Power, Powerlessness and Addiction

Power, Powerlessness and Addiction PDF Author: Jim Orford
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107276748
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
Addiction exercises enormous power over all those who are touched by it. This book argues that power and powerlessness have been neglected in addiction studies and that they are a unifying theme that brings together different areas of research from the field including the disempowering nature of addiction; effects on family, community and the workplace; epidemiological and ethnographic work; studies of the legal and illegal supply; and theories of treatment and change. Examples of alcohol, drug and gambling addiction are used to discuss the evidence that addiction is most disempowering where social resources to resist it are weakest; the ways in which the dominant discourses about addictive behaviour encourage the attributing of responsibility for addiction to individuals and divert attention from the powerful who benefit from addiction; and the ways in which the voices of those whose interests are least well-served by addiction are silenced.

Power, Powerlessness and Addiction

Power, Powerlessness and Addiction PDF Author: Jim Orford
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107276748
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 279

Get Book

Book Description
Addiction exercises enormous power over all those who are touched by it. This book argues that power and powerlessness have been neglected in addiction studies and that they are a unifying theme that brings together different areas of research from the field including the disempowering nature of addiction; effects on family, community and the workplace; epidemiological and ethnographic work; studies of the legal and illegal supply; and theories of treatment and change. Examples of alcohol, drug and gambling addiction are used to discuss the evidence that addiction is most disempowering where social resources to resist it are weakest; the ways in which the dominant discourses about addictive behaviour encourage the attributing of responsibility for addiction to individuals and divert attention from the powerful who benefit from addiction; and the ways in which the voices of those whose interests are least well-served by addiction are silenced.

Script and Addiction

Script and Addiction PDF Author: Maria Moore
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1527527085
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 115

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Book Description
Addiction to alcohol and other substances is a growing problem today. The Alcoholics Anonymous 12 Steps Programme is the standard method for treating addictions, and defines an ordered program which, if completed, should break the addiction. However, the level of success here is low. Two main problems in this regard are the failure of the addict to complete the programme and their relapse back into addiction. Treatment of addiction by other methods is even less successful. A new approach is needed, one which better integrates those treating addiction. By combining the 12 Steps programme and the idea of “Life Script”, a concept from Transactional Analysis, this book demonstrates that a much higher success rate can be achieved. The author pioneered this approach for five years, achieving an improved rate of success from this combination. The book includes case studies to underpin its findings.

Power, Powerlessness and Addiction

Power, Powerlessness and Addiction PDF Author: Jim Orford
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107034760
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
Argues that power and powerlessness have been neglected in the study of addiction.

