Addict in the House: A No-Nonsense Family Guide Through Addiction and Recovery
Written by Robin Barnett
Narrated by Denice Stradling
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
Everyone suffers when there’s an addict in the family. Written by an expert in alcohol and drug addiction and recovery, this no-nonsense guide will help you understand the causes of addiction, end enabling behaviors, support your loved one’s recovery, and learn how to cope with relapses.
If you’re the family member of an addict, you may feel confused, guilty, and scared of doing the wrong thing. And when you don’t know how to help, you may find yourself in a codependent role, trying so hard to keep your addicted loved one alive, out of jail, or emotionally appeased that you may actually prevent them from realizing they need help.
Drawing on her own personal experience with her brother’s addiction, Addict in the House offers a pragmatic, step-by-step guide to dealing with a loved one’s addiction, from accepting the reality of the disease to surviving what may be repeated cycles of recovery and relapse. You’ll learn how to encourage your addicted loved one to get help without forcing it, and finally find the strength to let go of codependence.
With this revealing and straightforward book, you’ll have the support you need to take an honest look at how addiction has affected the family, cope with the emotional hurdles of having an addicted family member, create and maintain firm boundaries, and make informed decisions about how to best help your loved one.
Related to Addict in the House
Related audiobooks
America Anonymous: Eight Addicts in Search of a Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Change Your Mind and Your Life Will Follow: 12 Simple Principles Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Exit Stage Left Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHealing the Scars of Addiction: Reclaiming Your Life and Moving into a Healthy Future Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Healing the Addicted Brain: The Revolutionary, Science-Based Alcoholism and Addiction Recovery Program Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Addict In The Family: Stories of Loss, Hope, and Recovery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Clean: Overcoming Addiction and Ending America’s Greatest Tragedy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Addiction Spectrum: A Compassionate, Holistic Approach to Recovery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Breaking Addiction: A 7-Step Handbook for Ending Any Addiction Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mastering the Addicted Brain: Building a Sane and Meaningful Life to Stay Clean Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Addiction Solution: Treating Our Dependence on Opioids and Other Drugs Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I Love You, More: Short Stories of Addiction, Recovery, and Loss From the Family's Perspective Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Recovery Formula: An Addict's Guide to Getting Clean & Sober FOREVER Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beyond Addiction: How Science and Kindness Help People Change Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everything Changes: Help for Families of Newly Recovering Addicts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Recovery 2.0: Move Beyond Addiction and Upgrade Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Project Addiction: The Complete Guid to Using, Abusing and Recovering From Drugs and Behaviors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love First: A Family's Guide to Intervention Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/512 Stupid Things That Mess Up Recovery: Avoiding Relapse through Self-Awareness and Right Action Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Gift of Recovery: 52 Mindful Ways to Live Joyfully Beyond Addiction Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Prodigal Daughter: A Family’s Brave Journey through Addiction and Recovery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Overcoming Opioid Addiction: The Authoritative Medical Guide for Patients, Families, Doctors, and Therapists Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRecovery – The Sacred Art: The Twelve Steps as Spiritual Practice Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Manage My Addiction: What I Wish I'd Learned in School about Substance Use Disorderand Addiction Recovery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Seven Weeks to Sobriety: The Proven Program to Fight Alcoholism through Nutrition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Addiction Recovery, A Short & Deep Inspiration To Help You Break Free Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Inside Rehab: The Surprising Truth about Addiction Treatment---and How to Get Help That Works Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Addiction For You
Stop Smoking Now Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Easy Way to Stop Smoking Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Breaking Addiction: A 7-Step Handbook for Ending Any Addiction Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Easy Way to Control Alcohol Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Allen Carr's Quit Drinking Without Willpower: Be a happy nondrinker Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Smart Phone Dumb Phone: Free Yourself from Digital Addiction Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Porn Myth: Exposing the Reality Behind the Fantasy of Pornography Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Easy Way for Women to Stop Drinking Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Kindness Method: Change Your Habits for Good Using Self-Compassion and Understanding Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Breaking the Cycle: Free Yourself from Sex Addiction, Porn Obsession, and Shame Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Allen Carr's Easy Way to Quit Cannabis: Regain your drive, health and happiness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Breathing Under Water Original Audio Presentation: Spirituality and the 12 Steps Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Out of the Shadows: Understanding Sexual Addiction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alcoholics Anonymous, Fourth Edition: The official "Big Book" from Alcoholic Anonymous Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Alcoholics Anonymous: The Landmark of Recovery and Vital Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Drop the Rock: Removing Character Defects: Steps Six and Seven (2nd. ed.) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Age of Fentanyl: Ending the Opioid Epidemic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Drug Addict: a memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beyond Addiction: How Science and Kindness Help People Change Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions: The “Twelve and Twelve” — Essential Alcoholics Anonymous reading Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Stop Drinking Expert: Alcohol Lied to Me Updated And Extended Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stop Drinking Now: The original Easyway method Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mommy Doesn't Drink Here Anymore: Getting Through the First Year of Sobriety Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Addict in the House
12 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great information and introduction to anyone experiencing addicted loved ones. Put my mind at ease about things. Helped me understand my own behavior in so many ways. A must read
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Addict in the house - A No-Nonsense Family Guide Through Addiction and Recovery - by Robin Barnett is a book where you will find sufferance and all that elements characterizing the world of addiction. The author, strong of her personal experience, will tell you how to cope with your beloved addict relative and how to cure him successfully. Published by New Harbinger Publications you can find the book on stores now.
