Sober for Good: New Solutions for Drinking Problems -- Advice from Those Who Have Succeeded

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Although Alcoholics Anonymous has long been the preferred (and often court-mandated) regimen for the treatment of alcoholism, its ideology isn't for everyone. As Fletcher (Thin for Life) points out, some people are put off by AA's religious tone, others by the concept of powerlessness over alcohol. And, she says, contrary to AA beliefs, many more never "hit bottom," but nonetheless choose to reconsider their relationship with drinking. Additionally, she suggests, with managed care drastically cutting coverage of inpatient treatment, people with alcohol problems need to know about outpatient alternatives to AA. Fletcher, a health and medical journalist, provides a compendium of such approaches, drawing on the voices of "masters" former problem drinkers who have resolved their problems with alcohol and been sober for at least five years. Programs such as Women for Sobriety, Rational Recovery and Moderation Management provide a variety of approaches, and the "masters" themselves offer a collection of strategies for getting and staying sober with support groups, chemical dependency counselors or a combination of treatments. Unfortunately, Fletcher draws a fuzzy line between "problem drinkers" and "alcoholics," a word she avoids because some find it "pejorative." Maintaining that the distress and dysfunction of most people with drinking problems is not as "severe" as that associated with a stereotypical drunk, she promises that, although AA proponents insist otherwise, "you can quit on your own," "you don't have to quit altogether" and "you don't have to call yourself an alcoholic." Though she sometimes appears to bash AA, Fletcher provides a useful overview of the varieties of recovery programs and practices.

How to Quit Drugs for Good: A Complete Self-Help Guide

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Bestselling author and therapist Jerry Dorsman presents up-to-the-minute information on each type of modern drug and offers expertise based on his extensive clinical experience treating drug-addicted individuals.

Prescription Drug Addiction: The Hidden Epidemic

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Millions of Americans are addicted to prescription drugs. Many of these addicts are average citizens, with no prior history of drug abuse, who became "hooked" after first using the drugs for legitimate medical reasons. Now, having escalated their drug usage, they cannot stop. The destructive course of addiction rips at the thread of family fabric. Author Rod Colvin knows what this is like. His brother died, at age 35, as the result of his long-term addiction to prescription. Now, Colvin helps others understand the dynamics of addiction to prescription drugs. In addition to clearly defining addiction and how it occurs, Colvin balances compelling anecdotes of personal recovery with insightful reports from addiction medicine specialists.

Betty Ford Center Book of Answers: Help for Those Struggling With Substance Abuse and for the People Who Love Them

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A guide for sufferers and their supporters answers vital questions that surround substance abuse, from understanding addictions to obtaining help to evaluating recovery options.

When Painkillers Become Dangerous: What Everyone Needs to Know About OxyContin and Other Prescription Drugs

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Americans, it seems, have a history of self-medicating for pain. The high profile and increasingly widespread cases of prescription pain medication abuse that we're seeing today serve as the latest chapter in America's long-standing love/hate relationship with painkilling drugs. In this fascinating, informative, and timely book, Dr. Drew Pinsky and other leading experts in the fields of addiction and recovery discuss why Americans are using drugs such as OxyContin and Vicodin, how American's used and abused other painkillers in the past, what makes some people vulnerable to addiction, and how to get help for yourself or a family member in trouble with drugs.

The Dual Diagnosis Recovery Sourcebook : A Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Approach to Addiction with an Emotional Disorder

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For those who suffer from a combined psychiatric illness and chemical dependency The six out of one hundred people diagnosed with the dual disorders of addiction and mental disorder face unique challenges on the road to recovery. With comprehensive information and illustrative, inspiring case studies, The Dual Diagnosis Recovery Sourcebook explores the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual approaches to recovering from this often misunderstood and yet surprisingly common condition.

The Twelve Steps And Dual Disorders: A Framework Of Recovery For Those Of Us With Addiction & An Emotional Or Psychiatric Illness

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Attention Deficit Disorder : A Different Perception

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As many as 20 million Americans may have Attention Deficit Disorder. In the five years since Thom Hartmann first published his pioneering book, "Attention Deficit Disorder: A Different Perception," new findings support his theory linking ADD to the genetic makeup of men and women who hunted for their food in prehistoric times. Now, Hartmann has revised his groundbreaking book to include the latest research along with surprising information on studies that link second-hand smoke to disruptive behavior. This edition has a new introduction by famed Harvard psychiatrist Edward M. Hallowell, MD, co-author of the best-selling "Driven to Distraction."

Attention Deficit Disorder: The Unfocused Mind in Children and Adults (Yale University Press Health & Wellness)

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Myths about Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder(ADD/ADHD) abound. This disorder frequently goes unrecognized, and even when diagnosed may be inadequately treated. In this up-to-date and clearly written book, a leading expert offers a new way of understanding ADD. Drawing on recent findings in neuroscience and a rich variety of case histories from his own clinical practice, Dr. Thomas E. Brown describes what ADD syndrome is, how it can be recognized at different ages, and how it can best be treated. This is the first book to address the perplexing question about ADD: how can individuals, some very bright, be chronically unable to "pay attention," yet be able to focus very well on specific tasks that strongly interest them? Dr. Brown disputes the "willpower" explanation and explains how inherited malfunctions of the brain's management system prevent some people from being able to deal adequately with challenging tasks of childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. His book is an authoritative and practical guide for physicians and psychologists, parents and teachers, and the 7 to 9 percent of persons who suffer from ADD/ADHD.

Driven To Distraction : Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood

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Through vivid stories of the experiences of their patients (both adults and children), Drs. Hallowell and Ratey show the varied forms ADD takes -- from the hyperactive search for high stimulation to the floating inattention of daydreaming -- and the transforming impact of precise diagnosis and treatment.