The Craving Mind
by Judson Brewer
A psychiatrist and neuroscientist on how habit loops drive smoking, overeating, phone use and even thinking patterns, and how mindfulness interrupts them by making the reward disenchanting. His smoking cessation trials outperformed the gold standard. The book is scientific and practical, with the RAIN practice at the center.
Read it if…
you want to understand craving mechanically and have a tool to interrupt it.
Skip it if…
you want pure willpower advice; the book argues it fails.
Three things you will actually use
- Habit loops run on reward; see the reward clearly and it weakens.
- Curiosity beats willpower.
- Mindfulness is a tool for addiction, not only for calm.
Do this first
Next craving, observe it with curiosity: where is it in the body, what does it actually feel like?
Our verdict
Scientific and useful.
Compare with other Habits books
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