Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions

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My qualification for writing this book is not that I am better than you, its that I am worse. I am an addict, addicted to drugs, alcohol, sex, money, love and fame. s? Sure. When an author expresses himself with such sincerity, intimacy, and intelligence -- I am inclined to feel gratitude for the shared experience. (And never has the phrase "F*ed up* sounded so proper.) I also thought Brand's definition of addiction and how that broadened interpretation fit into our current world was significant. I bought this book to expand my understanding of addictions and recovery, and also as a reader that has experience with the subject professionally and within my family that is always looking to better understand. I've read extensively on the subject, lived with it, and worked with addicts. And I think that sadly, that has become the norm.

This manual for self-realization comes not from a mountain but from the mud...My qualification is not that I am better than you but I am worse.” — Russell Brand Russell Brand is no stranger to making his mistakes in the public eye, but he emphatically does want to teach others the lessons he has learned. Recovery is unashamedly a “self-help” book based on the 12-step programme used by Alcoholics Anonymous and related groups, rewritten in Brand’s characteristically rococo style to be applied to every kind of addictive behaviour from social media to consumerism, to which we are all hostage to some degree, in Brand’s view: “If you’re like me, you’ll begin to see that you have learned to live with dissatisfaction, always vaguely aggrieved, believing there is nothing better out there for you. There is.” Registered nurses and social workers can offer crisis support, advice to help you manage your situation, and connections to resources in your community In the book’s technical aspects, it is well written - a surprise to me as I didn’t know Brand was an accomplished writer. If anything, it is at times over written to disguise the fact that it gets repetitive as it goes along. There is one theme - recovery - and while the structure (the 12 step program) ensures that this theme follows a trajectory, the analysis starts to feel shallow, and dare I say it, a bit prescriptive, after a while. You can skip passages and you won’t really lose out on much. With a rare mix of honesty, humor, and compassion, comedian and movie star Russell Brand mines his own wild story and shares the advice and wisdom he has gained through his fourteen years of recovery. Brand speaks to those suffering along the full spectrum of addiction—from drugs, alcohol, caffeine, and sugar addictions to addictions to work, stress, bad relationships, digital media, and fame. Brand understands that addiction can take many shapes and sizes and how the process of staying clean, sane, and unhooked is a daily activity. He believes that the question is not “Why are you addicted?” but “What pain is your addiction masking? Why are you running—into the wrong job, the wrong life, the wrong person’s arms?”Listen to this episode of The Art of Charm in its entirety to learn more about how Russell handles his addiction to social media, why you have to be willing to confront pain to grow, what addiction wants, why confession is a tradition that works, patterns Russell identifies within himself and how he works to break their hold on him, what’s involved in the amends process, what the secular world can learn from religion, why Russell has been a vegetarian since age fourteen, why Russell has waited until now to write this book, how Russell has acted as a tool of reconciliation for Jordan, and much more. Russell joins us to talk about everything from his new book Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions to beekeeping to mindfulness to mass media to philosophy. Listen, learn, and enjoy! More About This Show This book has been written with care and consideration and most of all respect for everyone. I was slightly worried that he would make light of addiction but he is serious yet his usual funny and quirky self and of course throws in the odd "big word" that I had to look up what it meant :-) With a rare mix of honesty, humor, and compassion, comedian and movie star Russell Brand mines his own wild story and shares the advice and wisdom he has gained through his fourteen years of recovery. Brand speaks to those suffering along the full spectrum of addiction—from drugs, alcohol, caffeine, and sugar addictions to addictions to work, stress, bad relationships, digital media, and fame. Brand understands that addiction can take many shapes and sizes and how the process of staying clean, sane, and unhooked is a daily activity. He believes that the question is not “Why are you addicted?” but "What pain is your addiction masking? Why are you running—into the wrong job, the wrong life, the wrong person’s arms?"

Speak to a health services navigator, who can help you to find health information and services, or connect you directly with a registered nurse The concept of twelve-step programs began in the early 20th century United States as a way to help alcoholics recover and rehabilitate, but it’s been widely applied to treatment of a number of addictions since then. Because he's who he is, all of this is done is simple, amusing, and straight forward language. He titled it Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions. I would call it Recovery: Lose all the Bullshit. There's a clear plan to follow, 12 well worn steps that have worked the world over. That's not to say it would be easy to go this route, getting to the end of this path would mean dealing with some issues not everyone might be ready to face about themselves, but at least now they might be able to see how it could be approached and where to go for help. It's a starting point. s? Sure. When an author expresses himself with such sincerity, intimacy, and intelligence -- I am inclined to feel gratitude for the shared experience. (And never has the phrase "F*ed up* sounded so proper.) I also thought Brand's definition of addiction and how that broadened interpretation fit into our current world was significant. I bought this book (and the audio version which is narrated by Brand) to expand my understanding of addictions and recovery, and also as a reader that has experience with the subject professionally and within my family that is always looking to better understand. I've read extensively on the subject, lived with it, and worked with addicts. And I think that sadly, that has become the norm.If we all feel we are alone then how alone are we? If we all feel worthless then who is the currency of our worth being measured against?” Read Also: How To Stop Your Addiction To Food Provincial And Territorial Health And Support Services Health and support services in British Columbia

