This is an impressive work: carefully structured, researched and written . . . a refreshingly lucid account that is both intellectually stimulating and professionally helpful.-Janet McCalman Addicts are generally regarded with either pity or grave disapproval. But is being addicted to something necessarily bad? These attitudes are explicit both in contemporary medical literature and in popular, self-help texts. We categorise addiction as unnatural, diseased and self-destructive. We demonise pleasure and desire, and view the addict as physically and morally damaged. Helen Keane's thought-provoking text examines these assumptions in a new light. In asserting that the 'wrongness' of addiction is not fixed or indeed obvious, she presents a refreshing challenge to more conventional accounts of addiction. She also investigates the notion that people can be addicted to eating, love and sex, just as they are to drugs and alcohol. What's Wrong with Addiction? shows that most of our ideas about addiction take certain ideals of health and normality for granted. It exposes strains in our society's oppositions between health and disease, between the natural and the artificial, between order and disorder, and between self and other.
“A classic. Read it. Use it. It can help guide you step by step into the bright light of the world of recovery.” —from the Foreword by Harry Haroutunian, M.D., Physician Director, Betty Ford Center “The Recovery Book is the Bible of recovery. Everything you need to know you will find in here.” —Neil Scott, host, Recovery Coast to Coast radio Hope, support, and a clear road map for people with drug or alcohol addiction. Announcing a completely revised and updated second edition of The Recovery Book, the Bible of addiction recovery. The Recovery Book provides a direct and easy-to-follow road map to every step in the recovery process, from the momentous decision to quit to the emotional, physical, and spiritual issues that arise along the way. Its comprehensive and effective advice speaks to people with addiction, their loved ones, and addiction professionals who need a proven, trusted resource and a supportive voice. This new edition features the revolutionary Recovery Zone System, which divides a life in recovery into three chronological zones and provides guidance on exactly what to do in each zone. First is the Red Zone, where the reader is encouraged to stop everything, activate their recovery and save their life. Next is the Yellow Zone, where the reader can begin to rebuild a life that was torn apart by addiction. Finally, the reader reaches the Green Zone, where they can enjoy a life of recovery and help others. And the Recovery Zone ReCheck is a simple and effective relapse prevention tool. The Recovery Zone System works hand-in-hand with the 12-step philosophy and all other recovery methods. The Recovery Book covers new knowledge about addiction mechanisms and neuroplasticity, explaining how alcohol and drugs alter the brain. The authors outline a simple daily practice, called TAMERS, that helps people to use those same processes to “remold their brains” around recovery, eventually making sobriety a routine way of life. Written by Al J. Mooney, M.D., a recovery activist who speaks internationally on recovery, and health journalists Catherine Dold and Howard Eisenberg, The Recovery Book covers all the latest in addiction science and recovery methods. In 26 chapters and over 600 pages, The Recovery Book tackles issues such as: Committing to Recovery: Identifying and accepting the problem; deciding to get sober. Treatment Options: Extensive information on current options and how to choose a program. AA and other 12-Step Fellowships: How to get involved in a mutual-support group. Addiction Science and Neuroplasticity: How alcohol and drugs alter pathways in the brain, and how to remold the brain around recovery. Relapse Prevention: The Recovery Zone ReCheck, a simple new technique to anticipate and avoid relapses. Rebuilding Your Life: How to handle relationships, socializing, work, education, and finances. Physical and Mental Health: Tips for getting healthy and handling common ailments. Pain Control: How to deal with pain in recovery and avoid a relapse if you need pain control for medical care. Family and Friends: How to help a loved one with addiction, and how to help yourself. Raising Substance-Free Kids: How to “addiction-proof” your child. The Epidemic of Prescription Drugs: Now a bigger problem than illegal drugs. The Recovery Book will help millions gain control of their mind, their body, their life, and their happiness.
Over 30,000 sold in Canada. Published in 16 countries. Dr.Barbara Killinger, one of the first voices in the field, has updated her classic, Workaholics. Originally published over a decade ago, Workaholics was one of the very first books to shine a light on the growing problem of workaholism. It is the respectable illness. It is presented as a medal of honour to put in 60 hr weeks, yet much has been learned and indeed the ill effects of this excessive focus on work have become all too clear.(March 2004)
The originator of the ACoA "Laundry Lists" gives an insider's view of the early days of the ACoA movement. Tony A. discusses what it means to be an adult child of an alcoholic parent and what the self-help group can do for its members. Includes stories, history and helpful information for the ACoA.
