannabis to enhance pain relief safely, effectively, and economically while reducing the risks of opioid addiction Opioid addiction has exploded to epidemic proportions in the U.S. Drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death. In 2012, 259 million prescriptions were written for opioids—more than enough to give every American adult their own bottle of pills. Uwe Blesching, author of The Cannabis Health Index, clearly and thoroughly lays out the overwhelming benefits of using cannabis—not only to reduce the nation’s dependence on opioids—but also to manage the craving and withdrawal symptoms of opioid addiction, and especially to address the pain that leads to drug use and addiction in the first place. Citing statistics showing that states allowing legal access to cannabis have seen a 25 percent drop in opioid-related deaths, Blesching explains how precision applications of cannabis can alleviate the mental and emotional aspects of pain by modulating numerous neurotransmitters and their emotional counterparts. He presents a convincing case for the powerful benefits of cannabis in reducing the risks of addiction and overdose, cutting monetary costs, and restoring a sense of balance and control to those who struggle with pain.
Do you want to reclaim your independence? Are you looking for guidance as you learn to set boundaries that actually serve you? If you're ready to let go of unhealthy relationships and begin your journey to healing, join Drs. Frank Minirth, Paul Meier, and Robert Hemfelt in Love Is a Choice as they walk you through their ten proven steps to recovering from codependency. In Love Is a Choice, Drs. Minirth, Meier, and Hemfelt combine decades of research with timeless biblical wisdom to show you that the most effective means of overcoming codependent relationships is to establish or deepen your relationship with Christ Himself. Love Is a Choice will teach you why God wants us to be independent and why you deserve to have healthier, more fulfilling relationships. Throughout Love Is a Choice, Drs. Minirth, Meier, and Hemfelt will lead you through their method to overcoming codependency once and for all. Along the way, Love Is a Choice will give you the tools and encouragement you need to: Discover the root causes of codependency Surround yourself with a loving, supportive community See yourself in a new light Uncover your unmet emotional needs It's time to break the cycle of codependency. Let Love Is a Choice be your guide every step of the way.
Parents affected by addiction can enable their children’s substance abuse and even model addictive behaviors learned from their own parents, passing the cycle on from generation to generation. Learn what you can do to help yourself, your children, and future generations break the cycle of addiction and addictive behaviors. Having grown up with a parent in the throes of addiction, or who got physically sober but perhaps not emotionally so, you know the ravages of addiction firsthand. Through counseling, self-help groups, or classic books such as Adult Children of Alcoholics, you may have an understanding of how the patterns and behaviors associated with addiction play out within families, but applying that knowledge to your own approach to relationships and parenting is another story. In Unwelcome Inheritance, Lisa Sue Woititz combines her own insights with the unpublished contributions of her late mother, the early leader in the Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA) movement, Dr. Janet Woititz, uncovering how multiple generations of people affected by addiction continue to enable their children’s substance abuse and how, without realizing it, they continue to model the addictive behaviors learned from their own parents. These ACOA pioneers then bring to light these hidden behavior patterns—including impulsivity, misplaced loyalty, people pleasing, insecure parenting styles, and multiple compulsive and addictive behaviors—so that you can take a clear look at how you got to this point. Additional points of inquiry, illustrated by stories from the trenches of the ACOA movement, help you explore what you can (and can’t) do to help your children, your children’s children, and yourself lead healthy, balanced lives.
For the past decade, author Tian Dayton has been researching trauma and addiction, and how psychodrama (or sociometry group psychotherapy) can be used in their treatment. Since trauma responses are stored in the body, a method of therapy that engages the body through role play can be more effective in accessing the full complement of trauma-related memories. This latest book identifies the interconnection of trauma and addictive behavior, and shows why they can become an unending cycle. Emotional and psychological pain so often lead to self-medicating, which leads to more pain, and inevitably more self-medicating, and so on--ad infinitum. This groundbreaking book offers readers effective ways to work through their traumas in order to heal their addictions and their predilection toward what clinicians call self-medicating (the abuse of substances [alcohol, drugs, food], activities [work, sex, gambling, etc.] and/or possessions [money, material things].) Readers caught up in the endless cycle of trauma and addiction will permanently transform their lives by reading this book. Therapists treating patients for whom no other avenue of therapy has proved effective will find that this book offers practical, lasting solutions. Case studies and examples of this behavioral phenomenon will illustrate the connection, helping readers understand its dynamics, recognize their own situations and realize that they are not alone in experiencing this syndrome. The author deftly combines the longstanding trauma theories of Van der Kolk, Herman, Bowlby, Krystal and others with her own experiential methods using psychodrama, sociometry and group therapy in the treatment of addiction and posttraumatic stress disorder. While designed to be useful to therapists, this book will also be accessible to trade readers. It includes comprehensive references, as well as a complete index.
Many Christians are locked in a cycle of addiction, particularly in the areas of alcohol and drug abuse. Many have turned to 12-Step programs for help. But, where is the incredible power of Christ in this process? In a positive, non-condemning way, Anderson provides an alternative model of recovery for substance and alcohol abusers, a model that will also work for individuals struggling with other kinds of addictions. The first half of Freedom from Addictions tells the unbelievable story of Mike and Julia Quarles, and how Mike overcame a debilitating addiction to alcohol. He achieved success by applying the principles that make up the central theme of Dr. Anderson's message: that we are saints according to God's word (Eph 1) and that true freedom comes from realizing o ur identity in Christ.
This new edition includes a Foreword by Jon Kabat-Zinn, how to run an Eight Step Recovery meeting, and how to teach a Mindfulness Based Addiction Recovery programme, including teacher's notes and handouts.All of us can struggle with the tendency towards addiction, but for some it can destroy their lives. In our recovery from addiction, the Buddha's teachings offer an understanding of how the mind works, tools for helping a mind vulnerable to addiction and ways to overcome addictive behaviour, cultivating a calm mind without resentments.
With the revised information and up-to-date research, Out of the Shadows is the premier work on sex addiction, written by a pioneer in its treatment. Sex is at the core of our identities. And when it becomes a compulsion, it can unravel our lives. Out of the Shadows is the premier work on this disorder, written by a pioneer in its treatment. Revised and updated to include the latest research--and to address the exploding phenomenon of cybersex addiction--this third edition identifies the danger signs, explains the dynamics, and describes the consequences of sexual addiction and dependency. With practical wisdom and spiritual clarity, it points the way out of the shadows of sexual compulsion and back into the light and fullness of life.
Most addictive behavior is rooted in some type of loss, be it the death of a loved one, coming to terms with limitations set by chronic health problems, or the end of a relationship. By turning to drugs and alcohol, people who have suffered a loss can numb their grief. In the process, they postpone their healing and can drive themselves further into addiction. The Mindfulness Workbook for Addiction offers readers an effective program for working through their addiction and grief with cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Created by a psychologist who works for the Department of Veterans Affairs and a marriage and family therapist who works for Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital, this mindfulness training workbook is effective for treating the emotion dysregulation, stress, depression, and grief that lie at the heart of addiction. No matter the loss, the mindfulness skills in this workbook help readers process their grief, determine the function their addiction is serving, and replace the addiction with healthy coping behaviors.
