Elisabeth Davies - Good Things Emotional Healing Journal: Addiction: Effective Strategies to Manage Unwanted Habits and Compulsive Behaviors

Praise for

Good Things, Emotional Healing Journal

ADDICTION

I recommend this workbook because I believe the path outlined in this text will work effectively, especially if it is discussed with a sponsor or an addiction specialist. It would be a wonderful adjunct to anyones treatment who wants to attain lasting recovery.

Dr. Arthur P. Ciaramicoli, author of
Performance Addiction and Curse of the Capable

Good Things, Emotional Healing JournalAddiction, is a wonderful aide in managing impulsive behaviors and in healing the suffering that accompanies them. I highly recommend this workbook because it is both inspirational and practical. It engages the reader in self-exploration while helping him or her move forward with positive attitudinal and behavioral changes. I am always searching for useful self-growth tools for my clients. This journal is one of the best!

Marcia Conley, M.A., LPC, BCIA, Psychotherapist for 40 years

Congratulations! You are about to embark on a wondrous and difficult journey. Use this journal as your GPS. It can guide you all the way to joyous freedom. Through its simplicity and thoroughness it is an empowering aide to recovery.

Barbara Varney, recovered addict, sponsor for
Marijuana Anonymous and speaker for National Alliance for the Mentally Ill

Emotional Healing Journal

ADDICTION

EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES TO MANAGE
Unwanted Habits AND Compulsive Behaviors

ELISABETH DAVIES, M.C.

Illustrated by BRYAN MARSHALL

Good Things Emotional Healing Journal

ADDICTION

EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES TO MANAGE
Unwanted Habits AND Compulsive Behaviors

by ELISABETH DAVIES, M.C.
Illustrated by BRYAN MARSHALL

2011 Elisabeth Davies, M.C. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from author or publisher (except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages and/or show brief video clips in a review).

Disclaimer: The Publisher and the Author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the Publisher nor the Author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the Author or the Publisher endorses the information the organization or website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that internet websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

ISBN 978-1-61448-010-5 Paperback
ISBN 978-1-61448-011-2 eBook
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011927221

For all the addicts who struggle with relapse. May you know that you have value, regardless of your addiction. Never allow your addiction to stop you from sharing your inherent talents and abilities to bless others.

I would like to thank my editor Echo Surina at Philanthropology for all her insightful, professional feedback and support in making Good Things Emotional Healing JournalAddiction a polished book.

I am very thankful to my illustrator, Bryan Marshall (The Chosen One), for his wonderful, audacious talent of artistically capturing addiction. His illustrations are what complete my vision for this book.

I am grateful to David Hancock, Chief Evangelist for The Entrepreneurial Author, for all his positive encouragement and insightful guidance in supporting me as a first-time author.

I want to thank all of my clients who struggle with addiction, for sharing their experiences and needs for recovery. This wealth of knowledge is what helped me confidently pass on the effective strategies in this book.

I am so appreciative of my husband, Stacy, who is always willing to help me whenever my computer does not cooperate while writing! His constant support is such a reassurance in my life.

I would especially like to thank God whose guidance is what made writing this book possible. I am in awe of the people He led me to and the wide-open path He created for me. All of this has made my journey to becoming a writer an honor.

As a journalist I have had the opportunity to speak with people in the public eye who have struggled with addiction or helped those struggling.

In an interview I did with Dr. Drew Pinsky, host of VH1s Sober House and Celebrity Rehab, he described addiction as follows; I contemplate addiction as anybody with a family history who is developing consequences from their relationship with a substance. Its the loss of control. Its a biological disorder with a genetic base. The hallmark being the progressive use or preoccupation in the face of adverse consequence and then denial. So its a spectrum disorder from predisposed to incipient to mild to moderate to severe.

Christopher Kennedy Lawford, nephew of President John F. Kennedy has written two books on addiction, Symptoms of Withdrawal: A Memoir of Snapshots and Redemption and Moments of Clarity; Voices from the Front Line of Addiction and Recovery.

I was fortunate enough to interview him twice on the subject. Here is what he said about his addiction. I was somebody who, and like a lot of people in Moments of Clarity, I did not like my life. I did not like who I was. I did not like what I was doing. I did not like turning my back on the opportunities I was given. But I was powerless at the time to do anything about it. That is until he had his moment of clarity and knew he wanted to end the cycle of self destruction.

Once you begin the process of healing or simply exploring the possibility your actions may be the result of addictive behavior, a book like this one by Elisabeth Davies can be a lifesaver. Finding professional help, adding structure and routine to diminish the cravings and staying focused on your goal will take you where you want to go and this book will help enforce the positive each step of the way.