Succeed in Life Center provides counseling for married partners facing problems in their marriage.
Dealing with Marriage Problems
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Your Diet - Sugar is Enemy No 1
An interesting presentation on Diets for Weight Control and Losing Weight:
http://www.thedietsolutionprogram.com/burnfatg.aspx?hop=diets101&m=ad&r=aff
http://www.thedietsolutionprogram.com/burnfatg.aspx?hop=diets101&m=ad&r=aff
Monday, July 12, 2010
The Last Lecture by Prof. Randy Pausch
Prof. Randy Pausch of Carnegie Mellon University, who was suffering from pancreatic cancer became famous for his 'Last Lecture'. (www.cmu.edu/uls/journeys/randy-pausch/index.html )
Some time in our own lives, we are all forced to look back at our lives, for various reasons. Terminal illness is one such reason.
Last year, nearly 1 million persons--- males, females, children, people of all ages, races, color, and nationalities, passed through the portals of the institution (MD Anderson Cancer Center) where I work now. It is the premier cancer research center in the world. Cancer is not one disease but is a group of nearly 200 different types of malignancy or tumor affecting various organs of the body, resulting from uncontrolled cell multiplication in the human body. We see people without hope, looking for hope and seeking medical help when diagnosed with cancer, mostly in advanced stage of malignancy.
Though one third of cancer is caused by genetic factors, cancer can mostly be prevented through healthy lifestyles, diet, exercise and environmental health. New forms of drugs are being researched on to reverse the cell mutation that results in cancerous growth of cells. Cancer is the no.1 killer disease in US, and it is followed by cardio-vascular diseases. 40% of Americans will be told in their lifetime: 'You have cancer'. If this is the case in a developed country such as US, what would be the state of affairs in other parts of the world, including India?
Though medical science may help, ultimately it is the individual and the quality of individual life (in terms of mental and physical health) that will help to ward off many diseases. Therein lies the role of values and spirituality. It helps to remember that our stay on this planet is short. The less regrets we have in life, the better is the journey.
Some time in our own lives, we are all forced to look back at our lives, for various reasons. Terminal illness is one such reason.
Last year, nearly 1 million persons--- males, females, children, people of all ages, races, color, and nationalities, passed through the portals of the institution (MD Anderson Cancer Center) where I work now. It is the premier cancer research center in the world. Cancer is not one disease but is a group of nearly 200 different types of malignancy or tumor affecting various organs of the body, resulting from uncontrolled cell multiplication in the human body. We see people without hope, looking for hope and seeking medical help when diagnosed with cancer, mostly in advanced stage of malignancy.
Though one third of cancer is caused by genetic factors, cancer can mostly be prevented through healthy lifestyles, diet, exercise and environmental health. New forms of drugs are being researched on to reverse the cell mutation that results in cancerous growth of cells. Cancer is the no.1 killer disease in US, and it is followed by cardio-vascular diseases. 40% of Americans will be told in their lifetime: 'You have cancer'. If this is the case in a developed country such as US, what would be the state of affairs in other parts of the world, including India?
Though medical science may help, ultimately it is the individual and the quality of individual life (in terms of mental and physical health) that will help to ward off many diseases. Therein lies the role of values and spirituality. It helps to remember that our stay on this planet is short. The less regrets we have in life, the better is the journey.
Cancer Risk Check Online Tool
Use this online tool to check whether you have cancer risk
https://www3.mdanderson.org/publicedu/prevention/index.cfm
Calculate Your Cancer Risk with Online Tool
(From MD Anderson Cancer Center:
Monday, July 12, 2010
Your gender, race, health history and lifestyle, among other factors, contribute to your risks for developing cancer.
Piece these factors together to see the big picture of your cancer risk with Cancer Risk Check, an online tool that calculates your chances of developing common cancers and identifies personalized lifestyle changes and cancer screening exams that may reduce your risks.
Making It Simple
The Public Education Office developed Cancer Risk Check using the institution’s latest recommendations for cancer screening exams, as well as current cancer trends and statistics found among U.S. populations.
