{"id":2371,"date":"2021-07-20T22:43:02","date_gmt":"2021-07-21T05:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.breakingcodesilence.org\/?p=2371"},"modified":"2021-07-21T14:29:06","modified_gmt":"2021-07-21T21:29:06","slug":"unbroken-brain-a-revolutionary-new-way-of-understanding-addiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.breakingcodesilence.org\/unbroken-brain-a-revolutionary-new-way-of-understanding-addiction\/","title":{"rendered":"Unbroken Brain: a Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unbroken Brain: a Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction<\/a> <\/strong>\u2013 By Maia Szalavitz\u00a0\u2013 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of addiction is trapped in unfounded 20th century ideas, addiction as a crime or as brain disease, and in equally outdated treatment.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\u2019s \u201cbroken brain\u201d and the notion of a simple \u201caddictive personality,\u201d The New York Times Bestseller,\u00a0Unbroken Brain,<\/i>\u00a0offers 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 \u2014 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 \u201caddictive personality\u201d or single treatment that works for all.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>