Customer Reviews

7 Tools to Beat Addiction

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

 

 

"7 Tools to Beat Addiction," by Dr. Stanton Peel



"As a clinician with a background in substance use treatment, I am always on the look-out for a good non-12-step bibliotherapeutic resource on compulsive-addictive disorders to share with my clients. However, I have long discovered not to trust my own opinion of the book's potential utility to the client and have been relying on a strategy of loaning a book to a few clients as a simple "field test" of its face validity as a didactic supplement to treatment, with an explicit permission to use highlight and underline the salient passages as a means of feedback to myself about what parts of the book "really click" with the clients.



Over the past couple of months I have had a chance to "pilot" Dr. Stanton Peele's recent book with a harmonious title of "7 Tools to Beat Addiction" on several clients of mine. The results are in. The pages that seem to have gotten client-readers' attention (highlighting, underlining, and in-session processing) are from the parts of the book devoted to a head-on challenge to the disease model of addiction. Dr. Peele, a long-standing counter-force to the disease model of addiction, effectively and with clarity deconstructs the disease assumptions, helping a prospective client reader to examine his or her belief structure that stands in the way of recovery. Dr. Peele succeeded in the challenging task of abbreviating the complex key points of his paradigm-breaking title "Diseasing of America" and presenting them to the client-reader in a tactful and easy to understand manner. In doing so, Dr. Peele presents important historical and sociological data as well as clinical and endearing family case-vignettes (see the story of Uncle Ozzie) about the phenomenon of self-change.



From the in-session processing of my clients' impressions of Dr. Peele's book, I have also learned that the clients particularly appreciated the humanizing, validating, non-judgmental stance of Dr. Peele's writing, which is best captured in the chapter on the "Higher Goals: Pursuing and Accomplishing Things of Value." The chapter makes a powerful logotherapeutic point that recovery in of itself is not the goal but a means to a goal, a means to a higher meaning.



As often is the case with Dr. Peele's writing, this book too, aside from its self-help focus, makes a broader sociological appeal to the society at large. In particular, in discussing the limitations of the war on drugs and the proliferation of the legal drug addiction, Dr. Peele encourages the reader as well as the society at large to embrace personal responsibility, rather than to continue to turn the Western cultural landscape into one nation-wide realm of "people-places-things" to avoid. With a characteristic clinical courage and common sense, Dr. Peele openly discusses the issues of moderation and harm reduction, entrusting the potential client-readers with an ability to responsibly process and weigh this information. And what is also important is that Dr. Peele is able to discuss these non-12-step issues with respect and tact, without alienating a prospective 12-step devotee, be it a clinician- or client-reader.



My clients have also responded well to Dr. Peele's practical and thought-provoking exercises featured throughout the book. Of particular note are such specific self-help tools for emotional self-regulation, craving control and relapse prevention. In summary, the book provides an excellent mix of discussions designed to challenge the belief structure that stands in the way of clients' recovery as well as highly pragmatic and empirically sound self-help techniques, wrapped in a humanizing and validating writing stance, surely to be appreciated by a reader pursuing a self-change or a client in the treatment context."



Pavel G. Somov, Ph.D.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Author of "The Recovery Equation: Motivational Enhancement/Choice Awareness/Use Prevention, an Innovative Clinical Curriculum for Substance Use Treatment."

7 Tools to Beat Addiction is an excellent resource for those addicted to alcohol or other substances and want to enrich their lives while reducing or eliminating their alcohol intake.

7 Tools is much like The Truth About Addiction and Recovery, also by Peele. 7 Tools is a bit of a condensed version of the aforementioned Truth About Addiction. Nevertheless, if you read both books, you will gain information from both books. If you are feeling as if you are suffering and might not be able to focus on the more scholarly Truth About Addiction, then definitely pick up this book. You will be educated about the addiction process, about the pseudo-science that has pushed the disease model, and you will be given the tools you need to moderate your drinking or quit your drinking altogether.

