Unbroken brain
Ratings4
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings4
Average rating3.8
"More people than ever before see themselves as addicted to, or recovering from, addiction, whether it be alcohol or drugs, prescription meds, sex, gambling, porn, or the internet. But despite the unprecedented attention, our understanding of addiction is trapped in unfounded 20th century ideas, addiction as a crime or as brain disease, and in equally outdated treatment. Challenging both the idea of the addict's "broken brain" and the notion of a simple "addictive personality," Unbroken Brain offers a radical and groundbreaking new perspective, arguing that addictions are learning disorders and shows how seeing the condition this way can untangle our current debates over treatment, prevention and policy. Like autistic traits, addictive behaviors fall on a spectrum -- and they can be a normal response to an extreme situation. By illustrating what addiction is, and is not, the book illustrates how timing, history, family, peers, culture and chemicals come together to create both illness and recovery- and why there is no "addictive personality" or single treatment that works for all. Combining Maia's personal story with a distillation of more than 25 years of science and research, Unbroken Brain provides a paradigm-shifting approach to thinking about addiction"--
Reviews with the most likes.
This was so great!!!! Szalavitz weaves together elements of memoir, a truly astounding synthesis of decades of research on addiction, and American cultural history of our long and racist series of wars on drugs. She then uses this tapestry to make the very compelling argument that addiction is best understood as a learning disorder, and translates that understanding into what our drug policy should look like. It's just a really excellent piece of work. There are wild details of personal history (the first time she did heroin was with the Grateful Dead), deservedly pointed social critiques, and huge amounts of compassion for people struggling. I really appreciate Szalavitz' insights as they relate to my current work setting, but this feels like an important book for most people interested in people to read. My one quibble is that I would have loved more citations for the huge volume of research she cites - she does a great job translating for the general public, but it would also be nice to be able to see more quickly what work she's referring to when.
