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

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"--