Addicted

INTRODUCTION

1)   How to Know if You're Addicted
2)   The Other Addicted People in Your Life
3)   Why Do We Become Addicted?
4)   Addiction: An International Problem
5)   Addiction to Alcohol
6)   Drug Addiction
7)   The Truth About Cocaine
8)   Addicted Women: Their Special Problems
9)   Nicotine Addiction
10) Food, Gambling and Sexual Addictions
11) Addiction in the Workplace
12) Addictive Relationships and Codependency
13) Relapse, Intervention and Recovery
14) Prevention and Education
15) Freedom from Addiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

The book ADDICTED? A Guide to Understanding Addiction is a useful, practical, educational guide which is very easy to read. It explains addiction's causes, effects, the recovery process, relapse, and prevention possibilities. It covers the physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual realities of addiction and recovery. The emphasis in this book is to increase understanding of addictions related to alcohol, other drugs such as cocaine and nicotine, food, gambling, and sex. Special topics discussed include women's issues, codependency, and the world outlook regarding addiction. This book has been used in college classrooms and provides useful information and tips, in clear language.

AUTHOR COMMENTS:

Since its publication in 1990, this labor of love which reflects many years of research and writing has helped large numbers of people to gain a better understanding of the addictions and the addiction recovery process.

Oversimplified approaches to addiction miss the mark. Addiction is complex, not simple, and it is confusing, not easy to figure out. For those who are touched by addiction, it is cunning, baffling, and powerful. It can be called a biopsychosocial disease process with spiritual implications. Or it can be called "multifactorial." In any case, to explore addiction and all its ramifications is a serious challenge because it is our world's number one public health problem and needs to be addressed more thoughtfully.

Information provided in this book was gleaned during many years as a communications consultant to councils on alcoholism, addiction treatment centers, and other health facilities. My continuing education was enhanced during 8 years of service as a national correspondent for The U.S. Journal of Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Also, the years I spent as a weekly columnist ("On Addiction") for the Cape Cod Times provided me with an ongoing higher education in the many factors to be considered when making an effort to understand and cope with addiction.

COMMENTS FROM CAPE COD COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS:

"The text was extremely well written...very organized." "All areas of addiction have been addressed." "I learned a lot of things I did not already know." "The text was very well written...easy to understand."

EXCERPTED:

Page 12...If you're wondering whether or not you're addicted, think about the following description carefully. To help me remember it, I call it the "Five Cs" of addiction. Addiction is a Dependence that involves Craving, Compulsion, loss of Control, and Continuation of the behavior even though there are life-damaging Consequences.

Page 53...If an alcoholic stops drinking for a period of time, can he then learn to drink moderately and join the ranks of the social drinkers who don't lose control? No!....Out of the 1289 alcoholics, only 1.6 percent were able to drink moderately, according to this study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1986. In other words, 98.4 percent could not return to moderate drinking.

Page 61...But experts indicate that chronic use produces negative changes in brain chemistry followed by powerful urges, cravings and negative mood states. This leads to the desire for relief. And the desire for relief moves the user back to more drug use. The cycle goes on and on.

Page 80...Addiction treatment experts indicate that women tend to begin drinking later in life than males. But by the time women begin treatment it seems that they are often more physically ill than men and also have virtually no self-esteem left.

Page 93...It makes no sense to give up alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and valium, and still smoke. The result is a kind of partial sobriety. In other words, recovery from a drug addiction is impaired if any chemical dependence remains.

Page 105...Compulsive gambling is described by the mental health field as a progressive impulse disorder in which an individual has a psychologically uncontrollable urge and preoccupation to gamble. In other words, the person is obsessive and compulsive and is addicted.

Page 113...In their pursuit of addictive love, some of the consequences experienced by sexual addicts are a decrease in sexual pleasure, life becoming more and more unmanageable, and feeling consumed by the behavior.

Page 125...Addicts at work tend to have strained relationships, job performance difficulties, and emotional problems that negatively impact on both the user and co-workers.

Page 128...Like attracts like. So, codependents tend to attract other dependent people. Codependents find partners who are dependent on alcohol, drugs, gambling, work, sex, nicotine, food, or other obsessive/compulsive behaviors.

Page 143...Before healing wounds, this statement may exemplify how a typical ACOA (adult child of alcoholic) feels:"I walk through life feeling that there is something terribly wrong with me but I have a desperate need to convince the world that this is not true."

Page 159...People in recovery often need to learn new ways of handling their sexual behavior, clarifying their values, and gaining a better understanding of the connection between love and sex.

Page 163...It isn't easy to bring an inflated ego down to the right size. And the addict's ego has a royal infant in control. Infants are born rulers. They don't tolerate frustration well. And they constantly let you know when they're upset.

Page 186...There is no quick and easy way to recover from addiction, a disease that affects the core of our being. In the recovery journey there is no arrival. There is simply the process of living a new way of life in which the old ideas must go.

Page 193...In addiction, we pursue relief from the pressure of life as we find it. Instead of turning through prayer and meditation to the God within us, we look for relief of our discomfort outside of ourselves. And the relief that is out there is very temporary.

Page 198...I don't pretend to know how God works. But I do know from personal experience that He works very effectively. I can't analyze for you the mysteries of how prayer and meditation work. But they work. I can't tell you how much of your freedom from addiction will be based on your discipline or how much will be an unmerited gift from your Higher Power. God is mysterious, addiction is mysterious, and recovery often includes the mysterious and miraculous.

REVIEWS:

"...provides a wealth of information...fills a long-standing void in the literature...is highly readable...should make an important contribution to any curriculum...You have done the job remarkably well. Congratulations!" --Blase Gambino, Ph.D., Director of Research and Education, Gambling Program, Center for Addiction Studies, Harvard Medical School, The Cambridge Hospital.

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