The Biology of Desire: why addiction is not a disease (The Addicted Brain) - Softcover

Lewis, Marc

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1925228770 ISBN 13: 9781925228779

Publisher: Scribe UK, 2016

Synopsis

Through the vivid, true stories of five addicts, a neuroscientist explains how addiction happens in the brain, and what we can do to overcome it. Doctors have branded addiction a brain disease, treating it as something which can be cured, or at least managed, by professionals. But in this riveting and provocative book - which tells the stories of five people who journeyed into and out of addiction - neuroscientist and former addict Marc Lewis makes the convincing case that addiction isn't a disease at all. Instead, he argues that addiction is a normal neurological process: the brain seeking pleasure and then repeating the same thoughts and behaviours that lead to pleasure until they become a habit, or an addiction. Lewis shows why treatment based on the 'disease model' often fails, and how addicts can achieve lasting recovery using neuroplasticity. Through a combination of intimate human stories and robust, readable science, he offers a unique view on addiction which is both enlightening and optimistic.

About this title

Review:

'A courageous and much needed voice in rethinking addiction - Lewis takes addiction out of a disease model and reframes it as a negative outcome of neuroplasticity. This model provides realistic hope, given that what has been learnt can be unlearnt by harnessing the principles of neuroplasticity. Through his intimate personal and professional knowledge of addiction, Lewis reframes our understanding of its mechanisms and nature in a way that is empowering.' --Barbara Arrowsmith-Young , author of the international bestseller The Woman Who Changed Her Brain

'[L]ooks at how addiction and brain science collide, and how understanding our brains can help addicts get out of the abyss ... [A] very readable, often touching, gateway into the universe of neuroscience and the shadowland of addiction.' --Richard Ferguson , Sydney Morning Herald

'Marc Lewis provides a wonderful mix of biography, psychology, and neuroscience to explain desire and addiction in a new way. It will stimulate thinking about our approaches to addiction and desire. His writing is accessible, personal, and captivating.' --David Roland , author of How I Rescued My Brain

Book Description:

In this "unorthodox but enlightening book" (Wall Street Journal), renowned developmental neuroscientist Marc Lewis shows how the prevailing'disease model' of addiction is wrong, how it has mislead the medical and treatment industries, and why understanding addiction as a developmental learning process is essential to more effective treatment and more enduring recovery for more people.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scribe UK
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1925228770
• ISBN 13: 9781925228779
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256