“Personal cancer risk and screening exam guidelines are not absolute and can be confusing,” said Therese Bevers, M.D., professor, Clinical Cancer Prevention, and medical director of MD Anderson’s Cancer Prevention Center and Prevention Outreach Programs.
Bevers and a team of our disease experts participated in the creation of this product to ensure users receive the most accurate and detailed feedback.
“We created Cancer Risk Check to be simple to use and to empower individuals to take actions for a healthier lifestyle, whether that’s increasing physical activity or making a cancer screening appointment,” she says.
From Risk to Recommendation
Cancer Risk Check is divided into four sections:
Personal and family health history
Tobacco use and exposure
Sun exposure
Diet and exercise
Before beginning the questionnaire, gather as much information as possible about your personal and family health history. While cancers related to diet and lifestyle are more common than those related to family history, talking to relatives about your family history of cancer can potentially help the whole family live a healthier life.
Cancer Risk Check produces a personalized report on risks for common cancers, customized suggestions on lifestyle changes that can reduce cancer risk and recommended cancer screening tests.
Calculate your risk and take your personal profile to your next doctor’s visit for further evaluation. And don’t forget to share the tool with friends and family.
https://www3.mdanderson.org/publicedu/prevention/index.cfm
Calculate Your Cancer Risk with Online Tool
(From MD Anderson Cancer Center:
Monday, July 12, 2010
Your gender, race, health history and lifestyle, among other factors, contribute to your risks for developing cancer.
Piece these factors together to see the big picture of your cancer risk with Cancer Risk Check, an online tool that calculates your chances of developing common cancers and identifies personalized lifestyle changes and cancer screening exams that may reduce your risks.
Making It Simple
The Public Education Office developed Cancer Risk Check using the institution’s latest recommendations for cancer screening exams, as well as current cancer trends and statistics found among U.S. populations.
“Personal cancer risk and screening exam guidelines are not absolute and can be confusing,” said Therese Bevers, M.D., professor, Clinical Cancer Prevention, and medical director of MD Anderson’s Cancer Prevention Center and Prevention Outreach Programs.
Bevers and a team of our disease experts participated in the creation of this product to ensure users receive the most accurate and detailed feedback.
“We created Cancer Risk Check to be simple to use and to empower individuals to take actions for a healthier lifestyle, whether that’s increasing physical activity or making a cancer screening appointment,” she says.
From Risk to Recommendation
Cancer Risk Check is divided into four sections:
Personal and family health history
Tobacco use and exposure
Sun exposure
Diet and exercise
Before beginning the questionnaire, gather as much information as possible about your personal and family health history. While cancers related to diet and lifestyle are more common than those related to family history, talking to relatives about your family history of cancer can potentially help the whole family live a healthier life.
Cancer Risk Check produces a personalized report on risks for common cancers, customized suggestions on lifestyle changes that can reduce cancer risk and recommended cancer screening tests.
Calculate your risk and take your personal profile to your next doctor’s visit for further evaluation. And don’t forget to share the tool with friends and family.
Friday, July 9, 2010
When we fall
When we fall, what do we do: lie down there and cry in self-pity? Or get angry and blame others? No, it is smarter to get up, brush off the dust or tend to the wounds and move forward.
Falling again will be foolishness. Learning from mistakes and not repeating them would mean being smart. When we fall, we cannot rely on others to be with us. One can rely only on one's own self and one's God (the divine spark within each one) in adversities. So called friends flee when we are down. It is in times of trial that we lean on God (the infinite wisdom and spirit of the universe). It requires determination and will-power to change those habits (formed by one's repeated thoughts and actions) that lead to one's fall.
Falling again will be foolishness. Learning from mistakes and not repeating them would mean being smart. When we fall, we cannot rely on others to be with us. One can rely only on one's own self and one's God (the divine spark within each one) in adversities. So called friends flee when we are down. It is in times of trial that we lean on God (the infinite wisdom and spirit of the universe). It requires determination and will-power to change those habits (formed by one's repeated thoughts and actions) that lead to one's fall.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Addiction Recovery
http://www.addictionrecoveryguide.org/
GENERAL
Addict In The Family: Stories of Loss, Hope, and Recovery
Beverly Conyers
This book is for the hidden victims of addiction--families. For families of addicts, feeling of fear, shame, confusion over a loved one's addiction can cause deep anxiety, sleepless nights, and even physical illness. And the emotional distress family members suffer is often compounded by the belief that they somehow caused or contributed to their loved one's addiction--or that they could have done something to prevent it. As the heart-wrenching personal stories in this book reveal, family members do not cause their loved one's addiction. Nor can they control of cure addiction.
