Brain Lock

The definitive classic that has helped more than 400,000 people defeat obsessive-compulsive behavior, with all-new material from the author An estimated 5 million Americans suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and live diminished lives in which they are compelled to obsess about something or to repeat a similar task over and over. Traditionally, OCD has been treated with Prozac or similar drugs. The problem with medication, aside from its cost, is that 30 percent of people treated don't respond to it, and when the pills stop, the symptoms invariably return. In Brain Lock, Jeffrey M. Schwartz, M.D., presents a simple four-step method for overcoming OCD that is so effective, it's now used in academic treatment centers throughout the world. Proven by brain-imaging tests to actually alter the brain's chemistry, this method doesn't rely on psychopharmaceuticals. Instead, patients use cognitive self-therapy and behavior modification to develop new patterns of response to their obsessions. In essence, they use the mind to fix the brain. Using the real-life stories of actual patients, Brain Lock explains this revolutionary method and provides readers with the inspiration and tools to free themselves from their psychic prisons and regain control of their lives.

An estimated 5 million Americans suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and live diminished lives in which they are compelled to obsess about something or to repeat a similar task over and over. Traditionally, OCD has been treated with Prozac or similar drugs. The problem with medication, aside from its cost, is that 30 percent of people treated don't respond to it, and when the pills stop, the symptoms invariably return. In Brain Lock, Jeffrey M. Schwartz presents a simple four-step method for overcoming OCD that is so effective, it's now used in academic treatment centers throughout the world. Proven by brain-imaging tests to actually alter the brain's chemistry, this method doesn't rely on psychopharmaceuticals. Instead, patients use cognitive self-therapy and behavior modification to develop new patterns of response to their obsessions. In essence, they use the mind to fix the brain. Using the real-life stories of actual patients, Brain Lock explains this revolutionary method and provides readers with the inspiration and tools to free themselves from their psychic prisons and regain control of their lives.

Two neuroscience experts explain how their 4-Step Method can help break destructive thoughts and actions and change bad habits for good. A leading neuroplasticity researcher and the coauthor of the groundbreaking books Brain Lock and The Mind and the Brain, Jeffrey M. Schwartz has spent his career studying the structure and neuronal firing patterns of the human brain. He pioneered the first mindfulness-based treatment program for people suffering from OCD, teaching patients how to achieve long-term relief from their compulsions. For the past six years, Schwartz has worked with psychiatrist Rebecca Gladding to refine a program that successfully explains how the brain works and why we often feel besieged by bad brain wiring. Just like with the compulsions of OCD patients, they discovered that bad habits, social anxieties, self-deprecating thoughts, and compulsive overindulgence are all rooted in overactive brain circuits. The key to making life changes that you want-to make your brain work for you-is to consciously choose to "starve" these circuits of focused attention, thereby decreasing their influence and strength. As evidenced by the huge success of Schwartz's previous books, as well as Daniel Amen's Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, and Norman Doidge's The Brain That Changes Itself, there is a large audience interested in harnessing the brain's untapped potential, yearning for a step-by-step, scientifically grounded and clinically proven approach. In fact, readers of Brain Lock wrote to the authors in record numbers asking for such a book. In You Are Not Your Brain, Schwartz and Gladding carefully outline their program, showing readers how to identify negative brain impulses, channel them through the power of focused attention, and ultimately lead more fulfilling and empowered lives.

A leading researcher in brain dysfunction and a "Wall Street Journal" science writer demonstrate that the human mind is an independent entity that can shape and control the physical brain.

