Customer Reviews

Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug & Recovery Habits

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I'm grateful to have found Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug and Recovery Habits when I did. After enduring a traditional 12-step rehab and subsequent months of AA meetings, I knew this "treatment" was not the road to recovery for me. This book opened my eyes to many resources and options for overcoming my addiction before I became immersed in what for me was ineffective and obtuse 12-step theology.

Critics of Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug and Recovery Habits often attack the author's character, not his message. It's clear to this former addict that the author of this book would like the still suffering substance abuser to know of all his or her recovery options; not just the AA way. It's sad that the addiction treatment community, despite its appallingly dismal sobriety success rate, (less than 5 per cent) in effect withholds alternatives to AA and 12-step treatment. It's also clear that there are other critics who would advise addicts who don't find AA helpful to simply not go. What these uninformed critics don't understand or refuse to understand is that AA and 12-step attendance is choicelessly thrust upon unwitting addicts when they submit to addiction treatment as currently practiced in the United States. Telling people who find AA unhelpful to simply not attend, and then, not offering viable alternatives to it, is ignorant counsel and meaningless at best.

If you're unduly struggling, unhappy or not where you'd like to be in AA, give Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug and Recovery Habits a read. You'll know what your options are and empower yourself to choose the sobriety path that makes sense and is right for you.

At last! You have a choice! Addiction/Recovery researcher and author Jim DeSena has written a powerful and compelling book. The information in his tome will not only improve the lives of countless individuals who are unduly struggling with addiction in ineffective treatment and recovery programs, but he has written a book that will save lives.
But don't just take my word for it. Read just a few of the endorsements Jim DeSena has received from various experts and authors in the addiction/recovery field:

"Let's confront the unpleasant reality and say it out loud, AA doesn't work for many of the people struggling to overcome alcohol and other drug problems, and yet there continue to be precious few treatment alternatives. Don't despair if you've tried the traditional route and failed. Follow James DeSena's suggestions for Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug and Recovery Habits and find your own path to sobriety."
Scott D. Miller, Ph.D., author of Working with the Problem Drinker and The Miracle Method: A Radically New Approach to Problem Drinking

"Jim DeSena joins a long list of those familiar with alcoholism treatment who note that the king has no clothes - that AA and the 12 steps help a minority of alcoholics at the cost of selling them a nonsensical bill of goods. Jim's journey through the field makes for both fun reading and for important insights about ways out of alcoholism that most people will find more helpful than 12-step mumbo jumbo."
Stanton Peele, Ph.D., author of The Truth About Addiction and Recovery

"If you have doubts about what happens in 12-step oriented treatment, and no place to turn for a fresh perspective, this book is for you!"
A. Thomas Horvath, Ph.D., FAClinP, President of SMART Recovery, President (1999-2000), Division on Addictions, American Psychological Association, author of Sex, Drugs, Gambling & Chocolate: A Workbook for Overcoming Addictions

"It is incredibly well written, thoughtful, truthful, and incisive. The method Jim outlines for Discovery instead of recovery is inspired. I hope many who are not satisfied with AA and its Program will read his book and find answers to some of their questions. The book is a wonderful addition to the literature on alternatives to AA as well as exposing some of the harder truths behind the AA message."
Marianne Gilliam, author of How Alcoholics Anonymous Failed Me

"Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug and Recovery Habits by James DeSena is a self-help book about quitting an addiction. Written especially for people who are bogged down by AA's approach, DeSena exposes and debunks many of AA's teachings that some people find insulting, absurd, and self-defeating. Then he presents a theory of quitting an addiction that works through effort and a new set of beliefs, which does not rely on religious ideas. If you haven't gotten the help you expected from AA, read this book."
Philip Tate, Ph.D., author of Alcohol: How to Give It Up and Be Glad You Did

"Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug and Recovery Habits does a fine job of exposing the lies and harmful effects of AA and 12-step treatment. This book will provide a welcome ray of hope to the many, many individuals who have gone through AA and 12-step treatment, yet continue to relapse. It will help them get off this exceptionally destructive merry-go-round."
Charles Bufe, author of: Alcoholics Anonymous: Cult or Cure?, co-author of Resisting 12-Step Coercion: How to Fight Forced Participation in AA, NA, or 12-Step Treatment

If alcohol or other drugs are ruining your life, ruining the life of a friend or loved one, then you owe it to them and to yourself to learn of ALL your recovery options. Jim DeSena gives you those options. AA and 12-step treatment are but one way, and not a particularly effective way. When you consider rehab recidivism (Approximately 95% of America's rehab centers are based on AA's 12-step program---and many unwitting souls have endured this "treatment" four, five, six times and more.) and the relapse rate among AA members, which reaches the 90 plus percentile, (according to AA's own triennial surveys) you can't afford NOT to read Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug and Recovery Habits: An Empowering Alternative to AA and 12-Step Treatment.