Enough Already!: A Guide to Recovery from Alcohol And Drug Addiction
Bob Tyler
Enough Already! is an easy read that educates alcoholics and addicts on precisely what to do to get and stay sober. After learning about the disease of alcoholism/addiction and time-tested tools of recovery, the reader is introduced to relapse prevention strategies, the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12 Step programs, and coping skills to deal with uncomfortable emotions that often lead to drug and alcohol use. This is followed by specific instructions on how to get started in recovery and a final inspiring chapter entitled "The Miracle."
Reclaim Your Family From Addiction
How Couples and Families Recover Love and Meaning
Craig Nakken
What happens to the "we" of a family when one member opts for the blind and single-minded "me" of addiction? In an instructive, reassuring way, Craig Nakken explains just how families and couples who have spent years building a life together can lose their cohesive identity and meaning in the wake of addiction. The perfect starting point in the healing process, this book also reminds us that recovery is possible--for individuals, couples, and whole families--if only we know what to do.
Sober Siblings: How to Help Your Alcoholic Brother or Sister and Not Lose Yourself
Patricia Olsen and Petros Levounis, MD, MA
An insightful and empowering guide to supporting siblings that are in all stages of alcoholism or recovery
top
NUTRITION, SUPPLEMENTS, HERBS
Eating for Recovery: The Essential Nutrition Plan to Reverse the Physical Damage
of Alcoholism
Molly Siple, MS, RD
Provides guidelines, practical tips, recipes, and varied meal plans to help you restore health and vitality after alcohol abuse.
End Your Addiction Now: : The Proven Nutritional Supplement Program That Can Set You Free (amazon.com/End-Your-Addiction-Now-Nutritional/dp/0446527238)
Charles Gant, M.D. and Greg Lewis, Ph.D.
Dr. Gant presents his three-stage recovery program to reduce or eliminate addictions through nutritional supplements that restore the proper balance of neurotransmitters in the brain. The program can help to reduce or eliminate drug and alcohol cravings, detoxify with an over-the-counter remedy that helps cleanse the body, and correct secondary nutritional imbalances to ensure long-term results. Questionnaires help readers identify which appropriate supplements will help them regain control of their lives.
Natural Highs: Supplements, Nutrition, and Mind-BodyTechniques to Help You Feel Good All the Time. (www.cassmd.com/Nat.Highs/Nat.High.1.html)
Hyla Cass, MD and Patrick Holford
The authors, a psychiatrist and nutritional expert, advocate using a balanced diet and natural supplements/herbs such as kava, ginseng, choline, and DMAE to improve ones vitality, focus and state of mind. These natural alternatives act as stress busters, energizers, and mood enhancers without the consequences of addiction to substances such as caffeine, sugar, nicotine, alcohol, or drugs. The positive effects, rare cautions, and recommended dosages associated with each item are detailed. Other helpful mind/body lifestyle practices like meditation, massage, dance and aromatherapy are also described.
Seven Weeks To Sobriety: The Proven Program to Fight Alcoholism Through Nutrition
Joan Mathew Larson Ph.D.
Focusing on alcoholism as a disease, Joan Mathews Larson and her colleagues at the Health Recovery Center in Minneapolis,Minnesota discovered a series of nutritional deficiencies in alcoholics. The book presents their seven-week program to break alcohol addiction and end cravings.
PERSONAL STORIES, BIOGRAPHY
Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption
William Cope Moyers, Katherine Ketcham
William Cope Moyers has come a long, long way. In 1994, he lay on the floor of an Atlanta crack house. His father had put together a search party. His worried family waited at home where Moyers had left them when he embarked on yet another binge. From that lowly, drug-hazed night, Moyers went on to become an executive at the Hazelden Foundation and travels far and wide to talk about addiction and treatment.
