Rewiring Your Self to Break Addictions and Habits : Overcoming Problem Patterns

by Browne-Miller, Angela

• ISBN13: 9780313353888
• ISBN10: 0313353883
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-11-25
• Publisher: Greenwood Pub Group

Summary

The text includes psychological techniques and technologies to help us break free of behaviors that are harmful but have become ingrained in our biology.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. xiii
Preface: It Is Never Too Late	p. xv
Acknowledgments	p. xvii
Introduction to Overcoming Problem Patterns	p. 1
Recognizing Powerful Pattern Addictions Around And Within Us	p. 5
Survival and Counter-Survival	p. 7
Survival?	p. 8
Gratification?	p. 8
The Problem of the Problem Addiction Industry	p. 11
Example: The Matter of Stimulants Such As Cocaine and Meth	p. 12
Example: Legal and Illegal Opioids	p. 12
Example: The Question of Right Use As Per Cannabis	p. 13
Age at First Use	p. 13
Always Emerging Addictions	p. 14
Altered States of Consciousness (ASCs)	p. 14
Example: Addiction to Legal Drugs Such As Smoking and Coffee Drinking	p. 15
Are There Levels of Acceptable Use?	p. 15
Example: Prescription Drugs and Even Household Substances	p. 16
Nondrug Addictions	p. 17
The Problem Addiction Industry	p. 17
Overarching Problem Conditions: Chemicalization and Mechanization	p. 19
Overarching Addiction Condition One: Chemicalization	p. 19
Overarching Addiction Condition Two: Mechanization	p. 20
Problem States of Mind: Addictive Materialism and Addictive Inadequacy	p. 23
Addictive Materialism	p. 23
Addictive Inadequacy	p. 24
These Addictions Apply to All of Us	p. 25
Creatures of Habitual Addiction	p. 27
Automatic Behavior All Around and Within	p. 27
Parallels between Drug and Nondrug Addictions	p. 28
Example: Food Addiction	p. 30
Example: Shopping/Spending Addiction	p. 31
Example: Work Addiction	p. 32
Key Realities	p. 33
Creatures of Pleasure and Stimulation	p. 39
The Compelling Pleasure Pathway	p. 39
Example: Alcohol and Beta-Endorphine Craving	p. 40
Pleasure and Relief from Pain and Discomfort As Pleasure	p. 41
Example: Consider Heroin and Morphine Withdrawals	p. 42
Tolerance and Diminishing Returns	p. 42
Example: Commonplace Caffeine Addiction	p. 43
Example: The Smoking Gun of Nicotine Addiction	p. 45
Nondrug Addiction Stimulation of Pleasure Pathways	p. 46
Example: Food, Sex, and Runaway Dimensions of Our Coding	p. 46
Continued Use and Engagement	p. 47
When Good Judgment Falls by the Wayside	p. 49
When Good Judgment Is Not Working	p. 50
Wise and Right Use of Decision-Making Ability	p. 50
Decision Making Is Central	p. 52
Making a Good Decision Is a Process	p. 53
Decision Making and Problem Solving: The How	p. 54
Matters Here	p. 54
With Maturity Can Come Better Decision-Making Processes, But When Is Maturity?	p. 55
The Greater Good	p. 55
Addiction and Excessive Consumption In Excess	p. 57
Several Types of Excess	p. 58
The Consumption Trap	p. 59
Recognizing Our Powerful Inner Coding To Be Pattern-Addicted	p. 63
Our Rigid Yet Paradoxical Addictions to What We See As Reality	p. 65
We Can Even Resist Healing Change	p. 65
Our Rigid Yet Paradoxical Addiction to the Patterned State Itself	p. 66
The Tug of Choice	p. 67
Explicit and Implicit Addictions	p. 68
Hidden Implicit Patterning	p. 69
Underlying Source Patterning to be Addicted to a Reality	p. 70
Underlying Source Patterning Driving All Addictions	p. 73
Survival Relies on This Programming	p. 73
Risk and Stimulation As Triggers for Gambling and Gambling with Life	p. 74
Slaves to Attentional Bias	p. 77
Attentional Bias Programming	p. 78
Conscious Attention to Triggers	p. 80
Bad Learnings	p. 81
Triggers Themselves May Induce Highs	p. 82
Degraded Decision-Making Functioning	p. 83
Go and No-Go	p. 83