Stanton Peele's research isn't based on feeling, like the AA model of alcoholism-as-a-disease. It's based on numerous studies by many different scientists done over the past several decades that have drawn the same conclusion OVER and OVER again. And, the conclusion is that it's NOT a disease-- despite the AMA and despite AA and despite every single organization that says it is. The proof lies in this point-- that there hasn't been even ONE successful study that has proven otherwise-- even when the study was created to PROVE that alcohol dependence was a disease.

AA ADMITS in it's own data that only 5% of AA members remain alcohol abstinent. The data that has been proven over and over again is that this number is LESS than those that quit drinking without AA. Additionally, a recent Harvard University Study stated that 80% of those that have quit drinking did it on their own. This goes against the disease model and AA approach. Many can moderate their drinking successfully or quit successfully altogether. This goes against the disease model and AA approach, too. Stanton Peele's book shows us the studies and data that support that once addicted DOES NOT MEAN ALWAYS ADDICTED. Unless, of course, one has bought into the AA philosophy and has now accepted that they are permanently sick and out of control. This is the crux of this argument. Studies have shown that those that have bought into this philosophy wind up having a lower self-image than those that have not, and they wind up believing they are permanently sick and completely unable to manage their lives-- thereby buying into the belief that they are "out of control". The focus is never about getting better in AA (I know they say otherwise)-- the focus is on STAYING 'sick', STAYING in AA, and STAYING permanently in a "RECOVERY" state. The focus, truthfully, is in keeping old folkwisdom alive even though every bit of evidence shows us that there are proven better ways. To add insult to injury, anyone who doubts this model is accused of being in denial, and everyone who remains alcohol abstinent without AA is accused of being a dry drunk (not "sober" according to AAspeak. Hello? Isn't this supposed to be a quit-drinking program?

The problem AAers have is that this proof (that is shown so coherently here) completely pulls their chairs out from underneath them. I understand this, too. If everything I believed was taken away from me and proven to be false, it would certainly undermine my own confidence in my ability to make decisions. And, so far, although the twelve-step "treatment" (although why we continue to call it treatment when it hasn't successfully treated anything) philosophy has continued to permeate our culture, there is absolutely no evidence at all to suggest that it is beneficial. On the contrary. The evidence proves it hasn't been and that there are better ways that have been proven to work (for instance, Community Resource and Family Training, Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy, and Cognitive Therapy, as well as other approaches) scientifically.

I've binge eaten for decades. This addiction has been an albatross around my neck all my adult life. I quit a 2-pack-a-day smoking habit 25 years ago and quitting smoking was nothing compared to trying to quit binge eating. Bingeing has kept me from living my life fully and has comprised my health. I've spent much of my life feeling like a member of the 'living dead.' I've tried every type of therapy, diet, you-name-it, including Overeaters Anonymous to stop this self-destructive behavior.

I loved the camaraderie of OA and being around people who really got how difficult it is to stop bingeing. It's not a matter of 'just stop eating so much.' I didn't care for the 'powerless' part of OA or the idea that eating disorders are a 'disease.' Some people I met there go to meetings every single day. To me, that felt like substituting one type of imprisonment for another. Besides, many of the people I met at OA were still bingeing regularly and had experienced little success in beating their addictions. I stopped going.

I would consider going there again to speak with others who understand what it means to have an eating disorder, but not because I have any faith in their methods. I'm a spiritual person with a strong faith in God but the OA message did not resonate with me. 'Hand my disease over to my higher power? Make amends for all the wrongs I've committed?' Why should I make amends? I know I'm not perfect, but neither is any other human being on the planet. I see no sense in spending time focusing on everything I've done wrong in my life. I have always tried to behave in an ethical and loving way toward my fellow man. I've fallen short, but I'ved tried to learn from my mistakes and I've done my best.

