Hungry Hearts: On Men, Intimacy, Self-Esteem, and Addiction - Hardcover

Nowinski, Joseph

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 002923221X ISBN 13: 9780029232217

Publisher: Lexington Books, 1993

Synopsis

Millions of men in this country are addicted: to alcohol or drugs, to sex, work, food, or gambling. A poor substitute for comfort, self-confidence, and spirituality, all addictions have the power to destroy lives, relationships, and families. Although women, too, may suffer from addictions, the ratio of men to women enrolled in treatment programs for alcohol or drug abuse is roughly three to one. And in a survey of the population at large, men were five times as likely as women to be diagnosed as alcohol dependent.
Why are men so much more vulnerable to addiction? What do addictions as different as sex, alcohol, cocaine, and work have in common? What can men do to escape from the throes of addiction and the addictive tendencies within themselves?
In Hungry Hearts, Joseph Nowinski reveals that addiction is the result of emotional desperation which, as much as any craving, is responsible for addicts relapsing or trading one addiction for another. Venturing beyond the common theory that men's greater susceptibility to addiction is genetic, he points instead to society's long held belief in and exaggeration of men's resilience and toughness, at the expense of their sensitivity. It is an accident of history that men are often viewed as insensitive and emotionally tough, Nowinski asserts, and that myth has contributed to the insecurity and isolation that drive men toward addiction.
Through an in-depth examination of the social, psychological, and historical perspectives on men and addiction, Nowinski offers a new model for men to rebuild their self-esteem and truly open themselves to intimacy. For men who suffer from an addiction, and for those who care for them both personally and professionally, Hungry Hearts is an essential book.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

Nowinski ( The Twelve-Step Facilitation Handbook ), a consultant to Yale University's Substance Abuse Treatment Unit, here delves into the onerous emotional repression men bear in order to live up to America's masculine ideal. He suggests that the resulting loneliness, rage and frustration impell many men to substance abuse. Though some might argue with his contention that men are more prone than women to addiction, his discussion goes far in explaining why men are often so reluctant to open up even to receptive wives. He dismisses men's habitual excuses for why they are unable to be intimate with a partner--lack of time, lack of energy, etc.--and argues instead that in the eyes of many men, mutability and/or vulnerability means weakness. Through vivid vignettes and probing questions, Nowinski attempts to provoke male introspection, because, he stresses, men who avoid intimacy are doomed to immaturity and isolation.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 002923221X
• ISBN 13: 9780029232217
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 174