Furthermore, as Jim DeSena exposes in his book, AA's own most recent surveys reveal huge dropout rates: 75% after ten meetings, and 95% before one year. Of the 5% who last a year, only 45% reach at least five years sobriety. This means that fewer than three in 100 people entering AA achieve five years sobriety. And, incredibly, Alcoholics Anonymous is still touted by the addiction/recovery "experts" as the only thing that works! The sad fact is that AA works very well-for very few. I repeat, you can't afford NOT to read Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug and Recovery Habits: An Empowering Alternative to AA and 12-Step Treatment.

JJSimone, Dallas, TX

What a cool book! I was tired, yes, sick and tired of being told I was suffering from an incurable disease: Addiction/Alcoholism. A disease that could only be held in check "one day at a time" by attending AA meetings and following the 12-steps to "serenity." I've since learned that AA, and all it encompasses is no more than the thoughts, ideas and teachings of its founder(s)(Bill Wilson and Bob Smith).

AA and the 12-steps are not a treatment...they are a religious/spiritual conversion process, which is something I found totally inapropriate for myself when I decided booze and other drugs had to be purged from my life.

So, if you just wanna quit, enjoy life and live recovery-free, READ Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug and Recovery Habits. You have nothing to loose but your own self-defeating addiction(s).

As an empowering alternative to AA and 12-step treatment, Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug and Recovery Habits: An Empowering Alternative to AA and 12-Step Treatment delivers what it promises. What's more, in addition to the empirically based alternative explained in his book, Dr. DeSena offers further alternatives in the Appendix titled, "Abstinence-Based Alternatives to 12-Step Treatment." For those interested in pursuing moderation, he even outlines the leading moderation-based programs.

Filled with sound advice, Dr. DeSena's writings don't hold back when critiquing America's 12-step based addiction treatment industry. Considering rehab recidivism and the atrociously low sobriety success rate of traditional 12-step treatment and its ensuing "follow-up care" through AA attendance, the author does a just, objective and accurate job in citing the many pitfalls that far too many people are unaware of in 12-step treatment and Alcoholics Anonymous. Undoubtedly, there will be those readers who view Dr. DeSena's writings as anti AA/12-step because he dares to tell it like it is. But pointing out what's wrong with traditional treatment and AA packs a powerful punch and shows the author's understanding of this "treatment" and why alternatives are so sorely needed. In this reviewer's opinion, it's evident that Dr. DeSena isn't anti AA/12-step in as much as he's pro-choice in addiction treatment. Virtually everyone who has been subjected to addiction treatment as practiced in the United States knows that 12-step "recovery" is the mainstay of treatment. Clearly, Dr. DeSena would like the still suffering substance abuser to know of ALL his or her choices for overcoming their destructive addictive behavior. The service and information Dr. DeSena offers addicts/alcoholics (and their families) is exceptional. Knowing my options has empowered me to pursue the sobriety path that makes sense and is right for me. I'm grateful to have found this book.

Dr. Jim DeSena's book goes beyond what I had been searching for. While I had read many of the alternative AA recovery books and found them very helpful, it was Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug and Recovery Habits that I found extremely helpful. As if the words were written especially for me, this book spoke to me like no other. The information in this book answered the gnawing questions about "recovery" that have plagued me for years. For one, all of the alternative books still spoke of recovering from alcohol and drugs. At best, they spoke of becoming fully recovered. But none of the alternative books ever suggested discarding the "recovery," "recovering," "recovered" mentality as Dr. DeSena's book does. His use of the word, "Discovery" instead of recovery was a liberating breath of fresh air. I found this concept alone to be most empowering.

Also, Dr. DeSena's unique look at the recovery process really hit home. This is a process that for many people in "recovery," Dr. DeSena terms, "The Recovery Merry-Go-Round." Rehab after rehab, therapist after therapist, and AA meeting after AA meeting was the recovery merry-go-round that I had been spinning on for years. Yet after all that, I never felt secure with my "sobriety." My "sobriety" was a merely a temporary "gift," given one-day-at-a-time, which I could only keep if I continued working the AA program and attending meetings. I truly believe that all that is behind me now. I have chalked up my recovering past to a hard lesson that I'll never repeat. I've begun to live a recovery-free life of Discovery. It's something I never dreamed possible, but it is possible. I now know what freedom feels like. And for me, it's not only freedom from alcohol and drugs, (I finally feel secure about my sobriety) but it's also freedom from a lifetime of meetings and recovering. Now that's a real gift! It's clear why the title of Dr. DeSena's book speaks of overcoming your alcohol, drug AND recovery habits. This book has changed my life. Thank you, Dr. Jim DeSena, thank you.

