Who Says I'm an Addict?

by David Smallwood

Do you worry that you drink too much? Or perhaps you fear that your dependence on drugs, food, sex or some other vice is spiralling out of control, and taking your quality of life with it?

In Who Says I'm An Addict?, David Smallwood looks at the issue of addiction with compassion, clarity and wisdom, which comes not only from his own difficult journey with addiction, but from his experience overseeing treatment programmes at rehab centres such as The Priory.

In this book, David examines addiction in detail - what it is, how it works and the many forms it can take, from alcohol and drugs, to sex, sugar, shopping and social networking. He considers denial, how your early life influences your later years and what happens when you hit rock bottom. Finally, David looks at the road to recovery, including effective methods for tackling addiction, avoiding relapse and laying demons to rest so that you can start to rebuild your life.

300 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 2014

About the author

David Smallwood is the Treatment Director at One40 Ltd, Harley Street, London, and specializes in addiction issues and treating any childhood trauma that has led to anxiety and depression.

Reviews

[Rosemary]

I found this illuminating and I think it could help people understand any kind of addiction from drugs, alcoholism and overeating to obsessive tweeting. He suggests they all have the same root cause, even if the chosen substance/activity is very different. It's a little repetitive in places and spends rather too long detailing various types of addiction when I think people would know if they had most of them, but it makes a lot of sense that the problem with most rehab programmes is that they are treating a symptom (detoxing people from a particular substance or behaviour) and not the root cause, so the 'cure' is only temporary.

The author is open about his own past alcoholism and recovery through Alcoholics Anonymous. He proposes 12 Step programmes as currently the best recovery option and doesn't explore others, but I suppose that's reasonable given that's his own path and the path he recommends as a therapist. Since these are often described as religious programmes, it was interesting to see his take on it as an atheist. There didn't seem to be a conflict there.

I think this would be a very interesting read for anyone who is in or considering joining any of the 12 Step 'xxx Anonymous' fellowships, or is simply interested in the subject. For people undergoing some other form of addiction therapy, or thinking they might have some kind of addiction or eating disorder, it's at least worth reading the first 5 chapters where he sets out his ideas on the roots of the so-called 'addictive personality'.

[Marc]

I'm very pleased with all the useful information from this book. A lot of us can potentially bear addictive behaviors, and fostering awareness while expanding our knowledge can serve as a preventive measure, hindering the progression of potential addictions.