Recovery Worker Library

Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Long center their exploration on dopamine—“the chemical of desire that always asks for more,” driving our pursuit of novelty, achievement, and connection Health Sciences Research Commons. They argue that virtually every facet of human behavior—from the thrill of new love to the grip of addiction—can be understood as dopamine’s...

This comprehensive review synthesizes decades of neuroscience research to map how casual substance use progresses to compulsive addiction via a three-stage cycle—binge/intoxication, withdrawal/negative affect, and preoccupation/anticipation. Each stage corresponds to distinct neuroadaptations: heightened incentive salience (dorsal striatum/basal ganglia), recruitment of stress circuits and dimin...More

Dr. Lance Dodes, a renowned addiction specialist, teams with his son Zachary to expose how Alcoholics Anonymous, 12-step programs, and the broader rehab industry built their dominance on shaky science and flawed assumptions. Drawing on decades of clinical experience and a critical review of the literature, they show that AA’s famed “powerlessness” doctrine and its...

The Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness Workbook delivers a step-by-step guide for making mindfulness practices safe and effective for trauma survivors, addressing a critical gap in traditional mindfulness training by explicitly recognizing that unmodified practices can inadvertently trigger traumatic stress SoBriefAmazon. Theoretical FoundationsDrawing on trauma theory, polyvagal insights, and contempor...More

In “Thoughts Without a Thinker,” psychiatrist and author Mark Epstein, M.D., offers a groundbreaking exploration of the convergence of Western psychotherapy and Buddhist philosophy. The book’s title points to its central and most radical concept: the Buddhist teaching of “anatman” or “no-self.” Epstein argues that our deeply ingrained belief in a permanent...More

Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Life by Gary John Bishop delivers a no-nonsense, conversational “slap from the universe” to dismantle self-defeating inner chatter and reclaim personal agency Unfu_k Yourself_ Get Ou…. Drawing on neuroscience (we think over 50,000 thoughts per day) and Stoic wisdom (Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius), Bishop shows how...

Dr. Judson Brewer reframes anxiety as a learned habit loop—“worry about your worry”—that becomes self-reinforcing over time. By approaching anxiety through the lens of habit formation rather than pathology, he empowers readers to observe, disrupt, and ultimately change these loops without relying on willpower alone supersummary.comshortform.com. Neuroscience of AnxietyGrounded in two decad...More

In “Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate,” punk rocker-turned-Zen master Brad Warner offers a witty, honest, and irreverent look at the realities of spiritual life. The book is a memoir that chronicles Warner’s journey through a series of life’s messes—death, divorce, and a spiritual pilgrimage—in search of authentic spiritual truth. Warner’s core message is.....More