Causes and Conditions: A Life Experience in Addiction and Recovery


Book Description

On the surface, Joe Conniff grew up in a seemingly stereotypical suburban New England household. But behind those doors he witnessed the overprescribing of opioids to his mother, combined with the ups and downs of his father's often illegitimate occupation and unpredictability of life as a teenager. Eventually Joe found solace and relief in substances when looking for a way to escape the unpleasantness of life. That search for relief and identity took him from east coast white suburbia to military service, and finally grief, desperation and survival on the streets of the Pacific Northwest. Written from the perspective of recovery and having found happiness without the use of substances, Joe shares his experiences and insight about how he became a product of his environment growing up, and how confusion and conflict in the human condition led him to full blown addiction. This is an in-depth book about the causes and conditions of his extreme substance use, as well as the casues and conditions of his recovering from addiction.




Alcoholics Anonymous


Book Description

A 75th anniversary e-book version of the most important and practical self-help book ever written, Alcoholics Anonymous. Here is a special deluxe edition of a book that has changed millions of lives and launched the modern recovery movement: Alcoholics Anonymous. This edition not only reproduces the original 1939 text of Alcoholics Anonymous, but as a special bonus features the complete 1941 Saturday Evening Post article “Alcoholics Anonymous” by journalist Jack Alexander, which, at the time, did as much as the book itself to introduce millions of seekers to AA’s program. Alcoholics Anonymous has touched and transformed myriad lives, and finally appears in a volume that honors its posterity and impact.




Prodependence


Book Description

"Prodependence," a new psychological term created by Robert Weiss to describe healthy interdependence in the modern world, turns this around. Rather that preaching detachment and distance over continued bonding and assistance, as so many therapists, self-help books, and 12-step groups currently do, prodependence celebrates the human need for and pursuit of intimate connection, viewing this as a positive force for change. Simply stated, prodependence occurs when attachment relationships are mutually beneficial--with one person's strengths filling in the weak points of the other, and vice versa. And this can occur even when an addiction is present




Refuge Recovery


Book Description

Bestselling author and renowned Buddhist teacher Noah Levine adapts the Buddha's Four Noble Truths and Eight Fold Path into a proven and systematic approach to recovery from alcohol and drug addiction—an indispensable alternative to the 12-step program. While many desperately need the help of the 12-step recovery program, the traditional AA model's focus on an external higher power can alienate people who don't connect with its religious tenets. Refuge Recovery is a systematic method based on Buddhist principles, which integrates scientific, non-theistic, and psychological insight. Viewing addiction as cravings in the mind and body, Levine shows how a path of meditative awareness can alleviate those desires and ease suffering. Refuge Recovery includes daily meditation practices, written investigations that explore the causes and conditions of our addictions, and advice and inspiration for finding or creating a community to help you heal and awaken. Practical yet compassionate, Levine's successful Refuge Recovery system is designed for anyone interested in a non-theistic approach to recovery and requires no previous experience or knowledge of Buddhism or meditation.




Never Enough


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From a renowned behavioral neuroscientist and recovering addict, a rare page-turning work of science that draws on personal insights to reveal how drugs work, the dangerous hold they can take on the brain, and the surprising way to combat today's epidemic of addiction. Judith Grisel was a daily drug user and college dropout when she began to consider that her addiction might have a cure, one that she herself could perhaps discover by studying the brain. Now, after twenty-five years as a neuroscientist, she shares what she and other scientists have learned about addiction, enriched by captivating glimpses of her personal journey. In Never Enough, Grisel reveals the unfortunate bottom line of all regular drug use: there is no such thing as a free lunch. All drugs act on the brain in a way that diminishes their enjoyable effects and creates unpleasant ones with repeated use. Yet they have their appeal, and Grisel draws on anecdotes both comic and tragic from her own days of using as she limns the science behind the love of various drugs, from marijuana to alcohol, opiates to psychedelics, speed to spice. With more than one in five people over the age of fourteen addicted, drug abuse has been called the most formidable health problem worldwide, and Grisel delves with compassion into the science of this scourge. She points to what is different about the brains of addicts even before they first pick up a drink or drug, highlights the changes that take place in the brain and behavior as a result of chronic using, and shares the surprising hidden gifts of personality that addiction can expose. She describes what drove her to addiction, what helped her recover, and her belief that a “cure” for addiction will not be found in our individual brains but in the way we interact with our communities. Set apart by its color, candor, and bell-clear writing, Never Enough is a revelatory look at the roles drugs play in all of our lives and offers crucial new insight into how we can solve the epidemic of abuse.




Addict in the Family


Book Description

The family recovery classic, Addict in the Family, has been revised and updated to offer parents and other family members even greater support when faced with the reality of a loved one’s addiction. Solid, actionable advice and information about what helps and what doesn’t—and how to care for themselves—make this an indispensable guide. For families of addicts, fear, shame, and confusion over a loved one’s addiction can cause deep anxiety, sleepless nights, and even physical illness. The emotional distress family members suffer is often compounded by the belief that they somehow caused or contributed to their loved one’s addiction—or that they could have done something to prevent it. Addict in the Family is a book about the pain of addiction, but more importantly it is a book of comfort, understanding, and hope for anyone struggling with a loved one’s addiction. As the compelling personal stories reveal, family members do not cause their loved one’s addiction—nor can they control or cure it. What family members can do is find support, set boundaries, detach with love, and eventually discover how to enjoy life more fully. This book helps them do just that—whether the loved one achieves recovery or not.




