The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction Is Not a Disease
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.33 (546 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1610397126 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 256 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-10-16 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Lewis shows why treatment based on the disease model so often fails, and how treatment can be retooled to achieve lasting recovery, given the realities of brain plasticity. But in The Biology of Desire, cognitive neuroscientist and former addict Marc Lewis makes a convincing case that addiction is not a disease, and shows why the disease model has become an obstacle to healing.Lewis reveals addiction as an unintended consequence of the brain doing what it's supposed to do-seek pleasure and relief-in a world that's not cooperating. Brains are designed to restructure themselves with normal learning and development, but this process is accelerated in addiction when highly attractive rewards are pursued repeatedly. Through the vivid, true stories of five people who journeyed into and out of addiction, a renowned neuroscientist explains why the "disease model" of addiction is wrong and illuminates the path to recovery.The psychiatric establishment and rehab industry in the Western world have
Ex-addicts, we learn, are not 'cured,' rather they have become more connected to others, wiser, and more in touch with their own humanity. He intends to demonstrate that addiction (substance abuse but also behavioral addictions such as eating disorders, gambling, etc.) is not a disease. The Biology of Desire says a lot about the brain mechanisms underpinning addiction but, to its credit, does not stop there. This is a hopeful message that has, as Lewis demonstrates, the advantage of also being true." —Gene Heyman, author of Addiction: A Disorder of Choice. "A very readable, often touching, gateway into the universe of neuroscience and the shadowland of addiction." —Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) "So much nonsense is spoken about addiction and the brain. This book, writte
tenthousandsuns said The Meat Comes Too Late. Near the end of Lewis’ valuable book on addiction and the misguided addiction treatment industry, the following quote appears:"Addicts experience something breathtaking when they can stretch their vision of themselves from the immediate present back to the past that shaped them and forward to a future that’s attainable and satisfying."He’s making a valuable point about how self-awareness, identity, and belonging to a caring community contribute to recovery (a word. Erin said Accelerated or deep learning: A subtle and sophisticated challenge to the dominant paradigm. I have read Lewis' other book and follow his blog, and find his arguments among the most clear and comprehensive out there. He is not to be dismissed based on the title alone, which other reviewers seem wont to do. I'm giving this book 5 stars because it taught me things I did not know, despite having read hundreds if not thousands of peer-reviewed articles on drug use and addiction. Anything that makes me think differently about my own field of research deserves 5 stars.Lewis mana. Finally-A 21st Century approach to discussing the process of, and solution for addiction! Any book which lays waste to the "disease theory", when covering substance abuse addiction and recovery, as this one does overwhelmingly, deserves the NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE! While it does not discuss at all how "disease" is defined, or how the "disease theory" came into existence, it does go into extensive on how the "hijacking" occurs in the brain, when it is presented with an addictive substance. Not to mention also the case studies exemplify how there is a COMPLETE willingne
Now at Radboud University in the Netherlands, he taught for more than twenty years at the University of Toronto. Presently, he speaks and blogs on topics in addiction science, and his critically acclaimed book, Memoirs of an Addicted Brain: A Neuroscientist Examines His Former Life on Drugs, is the first to blend memoir and science in addiction studies.. Marc Le