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Book review [This article prints out to about three pages] The Habit Change Workbook: How to Break Bad Habits and Form Good Ones.
This book was jointly written by a cognitive-behavioural psychologist and a nurse turned writer. Consequently, it is an easy-to-read work that claims to include "proven techniques for eliminating a wide range of unwanted habits" of which gambling is one of many. In one of the early chapters, the authors state that this book is not a substitute for medical, psychiatric or psychological treatment. They also state that the treatment of addictions is beyond the scope of the book. Furthermore, addictions are viewed as primarily physiological, involving the ingestion of a psychoactive substance like nicotine, alcohol or other drugs. This suggests the implicit assumption that gambling is not a bona fide addiction and is akin to other "bad habits" covered in the book, such as sleeping problems, relationship issues and health and fitness concerns. The book is divided into four parts, each of which is broken down further. The sections are Habits — We All Have Them (four chapters), The Habit Change Program (eight chapters), Detailed Guidance on Specific Habits (seven chapters) and a single concluding chapter, Further Help. The first four chapters in the book cover basic but important ideas: an overview of good and bad habits, a look at how habits develop, the reasons for changing or not changing habit patterns and a brief overview of some common habits. Most of these can be readily applied to gambling, and many gambling practitioners and gamblers themselves will find the material easy to digest and follow. |
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