I have not binged every single day of my life and have gone a maximum of four months without bingeing, so how could it be a disease? A diabetic can't say 'well today, I'm not going to be diabetic.' Now that's a disease, an honest-to-God medical condition. If I can eat normally even for a single day, I can choose to do it again - and again.

I've been on an especially long, tough bender for several months, so I sought out some ideas to help me stop. I love this book. It reminded me of what I knew before and forgot - that it's up to me to stop bingeing. No support group, therapist, family member, etc. can stop me as I'm poised to start wolfing food down. It's up to me at that moment to say 'no' to the urge. To be reminded of how infantile and childish it is to give into my self-destructive urges has shaken me out of my addiction rut. This book was a gentle slap in the face. It has re-awoken me to the reality that I have a choice to binge or not binge. It's up to me. That makes me feel empowered.

The best book I've read on the topic of addiction. It cuts through all the misinformation on the subject and in clear and easy to understand language it explains how and why people become addicted and gives practical steps on how to get past it by using a combination of the 7 tools. This book is perfect for someone who feels trapped in the maze of an addicton, has tried 12 Step and other programs, sincerely wants to stop, and still can't find their way out of it. Stanton Peele explains how to cure an addiction and get on with your life.

As I mention on the book's jacket, this is an amazing work by an amazing man. The fact that the recommendations inside do not work for every single person IS THE POINT! Just as Dr. Peele emphasizes that many of the current therapies jammed down people's throats today are clearly not for everyone, no single recommendation inside this book should apply to every single person under every circumstance. Nevertheless, the recurring emphasis on personal values is not only the key to recovery, it's the key to a fulfilling life. If the thought of incessent meetings and a spiritual path that is inconsistent with your beliefs sounds like it's not going to work for you, JOIN THE CLUB! You'll find this book insightful, refreshing, and practical. If you're already living a life consistent with your values while enjoying connection to a popular fellowship, ENJOY IT! I assure you that you'll have Dr. Peele's blessing. But don't pretend that your path is the only path...

A great read for anyone who wants to reinforce that they are capable of cultivating their own, unique meaning in life. And, if you've been put off by the irrational teachings of 12 step groups, this book will help you realize that you are not crazy: You aren't powerless. You can choose what life goals to pursue -and you don't need the approval of strangers in a group or coerced faith in an ill-defined "Power Greater Than Yourself" to do so.

Borrowing from their Temperance Movement-Protestant Revivalist ancestors, 12 Steppers preach values and threaten fire and brimstone. 7 Tools to Beat Addiction reminds the reader that it is up to each of us to figure out what we want most for ourselves. Then, the author clearly sets out proven techniques to try and real-life examples to consider along the way. Well worth picking up a copy.

This is an invaluable resource option for people who have addictions and who may not connect with the traditional 12 step programs offered by AA.

It took way to long for this book to be received, over a month. Thank Goodness school wasn't starting soon. However the book did arrive in the condition as stated.