Broken tells the story of what happened between then and now from growing up the privileged son of Bill Moyers to his descent into alcoholism and drug addiction, his numerous stabs at getting clean, his many relapses, and how he managed to survive.
The Dopeless Hope Fiend: Veteran Police Officer Becomes Homeless Drug Addict Before Finding Redemption After Near Death Experience
Michael CharlesGivens
Michael Givens chronicles his journey from addiction to sobriety. The story covers his descent into drug abuse and the devastation it brings to his life. It is also about redemption and life after drugs. Givens uses his experiences to offer hope to those caught in the cycle of addiction by reducing the process of addiction and recovery down to its elements. This book inspires and challenges addicts to consider the possibility of living a clean and sober life.
I Am Your Disease (The Many Faces of Addiction) (www.iamyourdisease.com)
Sheryl Letzgus Mcginnis and Heiko Ganzer
This book chronicles the life of many people addicted to various substances who died despite their best efforts and that of their families. The authors understand that addiction is an illness that can happen to anyone and sometimes its so malignant that all current treatment fails.This book is a solace to parents who have lost a child to addiction but also potentially very helpful to parents whose children are living addicts and tempted to quit their efforts to help the child. It may also be helpful in boosting the resolve of addicts and diminishing their guilt about not being able to stop... so far.
My Name Is Bill (www.susancheever.com)
Susan Cheever
In this thoroughly researched and groundbreaking biography of Bill Wilson, cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous, Cheever creates a remarkably human portrait of a man whose life and work both influenced and saved the lives of millions of people. Drawn from personal letters and diaries, records in a variety of archives, and hundreds of interviews, this definitive biography is the first fully documented account of Bill Wilson's life story.
Walking Like A Duck
Patricia Thulin Holloran
On June 28, 1996, Pat Holloran’s life changed suddenly and forever when Drug Control confronted her for the theft of narcotics from the hospital where she worked.
Pat was working full time on the night shift and taking care of her three children, her husband, and her severely disabled father. Stadol, a narcotic ten times stronger than Morphine, was her drug of choice. She started taking it to help her sleep. She kept taking it because she could not stop.
Walking Like a Duck reveals the agony of enduring a punitive disciplinary process to preserve her nursing license; how it impacted her sanity and her career, and how her secrets and lies traumatized her marriage of over twenty years.
top
PSYCHOLOGY, PERSONALITY
Addictive Personality: Understanding the Addictive Process and Compulsive Behavior(hazelden.org/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?a=b&item=3429)
Craig Nakken
Craig nakken presents the most recent information on how an individual becomes an addict-including cultural influences and genetic factors-as he examines addiction's causes, stages of development, and consequences.
Addictive Thinking: Understanding Self-Deception(hazelden.org/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?a=b&item=1829)
Abraham J. Twerski
Using vivid examples and case studies, the author exposes the irrational and contradictory patterns of addictive thinking, and shows how to overcome them and the barriers they create; low self-esteem and relapse.
Emotional Sobriety: From Relationship Trauma to Resilience and Balance
Tian Dayton, PhD
Written by a clinical psychologist, this book provides new perspectives on how to gain back emotional stability after growing up with the trauma of addiction, abuse, and dysfunction. Dr. Dayton explains the latest research in neuropsychology and the role trauma plays on chemically altering the brain. The book teaches you how to rewire your brain to undo the negative effects trauma has on all aspects of life. As noted by Joseph R. Cruse, MD, Founding Medical Director, Betty Ford Center, "We all need to learn how to live with greater maturity and balance. In this book, Tian Dayton shows us how."
First Year Sobriety: When All That Changes Is Everything
Guy Kettelhack
The first in a series of three recovery guides for the first three years of sobriety, First-Year Sobriety uses the voices of many women and men who are struggling in the often baffling territory of their first year of sobriety to show that despite their differing experiences, all are united in the process of giving life without alcohol or other drugs a chance.
top
SPIRITUAL APPROACHES
The Tao of Sobriety (amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312242506)
David Gregson and Jay S. Efran
Written by two longtime therapists, this self-help book is designed to work with or without 12-step programs. After a brief explanation of Taoism (a Chinese philosophy and religion), the authors present the Tao, a Chinese term meaning "the way," as an ideal vehicle for attaining and maintaining freedom from substance addiction. Containing anecdotes, exercises (meditations, questions to explore, affirmations) and real-life applications of Taoist precepts, this guide shows how to apply eastern philosophy to enhance recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs.
