Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug & Recovery Habits [Paperback]

James DeSena (Author), Joseph Gerstein PhD (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2003

Recognizing that an addiction to 12-step programs can be just as dangerous as an addiction to alcohol or drugs, this book provides techniques to counter the self-defeating beliefs that lead to addiction. It enables those who have gone through Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and formal 12-step addiction treatments to overcome the self-destructive beliefs and attitudes that these programs promote. These include the idea that addicts and alcoholics are powerless, the belief that addiction is an incurable disease, the assertion that people who slip inevitably lose control, and the notion that those who reject the 12-step approach are doomed. Devoted to helping individuals indoctrinated in 12-step dogma recognize their destructiveness, this book provides effective psychological techniques to vanquish negative thinking and help individuals regain control of their lives.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Hard look at the addiction treatment industry---also charts the path for those wanting to quit. I heartily recommend this book. -- Bookviews.com, March, 2003. Alan Caruba, charter member of the National Book Critics Circle

About the Author

James DeSena is a certified alcohol and drug addiction counselor who has chaired hundreds of non-12-step self-help meetings. He lives in Florham Park, New Jersey.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: See Sharp Press (January 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1884365299
• ISBN-13: 978-1884365294
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #765,279 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some Similarities, yet Vast Concept Differences, September 18, 2005

By 

Suze G. "Suzanne" (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug & Recovery Habits (Paperback)

I discovered Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug and Recovery Habits through the author's website, which contained free sample chapters, an eye-opening self-help test to determine ones substance abuse level, fascinating facts in regard to AA and traditional 12-step treatment, and a comprehensive resources page that was laden with useful links. Of the alternative recovery books I have read, DeSena's book was most enlightening and hit home like none of the others did. For one, his replacing of the word "recovery" with "discovery" to describe post active addiction life was a breath of fresh air; very liberating. Also, his concept of "The Parasite" to describe the self-damaging self-talk all substance abusers grapple with brought rationality to this phenomenon as opposed to the irrationality that AA/12-step treatment term "the disease talking."

My understanding of DeSena's material however, compels me to comment to those who find DeSena's material mirroring the Rational Recovery system developed by RR founder, Jack Trimpey. Just as similarities exist between Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, similarities exist between DeSena's and Trimpey's methodologies. And contrary to those who deem otherwise, DeSena does not claim that all his concepts are his sole creations. Rather, he states that through research, personal experience, and many conversations with those who have independently quit their addictions, he codified these addiction-ending methodologies/techniques and gave them names.

DeSena's name for the substance abuser's addictive self-talk is his metaphorical "The Parasite": "Just one won't hurt," "I gotta have it," "You can a few; just don't drive." In contrast, Trimpey presents his "Beast" as a real entity overshadowing the real you. In RR, the "Beast" is not metaphorical or symbolic. This alone is a huge concept difference.

Trimpey devised a Structural Model of Addiction to explain the addictive thinking process and addictive behavior. DeSena explains his model in physical terms through his Dual-Mind Cycle of Addiction. Unlike Trimpey's process, which involves separating the brain into two distinct entities-the neocortex (new brain) and the midbrain, (the beast brain)-DeSena takes us through this thinking process using corporal expressions involving the emotional brain, emotional mind, rational mind and rational brain. Again, this is a vast concept difference and in stark contrast to those who view DeSena's material analogous to Trimpey's. For me, DeSena's empirically valid explanation brought clarity to this often ill explained thinking process, (though Trimpey's explanation is valid and helpful, too). It also laid a solid foundation for applying the addiction-ending self-help techniques that followed.