Overcoming your Alcohol, Drug, and Recovery Habits is an excellent book. It is thorough, scientifically sound, and effective. It is geared mostly to those who have had experiences in 12-step constant recovery, but would also be very useful and helpful to those who have not had personal experiences in the 12 step programs.

Some reviewers seemed to be offended or bothered by the Desena's constant criticism towards AA and its offshoot programs. Those reviewers missed the point, I think, entirely. AA has-- by it's OWN account-- only a 5% success rate. Some studies have put this rate at between 2-5%. Additionally, because AA adheres to the faulty disease model regarding alcoholism and addiction, AAers believe they are ALWAYS sick and ALWAYS in need of neverending recovery, meetings, contact with their sponsors, contact with other self-professed sick people, ad infinitum. AA is dogmatic and encourages members not to think, just do the program. If members continue to think, and question and criticize the AA credo, they are accused of being in denial. It's a lose-lose scenario.

Desena is attempting to educate the public about the truth of 12 step recovery programs. Common belief is that AA works. The truth is that it doesn't work for 95% or more of those who try it. Actually, it might be a lot less than that because that 5% are only those that remain members. Those members that remain aren't counted because they remain sober, they're counted because they remain members. AA expects these members to have occasional relapses. So, we're not even talking about a SOBER 5%, necessarily. We're just talking about membership.

Harvard University estimates that those that quit without AA have a success rate of between 77-82%.

People need to know the truth, and the truth is hard to find unless we're lucky enough to be exposed to authors such as Desena, Peele, Schaler, Trimpey, Ellis, Fingarette, Horvath, etc. The mainstream media accepts the disease model and AA as the "only" effective treatment as do our schools, courts, etc. The word has to get out that not only isn't AA the only effective treatment, it's the LEAST effective treatment. To go a step further, it's not just the LEAST effective treatment, it's downright detrimental treatment! Imagine being told that you are powerless, have no control, are doomed to suffer from alcoholism and/or addiction your entire life, NEED AA to survive, must go to meetings on a daily basis, must do the steps, accept God into your life, have a spiritual awakening, admit your failures to others, spend your social time with other self-professed sick people, must put your sponsor above your family, live only for today (not set healthy goals for your future), are doomed to death or jail without AA, are doomed to relapse in the future, put the fellowship first at all times, stop thinking independently, stop questioning, listen to the same stories over and over again, etc., etc. Imagine this. This is OBVIOUSLY detrimenal, not helpful. Yet, most of us accept this propaganda as truth. In this book, Desena mentions Hitler's concept of the big lie: repeat it often enough, and people will believe it.

The only criticism I have of Desena's book is that his model to quit your addiction is identical in every single way to Jack Trimpey's model in Rational Recovery. Not only is it identical (Trimpey calls the addictive voice the "beast", while Desena calls it "the parasite"), he even uses the same words to describe the addict's feelings (the word ambivalence in a specific context-- not how it's commonly used). This was a put off.

However, at the same time, I found the book very helpful, and the rest of the book was full of useful information, so I gave it 4 stars. Additionally, as good as Jack Trimpey's book is, it hasn't been updated in awhile and some of the information in it regarding his Rational Recovery program is a little outdated, so this is a good book just because it's newer and the information that Desena has IS up to date. Still, the approach to quit IS so identical, I'm surprised that Desena had the nerve to state it was original. It would have made more sense if Trimpey and Desena collaborated on a new book. The other thing is, if you are just interested in the basic program to quit drinking and not the deprogramming aspect of the book, you can find most of the information on Jack Trimpey's site for free. He offers the basic program (which is identical to Desena's) on his website at no cost, and you can get a great idea of how it works. Desena's website is really jsut a sales pitch for the book.

I am reading books that offer alternatives to AA because AA and 12-step based therapy didn't work for me, for many of the reasons the author talks about in this book. However, I'm finding that the entire book is a long, redundant rant about AA and the "recovery industry", without offering much sound advice for someone looking for alternatives. Even the sections that talk about other ways to overcome addiction repeatedly fall back on "what's wrong with AA" to make a point. After a while you get the feeling that being anti-AA is the heart and soul of this book, not helping addicts. That's a fine subject for a book, but this one doesn't deliver on the other half of its title -- offering an "empowering alternative."