I use this workbook without knowing the accompanying guide. Perhaps it would have been better to combine both books, but I am actually quite enthusiastic about this book alone. You don't necessarily have to be highly addicted to drugs to be able to use it. No, this book can also help with more socially accepted addictions such as sugar or media consumption. But no matter what it is ultimately about, it is important to actively engage with the book and the exercises. These tasks, together with the knowledge about what happens to the body during addiction and abstinence, helped me a lot to face my own compulsions. The approach used for this was very good for me. The book picked me up and accompanied me through the initial period in a pleasant way without being too overwhelming. And it still does. I haven't finished trying to change my habits yet, but for the first time I have a feeling of control and much more strength to keep going.

The soft colours on the cover give it a lightness that immediately invited me to take a closer look and get involved with the content and the book. The blurb makes me curious about Dr Anna Lembke's approach. Even though I haven't read the book, I found it easy to get into the workbook. The author has done a very good job of making it accessible to readers with her introduction and the subsequent advice on how to use it. I immediately felt welcome, because the fact that addiction, in its many different forms, certainly affects each and every one of us in some way is somehow very understandable to me. Through the abundance of material things, through the media and through constantly changing "fashions", whether clothing, luxury goods or even holiday destinations as well as the well-known addictive substances drugs, alcohol, etc., we easily fall into a trap that doesn't really make us happy, and I personally don't take myself out of it. I am fascinated by this workbook because it is researched down to the smallest detail and broken down in detail. The reference of the title to the individual chapters and general terms is very well thought out and I felt really well taken care of in this book. Dr Anna Lembke shows down to the smallest detail what can, and in most cases does, draw us into a vortex of excess. Through her learning tasks, by looking at my own self and my own behaviour, I was still able to discover small "addiction traps" in myself, despite the fact that I have already limited myself incredibly in everything. This also made me smile, as I hadn't expected it to be like this. Including a dopamine fast here is a great enrichment if you actually do it and read the chapters suggested by the author at the same time. All in all, it is incredibly well thought out and shows us readers how far we have come with our humanity, our consumption and what consequences it really has in the end. It's frightening to read that people are dying earlier or becoming ill as a result. But it makes sense after working through this workbook. It requires absolute honesty & openness towards yourself, but it also makes it easy and feels very upbeat after I've finished it. In life, you often find yourself in a cycle of change that never seems to end and if you simply focus on the real things again, on the small happiness, you somehow have an "aha" experience and understanding for your own behaviour and also for others. The author uses examples, patient descriptions and interactive exercises to illustrate the triggering of addictive patterns and possible avoidance. It is written in an exciting and very informative way, with exercises that you can do yourself. It is told from a medical perspective as well as a holistic one, which makes it incredibly valuable. It is not easy to work through this book, especially to look at yourself, but in the end it is a real enrichment and a happiness to be able to get to know yourself in a different way and possibly create a change for your own life! A summary of the individual chapters at the end deepens the knowledge passed on by Dr Anna Lembke and, for me, rounds off the overall picture perfectly. A very inspiring workbook for changing your own life or finding it again. I simply have to award 5 out of 5 stars here, as everything is coherent, very easy to understand and in complete harmony with medicine and the holistic perspective. A clear purchase recommendation from my side, for every individual who is not quite satisfied with their life and would like to heal themselves in a special way. Be sure to read and work through it!