Mental Recovery

"Mom, I'm so scared! I think my brain is breaking!" When Michelle Reittinger was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at twenty-four, she eagerly sought psychiatric help, only to find herself on a harrowing rollercoaster of erratic mood swings, multiple psychiatrists, and a cocktail of psychiatric drugs. Her struggles led to a devastating breakdown, numerous hospitalizations, and suicide attempts. Overwhelmed by hopelessness, she believed that her family—her husband and young children—would be better off without her. But then, a glimmer of hope appeared.

In 2015, Barbara Lipska - a leading expert on the neuroscience of mental illness - was diagnosed with melanoma that had spread to her brain. Within months, her frontal lobe, the seat of cognition, began shutting down. She descended into madness, exhibiting dementia- and schizophrenia-like symptoms that terrified her family and coworkers. But miraculously, the immunotherapy her doctors had prescribed worked quickly. Just eight weeks after her nightmare began, Lipska returned to normal. With one difference: she remembered her brush with madness with exquisite clarity.

After losing her beloved sister three years ago, Savannah Litchfield has been living half a life. Now seventeen—the age Poppy died—the pain of losing her is worse than ever. When Savannah’s therapist suggests a trip around the world to help teens stricken by loss, she reluctantly agrees to it, clutching the unread journal Poppy left her as she goes.

We are all vulnerable to addiction. Whether it’s a compulsion to constantly check social media, binge eating, smoking, excessive drinking, or any other behaviors, we may find ourselves uncontrollably repeating. Why are bad habits so hard to overcome? Is there a key to conquering the cravings we know are unhealthy for us? This book provides groundbreaking answers to the most important questions about addiction.

Bruce Feiler, author of the New York Times best sellers The Secrets of Happy Families and Council of Dads, has long explored the stories that give our lives meaning. Galvanized by a personal crisis, he spent the last few years crisscrossing the country, collecting hundreds of life stories in all 50 states from Americans who’d been through major life changes - from losing jobs to losing loved ones; from changing careers to changing relationships; from getting sober to getting healthy to simply looking for a fresh start.

The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous, Second Edition is OA’s keystone book—created specifically as a study of the OA 12-step recovery program. If you think you may have a compulsive food behavior—including but not limited to compulsive eating, undereating, food addiction, anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, overexercising, and purging—give yourself the chance of recovery. Listen how, through working the 12 steps and studying the 12 traditions, OA members have found “physical, emotional, and spiritual healing".

Trauma recovery is tricky; however, there are several key principles that can help make the process safe and effective. This book gives self-help listeners, therapy clients, and therapists alike the skills to understand and implement eight keys to successful trauma healing: mindful identification of what is helpful, recognizing survival, having the option to not remember, creating a supportive inner dialogue, forgiving not being able to stop the trauma, understanding and sharing shame, finding your own recovery pace; mobilizing your body, and helping others.

Tobacco is bad for us; that’s a given. But even though you may know the negative health effects, nicotine’s hold is strong, subconscious, and emotional: It tastes good, it’s a companion when you’re alone, and it can be a shield against stress. What if none of these things were true, though? What if nicotine actually tasted bad and didn’t make you less lonely? What if it didn’t relax you? It may seem hard to believe, and it’s okay to be skeptical, but coming to a new mindset about smoking and vaping is the key to quitting.

Kathy L. Kain and Stephen J. Terrell draw on 50 years of their combined clinical and teaching experience to provide this clear road map for understanding the complexities of early trauma and its related symptoms. Experts in the physiology of trauma, the authors present an introduction to their innovative somatic approach that has evolved to help thousands improve their lives. Synthesizing across disciplines - Attachment, Polyvagal, Neuroscience, Child Development Theory, Trauma, and Somatics - this book provides a new lens through which to understand safety and regulation.

Many situations we face require a particular predisposition and specific behavior. We often can’t behave properly, not only because of a lack of awareness, but also because of limitations posed by our bodies. It is very interesting how much depends on the well-being and physical fitness of your body. Unfortunately, many people don’t know much about the processes that drive it. I will do my best to make sure that in this book you learn about important issues related to your physical well-being and how to use them in practice.

If your life has been affected by addiction (yours or someone else's), abuse, trauma or toxic shaming, you may also be struggling with another invisible problem - codependency. Without your even being aware of the connection to the above issues, it has created additional life-long challenges such as endless guilt, anxiety, perfectionism, need to control, depression, a history of dysfunctional relationships and much more. This easy-to-understand, interactive book will reveal how codependency has sobotaged you, the lies it created in your beliefs and the truths that expose them.

When a relationship with a narcissist ends, the caretaking partner is often left confused, deeply hurt, and often still emotionally connected, while the narcissist seems to easily move on to the next relationship. Healing from a Narcissistic Relationship offers guidance about what to expect as the relationship unravels and how to cope with the fallout. It also helps the reader learn to truly disengage and move through the grief process.

Little changes can make a big, big difference! In The Little Book of Big Change, psychologist Amy Johnson shows you how to rewire your brain and overcome your bad habits - once and for all. No matter what your bad habit is, you have the power to change it. Drawing on a powerful combination of neuroscience and spirituality, this book will show you that you are not your habits. Rather, your habits and addictions are the result of simple brain wiring that is easily reversed.

Have you ever felt stuck in the same toxic cycles—self-doubt, unhealthy relationships, or negative thoughts that just won’t go away? Maybe you don’t think of yourself as toxic, but sometimes, in certain situations, you notice behaviors you’re not proud of. You’re not alone. And most importantly—you’re not doomed to stay this way. This book isn’t about judging yourself or others. It’s about understanding where toxic patterns come from, how they take root, and how to finally let them go so you can build a life that feels lighter, healthier, and more fulfilling.

"Untangling Trauma and Addiction" by Grace Monroe emerges as a poignant and transformative guide, offering a new perspective on the daunting challenges of addiction and trauma. With her unique voice, Grace Monroe transcends the traditional boundaries of non-fiction, providing a narrative that is both deeply personal and universally relevant. Grace's journey, marked by her own battles and those of her loved ones, infuses this book with authenticity and heartfelt insight.

Guided by psychologist Jamie Marich—a trauma-informed clinician living with a dissociative disorder herself—this book tells you everything you need to know about dissociation...but were too afraid to ask.

One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps has established itself as a classic, a bellwether of the most significant recovery movement of the 21st century, combining Buddhist mindfulness practices with a 12-step recovery program.

World Health Organization Award-winning psychiatrist and mental health advocate Dr. Ahmed Hankir delivers a unique and powerful insight into mental health and wellness, mental illness, mental health treatment, and the culture surrounding mental health by tracing his own personal recovery journey from impoverished and shunned psychiatric patient to becoming an NHS Consultant psychiatrist.

Step 1: You admit that you're powerless over your addiction. Now what? Twelve-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) have helped countless people on the path to recovery. But many still feel that 12-step programs aren't for them: that the spiritual emphasis is too narrow, the modality too old-school, the setting too triggering, or the space too exclusive. Some struggle with an addict label that can eclipse the histories, traumas, and experiences that feed into addiction, or dismisses the effects of adverse experiences like trauma in the first place.

Borderline Personality Disorder. "What the hell was that?" raged Rachel Reiland when she read the diagnosis written in her medical chart. As the 29-year old accountant, wife, and mother of young children would soon discover, it was the diagnosis that finally explained her explosive anger, manipulative behaviors, and self-destructive episodes- including bouts of anorexia, substance abuse, and sexual promiscuity.