Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear and Heal Your Brain

Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear and Heal Your Brain

In “Unwinding Anxiety,” addiction psychiatrist and neuroscientist Judson Brewer, MD, PhD, uses groundbreaking research to show how anxiety and worry are fundamentally habit loops that can be broken. Brewer argues that the brain creates anxiety in the same way it forms any habit: a trigger (like uncertainty) leads to a behavior (like worry or excessive…

Wake Up!: How to Get Out of Your Mind, Stop Living on Autopilot, and Start Choosing Your Best Life

Wake Up!: How to Get Out of Your Mind, Stop Living on Autopilot, and Start Choosing Your Best Life

In “Wake Up!: How to Get Out of Your Mind, Stop Living on Autopilot, and Start Choosing Your Best Life,” author Claudia Velandia offers a powerful manual for escaping the rut of unconscious living. The book’s core message is that much of human suffering—including habitual, destructive behaviors—is caused by being constantly lost in thought, reacting…

The Way of Effortless Mindfulness

The Way of Effortless Mindfulness

Book Synopsis: The Way of Effortless Mindfulness   In “The Way of Effortless Mindfulness: A Revolutionary Guide for Living an Awakened Life,” author and meditation teacher Loch Kelly introduces a powerful and accessible method for shifting consciousness out of the anxious, habitual “little mind” and into a state of spontaneous, effortless presence. Kelly’s teachings are…

The Freedom Model for Addictions: Escape the Treatment and Recovery Trap

The Freedom Model for Addictions: Escape the Treatment and Recovery Trap

Book Synopsis: The Freedom Model for Addictions   “The Freedom Model for Addictions: Escape the Treatment and Recovery Trap,” developed by the Baldwin Research Institute, Inc., offers a radical, non-12-step alternative to traditional addiction treatment. Authors Steven Slate and Mark Scheeren assert that the conventional recovery system—which relies on the disease model, the concept of…

Rational Recovery—the New Cure for Substance Addiction

Rational Recovery—the New Cure for Substance Addiction

“Rational Recovery: The New Cure for Substance Addiction” by Jack Trimpey presents a self-directed recovery system that empowers individuals to achieve permanent abstinence through cognitive techniques rather than group meetings or spiritual interventions en.wikipedia.org. Trimpey, a recovered alcoholic and licensed clinical social worker, founded Rational Recovery in 1986 and trademarked the Addictive Voice Recognition Technique…

Men and Substance Abuse: Narratives of Addiction and Recovery

Men and Substance Abuse: Narratives of Addiction and Recovery

Judith Grant’s Men and Substance Abuse: Narratives of Addiction and Recovery delves into the lived experiences of men who have journeyed from substance use through the grip of addiction to long-term sobriety, revealing how personal identities intertwine with social and cultural forces rienner.comjournals.sagepub.com. Through in-depth qualitative interviews and narrative analysis, Grant demonstrates the power of…

Addiction and the Visual Arts

Addiction and the Visual Arts

Addiction and the Visual Arts is a 2010 edited volume by Patricia B. Santora, Margaret L. Dowell, and Jack E. Henningfield that marries the rigor of addiction science with the evocative power of visual art to illuminate the human experience of substance use disorders  Rather than presenting art as mere illustration, the book positions it…

The Zen Way of Recovery

The Zen Way of Recovery

Book Synopsis: The Zen Way of Recovery   “The Zen Way of Recovery: An Illuminated Path Out of the Darkness of Addiction” by Zen teacher Laura Burges offers a direct, compassionate, and practical guide for navigating the challenges of addiction and finding lasting sobriety. The book seamlessly integrates the core principles of Zen Buddhism—mindfulness, presence,…