In a culture where the "extreme theme" has become the norm, people are increasingly seduced into believing that intensity equals being alive. When that happens, the mind becomes wired for drama and the soul is starved of meaningful purpose. This type of life may produce heart-pounding excitement, but the absence of this addictive energy can bring about withdrawal, fear, and restlessness that is unbearable. The author integrates his own inspirational personal recovery with nearly twenty years of professional experience helping others overcome addictions, traumas, and psychospritual crises. This book artfully directs people who have become addicted to intensity out of the chaos and toward mind/body harmony, higher consciousness, and a deeply spritual transformation.
Psychologist and mind-body expert introduces drama addiction as a true disorder for the first time, providing strategies to identify and recover, for yourself or a loved one. Do you have someone in your life who seems to thrive on chaos? Someone who manufactures crisis where there is none? We tend to judge them, react with annoyance or disgust, and often label them "drama queens." But clinical psychologist, osteopath, and mind-body specialist Dr. Scott Lyons shows us to look past our collective perception of these people as unabashed attention-seekers and instead see that they are experiencing a much deeper psychological, biological, and social phenomenon: they are, in fact, battling an addiction and that chaos is a high. Drama addicts have developed a "new normal" of internal homeostasis where their stress levels are chronically high; they seek out drama so they can find a sense of control and balance. With primary research, patient stories, and studies, Dr. Lyons deconstructs the "why" and "how" of drama addiction, sharing: what drama addiction is and what it is not how drama addiction relates to other personality disorders such as narcissistic and borderline how to identify patterns of drama addiction in yourself and others the relationship of drama addiction to major health issues such as chronic fatigue, autoimmune disease, joint and muscle pains, and other conditions steps for coping and recovery With clear-eyed empathy, Dr. Lyons leads readers through an "unwinding" process that allows them to break free of the drama cycle, be vulnerable, and find joy in the subtle and meaningful moments of everyday life.
Brian Cuban was living a lie. With a famous last name and a successful career as a lawyer, Brian was able to hide his clinical depression and alcohol and cocaine addictions—for a while. Today, as an inspirational speaker in long-term recovery, Brian looks back on his journey with honesty, compassion, and even humor as he reflects both on what he has learned about himself and his career choice and how the legal profession enables addiction. His demons, which date to his childhood, controlled him through failed marriages and stays in a psychiatric facility, until they brought him to the brink of suicide. That was his wake-up call. This is his story. Brian also takes an in-depth look at why there is such a high percentage of problematic alcohol use and other mental health issues in the legal profession. What types of therapies work? Are 12-step programs the only answer? Brian also includes interviews with experts on the subject as well as others in the profession who are now in recovery. The Addicted Lawyer is both a serious study of addiction and a compelling story of redemption.
Are you feeling exasperated and helpless about your family member's addiction? Are you at your wit's end, having tried everything you can think of to make them stop? If someone you love is engaging in addictive behaviors such as alcohol and drug misuse, eating disorders, smoking, gambling, Internet addiction, sex addiction, compulsive overspending, or relationship addiction, you are undoubtedly experiencing unpredictability in your relationship. Some of the most common emotions you will experience include: - Guilt and shame - Anger and anxiety - Confusion and powerlessness Whether the addict in your life is your spouse, partner, parent, child, friend, or colleague, the key to changing this reality for yourself lies in shifting your focus from your loved one's addiction to you own self-care. This book presents a dramatically fresh approach to help you get off the roller-coaster chaos of addiction, maintain your own sanity and serenity, and live your best life.
Experience a red light district plagued by poverty and violence, as Jamie weaves her own story of overcoming sexual abuse, shyness, and judgmental religion with the stories of those experiencing homelessness and addiction. Challenging ideas about God and people, inviting us to leave religion and follow the Way of Love.
Stop the Chaos is a practical guide that identifies the telltale signs of addiction, offers suggestions for living alcohol- or drug-free, and teaches the skills necessary for healthy living Stop the Chaos, a comprehensive, practical guide, identifies the telltale signs of addiction, offers suggestions for living alcohol-or drug-free, and teaches the skills neccessary for healthy thinking and living.
