Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions

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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. Recommended Reading: How To Get Over Social Media Addiction Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions Summary By Russell Brand Unless you stay — moment to moment — vigilant about your patterns, they will reassert,” says Russell. 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

Speak to a health services navigator, who can help you to find health information and services, or connect you directly with a registered nursebut other than that I was really really impressed with how this managed to communicate that it’s OK and it’s Human to make mistakes, to give in to the monkey mind, to choose the wrong ‘program’ to solve our darkest, deepest woes - it’s human to suffer in this way. Read Also: How To Stop Your Addiction To Food Provincial And Territorial Health And Support Services Health and support services in British Columbia 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. My interest in reading it was two-fold: yes i was curious because he is a well-known figure, but on its own, that isn’t enough to draw me in. Primarily, it was the subject matter that was the key factor. Now I won’t falsely purport to have an alcohol or narcotic addiction. But I have experienced other vices, namely internet addiction and compulsive overeating. And having dealt with anxiety and depression, I do look for new ways in which to frame my mental health, new techniques to help me cope with my intervals of low mood. But also, knowing people who have had varying addictions and patterns of negative thinking, I try to find ways to give support and counsel to people close to me. The other message Russell preaches/talks of is that he was probably more of a mess than most people do. If it could work for him, I can work for anyone. One thing that does not probably help this book is that Russell is naturally a funny man, but he is talking about a very serious subject where humour works against it. Thought adding a load of F-bombs does not make things funnier or relatable.

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 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? This system offers nothing less than liberation from self-centredness, a new perspective, freedom from the illusion of suffering for anyone who is willing to take the necessary steps. 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? As I write this review I am 600 days sober (I didn't know the exact number before starting this review. It just worked out well.) This book, Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions, approaches the topic of addiction recovery from two directions. Not only does Russell Brand offer insights into the 12 Steps utilized by most support groups, but he also uses the 12 Steps as a springboard to discuss his own unique perspective on recovery. Those who remain wary of the 12 Steps may find that they can relate to Brands particular take on them with relative ease.

Russell Brand is an extremely intelligent, strangely likeable and often hilarious man. He has made mistakes in life (one rather famous one involving Jonathan Ross will probably never be forgotten) but he has also overcome a lot too. This book goes through how he has managed to maintain sobriety for many years. Since Simon Amstell started performing long-form standup 10 years ago, hes made a virtue of holding his angst up to public scrutiny with an honesty that many performers shy away from, so its perhaps inevitable that a book should follow. Yet its hard to escape the sense that this particular book doesnt quite know what it wants to be. He nods to this in the introduction, explaining that the original suggestion was to publish transcripts of his major standup shows. And who for? For people who dont like hearing standup out loud? Do we really overcome addiction, or is it an ongoing struggle that requires constant attention and maintenance? There are parts of the book that are very good to great, but there are parts that are a bit out of place a couple of Russell’s antidotes seem out of place and I am not sure the go with the step he was trying to portray. This interview with comedian, actor, author, and activist Russell Brand has been a long time in the making and almost didn’t happen — but we’re so glad it did.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. This is where I open myself up for criticism. I accept that the 12 step program does help many. I know a few people who are clean and sober exclusively due to it. I also know many more who have tried it and it has not worked. Even Russell talks about it as a cult. A helpful cult to many but one that has its own ingrained problems. It is not the only way to maintain sobriety. 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.” The book is beautifully written and very easy to understand. He used his usual F word throughout the book but that just makes it easier for many people new to recovery to understand the terms and language and relate to the book better. He is funny throughout the book but not overly funny. He goes through the 12 step program created by the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. He gives his interpretation of each one and also how he has tried to follow each step. He mentions other addicts and how they have helped him as well as how he has tried to help others. He does this in an often amusing yet thought provoking way. As a writer, Russell is amongst the best on his field.