The Wisdom of the Rooms (thewisdomoftherooms.com)
Michael Z
A collection of hundreds of sayings and quotes heard in 12-step meetings that impart practical wisdom on maintaining sobriety and developing your spiritual life. It acts as a guide on looking deeper and a daily support in the process.
The Zen of Recovery (innerself.com/Meditation/What_Is_Zen_by_Mel_Ash.htm)
Mel Ash
Applying the principles of Zen to the Twelve Step philosophy of recovery, this book offers inspiration to achieve spiritual fulfillment and peace. Drawing from his lifetime of experience as an abused child, alcoholic, Zen student, and dharma teacher, Ash gives readers a solid grounding in the Twelve Steps and the Eightfold Path and shows their useful similarities for those in recovery.
top
TWELVE STEP
Alcoholics Anonymous
(www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_tableofcnt.cfm)
Alcoholics Anonymous-the Big Book-has served as a lifeline to millions worldwide. First published in 1939, Alcoholics Anonymous sets forth cornerstone concepts of recovery from alcoholism and tells the stories of men and women who have overcome the disease.
Na Text: Narcotics Anonymous
(http://www.na.org/?ID=catalog-products)
First published in April 1983, this is NA’s primary text. Book One contains ten chapters explaining the NA Fellowship and their program of recovery.
top
OTHER SITES WITH ADDICTION BOOKS:
Drug Abuse Books.com (drugabusebooks.com)
An extensive list of books on drug abuse and drug-related information, linked to Amazon.com for easy purchase.
GENERAL
Addict In The Family: Stories of Loss, Hope, and Recovery
Beverly Conyers
This book is for the hidden victims of addiction--families. For families of addicts, feeling of fear, shame, confusion over a loved one's addiction can cause deep anxiety, sleepless nights, and even physical illness. And the emotional distress family members suffer is often compounded by the belief that they somehow caused or contributed to their loved one's addiction--or that they could have done something to prevent it. As the heart-wrenching personal stories in this book reveal, family members do not cause their loved one's addiction. Nor can they control of cure addiction.
Enough Already!: A Guide to Recovery from Alcohol And Drug Addiction
Bob Tyler
Enough Already! is an easy read that educates alcoholics and addicts on precisely what to do to get and stay sober. After learning about the disease of alcoholism/addiction and time-tested tools of recovery, the reader is introduced to relapse prevention strategies, the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12 Step programs, and coping skills to deal with uncomfortable emotions that often lead to drug and alcohol use. This is followed by specific instructions on how to get started in recovery and a final inspiring chapter entitled "The Miracle."
Reclaim Your Family From Addiction
How Couples and Families Recover Love and Meaning
Craig Nakken
What happens to the "we" of a family when one member opts for the blind and single-minded "me" of addiction? In an instructive, reassuring way, Craig Nakken explains just how families and couples who have spent years building a life together can lose their cohesive identity and meaning in the wake of addiction. The perfect starting point in the healing process, this book also reminds us that recovery is possible--for individuals, couples, and whole families--if only we know what to do.
Sober Siblings: How to Help Your Alcoholic Brother or Sister and Not Lose Yourself
Patricia Olsen and Petros Levounis, MD, MA
An insightful and empowering guide to supporting siblings that are in all stages of alcoholism or recovery
top
NUTRITION, SUPPLEMENTS, HERBS
Eating for Recovery: The Essential Nutrition Plan to Reverse the Physical Damage
of Alcoholism
Molly Siple, MS, RD
Provides guidelines, practical tips, recipes, and varied meal plans to help you restore health and vitality after alcohol abuse.
End Your Addiction Now: : The Proven Nutritional Supplement Program That Can Set You Free (amazon.com/End-Your-Addiction-Now-Nutritional/dp/0446527238)
Charles Gant, M.D. and Greg Lewis, Ph.D.