The book opens with some considerations of Robin and his personal story. Later the discovery of who and why someone beloved became an addicted.
As Barnett explains sometimes it's a mental illness, depression, bipolarity a situation of border line, personality able to give the pretest for the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol. Surely, the author remarks there is a biological component, including of course environment, chronic illness and pain.
What to do for someone with an addict at home?
Robin suggests to separate psychologically the addict from the addiction and the substance that changed our beloved person so badly.
For a non-addict it's tremendously difficult to imagine the world and the situation lived by the addict. An addict for buying drug and alcohol can lie, can steal.
The author is clear: a lack of substance in the body of an addict is like lack of food in a body of a normal person. You would start to be nervous, you would search desperately for food. Same is for the addict and the substance able to calm down his nerves. There are various typologies of addicts.
One of them are the functional addicts. People who think that their life, because they continue to work, and they're productive is normal. Keeping up appearances can be, says the author, another signal and symptom of the disease.
An addict will tend to focus on what is being done to them and not by them.
An addict can experience broken relationships, financial problems, legal troubles, consequences of his addiction.
Problem is, affirms the author that there are two people in an addict and inside an addict: they know the damage alcohol or drug cause to them but they can't stop it.
What a relative and a friend of an addict should do?
Fight the addiction not the addict, and this one is a first and important, crucial separation indispensable for winning these horrible substances. Problem is, says Robin that more a person love an addict, more will protect him and his addiction.
Manipulation is something very well known from addicts with people of their family and with friends for keeping cheerful the addiction. There are people who will feed this addiction as well. Maybe people with which this man, the addict one will drink together at the bar. These ones won't want to interrupt the addiction of the man in particular if he offers wine generously to them, not addicted.
All the family members will play also a role in this addiction game.
It will be important for the members of the family to build a better relationship and change the way they communicate with the addict.
Addicts can't control their behaviors.
A dangerous myth says the author is that only the addict can save himself from his addiction.
In part it is true but a big role can be played also by people around him.
Where grows up addiction? Are there best places for nurturing and developing it?
Of course: in an environment populated by shame, secrets and shadows. In the light of sun an addiction wouldn't live a long life.
Relatives of the addict shouldn't tell him of stopping to drink everything.
It's important to play a good and solid psychological role when we are in their company.
It is also important to choose the best words to say at an addict.
An advice from the author: the silence must be broken and later ask for advices. Very good advices, from doctors, psychologists, etc.
Let's remember says the author that an addiction is a progressive disease, mental and physical.
And be careful says the author when an addict ask for help. Being liars they can have a double face.
And then the author treats the detoxification from alcohol, etc.
This one the step more hated by the addict for the sad collateral effects.
Sure the collateral effects of the abstinence are many: palpitations, nausea, insomnia etc.
The detoxification of an alcoholist is always risky because of the so-called seizures, delirium tremens. Benzodiazepines (the Zanax a lot of people use largely) could give at first seizures once interrupted abruptly like also barbiturate.
Opiates in comparisons are less dangerous in the phase of the detox.
Then the author treats the chapter of the structures that can cure your loved one very well.
A good structure where he can remains for a long time followed by excellent people is the best option. The so-called rehab can't do anything in the short time according to the author.
Addiction grow up in places of silence and secrecy creating shame, guilt and often misunderstanding.
Break this chain and set yourself and your dear one free again! from this horrible pain and sufferance.
The author suggests to keep a journal for your peace of mind and for reminding you that when you will start to want to change the situation for your loved one, you can do that.
I suggest this book to everyone with a big cross like the one of an addict in a house for better understanding the modality of approach with the sick person and for trying to save him/her from the abyss in which he/she fell for a reason or another.
Good Luck!
I thank Netgalley for this informative book.