Mental Health and Wellness

A leading neuroscientist and pioneer in the study of mindfulness explains why addictions are so tenacious and how we can learn to conquer them We are all vulnerable to addiction. Whether it's a compulsion to constantly check social media, binge eating, smoking, excessive drinking, or any other behaviors, we may find ourselves uncontrollably repeating. Why are bad habits so hard to overcome? Is there a key to conquering the cravings we know are unhealthy for us?   This book provides groundbreaking answers to the most important questions about addiction. Dr. Judson Brewer, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist who has studied the science of addictions for twenty years, reveals how we can tap into the very processes that encourage addictive behaviors in order to step out of them. He describes the mechanisms of habit and addiction formation, then explains how the practice of mindfulness can interrupt these habits. Weaving together patient stories, his own experience with mindfulness practice, and current scientific findings from his own lab and others, Dr. Brewer offers a path for moving beyond our cravings, reducing stress, and ultimately living a fuller life.  

Ciaran O'Connor looks at how gaming and addiction have come together so rapidly in recent years. Mobile based gaming and free-to-play games have revolutionised the gaming world - but what are the implications of this? And how does it affect current thinking on addiction? Control the Controller addresses gamers, their families, mental health professionals and game developers in this thorough and fascinating discussion of the nature of video game addiction. Many questions are answered including how we can recognise a gaming addiction, what causes it, and what we can do to return an addict to healthy behaviour. A step by step process for this is outlined by the author, making this an invaluable title for all affected by video game addiction and all those who encounter it. The disease model, the addictive personality and the indications from neuroscience are all considered before looking at gaming addiction as an escape from distress - the book's chosen stance on addiction. This is then expanded upon by looking at how pressures, both internal and external, can encourage a flight into games.

In a career spent working with people who want to change their drinking habits, Michael S. Levy has found that the routes to behavioral change vary: abstinence is the successful route for many people, while others can moderate their drinking on their own or with professional help. In this book, he helps people take control of their alcohol problems by teaching them how to think about and address their drinking habits. Beginning with a set of self-assessments that reveal whether the reader's use of alcohol is creating problems, Levy explains the causes of problem drinking and why it is so difficult to change. He also offers * guidelines so readers can decide whether to try to moderate their drinking or to choose abstinence * a contract for moderate drinking in which readers decide what they will drink, how often and how much they will drink, and the situations they need to avoid * advice for coping with slip-ups * tools for fighting helplessness and the fear of failure * guidelines for knowing when moderation is not achievable Many people are able to overcome their drinking problems without any formal help; Levy stresses the importance of personal commitment in this effort. For those who are unable to moderate their drinking, he provides comprehensive and compassionate guidelines and resources for abstaining. This book empowers people to tackle their drinking problems and gives them the freedom to do so in a way that fits with their own lifestyles and values.

There are a variety of reasons young people turn to drugs, and the impact of such behavior can often be devastating. Whether alcohol, marijuana, ecstasy, or the latest drug of choice, substance abuse among teens continues to be a concern. This disorder affects so many people in one way or another, not only the addicted individual but also his or her family members and friends. In Substance Abuse: The Ultimate Teen Guide, Sheri Mabry Bestor looks at the various reasons why young people experiment with drugs and alcohol--and the consequences of doing so. Written to help young adults and those close to them understand substance abuse disorder, this book is full of important and practical information from various experts. In addition to facts, statistics, and advice, this book also provides insights from real people--teen addicts and others--who have been affected by substance abuse. Topics covered in this book include: exposure to alcohol and drugs reasons people experiment with addictive substancesphysical and emotional aspects of addictiontreatment optionsrelapsesrecovery The chapters in this book take readers through the process of substance use to substance abuse, from curiosity and experimentation to full-blown addiction and recovery. The chapters feature not only true life stories, but also contain information about how substance abuse affects the body and brain. Appendixes include a list of resources, including web sites, books, and movies that teens will find useful. Designed to give teens the tools for understanding this disorder from various perspectives, this book is a valuable resource for anyone affected by substance abuse.

Fifteen million Americans a year are plagued with alcoholism. Five million of them are women. Many of them, like Caroline Knapp, started in their early teens and began to use alcohol as "liquid armor," a way to protect themselves against the difficult realities of life. In this extraordinarily candid and revealing memoir, Knapp offers important insights not only about alcoholism, but about life itself and how we learn to cope with it. It was love at first sight. The beads of moisture on a chilled bottle. The way the glasses clinked and the conversation flowed. Then it became obsession. The way she hid her bottles behind her lover's refrigerator. The way she slipped from the dinner table to the bathroom, from work to the bar. And then, like so many love stories, it fell apart. Drinking is Caroline Kapp's harrowing chronicle of her twenty-year love affair with alcohol. Caroline had her first drink at fourteen. She drank through her yeras at an Ivy League college, and through an award-winning career as an editor and columnist. Publicly she was a dutiful daughter, a sophisticated professional. Privately she was drinking herself into oblivion. This startlingly honest memoir lays bare the secrecy, family myths, and destructive relationships that go hand in hand with drinking. And it is, above all, a love story for our times--full of passion and heartbreak, betrayal and desire--a triumph over the pain and deception that mark an alcoholic life.  Praise for Drinking "Quietly moving . . . Caroline Knapp dazzles us with her heady description of alcohol's allure and its devastating hold."--Los Angeles Times Book Review "Filled with hard-won wisdom . . . [a] perceptive and revealing book."--San Francisco Chronicle "Eloquent . . . a remarkable exercise in self-discovery."--The New York Times "Drinking not only describes triumph; it is one."--Newsweek

A practical and compassionate approach for helping your loved one change. If you have a loved one who is struggling with alcohol or other drugs, you may have feelings of frustration, anger, fear, or sadness. You may also feel powerless and unsure of how to help them, and how best to support them over time. You don't have to try a "tough love" approach or wait for your loved one to "hit rock bottom" before taking action. You can be a force for positive change in your loved one's life. This compassionate guide will show you how. From the authors of Beyond Addiction, this healing and supportive workbook offers practical, evidence-based skills to help you address substance use or other compulsive behaviors with your loved one in a productive way--without creating conflict. You'll also gain a greater understanding for their struggle, and learn essential strategies for improving communication and coping with your own feelings. Whether your loved one seems reluctant to change, or is actively seeking support, this workbook will give you the tools needed to help them on their journey. Using the authors' Invitation to Change approach, you'll discover: How to understand substance-using behaviors from a new perspective How to approach the problem without judgment How to open lines of communication How to set respectful limits How to live with pain and still stay connected How compassion is key to helping your loved one--and you!

An addiction specialist 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 the severely addicted on Vancouver's skid row, this #1 international bestseller radically re-envisions this much misunderstood field by taking a holistic 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.