For nearly fifty years, Sara Somers suffered from untreated food addiction. In this brutally honest and intimate memoir, Somers offers readers an inside view of a food addict’s mind, showcasing her experiences of obsessive cravings, compulsivity, and powerlessness regarding food. Saving Sara chronicles Somers’s addiction from childhood to adulthood, beginning with abnormal eating as a nine-year-old. As her addiction progresses in young adulthood, she becomes isolated, masking her shame and self-hatred with drugs and alcohol. Time and again, she rationalizes why this time will be different, only to have her physical cravings lead to ever-worse binges, to see her promises of doing things differently next time broken, and to experience the amnesia that she—like every addict—experiences when her obsession sets in again. Even after Somers is introduced to the solution that will eventually end up saving her, the strength of her addiction won’t allow her to accept her disease. Twenty-six more years pass until she finally crawls on hands and knees back to that solution, and learns to live life on life’s terms. A raw account of Somers’s decades-long journey, Saving Sara underscores the challenges faced by food addicts of any age—and the hope that exists for them all.
Perfection is a mask we use to avoid pain. We think that if we can achieve perfection, we will achieve happiness. We believe that if we can avoid pain, we can also avoid abandonment and loneliness and unworthiness. Perfection is the thief of joy. It's a lie that keeps us in a stranglehold of chaos and people-pleasing and addiction and lack. Perfection says we are never good enough. It holds us back from being our truest, most authentic selves. Author Vitale Buford spent nearly three decades of her life in the web of perfection. The roots of her perfection were born in her childhood - she had a dysfunctional home-life fraught with alcoholism, workaholism and shame. This combination created an environment of neglect, where the only way Vitale got attention was to be perfect. She was praised for being an "easy child," "pretty," and "self-motivated," so that's what she tried to be. Her need for perfection and outside success was coupled with her body image obsession. It was also a distraction from the pain of abandonment and loneliness she experienced in her childhood. It was the perfect storm - she tied her self-worth to her external success and her appearance, and hence, her addiction to perfection was born. The need for perfection followed her to college, and when she started gaining weight, she became obsessed with dieting to make her body smaller and more acceptable. She worked hard in college and got good grades, but her body shame was all consuming. Her junior year of college, she was introduced to Adderall as a "study drug." She used it for a few months - and ended up losing 20 pounds; she also got her best grades ever with her most rigorous course load. She was sure she had discovered the "perfect drug." She was able to obtain her own prescription the following year. It hooked her immediately. She was addicted not only to Adderall but also to the perfection and the weight loss and her newfound ability to accomplish projects and tasks with ease. This was the beginning of a 10-year love affair with Adderall. In Addicted to Perfect, Vitale shares the highs and lows of having been a slave to Adderall, the destructive relationships that ensued, and the way that she finally broke free. She details the many twists and turns involved in the years leading up to her getting sober and the eating disorder that followed her into sobriety. It took parenthood and radical honesty for her to begin the road to true healing. Perfectionism is no longer something that enslaves her, and Vitale's story is one of hope that no matter where you are in your life, you can release the grip of perfection. You can heal your pain and your abandonment and your loneliness and your fear and your guilt and your shame. You can experience true freedom, and most importantly, replace perfection with self-love.
This is an informative, entertaining book that includes 78 types of addiction presented in an easy to understand and simple format. Chapman defines and presents addiction in a manner that engages the reader. The author has updated the ADDICTIONARY since its original printing and it remains a leading edge tool for the lay person, as well as, professionals needing accurate information regarding different types of addictions. It is great material for discussion groups. ADDICTIONARY is a great book to facilitate conversations at therapy sessions, educational events, and even at parties. It is a powerful tool that outlines real symptoms based on solid research on addiction. ADDICTIONARY is reader-friendly and was written by a 30-year veteran counselor who is also recovering from his own addiction.
The most critical component to solving a problem is correctly diagnosing the problem. In 2016, John Hopkins University School of Medicine published a study estimating hundreds of thousands die every year from a medical misdiagnosis, which led us to wonder: How many relationships could have been saved if the root cause of relationship conflict was correctly identified? What would happen if, instead of focusing on how to save the relationship, we focused on what caused the conflict in the first place? We suppose millions of relationships could have been saved. Killing Chaos was written to serve as a diagnostic manual for all those who wonder why their relationship suffers more than just the usual conflict. We recognize some want to not only preserve their relationship but also reduce the conflict in their relationships. This book was written for those who want to reduce the drama in their relationships through understanding. This book is for those who want to understand how their relationship became chaotic and continues to remain in chaos. Establishing and understanding the nexus between God and relationships is critical to developing a relationship with your family, friends, and significant other. This book was written to help others come to terms with how God sees their relationship, with the hope they will recalibrate expectations and move forward in a relationship with less drama.
