Health Care Without Shame

Too often, people with alternative sexualities -- the gay or lesbian or bisexual, the non-monogamous or kinky -- have trouble finding competent, understanding care for their mental and physical health.Now, Dr. Charles Moser -- one of the nation's leading authorities on sexuality-related medicine -- has created a comprehensive guidebook for anyone who's ever struggled with the sentence, Doctor, there's something I have to tell you...Dr. Moser explains how and when to come out to your health care provider, how to protect your confidentially, how to handle it if a health care provider isn't understanding about your alternative sexuality, how to deal with sex-related emergencies, and more. He also includes detailed information on dealing with other professionals such as therapists, attorneys, and accountants.Vital information for anyone whose sexuality, is non-traditional -- and for any health care provider who wants to provide the best possible care for patients of all descriptions.

Barbara Theodosiou and her family reveal the pain, loss, and connection that emerge from addiction, trauma, codependency, and recovery in this unique view into the heart of a national crisis. The ringing phone startles Barbara during another sleepless night. She knows it must be Daniel, her big-hearted, intelligent son who has spent years cycling through hospitals, jails, and treatment centers. Although Daniel’s childhood struggles started much earlier, he was sixteen when Barbara discovered he was horribly addicted to DXM, the drug found in many over-the-counter cough medicines. After picking up the pieces from one more of her son’s relapses, Barbara seeks support in the online refuge she created when she had nowhere else to turn: The Addict’s Mom. There, she can “Share Without Shame” with others who understand. These other mothers know that it can become normal to hope your son will be locked up so he isn’t sleeping on the street. These other moms understand how it feels to realize you have not just one addicted child but two--Barbara discovered her oldest son Peter’s addiction just six months after Daniel’s. And when that happens, sometimes all a mother can do is try to save herself. But this isn’t just a mother’s story. Without Shame encompasses Daniel’s own poetry and prose, Peter’s story of healing against all odds, their sister Nicole’s story of balancing compassion and independence, and other often unheard voices. This multifaceted story reveals what it truly means to describe addiction as a family disease.

Liberate yourself from the limitations and judgments imposed by your inner critic, and develop “soul qualities” to experience freedom and vitality Whether we call it the inner critic or the superego, most of us have a judge within who nags us and is constantly on our case. Byron Brown provides a comprehensive guide to understanding how the inner critic works as well as practical, positive suggestions for breaking free of it. Using straightforward language and everyday examples, you’ll explore: • Where the inner judge came from • How it operates • Why it trips us up • Why we believe we need it • How to develop awareness of it • How to disengage from it • The "soul qualities" we can develop to weaken its influence Each chapter begins with an episode of the story of Frank and Sue to illustrate the insidious nature of the inner critic inside all of us. A simple exercise is also included at the end of each chapter, designed to help readers move along the path of self-discovery.

This classic book, written 17 years ago but still selling more than 13,000 copies every year, has been completely updated and expanded by the author. "I used to drink," writes John Bradshaw,"to solve the problems caused by drinking. The more I drank to relieve my shame-based loneliness and hurt, the more I felt ashamed." Shame is the motivator behind our toxic behaviors: the compulsion, co-dependency, addiction and drive to superachieve that breaks down the family and destroys personal lives. This book has helped millions identify their personal shame, understand the underlying reasons for it, address these root causes and release themselves from the shame that binds them to their past failures.

This book is the story I have wanted to tell for a very long time. For most of my life I lived in the shadow of shame. I was afraid there would be terrible consequences if anyone discovered my gender confusion. Who would want to be my friend? How would I have a career? Who would love me? The past two decades have been a process of coming out of hiding, letting myself be known and leaving shame behind. That process has led me to write this book. I've been blessed with many odd experiences, some stunning misadventures and the acquaintance of many quirky people. And whatever I have to say about it, or whatever you may think of it, I'm grateful I can finally tell my story without shame.

"Powerful and poignant.... Newman's message is clear and timely." --The Philadelphia Inquirer In No Shame in My Game, Harvard anthropologist Katherine Newman gives voice to a population for whom work, family, and self-esteem are top priorities despite all the factors that make earning a living next to impossible--minimum wage, lack of child care and health care, and a desperate shortage of even low-paying jobs. By intimately following the lives of nearly 300 inner-city workers and job seekers for two yearsin Harlem, Newman explores a side of poverty often ignored by media and politicians--the working poor. The working poor find dignity in earning a paycheck and shunning the welfare system, arguing that even low-paying jobs give order to their lives. No Shame in My Game gives voice to a misrepresented segment of today's society, and is sure to spark dialogue over the issues surrounding poverty, working and welfare.

We all carry sexual shame. Whether we grew up in the repressive purity culture of American Evangelical Christianity or not, we've all been taught in subtle and not-so-subtle ways that sex (outside of very specific contexts) is immoral and taboo. Psychotherapist Matthias Roberts helps readers overcome their shame around sex by overcoming three unhealthy coping mechanisms we use to manage that shame. Beyond Shame encourages each of us to determine our own definition of healthy sex, while avoiding the ditches of boundaryless sex positivity on the one hand and strict moralistic boundaries on the other. Define your sexual values on your own terms, overcome your shame, and start having great, healthy sex.

Sex-positive parenting begins before your child starts talking. In No Shame: Real Talk With Your Kids About Sex, Self-Confidence, and Healthy Relationships, New York City Psychiatrist Dr. Lea Lis offers a guide to parents as they seek to help their children through the maze of sexuality and intimate relationships in the 21st century. In clear, straightforward terms, she lays out the groundwork on which parents can help their kids grow up to enjoy positive sexual experiences, and backs up her arguments with data from the most recent surveys and studies of teen sexual behavior. Dr. Lis' unique Mindful Kid practice in New York is well recognized as an approach that emphasizes the mental healthcare of the child, exploring underlying issues to truly help children and their families move through and beyond their concerns to a place of healing and connection. In No Shame, Dr. Lis covers the many issues that may arise as children grow: how to help young children understand personal physical boundaries; the importance of opposite-sex role models in children's lives, what to tell--and not tell--your kids about your own sexual history; and the role of rituals to mark a girl's first period or a boy's passage into manhood. Dr. Lis gives practical pointers on how to help your kids when their relationships run into trouble, how to encourage them to have good relationships with themselves, and how to teach them to flirt and to deal with rejection. No Shame shows how talking to your kids about sex and encouraging them to keep a dialogue open with you will help them to have positive, joy-filled emotional and sexual relationships as they grow up. This may not always be comfortable, but as Dr. Lis shows throughout this book, talking about sex, love and relationships in a knowledgeable way is essential.

In The Mark of Shame, Stephen P. Hinshaw addresses the psychological, social, historical, and evolutionary roots of the stigma of mental illness as well as the long history of such stigmatization.