The Psychology of All Addictions

I have been a practicing psychologist in an outpatient setting for over thirty-two years. I run into the same issues and problems almost every day--addictions, anxiety, assertiveness, anger problems, divorce, weight management, parenting, children and teenager's behaviors, mood disorders, relationships, self-esteem, guilt, forgiveness, procrastination and ADHD/learning disabilities. This ebook is about the first subject. In it, I take you through the steps I go through to diagnose and treat addictions--ANY addiction.

I start out with a NEW concept--the Universal Self-Test for Addictions (USTA). It's a self-test you can score for yourself or someone you suspect has an addiction. It comes with complete instructions for scoring and interpretation.

In this ebook, I answer a LOT of questions. Here they are:

What are the short and long definitions of addiction?
What are the four major diagnostic components?
What are the four additional concepts that define it?
What are the symptoms?
What four psychiatric illnesses mimic addiction?
What are the six major addictions? (Hint: Alcohol, Drugs, Gambling, Sex, Food, and Internet or Internet-related things)
What are some other addictions? (I came up with 73...)

What are the seven categories and five schedules of drugs?

What are the current statistics for each addiction?
How are all addictions the same or different?
What are the myths and facts?

What are the seven stages of developing an addiction?
(Another NEW concept: The Addiction Developmental Continuum)
What are the causes of addiction?

Habit or disease?

Triggers? What happens next?
(Another NEW concept: The Addiction Reflex)

What happens to the brain?

What are the seven stages of treatment?
Which is better? 12-Step Programs? Smart Recovery? Individual Therapy?
Questions to get started--46 things to ask in treatment.
What are the five most helpful therapeutic aids?

The deep stuff: Family-of-origin relationships, relationships with others, Self-Esteem.
Cognitive Behavioral considerations: the relationship of thoughts and the emotions that follow, your moods and last, the relationship between your thoughts, emotions, mood and behavior.

What if you live with an addict? What to do?

Lastly, there is a section on quotes, followed by a lengthy bibliography.