Quitter


Book Description

"Barnett's prose style is brassy and cleareyed, with echoes of Anne Lamott." --Beth Macy, The New York Times Book Review "Emotionally devastating and self-aware, this cautionary tale about substance abuse is a worthy heir to Cat Marnell's How to Murder Your Life." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) A startlingly frank memoir of one woman's struggles with alcoholism and recovery, with essential new insights into addiction and treatment Erica C. Barnett had her first sip of alcohol when she was thirteen, and she quickly developed a taste for drinking to oblivion with her friends. In her late twenties, her addiction became inescapable. Volatile relationships, blackouts, and unsuccessful stints in detox defined her life, with the vodka bottles she hid throughout her apartment and offices acting as both her tormentors and closest friends. By the time she was in her late thirties, Erica Barnett had run the gauntlet of alcoholism. She had recovered and relapsed time and again, but after each new program or detox center would find herself far from rehabilitated. "Rock bottom," Barnett writes, "is a lie." It is always possible, she learned, to go lower than your lowest point. She found that the terms other alcoholics used to describe the trajectory of their addiction--"rock bottom" and "moment of clarity"--and the mottos touted by Alcoholics Anonymous, such as "let go and let God" and "you're only as sick as your secrets"--didn't correspond to her experience and could actually be detrimental. With remarkably brave and vulnerable writing, Barnett expands on her personal story to confront the dire state of addiction in America, the rise of alcoholism in American women in the last century, and the lack of rehabilitation options available to addicts. At a time when opioid addiction is a national epidemic and one in twelve Americans suffers from alcohol abuse disorder, Quitter is essential reading for our age and an ultimately hopeful story of Barnett's own hard-fought path to sobriety.




The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure


Book Description

The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure contains the powerful three-step program to total recovery that is the basis of the miraculous success of the Passages Addiction Cure Center in Malibu, California. You’ll learn the three steps to permanent sobriety; the four causes of dependency; how your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs are key factors in your recovery; and how to create your own personalized treatment program with the help of health professionals where you live-one that gets to the real, underlying causes of dependency. "Freedom from dependency starts with understanding that alcohol, drugs, and addictive behaviors are not the real problems," say Pax and Chris Prentiss, cofounders of Passages. "Alcohol, street drugs, nicotine, prescription medications, food bingeing, gambling, and the like are merely the substances or behaviors you or your loved ones are using to cope with the real problems-anything from deep emotional pain, ill health, or depression to hypoglycemia, a sluggish thyroid, or brain-wave pattern imbalances. Once the underlying problems are discovered and cured, the need for drugs, alcohol, or addictive behavior will disappear-along with the craving." Chris Prentiss should know. His son Pax was addicted to heroin, cocaine, and alcohol for ten years. They sought help everywhere, but Pax relapsed again and again. In desperation, they finally created their own holistic, hand-tailored program that was a complete break from all other programs and that combined several effective therapies. It saved Pax's life. Together, father and son founded Passages to help others find their own freedom. For decades, we've been hearing that alcoholism and addiction are incurable diseases, but The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure proves that this is a dangerous myth and that the label of "alcoholic" or "addict" destroys the promise of full recovery. Visionaries and innovators, Pax and Chris Prentiss bring new hope to people everywhere who are dependent on drugs, alcohol, or addictive behaviors. This groundbreaking approach will show you how to end relapse, end addictive behavior, and end your suffering.




IWant


Book Description

In iWant, investigative journalist and author Jane Velez-Mitchell traces her unique quest for an addiction-free life over the course of many years, detailing her struggles to stop drinking, smoking, overeating, and overworking. During this journey, Velez-Mitchell comes closer to discovering her authentic self, embracing her ethnic identity, and accepting her true sexual orientation. With layers upon layers of addictions removed, she is able to distinguish between what she wants and what she truly needs, and ultimately confronts her addiction across the board--Overconsumption. Using the Twelve Steps in every aspect of her life, Velez-Mitchell shares how she shed many of the self-destructive habits that plague Americans, habits responsible for a host of social ills from the obesity crisis to environmental wreckage. She admits to having been one of the 300 million Americans who shops and acquires addictively and describes how the Twelve Steps have put her on the road toward shedding unnecessary material possessions and limiting waste--despite a society that glorifies excess. While her journey is ongoing and she is still seeking answers, the culmination of Velez-Mitchell's work to date is having held the first Overconsumers Anonymous meeting, in which she and others like her admit to being powerless over this very real addiction and are ready to adopt a more spiritually fulfilling, economical, and environmentally friendly lifestyle.




Drug Addiction And Substance Abuse Recovery


Book Description

Feeling as if your addiction is taking control over your life? Feeling as if your addictive behavior is taking a toll on your personal relationships, on your career or work performance? Feeling as if there is no way out from that vicious cycle which in the long run destroys lives? If you are looking for ways to help with overcoming your addiction, your fears and your weaknesses, you are in the right place. The truth is that substance addiction, can destroy lives, not only the lives of addicts, but also the lives of their close friends and family members. However, addiction is a chronic disease and just like every other illness of this type, it is treatable. It is not easy to break free, and overcome addiction, but most certainly it is not impossible. You have probably made some attempts in order to break free, in order to reduce the amount or in order to quit completely. You have probably experienced those major withdrawal effects as well as addiction consequences and you have failed to get back on the right track. Sounds familiar? If it does, this book is here to help you by guiding you from the very first moment which is making that decision to change to every other step along the way. As you embark on this journey, you need to keep in mind that the support and treatment you get are only there to help you, while you are the only one who can make things happen. Inside You Will Discover: What addiction is and what complex conditions are related to addiction. How addiction is related to mental health illnesses. What a dual diagnosis is. What are substance abuse disorders. Stages, types, signs and symptoms of addiction. What major addiction risk factors are. How to overcome addiction using a step by step approach. Your addiction recovery self-help guide And much, much more... Get this book NOW, embrace life-altering changes, learn how to cope your addiction triggers and finally get back to living a meaningful life!