Powerless No Longer

Powerless No Longer PDF Author: Peter W. Soderman
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781492185895
Category : Addicts
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
We are not powerless over our addictions, nor are we helpless victims of heredity, a disease, a spiritual malady, or a slew of character defects that require the intervention of a "higher power," and a lifetime of meetings to control. Studies show that 75% of all addicts recover on their own, without pills, patches, rehabs, or self-help groups. How many people do you know who successfully quit smoking "cold turkey," without artificial aids or programs, and nicotine is one of the most addictive substances on earth. People can recover on their own because they find ways of addressing the learned aspects of addiction that are driven by our reward system. Almost any activity we find pleasurable, from eating a chocolate chip cookie to hearing great music or seeing a beautiful face, can activate the reward system. Once aroused, these circuits enable our brains to encode the circumstances that led to the pleasure, so we can repeat the behavior and the reward in the future. Over time, the pleasure becomes misery, but we now have little choice but to continue because the behaviors and belief systems that drive our addiction have become well-learned, deeply ingrained habits. The journey to addiction begins with our receiving positive reinforcement from use of the drug - it makes us feel good, and ends with the "gotta have its" screaming in our ear. For some, it seems like a hopeless situation, but the vast majority of us find a solution to the problem, and so can you. Just as we learn to become addicted, we can learn to make the necessary changes to our thoughts and beliefs that will relieve us of the burden of our addictions for a lifetime, not just a day-at-a-time. Powerless No Longer will help you learn to take advantage of your brain's natural ability to rewire itself, its neuroplasticity, to overcome your addictive behavior and reach your full potential. Powerless No Longer is for anyone who is concerned about an addictive behavior problem and is looking for help deciding upon a course of action. The book introduces a newcomer to the science of addiction, the process of change, and specific methods and tools that offer a way out. If you are questioning your own drug and alcohol use, or have tried 12-step programs and not succeeded, Powerless No Longer is for you. If you believe you are "powerless" over your addiction, you will see evidence proving that this is not true. Powerless explains the self-change methods that work for the majority of addicts who recover on their own, and shows you how to apply these principles in your own recovery. Powerless combines in one place: - A detailed explanation of the bio/psycho/social aspects of addiction - The research and studies that show how most people recover - A comprehensive review of current recovery methods, and - Suggestions you can use to take what's available and build a recovery program that fits your own needs There is no single drug, method, or program that works for everyone under all conditions and circumstances. In other words, there is no "silver bullet" for addiction, and Powerless No Longer doesn't claim to be one either. There are almost as many paths to successful recovery as people who have recovered, and no single group or method has the only ticket. However, there are certain commonalities in the methods used by study subjects who quit on their own, and a huge body of scientific evidence indicating what does work for most people most of the time. That's what you will find in Powerless No Longer-choices, not a rigid framework of inflexible dogma. You do need to tap into a source of power and strength, but it isn't outside, it's internal. If you possess a genuine desire to effect self-change, you have within yourself all the power you need, and PNL can help you unlock it.

The Biology of Desire

The Biology of Desire PDF Author: Marc Lewis
Publisher: PublicAffairs
ISBN: 1610394380
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Through the vivid, true stories of five people who journeyed into and out of addiction, a renowned neuroscientist explains why the "disease model" of addiction is wrong and illuminates the path to recovery. The psychiatric establishment and rehab industry in the Western world have branded addiction a brain disease. But in The Biology of Desire, cognitive neuroscientist and former addict Marc Lewis makes a convincing case that addiction is not a disease, and shows why the disease model has become an obstacle to healing. Lewis reveals addiction as an unintended consequence of the brain doing what it's supposed to do-seek pleasure and relief-in a world that's not cooperating. As a result, most treatment based on the disease model fails. Lewis shows how treatment can be retooled to achieve lasting recovery. This is enlightening and optimistic reading for anyone who has wrestled with addiction either personally or professionally.

Powerless But NOT Helpless

Powerless But NOT Helpless PDF Author: Buddy C.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781956024005
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
"Like a child who receives a gift, but plays with only the box,we possessed sobriety the entire time and did not know it." v17, Buddy C.If you are reading this, you, or someone you love, is probably dealing with a life controlling addiction even though they have tried to break free. The author, Buddy C., wrestled with the same dilemma. Years of heartfelt efforts poured into a black hole, only to return to a destructive lifestyle.Buddy tried the twelve-step recovery process but found surrendering to a "power greater than ourselves" undefinable and even unattainable. Others shared his challenge of finding a "God of our understanding" as well. Like himself, they were sincere people searching for relief, but did not fit within the common solution of AA.For many in recovery, traditional views of a Higher Power do not resonate. This dissonance left Buddy feeling hopeless. As a result, Buddy C. entered a cycle of recovery and relapse for over six years.Searching the world's religions for answers, Buddy discovered a healing way of life that connected with his needs. The revealed Taoist philosophies were not only close to other principles he had learned in recovery, but resonated with his experience growing up as a Christian attending church in the south.The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu opened a path to his recovery that traditional methods had not been able to do. Once Buddy utilized these principles, he discovered that when applied daily, Taoism also opened a path that healed other aspects of his life.What is this pathway? Who is Lao Tzu? How does Taoist philosophy describe a higher power?Find all these answers and more in this book. A life free from addiction is just a page turn away.

