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

If you polled a roomful of people to see if they knew anyone who experienced an addiction to drama, many hands would go up. Lyons, a clinical psychologist, suffered from a drama addiction, which he alleviated with various techniques. In searching for strategies and guidance the author found scant research and no programs that addressed drama addictions. Lyons notes that drama is often not wanted but is craved by those who create it. Drama addiction often affects both mental and physical health. In the book’s three sections Lyons describes drama addiction, explains its root causes, and provides approaches to healing from it. He mixes anecdotes of particular drama addicts with pertinent scholarship. Drama addiction is a complicated affliction that has various manifestations. Individuals who suffer from it often feel isolated or alone. Lyons aptly notes that social media and other contemporary modes of distractibility further exacerbate feelings of isolation that fuel drama addiction. An appendix offers excellent physical and meditative exercises to assist with coping and overcoming this condition.