I've noticed that many people who criticize Stanton Peele often say something to the effect that Peele has never been an addict and is therefore unqualified to write about it or treat it, etc. This has always annoyed me because it's preposterous to believe that only addicts can help other addicts. It's true addicts can provide a unique kind of empathy for other addicts, but to say that a non-addict has nothing to offer an addict is asinine and simply untrue. However, after reading this book, I understand why people say this about Stanton Peele! Although it's unfair and wrong to generalize that all non-addicts are off-base when it comes to addiction, it's true that Stanton Peele is WAY off-base when it comes to addiction! He doesn't seem to understand it at all. Addiction is a funny thing. Abuse or dependence on a substance may be the only diagnoses a doctor can put on an insurance form to treat a person, but abuse and/or dependence are not synonymous with addiction. Admittedly, this is definitional and many people disagree as to definitions, however, traditionally, addiction involves a person who is either abusing a substance or dependent upon a substance and, when he has good reason and a desire to end his abuse or dependence on that substance, he finds that, using all his current knowlege and willpower, over a reasonable period of time, he can't quit or moderate. This, of course, is not a scientific definition because addiction isn't entirely a scientific thing. It's unprovable and unfalsifiable. This does not mean it doesn't exist as history and personal experience clearly shows. So, taking Peele's endless citing of the fact that "88% of heroin dependent Vietnam veterans simply quit when they returned from Vietnam" as an example, we can see it isn't really surprising that this is so. Heroin was cheap and abundant in Vietnam, the soldiers were bored and needed something to do for the most part. A certain number began "abusing" heroin and, a certain number of them became dependent upon heroin (meaning they had withdrawal symptoms when they quit). Then when they got home, they resumed their lives and 88% quit. They, according to the above definition, were not addicts even though they were dependent. the 12% that found they couldn't stop were the addicts and needed additional help or treatment or additional addiction skills training to quit. To take alcohol as another example, the vast majority of people who drink abuse alcohol at some point. The vast majority of people who abuse alcohol eventually quit or moderate when they have good reason to. These are not alcoholics. Some people become alcohol dependent. The vast majority of those who are at some time alcohol dependent will quit or moderate without ceremony or help when they have good reason to. These are not alcoholics either. An alcoholic is a person who is either abusing and/or dependent on alcohol who, when there are negative consequences of the abuse/dependence that outweigh the benefits, see the need to quit or moderate, try to, but can't. Peele ignores all this and assumes that their is no difference between alcoholism, alcohol abuse, and alcohol dependence. He recognizes no degrees of dependence as more severe or less severe than any other.

Stanton Peele makes the common mistake that what anyone has ever done, all people can do. Therefore, if anyone has ever quit an addiction without help, everyone can quit an addiction without help. If anyone ever has been alcohol dependent, but later is able to successfully moderate his drinking, then EVERYONE who has ever had a problem with alcohol can learn to successfully moderate his drinking. This is, of course, nonsense. Everyone is different and there are degrees of dependence and addiction. Most addicts and alcoholics never learn to moderate their drinking/using and for us abstinence is likely the best goal.

Stanton Peele is an extremist. He has arbitrarily decided on a position regarding addiction then simply ignores any evidence that doesn't support his preconceived notion. And let's face it, there are so many conflicting studies, some well done some not, on addiction, that any notion you have regarding addiction can be backed up with some evidence. To a reasonable person this shows that addiction is a very individual, complex problem with many different contributing factors and causes to it. Each case must be taken on an individual basis and one size fits all, rarely fits all!! Peele attempts to replace a one size fits all 12-step system with a one size fits all behavioral system that ignores just as much evidence as the traditional (12 step) system he rails against. What is needed is a multi-modal, individualistic therapy wherein addicts can try one system on for size, give it a shot, take what is useful and leave the rest, then try something else until they reach their chosen goal. This would result in the greatest good for the greatest number of people, rather than mindless dogma of any system.

As I seem to say in all my reviews, the best books on addiction, in my opinion, are "Alcohol, How to Give It Up and Be Glad You Did" by Phillip Tate, and "Stay Sober and Straight" by Maxie Maultsby, but these, too, are just suggestions that work for some and may not work for others, so it's important to investigate and search, search, search for a program that will help each addicted individual overcome his or her addiction. I seriously doubt Peele's dogmatism and misleading non-sequiturs and half truths will help many though, so, as with everything, let the "buyer" beware!

Picked up this book for two reasons - alcohol and cigarettes. It is packed full of statistical data, but is a joy to read the personal experiences of patients, and inspirational to give up things that control us. It focuses on finding motivation for wanting to quit, your inner resources that you use on a daily basis to just get through life (organization, belief system, etc.) and makes the concept of "addiction" that it is not a disease, it is almost more of a personal decision to let something else control you. It does not discount the common 12-step process, but does offer an alternative for those of us who are not "group" type people.