Dr. Gant presents his three-stage recovery program to reduce or eliminate addictions through nutritional supplements that restore the proper balance of neurotransmitters in the brain. The program can help to reduce or eliminate drug and alcohol cravings, detoxify with an over-the-counter remedy that helps cleanse the body, and correct secondary nutritional imbalances to ensure long-term results. Questionnaires help readers identify which appropriate supplements will help them regain control of their lives.
Natural Highs: Supplements, Nutrition, and Mind-BodyTechniques to Help You Feel Good All the Time. (www.cassmd.com/Nat.Highs/Nat.High.1.html)
Hyla Cass, MD and Patrick Holford
The authors, a psychiatrist and nutritional expert, advocate using a balanced diet and natural supplements/herbs such as kava, ginseng, choline, and DMAE to improve ones vitality, focus and state of mind. These natural alternatives act as stress busters, energizers, and mood enhancers without the consequences of addiction to substances such as caffeine, sugar, nicotine, alcohol, or drugs. The positive effects, rare cautions, and recommended dosages associated with each item are detailed. Other helpful mind/body lifestyle practices like meditation, massage, dance and aromatherapy are also described.
Seven Weeks To Sobriety: The Proven Program to Fight Alcoholism Through Nutrition
Joan Mathew Larson Ph.D.
Focusing on alcoholism as a disease, Joan Mathews Larson and her colleagues at the Health Recovery Center in Minneapolis,Minnesota discovered a series of nutritional deficiencies in alcoholics. The book presents their seven-week program to break alcohol addiction and end cravings.
PERSONAL STORIES, BIOGRAPHY
Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption
William Cope Moyers, Katherine Ketcham
William Cope Moyers has come a long, long way. In 1994, he lay on the floor of an Atlanta crack house. His father had put together a search party. His worried family waited at home where Moyers had left them when he embarked on yet another binge. From that lowly, drug-hazed night, Moyers went on to become an executive at the Hazelden Foundation and travels far and wide to talk about addiction and treatment.
Broken tells the story of what happened between then and now from growing up the privileged son of Bill Moyers to his descent into alcoholism and drug addiction, his numerous stabs at getting clean, his many relapses, and how he managed to survive.
The Dopeless Hope Fiend: Veteran Police Officer Becomes Homeless Drug Addict Before Finding Redemption After Near Death Experience
Michael CharlesGivens
Michael Givens chronicles his journey from addiction to sobriety. The story covers his descent into drug abuse and the devastation it brings to his life. It is also about redemption and life after drugs. Givens uses his experiences to offer hope to those caught in the cycle of addiction by reducing the process of addiction and recovery down to its elements. This book inspires and challenges addicts to consider the possibility of living a clean and sober life.
I Am Your Disease (The Many Faces of Addiction) (www.iamyourdisease.com)
Sheryl Letzgus Mcginnis and Heiko Ganzer
This book chronicles the life of many people addicted to various substances who died despite their best efforts and that of their families. The authors understand that addiction is an illness that can happen to anyone and sometimes its so malignant that all current treatment fails.This book is a solace to parents who have lost a child to addiction but also potentially very helpful to parents whose children are living addicts and tempted to quit their efforts to help the child. It may also be helpful in boosting the resolve of addicts and diminishing their guilt about not being able to stop... so far.
My Name Is Bill (www.susancheever.com)
Susan Cheever
In this thoroughly researched and groundbreaking biography of Bill Wilson, cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous, Cheever creates a remarkably human portrait of a man whose life and work both influenced and saved the lives of millions of people. Drawn from personal letters and diaries, records in a variety of archives, and hundreds of interviews, this definitive biography is the first fully documented account of Bill Wilson's life story.
Walking Like A Duck
Patricia Thulin Holloran
On June 28, 1996, Pat Holloran’s life changed suddenly and forever when Drug Control confronted her for the theft of narcotics from the hospital where she worked.
Pat was working full time on the night shift and taking care of her three children, her husband, and her severely disabled father. Stadol, a narcotic ten times stronger than Morphine, was her drug of choice. She started taking it to help her sleep. She kept taking it because she could not stop.