Action Selecting and Inhibiting	p. 84
Compromised Thinking and Situation Responsivity	p. 87
Situations, Situations, Situations	p. 87
Executive Control	p. 88
Action Selection Decisions Respond to Situations	p. 89
The Importance Of Promoting Situational Transcendence	p. 91
The Case for Situational Transcendence	p. 93
Situation Dependence and Situation Restriction	p. 94
Addiction-Specific Situations	p. 95
Patterns of Progression into Problem Addiction Situations	p. 97
Casual to Regular	p. 98
Regular to Troubled	p. 99
Troubled to Addicted	p. 100
Descent into Detrimental Pattern Addiction	p. 101
The Freeing and Right Use of Our Energy	p. 101
Achieving Situational Transcendence	p. 117
Condition One: Commitment	p. 118
Condition Two: Attention	p. 121
Condition Three: Fortitude	p. 124
Condition Four: Faith	p. 125
Conditions for Situational Transcendence	p. 126
Phases of Situational Transcendence	p. 129
Phase Characteristics	p. 129
Struggle	p. 130
Paradox	p. 131
Insight	p. 133
Elevation	p. 134
Life Phases and Patterns	p. 136
No One's Life Pattern Is Written in Stone	p. 138
Foundations of Situational Transcendence of Addiction	p. 139
Idea 1	p. 139
Idea 2	p. 140
Idea 3	p. 140
Idea 4	p. 140
Idea 5	p. 140
Idea 6	p. 141
Idea 7	p. 141
Conducting Lifestyle Surgery	p. 143
Lifestyle Surgery: Breaking Addiction	p. 145
The Reaching Hand	p. 146
Overcoming Programming	p. 148
Doing Something New	p. 148
Elements of Addictive Patterning Cycle	p. 149
Overcoming Resistance to Change	p. 149
Dictionary of Triggers	p. 151
Problem Area One: Practical Triggers	p. 152
Problem Area Two: Temporal Triggers	p. 152
Problem Area Three: Environmental Triggers	p. 153
Problem Area Four: Media Triggers	p. 153
Problem Area Five: Emotional Triggers	p. 154
Problem Area Six: Spiritual Triggers	p. 155
Problem Area Seven: Social Triggers	p. 155
Problem Area Eight: Physical Triggers	p. 156
Problem Area Nine: Nutritional Triggers	p. 156
Problem Area Ten: Chemical Triggers	p. 157
Trigger Charting: Seeing the Addiction Process	p. 159
Mapping Addiction	p. 159
Ongoing Charting	p. 164
Life Management Planning	p. 167
A Life Management Plan	p. 168
Knowing Addiction	p. 183
Addiction As a Family and Social System Affair	p. 185
Chemical Dependence	p. 186
Haven in a Heartless World?	p. 187
The Symptoms and Effects of Family Drug Problems	p. 188
Lies	p. 189
Communication Breakdowns	p. 191
Grudge Developments	p. 192
Hurts	p. 193
Familial Co-Addictions	p. 194
Practical Difficulties And Simple Catastrophes	p. 195
Protecting the Children of Our Patterns	p. 197
Carriers of Patterns?	p. 197
Teaching Denial	p. 198
Harsh and Painful Reality	p. 198
Children Have a Right to This Information	p. 199
Conflict of Interests Fading Heart	p. 200
When "Love" or What Appears As Love Is Too Much	p. 203
Why "Love" Is Relevant to Drug and Other Addictions-Which We Also Think We Love	p. 204
Checkpoints along the Path to Violence	p. 206
Tolerance Can Be Dangerous	p. 206
Conflicting Experience	p. 207
Establishing and Maintaining Healthy Patterns	p. 208
Love?	p. 209
Habits Sneak Up on Us	p. 210
Running into Someone's Arms, Anyone's	p. 210
Emotional Sadomasochism	p. 210
Like Is Too Simple a Word for Love or Drug Addictions	p. 212
When Relationships Like Drugs Kill	p. 213
Rethinking Recovery As Discovery	p. 215
Limitations in Our Thinking	p. 215
Rethinking Addiction	p. 218
Suggesting the Discovery Model	p. 219
A Note About Synaptic Rights	p. 223
The Synapse	p. 223
Mental Chemistry	p. 224
Addicting the Brain	p. 225
The Other Face	p. 227
Epilogue: Calling for Complete Overhaul	p. 229
Substance Addiction As an Example	p. 231
The Choicepoint	p. 231
Overhaul Is Key to Healing Pattern Affliction	p. 233
Bibliography	p. 235
Index	p. 267
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