Time-Tested Recovery Principles For OCD. We, of Obsessive Compulsive Anonymous (OCA), have all felt the fury of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). OCD, with its crippling power, had left us physically, emotionally and spiritually sick. Here we present, firsthand, our struggles and recoveries from OCD. Fortunately, now, the medical and psychological communities have effective treatments for OCD. For many of us, though, this wasn¿t enough. The 12 Step program of OCA has proven to be an important part in our continuing recoveries from OCD. Here we include: The 12 Step program for OCD Endorsements from psychiatrists and psychologists 33 personal stories of OCD and recovery Resources for OCD.
Substance and Non substance Related Addiction Disorders: Diagnosis and Treatment is an accessible handbook about the two main types of addiction disorders. It is divided into three sections which cover 1) the scientific underpinnings of addiction disorders (neurobiology, addiction neural reward pathways, genetic and psychosocial basis of addiction, screening and treatment), 2) information about substances commonly used by addicts (pharmacology, diagnostics and treatment considerations) and 3) current understandings of the diagnosis and treatment of behavioral problems (such as gambling), respectively. Key features: -covers both substance abuse and behavioral problems -uses a reader friendly format with a patient education handout style -includes key learning points listed in each chapter -includes clinical vignettes which outline brief history, evaluation, diagnostic considerations with successful pharmacological, psychological and social interventions -includes references in each chapter The handbook meets the information needs of medical students and professionals (family physicians, nurses, addiction therapists, psychiatry residents, and other health care professionals) interested in the primary care of patients afflicted with addiction disorders.
A “thought-provoking and powerful” study that reframes everything you’ve been taught about addiction and recovery—from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Myth of Normal (Bruce Perry, author of The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog). A world-renowned trauma expert combines real-life stories with cutting-edge research to offer a holistic approach to understanding addiction—its origins, its place in society, and the importance of self-compassion in recovery. Based on Gabor Maté’s two decades of experience as a medical doctor and his groundbreaking work with people with addiction on Vancouver’s skid row, this #1 international bestseller radically re-envisions a much misunderstood condition by taking a compassionate approach to substance abuse and addiction recovery. In the same vein as Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts traces the root causes of addiction to childhood trauma and examines the pervasiveness of addiction in society. Dr. Maté presents addiction not as a discrete phenomenon confined to an unfortunate or weak-willed few, but as a continuum that runs throughout—and perhaps underpins—our society. It is not a medical “condition” distinct from the lives it affects but rather the result of a complex interplay among personal history, emotional and neurological development, brain chemistry, and the drugs and behaviors of addiction. Simplifying a wide array of brain and addiction research findings from around the globe, the book avoids glib self-help remedies, instead promoting a thorough and compassionate self-understanding as the first key to healing and wellness. Dr. Maté argues persuasively against contemporary health, social, and criminal justice policies toward addiction and how they perpetuate the War on Drugs. The mix of personal stories—including the author’s candid discussion of his own “high-status” addictive tendencies—and science with positive solutions makes the book equally useful for lay readers and professionals.
The Workaholics Anonymous (WA) Book of Recovery is similar in style to that of the Alcoholics Anonymous "Big Book." It includes WA members' stories of experience, strength and hope, 20 questions to assess the traits of workaholism, a format and instructions for WA meetings, and a review of the 12 Steps of WA. This essential book on work addiction recovery is written by WA members to carry the message of hope to anyone interested in learning about this devastating addiction, and to workaholics who still suffer.
Written by experienced practitioners in the fields of addiction and psychoanalysis, and illustrated by a range of moving vignettes, this groundbreaking book examines the psychological foundations of addiction in the areas of food, sex, gambling, internet usage, shopping, and work. This book not only explores the roots of addictive behavior, explaining why popular treatment options such as the 12-Step Program often fail, it also provides insights for emotional resolution and strategies for behavioral change. Beyond the Primal Addiction seeks to understand rather than pathologize addictive behaviours, now so pervasive in contemporary societies. It will be essential reading for psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, and other mental health professionals, as well as their clients.