Walking Like a Duck reveals the agony of enduring a punitive disciplinary process to preserve her nursing license; how it impacted her sanity and her career, and how her secrets and lies traumatized her marriage of over twenty years.
top
PSYCHOLOGY, PERSONALITY
Addictive Personality: Understanding the Addictive Process and Compulsive Behavior(hazelden.org/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?a=b&item=3429)
Craig Nakken
Craig nakken presents the most recent information on how an individual becomes an addict-including cultural influences and genetic factors-as he examines addiction's causes, stages of development, and consequences.
Addictive Thinking: Understanding Self-Deception(hazelden.org/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?a=b&item=1829)
Abraham J. Twerski
Using vivid examples and case studies, the author exposes the irrational and contradictory patterns of addictive thinking, and shows how to overcome them and the barriers they create; low self-esteem and relapse.
Emotional Sobriety: From Relationship Trauma to Resilience and Balance
Tian Dayton, PhD
Written by a clinical psychologist, this book provides new perspectives on how to gain back emotional stability after growing up with the trauma of addiction, abuse, and dysfunction. Dr. Dayton explains the latest research in neuropsychology and the role trauma plays on chemically altering the brain. The book teaches you how to rewire your brain to undo the negative effects trauma has on all aspects of life. As noted by Joseph R. Cruse, MD, Founding Medical Director, Betty Ford Center, "We all need to learn how to live with greater maturity and balance. In this book, Tian Dayton shows us how."
First Year Sobriety: When All That Changes Is Everything
Guy Kettelhack
The first in a series of three recovery guides for the first three years of sobriety, First-Year Sobriety uses the voices of many women and men who are struggling in the often baffling territory of their first year of sobriety to show that despite their differing experiences, all are united in the process of giving life without alcohol or other drugs a chance.
top
SPIRITUAL APPROACHES
The Tao of Sobriety (amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312242506)
David Gregson and Jay S. Efran
Written by two longtime therapists, this self-help book is designed to work with or without 12-step programs. After a brief explanation of Taoism (a Chinese philosophy and religion), the authors present the Tao, a Chinese term meaning "the way," as an ideal vehicle for attaining and maintaining freedom from substance addiction. Containing anecdotes, exercises (meditations, questions to explore, affirmations) and real-life applications of Taoist precepts, this guide shows how to apply eastern philosophy to enhance recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs.
The Wisdom of the Rooms (thewisdomoftherooms.com)
Michael Z
A collection of hundreds of sayings and quotes heard in 12-step meetings that impart practical wisdom on maintaining sobriety and developing your spiritual life. It acts as a guide on looking deeper and a daily support in the process.
The Zen of Recovery (innerself.com/Meditation/What_Is_Zen_by_Mel_Ash.htm)
Mel Ash
Applying the principles of Zen to the Twelve Step philosophy of recovery, this book offers inspiration to achieve spiritual fulfillment and peace. Drawing from his lifetime of experience as an abused child, alcoholic, Zen student, and dharma teacher, Ash gives readers a solid grounding in the Twelve Steps and the Eightfold Path and shows their useful similarities for those in recovery.
top
TWELVE STEP
Alcoholics Anonymous
(www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_tableofcnt.cfm)
Alcoholics Anonymous-the Big Book-has served as a lifeline to millions worldwide. First published in 1939, Alcoholics Anonymous sets forth cornerstone concepts of recovery from alcoholism and tells the stories of men and women who have overcome the disease.
Na Text: Narcotics Anonymous
(http://www.na.org/?ID=catalog-products)
First published in April 1983, this is NA’s primary text. Book One contains ten chapters explaining the NA Fellowship and their program of recovery.
top
OTHER SITES WITH ADDICTION BOOKS:
Drug Abuse Books.com (drugabusebooks.com)
An extensive list of books on drug abuse and drug-related information, linked to Amazon.com for easy purchase.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Eight Clues to Happiness- Khushwant Singh
EIGHT CLUES TO HAPPINESS
By- KHUSHWANT SINGH
Having lived a reasonably contented life, I was musing over what a person should strive for to achieve happiness. I drew up a list of a few essentials which I put forward for the readers' appraisal.
