Addicted to Drama : Healing Dependency on Crisis and Chaos in Yourself and Others

With empathy, humor, and unique insight, a psychologist examines drama addiction and charts a path for healing in this groundbreaking book. Do you know someone who seems to thrive on chaos, a person who manufactures crisis where there is none, makes mountains out of molehills, and whose very presence feels like an inescapable whirlwind? You may even label them a “drama queen.” This person might be someone close to you. This person might even be you. In this groundbreaking book, clinical psychologist and mind-body expert Dr. Scott Lyons turns the notion of the “drama queen” on its head, showing that drama is actually an addiction and those who are suffering with it are experiencing a much deeper psychological, biological, and social pain. For a person addicted to drama, the intensity becomes their way of coping. Their life is a constant cycle of crisis, chaos, and chronically high levels of stress. They may never be able to relax without an internal alarm going off, sending them spiraling back toward chaos. Drama is the stirring, the excitement, the exaggeration, the eruption, the unrest, and the medicine to feel alive in relation to the numbing of the internal and external world around them. For a person addicted to drama, the drama is often how they survive—or think they do. With studies, primary research, and patient stories, Dr. Lyons deconstructs this little-understood addiction, sharing: what drama addiction is and what it is not how to identify patterns of drama addiction in yourself and others the somatic effects of drama addiction, including chronic fatigue, autoimmune disease, joint and muscle pains, and other conditions the origins of drama addiction— and how we are heading towards a global pandemic of a dependency on crisis and chaos accessible exercises for recovery and healing Rather than dismiss addiction to drama as just attention-seeking, Dr. Lyons offers clear-eyed empathy, humor, and practical strategies to help us all understand and break free of the drama cycle. Psychologist and mind-body expert introduces drama addiction as a true disorder for the first time, providing strategies to identify and recover, for yourself or a loved one. Do you have someone in your life who seems to thrive on chaos? Someone who manufactures crisis where there is none? We tend to judge them, react with annoyance or disgust, and often label them "drama queens." But clinical psychologist, osteopath, and mind-body specialist Dr. Scott Lyons shows us to look past our collective perception of these people as unabashed attention-seekers and instead see that they are experiencing a much deeper psychological, biological, and social phenomenon: they are, in fact, battling an addiction and that chaos is a high. Drama addicts have developed a "new normal" of internal homeostasis where their stress levels are chronically high; they seek out drama so they can find a sense of control and balance. With primary research, patient stories, and studies, Dr. Lyons deconstructs the "why" and "how" of drama addiction, sharing: what drama addiction is and what it is not how drama addiction relates to other personality disorders such as narcissistic and borderline how to identify patterns of drama addiction in yourself and others the relationship of drama addiction to major health issues such as chronic fatigue, autoimmune disease, joint and muscle pains, and other conditions steps for coping and recovery With clear-eyed empathy, Dr. Lyons leads readers through an "unwinding" process that allows them to break free of the drama cycle, be vulnerable, and find joy in the subtle and meaningful moments of everyday life. "Clinical psychologist and mind-body expert Dr. Scott Lyons unpacks "drama addiction" with scientific insight, compassion, and empathy, providing strategies to identify and heal Many of us know someone who seems to thrive on chaos, a person who manufactures crisis where there is none. A person who makes mountains out of molehills, and whose very presence feels like an inescapable whirlwind. We may even label them a "drama queen." But Dr. Scott Lyons shows us that these people are experiencing a much deeper psychological, biological, and social pain, and how drama becomes their medicine. Crisis and chaos becomes their new normal, stress levels are chronically high, and the moment those start to drop towards relaxation, an internal alarm of danger sounds, and the cycle of drama returns to maintain control and balance. With studies, primary research, and patient stories, Dr. Lyons deconstructs drama addiction, sharing: what drama addiction is and what it is not how to identify patterns of drama addiction in yourself and others the physical, psychological, and social effects of drama addiction (chronic fatigue, autoimmune disease, joint and muscle pains, social isolation, and other conditions) where it emerges from, and how we are heading towards a global pandemic of drama addiction steps for coping and recovery With clear-eyed empathy, humor, and accessible practices, Dr. Lyons helps readers understand and break free of the drama cycle"-- Provided by publisher