Addicted to Drama

Book excerpt: 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.