1. First and foremost is GOOD HEALTH. If you do not enjoy good health you can never be happy. Any ailment, however trivial, will deduct from your happiness.
2. Second, a HEALTHY BANK BALANCE. It need not run into crores but should be enough to provide for creature comforts and something to spare for recreation, like eating out, going to the pictures, travelling or going on holidays on the hills or by the sea. Shortage of money can be only demoralizing. Living on credit or borrowing is demeaning and lowers one in one's own eyes.
3. Third, a HOME OF YOUR OWN. Rented premises can never give you the snug feeling of a nest which is yours for keeps that a home provides: if it has a garden space, all the better. Plant your own trees and flowers, see them grow and blossom, cultivate a sense of kinship with them.
4. Fourth, an UNDERSTANDING COMPANION, be it your spouse or a friend. If there are too many misunderstandings, they will rob you of your peace of mind. It is better to be divorced than to bicker all the time.
5. Fifth, LACK OF ENVY towards those who have done better than you in life; risen higher, made more money, or earned more fame. Envy can be very corroding; avoid comparing yourself with others.
6. Sixth, DO NOT ALLOW OTHER PEOPLE to descend on you for gup-shup. By the time you get rid of them, you will feel exhausted and poisoned by their gossip-mongering.
7. Seventh, CULTIVATE SOME HOBBIES which can bring you a sense of fulfilment, such as gardening, reading, writing, painting, playing or listening to music. Going to clubs or parties to get free drinks or to meet celebrities is criminal waste of time.
8. Eighth, every morning and evening, devote 15 minutes to INTROSPECTION. In the morning, 10 minutes should be spent on stilling the mind and then five in listing things you have to do that day. In the evening, five minutes to still the mind again, and then to go over what you had undertaken to do.
Nathaniel Cotton (1721-1788) summed up my views on the subject in one verse:
If solid happiness we prize
Within our breast this jewel lies .
And they are fools who roam
The world has nothing to bestow
From our own selves our joys must flow
And that dear hut, our home.
By- KHUSHWANT SINGH
Having lived a reasonably contented life, I was musing over what a person should strive for to achieve happiness. I drew up a list of a few essentials which I put forward for the readers' appraisal.
1. First and foremost is GOOD HEALTH. If you do not enjoy good health you can never be happy. Any ailment, however trivial, will deduct from your happiness.
2. Second, a HEALTHY BANK BALANCE. It need not run into crores but should be enough to provide for creature comforts and something to spare for recreation, like eating out, going to the pictures, travelling or going on holidays on the hills or by the sea. Shortage of money can be only demoralizing. Living on credit or borrowing is demeaning and lowers one in one's own eyes.
3. Third, a HOME OF YOUR OWN. Rented premises can never give you the snug feeling of a nest which is yours for keeps that a home provides: if it has a garden space, all the better. Plant your own trees and flowers, see them grow and blossom, cultivate a sense of kinship with them.
4. Fourth, an UNDERSTANDING COMPANION, be it your spouse or a friend. If there are too many misunderstandings, they will rob you of your peace of mind. It is better to be divorced than to bicker all the time.
5. Fifth, LACK OF ENVY towards those who have done better than you in life; risen higher, made more money, or earned more fame. Envy can be very corroding; avoid comparing yourself with others.
6. Sixth, DO NOT ALLOW OTHER PEOPLE to descend on you for gup-shup. By the time you get rid of them, you will feel exhausted and poisoned by their gossip-mongering.
7. Seventh, CULTIVATE SOME HOBBIES which can bring you a sense of fulfilment, such as gardening, reading, writing, painting, playing or listening to music. Going to clubs or parties to get free drinks or to meet celebrities is criminal waste of time.
8. Eighth, every morning and evening, devote 15 minutes to INTROSPECTION. In the morning, 10 minutes should be spent on stilling the mind and then five in listing things you have to do that day. In the evening, five minutes to still the mind again, and then to go over what you had undertaken to do.
Nathaniel Cotton (1721-1788) summed up my views on the subject in one verse:
If solid happiness we prize
Within our breast this jewel lies .
And they are fools who roam
The world has nothing to bestow
From our own selves our joys must flow
And that dear hut, our home.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)