Addictive Thinking

Understanding Self-Deception

By: Abraham J. Twerski MD

Narrated by: Lee Goettl

In addiction, a person with a substance use disorder undergoes a negative change in thinking and behavioral patterns. A person's character is overthrown by addictive thinking: displacement, projection, shame, and hypersensitivity are addiction's survival mechanisms. With Addictive Thinking, both addicts and loved ones familiarize themselves with these addictive signatures and more, and begin the fight for recovery.

With more than 200,000 copies of Addictive Thinking sold worldwide, the eminent Abraham Twerski, MD, outlines the destructive and terrifying illogic that marries a person with a substance use disorder to his addiction. "Stinking thinking" and irrational thought are byproducts of addiction and they only worsen with time. Twerski steps in to explain and contextualize all of the actions that arise from addictive thinking.

It might be easier to point at abnormal behavior from an addict and simply think, "there she goes again." But there is reason and consistency underneath the pandemonium. If nothing is learned, if nothing is done, an addict's rock bottom will continue to sink. By educating oneself about the addictive illogic and its reasoning, one will understand why the person behaves as she does and how everyone in her life becomes controlled by addiction. Then control can be taken back.

©1990, 1997 Hazelden Foundation (P)2022 Tantor

Concise information

Great book that explains how an addict's mind works after years of distortion. Short listen, gets right to the point. Explains a lot that I have personally noticed, but has not been explained elsewhere. I am dealing with a sex/porn addict, not a substance abuser but the information is relevant to persons with any addiction.

Great

Great. Understand why wife divorced me now. Was complicated. Harder to grasp than I thought.

Worth the price

If you’re familiar with this topic, there’s nothing earth shattering new here, but I’ve went through a lot of different books on this topic before, and I still found it to be useful. Lots of different information/concepts discussed in somewhat of a rapidfire fashion, no fluff. 

Very Insightful

Great insights into the process of addictive thinking - it made me realize I still have addictive thinking though I've been sober for a long time