Recovery Zone Volume 2

Book excerpt: The process of therapy and treatment means stepping into an unfamiliar, new world with very different perspectives, processes and even its own language at ties. The goal of this extraordinary world is to repair, restructure, and build the internal structures to cope with losses, trauma, dysfunction, toxic stress, and addiction. The first of the Recovery Zone series focuses on the often painful and difficult internal tasks for that transition. This first book in the series by Patrick Carnes is already regarded as a classic and has been a durable best seller for the past decade. The second volume is now here, and Dr. Carnes helps with the issue of "now that I know all of this, what do I do?" How to translate the inner transformation into my everyday world? I have discovered the real "me" but what does that mean for me to integrate ideas and skills with my relationships, work, values, lifestyle -- and be happy? Much has been written about overcoming trauma, grief, dysfunctional relationships and the sinkholes of the various addictions. The sequel of Recovery Zone provides real answers about how to stay in the zone when traumatic events, toxic stress, and easy access to escape surrounds you. The goal must be an "Ultimate To Do List" so you do not miss out on the life you want and feel a genuine call to do. Core to this platform is a resilience built on ten master skills and thirty operational strategies that users describing as "defining" passage into a new life. The joke about life being what happens when you are on the way to do something else, has little reality at the end of this second volume. Dr. Carnes is widely known for his personal sharing, his warm and engaging stories, and his ability to weave complex science into something that everyone can use. These materials have evolved with the help of over two thousand therapists and the experiences of many thousands of patients. Another vintage of classic Carnes's writing.