Drew Pinsky
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 254
Average rating: 4.0 of 5
Both halves of recovery 5 out of 5 stars.
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Dr. Drew transcends the glib advice given by many in pop-psychology culture with a profound yet down to Earth wisdom about the human condition. This is his story about the interaction of codependency and addiction in treatment. His understanding of both topics is deep, and he expresses it with great clarity. Drew writes about his own struggle with codependency:
"[Childhood] Traumas ... leave imprints on parts of the brain that don't have a sense of time. The memory gives the sense that the trauma is always happening. As a result, I grew up with a feeling that there's a catastrophe waiting around every corner. I can't remember a time when I have not felt anxious. My response has been to try to control everything and everyone. I am a perfectionist. I rescue people. I have to make sure no one else gets carted away....
"Of course it's unreal to think I should be able to save everyone or that everyone should listen to me or both. How dare I insist all my patients cooperate with my need to rescue? But thats exactly what did."
Through his decades of treating addiction, Drew explains what he has learned about society and mental health. From the book:
"If I get angry it's at the bigger picture. In general, our culture offers us solutions that inly intensify our problems. I'm prone to rant about this, I know -- but after all, surgeons are permitted to rage against cigarettes and fatty foods, psychologists about poor communication skills. So why shouldn't I go off on the culture? ....
"To me, mental health isn't always about feeling good. Nor is it always about avoiding depression. Nor is it about being happy. As I define it, mental health is about accepting reality on reality's terms."
I highly recommended this book not only for people in recovery, but for anyone interested in mental health.
Editorial Review:
Dr. Drew Pinsky is best known as the cohost of the long-running radio advice program Loveline. But his workday is spent at a major Southern California clinic, treating the severest cases of drug dependency and psychiatric breakdown. In this riveting book, Pinsky reveals the intimate and often shocking stories of his patients as they struggle with emotional trauma, sexual abuse, and a host of chemical nemeses: alcohol, marijuana, Ecstasy, heroin, speed, cocaine, and prescription drugs. At the center of these stories is Pinsky himself, who immerses himself passionately, almost obsessively, in his work. From the sexually compulsive model to the BMW-driving soccer mom, Cracked exposes, in fast-moving, powerful vignettes, the true scope and severity of addiction, a nationwide epidemic.
