Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction [B1180]

2017 PB in nice clean condition. More people than ever before see themselves as addicted to, or recovering from, addiction, whether it be alcohol or drugs, prescription meds, sex, gambling, porn, or the internet. But despite the unprecedented attention, our understanding of addiction is trapped in unfounded 20th century ideas, addiction as a crime or as brain disease, and in equally outdated treatment. Challenging both the idea of the addict's "broken brain" and the notion of a simple "addictive personality," Unbroken Brain offers a radical and groundbreaking new perspective, arguing that addictions are learning disorders and shows how seeing the condition this way can untangle our current debates over treatment, prevention and policy. Like autistic traits, addictive behaviors fall on a spectrum -- and they can be a normal response to an extreme situation. By illustrating what addiction is, and is not, the book illustrates how timing, history, family, peers, culture and chemicals come together to create both illness and recovery- and why there is no "addictive personality" or single treatment that works for all. Combining Maia Szalavitz's personal story with a distillation of more than 25 years of science and research, Unbroken Brain provides a paradigm-shifting approach to thinking about addiction.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "This book helps understand addiction and provides novel thoughts. I truly appreciate this book and apply it to my counseling profession often."; "A compassionate and accessible book with valuable insights about addiction specifically, but also about mental health in general. It helped me see the myriad ways in which conditions such as ADHD, depression, anxiety, and autism can go unnoticed or misunderstood for years, greatly reducing sufferers' quality of life and increasing the risk of self-medicalization. The author argues, persuasively, that treatment for addiction should be tailored to the individual, and that strict punitive approaches are not helpful."; "I found this book - or it found me - at just the right time. We were close to having our son move out because of his drinking. We didn't want to enable him but also hearing he had nowhere to go didn't feel right. I learned quite a bit about addiction in Unbroken Brain. Stable housing is a pillar of recovery and compassion is a key ingredient. I can literally say this book changed our lives. The ubiquitous concept of having to hit rock bottom to recover has no scientific basis and can actually be harmful. We remember being told about this the first time we attended a family program in rehab. This was enlightening and a relief, in a big way. I'm thankful I scrolled down on Bluesky that day to come across this book, when I was in such a quandary about a huge upcoming decision. Thank you, Maia Szalavitz!"