There are only so many ways to explain cogent methodologies, which help undecided/ambivalent substance abusers make the decision (or to help those who have made the decision) to never drink or abuse other drugs again. In other words, a plethora of verbiage does not exist to describe, "never," or to describe the substance abuser's hesitance, (ambivalence) to make the decision to quit for good. Surely, certain points will overlap with the different methodologies. DeSena's methodology manifests through his Parasite Awareness, Warning, and Neutralize process, P.A.W.N. DeSena ties P.A.W.N. into the easily understood Dual-Mind Cycle of Addiction-a cycle which traces the substance abuser's addictive thinking process to the rational brain's verbalizations of addiction, survival, craving and pleasure messages such as: "Time for a drink," "I need it," and "I want it." Trimpey presents comparable methods through his Addictive Voice Recognition Technique, AVRTsm. While AVRTsm is designed to expose the "addictive voice," it exposes the addictive voice as the verbal manifestation of an actual internal Beast. Once more, it is clear that DeSena's metaphorical Parasite is far removed from Trimpey's real internal Beast. Nonetheless, both processes are viable alternatives to AA's largely ineffective 12-step method and 12-step treatment as promulgated via the majority of America's rehabs and addiction treatment providers in private practice.

I give DeSena's book, Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug and Recovery Habits, 5 stars. I give Trimpey's book, Rational Recovery, 5 stars. Read them both and appreciate their differences, yet also value their harmony. Most importantly, whether you favor DeSena's Parasite metaphor and P.A.W.N. method, or Trimpey's Beast entity and AVRTsm system, these two books will doubly arm you to help yourself overcome your self-destructive addictive behavior.

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Truth Betty Ford Will Never Tell You!, February 6, 2003

By 

"benjiabbott2" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug & Recovery Habits (Paperback)

After eight years of "recovering," three stints in rehab, countless AA meetings, countless hours spent with Certified Alcohol Counselors (CAC's), and shrinks----I am finally free----Free from a lifetime of "recovering," free from rehabs, free from AA, free from counselors, shrinks, and most importantly, I'm finally free from my self-destructive addiction to booze. This is a true, gut-feeling freedom I never experienced during my eight-year association with the one-day-at-time "recovering" community of Alcoholics Anonymous. For this, I will be forever grateful for finding Jim DeSena's powerful and liberating book, Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug and Recovery Habits: An Empowering Alternative to AA and 12-Step Treatment.

DeSena has put into words what clearly many "recovering" people think and feel, but are too afraid, embarrassed, scared or intimidated to say: That AA and 12-step programs are NOT the universal answer for everyone when it comes to beating an addiction, or for living thier lives post-addiction. CAC's, therapists, rehabs and the addiction/recovery "experts" are, for the most part, ALL AA "Moonies." It's obvious that those who have found what they believe to be the "spiritual solution" to beating alcoholism/addiction promote it with religious zeal. Rarely are addicted folks offered alternative modes of recovery even when it's blatantly clear that the 12-step "recovery" method is not helping them. I should know, I lived it, or should I say, I endured it for eight grueling years.

Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug and Recovery Habits has opened my eyes to an array of methods and alternative 12-step programs that the addiction treatment "experts" NEVER offered me. And all these alternatives have great things to offer. It baffles me why rehabs and addiction/recovery "experts" withhold this lifesaving information to those needlessly struggling in the 12-step method. Regardless of how many people the "experts" claim AA has "helped," it simply DOES NOT benefit everyone. Do we prescribe only one diet plan to everyone who desires to lose weight? This knowledge alone, that alternatives do exist, has instilled in me a sense of control over my behavior and a peace of mind I never knew in AA, because my struggles with sobriety were ALWAYS blamed on my "denial," or my failure to "work a good 12-step program." It is said that "good things come to those who wait." Well, I've waited eight years and the best thing that could ever happen to me has happened. I've liberated myself from what DeSena terms, "The recovery merry-go-round." I have reclaimed my life.