But it’s also human to believe in something greater within, and this is one of the many ways to find that. Saskatchewan residents at risk of an opioid overdose or who might witness an opioid overdose are eligible for free training and a free Take Home Naloxone kit Wow. A few months ago my mum told me about this podcast she had started listening to called 'Under the Skin' created and hosted by Russell Brand. I was intrigued by the things she told me about it and so started listening and was captivated by the guests he had on, the topics they discussed and the incredibly honest and vulnerable way he shared parts of his own story. Fast forward a few months and from listening to his podcast I learnt about Russell Brand's newest book Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions.

Recovery Russell Brand Style

Even when ayahuasca seems to solve his problems with alienation and depression, he finds reason to worry: “A wound that needed status to avoid intimacy has been healed. I was healthy, I was in a relationship with someone who had a happy childhood – how would I now find the motivation to earn attention from strangers?’ Yes - grain of salt - yes - but that’s with anything…Could probably skip the whole anecdote in step 6… Those of us who remember Brand’s last attempt to “help” the problem of engagement in politics by telling young people not to vote might well approach this latest attempt at intervention with wariness. But one of his endearing traits is that there is no criticism you can level at him that he has not already aimed at himself; he talks of the failure of his “quest” as a political campaigner because “the egoic and venomous energy that’s in me” got in the way. When he writes with evangelical zeal about turning around his own addictions, it comes across as well intentioned and heartfelt, but at the same time part of a performance. Brand has always been his own shrewdest observer; his 2013 show was titled Messiah Complex and there’s a sense that this aspect of his character persists, though it’s now channelled into a desire to sort out other people’s problems. “Me, with my proclivity for grandiosity, I will always favour sweeping change and grand revolutions, wild and wordy statements of intent, martyrdom and marvels.” This is definitely a more accessible guide to the 12 steps than the "Big Blue Book". It is also a lot less patronising and gives better examples. This kind of self help book is needed and I am glad it exists. I am also glad of my own sobriety and although I don't follow all the steps some of them are just part of being a decent human being.

I applaud anybody who can use a 12 step program to both get and maintain sobriety (note: I will use sober in this review to mean free from addiction. I will use it to mean not using or doing a destructive behaviour that a person is addicted to.) I will add that my own experience (and those I have been around) have included variable results with them. What unhealthy habits and attachments are holding your life together? Are you unconsciously dependent on food? Bad relationships? A job that doesnt fulfill you? Numb, constant perusal of your phone, looking for what? In chemistry, when two substances are introduced, if either component reacts at all then both are changed forever’ I've never been a huge fan of Russell Brand, but even before reading this I thought it was pretty fair to say he's someone who just might have something to offer on the subject of addiction. Actually, I was surprised by just how disarming his honesty was in the book, the level of brutal self-reflection he achieves in his writing here, and clearly in his path to coping with various addictions, was both moving and inspiring. It's not easy taking a long hard look at yourself, at the choices that you've made and the inner workings of your mind; and not just looking but seeing what and why and how and then maybe, just maybe, having the strength and courage to change yourself.With nearly fourteen years of clean time under his belt, Russell Brand understands recovery quite well. He speaks on it often, offering revolutionary messages of hope and change. From time to time, he even involves himself in politics, fighting for greater access to treatment and an overhaul of laws that punish addicts rather than help them. So it comes as little surprise that he would eventually disseminate his understanding of recovery in the form of a self-help book. When is it that you’re going to be who you actually are?” says Russell. “I know people that I feel, that when they are on their deathbed, are going to go, ‘This isn’t who I was!’ This is, in a way, a sort of awakening tool — an awakening system or code…most people don’t engage until crises.” I never thought i’d read a book penned by Russell Brand, and yet here I am. My understanding of Brand has mostly come from the tabloids: I’m familiar with his past dependency on narcotics, his ill-fated marriage to Katy Perry, his Hollywood films. But I hadn’t heard about him in some time. He’d dropped off my radar. And then, out of seemingly nowhere, I heard news of the impending release of this book.