Rewire the brain processes that cause obsessions and compulsions—and take back your life! If you’ve ever wondered why you seem to get trapped in an endless cycle of obsessive, compulsive thoughts, you don’t have to wonder anymore. Grounded in cutting-edge neuroscience and evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Rewire Your OCD Brain will show you how and why your brain gets stuck in a loop of obsessive thinking, uncertainty, and worry; and offers the tools you need to short-circuit this response and get your symptoms under control—for good. Written by clinical psychologist Catherine Pittman and clinical neuropsychologist William Youngs, this groundbreaking book will show how neurological functions in your brain lead to obsessions, compulsions, and anxiety. You’ll also find tons of proven-effective coping strategies to help you manage your worst symptoms—including relaxation, exercise, healthy sleep habits, cognitive restructuring, cognitive defusion, distraction, and mindfulness. The brain is powerful, and the more you work to change the way you respond to obsessive thoughts, the more resilient you’ll become. If you’re ready to rewire the brain processes that lie at the root of your obsessive thoughts, this book has everything you need to get started today.

Newly Revised and Updated! Are you tormented by extremely distressing thoughts or persistent worries? Compelled to wash your hands repeatedly? Driven to repeat or check certain numbers, words, or actions? If you or someone you love suffers from these symptoms, you may be one of the millions of Americans who suffer from some form of obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD. Once considered almost untreatable, OCD is now known to be a highly treatable disorder using behavior therapy. In this newly revised edition of Stop Obsessing! Drs. Foa and Wilson, internationally renowned authorities on the treatment of anxiety disorders, share their scientifically based and clinically proven self-help program that has already allowed thousands of men and women with OCD to enjoy a life free from excessive worries and rituals. You will discover: • Step-by-step programs for both mild and severe cases of OCD • The most effective ways to help you let go of your obsessions and gain control over your compulsions • New charts and fill-in guides to track progress and make exercises easier • Questionnaires for self-evaluation and in-depth understanding of your symptoms • Expert guidance for finding the best professional help • The latest information about medications prescribed for OCD

If you have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), chances are that your persistent obsessive thoughts and time-consuming compulsions keep you from enjoying life to the fullest. But when you are in the habit of avoiding the things you fear, the idea of facing them head-on can feel frightening and overwhelming. This book can help. The OCD Workbook has helped thousands of people with OCD break the bonds of troubling OCD symptoms and regain the hope of a productive life. Endorsed and used in hospitals and clinics the world over, this valuable resource is now fully revised and updated with the latest evidence-based approaches to understanding and managing OCD. It offers day-to-day coping strategies you can start using right away, along with proven-effective self-help techniques that can help you maintain your progress. The book also includes information for family members seeking to understand and support loved ones who suffer from this often baffling and frustrating disorder. Whether you suffer with OCD or a related disorder, such as body dysmorphic disorder or trichotillomania, let this new edition of The OCD Workbook be your guide on the path to recovery. This new edition will help you: use self-assessment tools to identify your symptoms and their severity; create and implement a recovery strategy using cognitive behavioral self-help tools and techniques; learn about the most effective medications and medical treatments; find the right professional help and access needed support for your recovery; and maintain your progress and prevent future relapse.

As the second decade of the twenty-first century draws to a close, the cultural, social, and economic effects of artificial intelligence are becoming ever more apparent. Despite their long-intertwined histories, the fields of neuroscience and artificial intelligence research are notoriously divided. In Cognitive Code Johannes Bruder argues that seemingly incompatible scales of intelligence – the brain and the planet – are now intimately linked through neuroscience-inspired AI and computational cognitive neuroscience. Building on ethnographic fieldwork in brain imaging labs in the United Kingdom and Switzerland, alongside analyses of historical and contemporary literature, Cognitive Code examines how contemporary research on the brain makes routine use of engineering epistemologies and practices. Bruder elaborates on how the question of mimicking human cognition and thought on the scale of computer chips and circuits has gradually evolved into a comprehensive restructuring of the world through "smart" infrastructures. The brain, traditionally treated as a discrete object that thinks, is becoming part of the larger thinking network we now know as "the Cloud." The author traces a recent shift in the goals of brain imaging to show that the introduction of novel statistical and computational techniques has upset traditional paradigms and disentangled cognition from its biological substrate. Investigating understandings of intelligence from the micro to the macro, Cognitive Code explains how the future of human psychology is increasingly determined by engineering and design.