"Over the last forty years, a variety of developments in American science, politics, and culture have reimagined addiction in their own ways, and yet they share something in common. Increasingly, addiction is understood as deeply normal, resembling our most ordinary attachments. On this view, a potential for addiction, or even a drive to addiction, is latent in all of us and a natural response to what now so often surrounds us, namely, an ample and sure supply of potent thrills and pleasures. This book documents where and how this view has taken hold in society and considers what its rise and wide circulation can reveal about how we imagine the human subject in the late-modern United States. Just as addiction has been reimagined as extreme yet ordinary attachment, and the addict as a suffering yet normally constituted subject, so too has the 'human as such' become reimagined in striking and significant ways. Jaeyoon Park argues that studying addiction's normalization promises not only to expand our knowledge of the recent history of thought about addiction, but to reveal and reflect what may well be an increasingly common, even commonsensical, understanding of the human subject in our time as constructed by accretion"--

An incisive look at the system of addiction pervasive in Western society today.

Language is very easy to understand; reader feels compelled to continue reading. Addresses destructive/negative thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.

What Richard Clark presents in The Addiction Recovery Handbook: Understanding Addiction and Culture is long overdue. Since 1939, Bill Wilson’s important and influential books, Alcoholics Anonymous and AA’s Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, have helped millions of people struggling with addiction to recover. In more than 80 years since then, a lot has changed: the definition of addiction, its demographics, social attitudes to addiction, politics, religious influence, treatment modalities, and the epidemiology of the illness. These have taken tolls on our modern network of relationships and treatment that culture and community now depend upon. The Addiction Recovery Handbook examines the changing historical views of addiction, outlines how this culture developed its contemporary perceptions and values, and how society contributes to this growing problem. Richard Clark proposes AA’s traditional religious model of God’s help-and-forgiveness can no longer address the needs of a diverse and largely irreligious society where atheism is becoming mainstream. His updated analysis of the traditional ‘AA’ approach proposes that self-understanding and awareness—through knowledge and education, psychology, and compassion, be the significant components of any recovery framework. This will guide both caregivers and addicts to develop expertise regarding more successful treatment and recovery protocols. This would be in a supportive environment of self-knowledge and mutual respect, whether theist or atheist. All concerned will acquire the ability to live a spiritual life, which is clearly defined. The Addiction Recovery Handbook is an interesting and readable book and is intended for everyone: addicts, medical professionals, counsellors, therapists, clients, sponsors, social workers, family members, partners, friends, employers—every stakeholder in a healthy, non-judgmental society that cares about the wellbeing of all its members.

AIDS and drug addiction is a topic of great and growing concern. AIDS first appeared among intravenous drug users in Europe in 1984, three years after the first cases were seen among homosexuals. This epidemic has spread more rapidly among intravenous drug users than in any other risk group. The high rates of HIV-1 seroprevalence among drug users in France, Italy, and Spain account for 85% of the total number of AIDS in intravenous drug users in Europe. It is anticipated that HIV-infected drug users will soon place a heavy burden on both drug treatment facilities and specialized health care units. The HIV-1 epidemic will also cross the former iron curtain. This contribution covers the wide and complex scene of drug problems and addiction as a whole. It gives researchers an opportunity to obtain background information on the spread of HIV and AIDS among intravenous drug users as well as on the clinical and psychological effects of HIV-1 infection and AIDS in Europe. The topics reviewed include surveys of intravenous drug use, HIV prevalence, detoxification, risk reduction, changing health behaviors, evaluating AIDS interventions and the impact of methadone maintenance treatment. This monograph will be of value to all clinicians, researchers, and policy makers who are concerned with the connection between intravenous drug use and AIDS.

Addiction is a rapidly growing problem among Christians and non-Christians alike. Even socially acceptable behaviors, such as shopping, eating, working, playing, and exercising, can quietly take over. Clinical psychologist David Hawkins breaks the silence with this enlightening exposé of the addictions that control people every day. It's loaded with practical information that will help readers... recognize and talk about addiction in their own life or family understand how people become addicted and what can happen when they do break the addictive cycle of thoughts and behaviors create a healthier lifestyle based on scriptural principles build a community of support Virtually everyone is addicted to something or affected by a loved one who is. Many people who appear to live freely are secretly controlled by their compulsion. Breaking Everyday Addictions provides the tools they need to allow the healing power of Christ to permeate their lives.