I urge anyone who is struggling in his or her "recovery" to give Jim DeSena's book a careful read. Give yourself the opportunity to free yourself not only from addiction, but also from a lifetime of dreary meetings with a "recovering" community that walks on eggshells, because their "sobriety" only lasts for 24-hour clips. Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug and Recovery Habits will show you how to beat your addiction for good, not recover from it one-day-at-a-time. As DeSena's explains in his book, "Once you discover what you're actually up against, quitting alcohol and other drugs will become a learned skill well within your ability, like learning to ride a bicycle. Yes, You'll be a bit wobbly at first, but once you've learned---it's over! There's no need for daily practice---or one-day-at-a-time recovery." You have everything to gain and nothing to loose except your self-defeating addictions, a lifetime of "recovering" and the disempowering label of "alcoholic/addict" for life.

46 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book!!And be aware of the following:, May 26, 2003

By 

C. Albert Sorensen, M.D. (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug & Recovery Habits (Paperback)

I am a physician who has worked in addiction medicine for many years. I read Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug and Recovery Habits after reading all the reviews at Amazon.com. Since it's against Amazon.com rules to comment on specific reviews, I will say that I felt compelled to write this review because there are dogmatic "recovery" thinkers who will make false statements about the contents of this book to deceive you. Please know that Dr. DeSena goes beyond the traditional treatment/recovery mindset, which routinely stresses, (unconstructively for many) that the substance abuser's "deep emotional troubles" are the root cause of their addictions. Simply stated, there is no universal law of addiction that states there MUST be some deep, troubling emotion(s) underlying all addictive behavior. There is again no universal law for overcoming an addiction that requires said "deep emotions" to be "treated." Furthermore, using religious mumbo-jumbo and talk of God, these "recovery experts" will insist that you can only manage your emotions and maintain your sobriety with Divine guidance. Such propaganda is a proselytizing tactic used to convert the substance abuser to the "recovery expert's" particular theological beliefs.

Traditional addiction treatment focuses excessively on emotions both during the treatment phase and for dealing with life post addiction. While managing your emotions is important, your emotions are not as unmanageable as most addiction treatment providers and the recovering community would have you believe. In fact Dr. DeSena notes the following in reference to emotions: "Addiction therapists want to analyze your emotional/psychological disturbances. By dint of mastering ones addictive behavior, these disturbances typically fade and emotional stability and general well-being often follow within a few weeks of stopping drinking/drugging..." This is something the traditional addiction treatment providers don't want you to know.

Nonetheless, Dr. DeSena empowers the reader by showing him or her how to develop emotional security and self-reliance. He explains how your thinking creates your emotions/feelings and offers solid advice based on empirical evidence to show you how to better manage your thinking, which in turn leads to healthier, positive emotions-even if some tragedy should befall you. He addresses this through the "Downsize story" and he talks of how to attain a new perspective of your circumstances and environment to help you fine-tune your healthier, positive emotions. This is particularly helpful during sobriety's early days when emotions can run high and the urge to intoxicate is strongest. It is equally helpful for handling post addiction urges and for dealing with life's ever changing conditions as you live your newly sober life.

Many people simply want to end their self-defeating addictions and get on with their lives. They want to escape the "God speeches," and the incessant babble of miracles, which encompass the recovering mentality. Nevertheless, God is paramount in many people's lives whether or not addiction is an issue. Indeed, Dr. DeSena talks about pursuing God, religion and spirituality when you want, with whom you want, and if you want-not because you have to pursue them as the means to get and stay sober-and not because you must pursue them to handle your emotions, either. The choice to incorporate them into your life is YOURS, not zealous missionaries who masquerade as addiction/recovery counselors and experts on emotions.

So, read Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug and Recovery Habits. I heartily recommend it. It exposes, (with candor and at times with fitting, well placed humor) recovery/addiction treatment nonsense. It contains the proven methods used by those who know how to end their self-defeating addiction(s), manage their lives and emotions, and who also live quite happily. This book gives you all that and more without the sermons of theistic extremists who evangelize their particular brand of God controlled recovery in callous disregard of the truth, your needs and your sensibilities.