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Tao of Sobriety: Helping You to Recover from Alcohol and Drug Addiction » (First Edition)

Book cover image of Tao of Sobriety: Helping You to Recover from Alcohol and Drug Addiction by David Gregson

Authors: David Gregson, Jay S. Efran, Jay S. Efran, G. Alan Marlatt
ISBN-13: 9780312242503, ISBN-10: 0312242506
Format: Paperback
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Date Published: January 2002
Edition: First Edition

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Author Biography: David Gregson

David Gregson is a counselor currently specializing in drug and alcohol misuse issues. He practices at West Coast Alternatives Society with the best crew in all of beautiful British Columbia. Jay S. Efran, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Psychological Services Center at Temple University and has been a therapist for more than thirty years. He has served as President of the Academic Division of the Pennsylvania Psychological Association and is the recipient of several teaching awards. He also presents workshops for psychotherapists and family therapists here and abroad.

Book Synopsis

A thoughtful, readable, and self-empowering guide for recovery.

Publishers Weekly

Getting and Giving Help In The Tao of Sobriety: Helping You to Recover from Alcohol and Drug Addiction, longtime therapists David Gregson and Jay S. Efran offer a self-help book designed either to work in tandem with 12-step programs or to help addicts get sober without group help. After a brief explanation of Taoism (a Chinese philosophy and religion whose practitioners seek inner peace), the authors present the Tao, a Chinese term meaning "the way," as an ideal vehicle for attaining and maintaining freedom from substance addiction. Replete with anecdotes, exercises (meditations, questions to explore, affirmations) and real-life applications of Taoist precepts (letting go of attachments to guilt and other "self-condemnation" behaviors that lead to substance abuse), this guide uses the firm but gentle approach that is the trademark of many Eastern practices. ( Jan. 18) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgmentsxi
Foreword1
Chapter 1Introduction7
A Word About Twelve-Step Programs8
What Is the Tao?8
Chapter 2Alcohol, Drugs, and You12
Discovery 1Innocence in Spirit13
Aaron's Story13
Reality-Altering Substances16
More Gain Than Pain18
Beyond Alcohol and Drugs19
Chapter 3I Think, Therefore I Am21
Odd Insights About Us22
Who's the Boss?23
Journeying Deeper into Being25
A Practical Example27
Discovery 2Listening to the Internal Conversation28
Who Are You?29
Discovery 3The Space That Is You29
The One and the Other30
Higher Math: The One and the Many31
Discovery 4Discovering Who You Are32
Who's Got the Power?32
Chapter 4Managing the Mind35
Discovery 5Enhancing the Manager36
Biker Stan36
Discovery 6Making a Commitment38
Discovery 7Mindfulness and Detachment41
Practice Makes Perfect45
Chapter 5Conversing with Drugs and Alcohol47
Discovery 8Reflecting on Chemical Substances and You48
A Proof of Innocence51
Discovery 9A Heart of Innocence52
Chapter 6Attaining Balance60
Chapter 7Revitalizing Desire65
Discovery 10Identifying Mental Banditos67
Ted's Story70
Chapter 8Reexamining Transgressions76
Discovery 11Transgression Inventory77
Laura's Story78
The Hopelessness Monster81
David's Story81
The Possibility of Possibility83
Discovery 12Acknowledging Possibility83
Possibility and Patience84
The Pleasures of Irresponsibility85
Chapter 9Thoughts, Feelings, Actions87
Knowing More About Your System88
Furthering Detachment91
Chapter 10Practicing Detachment95
Discovery 13An Inch That's Greater Than a Mile96
David's Bugs98
Good Self-Talk100
Hacking a New Path100
Jack's Story101
Discovery 14Practicing Self-Talk102
Chapter 11Strengthening Commitment104
The Hoax of Winning107
Taking the Good with the Bad110
Discovery 15Attack of the Aliens112
Chapter 12Life as Theater115
Chapter 13Revising the Script124
The Power of Commitment127
Discovery 16Reflecting on Your Life as a Story128
Discovery 17A Replay with the Manager in Charge130
Discovery 18Self-Beliefs133
Chapter 14Reality and Illusion135
The Middle Way Revisited137
A Real-Life Video Game140
Chapter 15Plenty of Nothing143
Discovery 19One Is the Loneliest Number147
Bringing It Home149
Chapter 16Acceptance: Choosing Life151
Defining Acceptance152
Inclusion and Exclusion154
The Acceptance of Suffering155
Discovery 20Expanding Acceptance158
Avoiding a Steady State162
Chapter 17Retracing the Journey165
The Tao of Sobriety in a Nutshell: A Handy Crib Sheet173
References175

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