Reenactments: Break the Behavior Patterns That Keep You Stuck in Trauma, Stress, and Everyday Life - Softcover

Iezzi Ph.D., Tony; Duckworth Ph.D., Melanie P.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1069504009 ISBN 13: 9781069504005

Publisher: Tony Iezzi, 2025

Synopsis

You keep having the same argument. Making the same choice. Reacting the same way, even when you know better. You've read the books. Maybe you've been to therapy. But the patterns keep showing up: at work, in relationships, in the quiet moments when something small sets off something big.

There's a reason for that, and it has a name.

Reenactments are the brain-body-behavior patterns you developed in response to past experiences, both traumatic and ordinary. They run on autopilot. They shape how you interpret a comment from your partner, a decision at work, or a conflict you can't seem to walk away from. And until you can see them clearly, they keep you stuck.

Clinical psychologists Dr. Tony Iezzi and Dr. Melanie P. Duckworth spent 35 years treating patients with complex trauma, chronic pain, and stress-related conditions in hospital and university settings. They watched the same thing happen again and again: people kept repeating patterns they couldn't explain, even after successful treatment. That observation became the foundation of a new clinical framework, one they refined with real patients before writing this book.

In this book, you will:

• Identify the specific reenactment themes (abandonment, control, shame, betrayal, and dozens more) driving your reactions
• Use the Reenactment Decision Matrix to evaluate your choices in real time: approach, avoid, act, or pause
• Work through a five-step process to break a reenactment pattern the next time it shows up
• Build a personal plan for lasting change that goes beyond insight and into action

This is not another book that tells you to "just be more mindful." It gives you a concrete, step-by-step system grounded in clinical evidence and tested with real people in real crisis. The case examples are drawn from three decades of frontline work, not hypotheticals.

Reenactments is for anyone who is tired of knowing what's wrong but not knowing how to do something different. Get unstuck. Do different, be different.

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Tony Iezzi and Dr. Melanie P. Duckworth are psychologists who help people break the behavior patterns that keep them stuck in trauma, stress, and everyday life. Their book, Reenactments: Break the Behavior Patterns That Keep You Stuck in Trauma, Stress, and Everyday Life, gives readers practical, evidence-based tools and real-world strategies drawn from 35+ years of clinical and research work.

Dr. Iezzi is a frontline behavioral medicine clinician at a major hospital in London, Ontario, and a recognized expert in chronic pain and trauma. Dr. Duckworth is a psychologist and researcher at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she directs the Health Risk and Traumatic Injury Research Program and serves as Executive Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Together, they translate complex science into clear steps so you can "do different" and live differently.

From the Back Cover

Do you feel stuck, as if you're facing the same challenges over and over again?
Maybe it's a job that drains your energy, a relationship that never seems to work, or habits you just can't seem to break. If so, you're not alone—and there's a reason for it.

Patterns formed in childhood shape the choices we make as adults. These patterns often become automatic responses to trauma, stress, and everyday life. We call these reenactments—deeply ingrained habits in your brain, body, and mind that lead to recurring adverse outcomes.

This book is here to help you break free. You'll learn how to recognize these patterns and replace them with healthier, more empowering choices. Using the Reenactment Decision Matrix and a unique 5-step analytic tool, this guide will help you:

• Identify the behavior patterns that are holding you back
• Understand their origins and make conscious choices that improve your present
• Deepen your empathy for others and contribute to a more compassionate world.

Dr. Tony Iezzi has worked at London Health Sciences Center as a front-line clinical psychologist for 35 years, and Dr. Melanie P. Duckworth has spent most of her career at the University of Nevada, Reno, and is now the Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. They both graduated from the University of Georgia and have collaborated on research related to chronic pain, trauma, and injury for 30 years.

Edition details

• Publisher: Tony Iezzi
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1069504009
• ISBN 13: 9781069504005
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240