Addiction and Recovery

Addiction and Recovery PDF Author: Martha Postlethwaite
Publisher: Fortress Press
ISBN: 1506434304
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
Companionship for the lifelong journey of recovery In Addiction and Recovery: A Spiritual Pilgrimage, Martha Postlethwaite--pastor and a person in recovery--reflects on her pilgrimage of healing through valleys of despair and vistas of resurrection. Addiction and Recovery is not just Postlethwaite's story, though. She also draws on the wisdom of pilgrims who have walked other paths to explore themes such as surrender, truth telling, shame, powerlessness, grace, forgiveness, and resurrection. Together, these chronicles bring hope to people who struggle with the disease of addiction and to those who love them. Each chapter ends with questions to reflect on with conversation partners or in a journal, and a spiritual practice. The spiritual practices are related to the chapter themes and serve as samplers, but they can be woven into the reader's own pilgrimage. Readers will recognize themselves in these stories and reflections, learn that they are not alone, and find reasons to hope as they make their own pilgrimage.

The Power of Powerlessness

The Power of Powerlessness PDF Author: Billy Steel
Publisher: Bright Pen
ISBN: 9780755212552
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
This book is the true story of a man who was taken by the ravages of alcohol from the peak of an Oxford education to close to the hopelessness of the gutter but who then fought back to make a full recovery to long held abstinence. It is well written with touching honesty from the deep personal experience of an intelligent man who is utterly frank in describing the harrowing details of the worst of times but then describes how he made a full and successful recovery. He offers example, hope and advice of how recovery is possible and provides little known insights into the vital role played by Alcoholics Anonymous in the treatment of alcoholism. In particular he openly challenges the failings of the National Health Service in dealing with the problems of addiction. It is an important real life study of alcoholism, its occurrence and treatment. John Littlewood. Author of "The stock Market: Fifty Years of Capitalism at Work" - a history of the post-war London stock market. I think the book is highly readable and very valuable. I honestly wish I could have read it 20 years ago to short circuit the hell and loss I went through. Ed Mitchell. Author of 'From Headlines to Hard Times'. Personal testimony, practical guidance, spiritual clarity, encouragement and inspiration - all are here and cannot fail to be of enormous use to recoverers and helpers alike.

Bill W. and Dr. Bob

Bill W. and Dr. Bob PDF Author: Samuel Shem
Publisher: Samuel French, Inc.
ISBN: 9780573691744
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 104

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Book Description
Drama / 3m, 3f (w/doubling) / Unit set Newly revised edition! From the author of the best-selling novel, The House of God, this critically acclaimed version which played Off-Broadway in 2007, tells the amazing story of the two men who pioneered Alcoholics Anonymous, and of their wives, who founded Al Anon. During the roaring '20s, New York stockbroker Bill Wilson rides high on money, fame, and booze. In '29, both he and the market crash and he becomes a hopeless drunk. Dr. Bob Smith, a surgeon

Addiction

Addiction PDF Author: Emmanuel S. John
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780985189822
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
Addiction: Am I Powerless is the first step in determining if a chemical/substance problem really exists. Addiction: Am I Powerless is the most comprehensive self-assessment tool ever devised to measure Powerlessness. This book brings together, for perhaps the first time, a standard for the measurement of Powerlessness via the development of a "Powerlessness Syndrome." It examines the issues of "Loss of Control" and "Unmanageability" as they relate to the use of a mood altering chemical. Addiction: Am I Powerless has been written by a front line clinician with 3 decades of experience in the addiction field; written to help you determine if you need to make any changes to your level of use. It has been created as a tool to personally measure the seriousness and severity of a chemical use problem; in the privacy of your own home. It's the most thorough method available to examine the issue of powerlessness without leaving behind a public health record that might follow you for the rest of your life. It identifies and instructs the reader on what issues to examine and how to examine them. It walks the reader through the discovery process in a heartfelt way but it does not shy away from the serious truth of the matter. It is an objective view of what it means to suffer with the problem many people call addiction. It is the first step towards understanding your own behaviors and freeing yourself from the shame and guilt of substance use.