The following is a list of books and media resources that have been very helpful to me personally. I am trying to make this a short list of highly impactful connections.
Helpful Books and Media:
Free Workbook for Those Addicted to Shoplifting by A Person Formerly Addicted to Shoplifting
Click Here to get started. I have listed this resource first because it is free, and it is a resource available right now. I have posted the beginning modules to the workbook for people addicted to shoplifting. I encourage you to check back regularly to get the latest Workbook module additions. The purpose of this workbook is to provide a beginning resource for overcoming an addiction to shoplifting. This is a self-guided workbook. It is your responsibility to uncover the reasons why you shoplift – and how to stop. The pages are designed to help shine a light on the path to an honest life of integrity. It is your responsibility to choose to open your eyes, focus on the path, and take the first step on the exciting journey back to sanity and safety.
Feel free to print off these lessons. There will be lines for you to write in your responses. Or, you can read the text on this site and write your responses in a notebook. Be sure to write your responses because writing your answers with pen and paper is a clinically proven method to increase deep learning. Don’t take shortcuts in your relearning process. That’s what got you here, to begin with. Click Here to view and print the workbook.
Self-Therapy by Jay Earley
This is an extensive workbook for Internal Family Systems (IFS). You can use this free book to start therapy on yourself or use it to prepare for IFS therapy from a certified IFS therapist. Click Here to download the whole PDF book – FREE!
Also, you may download the companion worksheets free by clicking HERE.
(To find an IFS Therapist, click HERE.)
The Biology of Desire by Mark Lewis
Free PDF Download
Mark Lewis makes the compelling argument through neural science research and personal experience that addiction is not a disease, but a form of normal learning that results in unhealthy engrained habits. This book is very convincing and empowering for anyone addicted to shoplifting. I have read this book three times now, and each time I am more convinced that it is possible to rewire our brains through deliverat reframing. This view of addiction places power back in the hands of the person suffering from impulsive and compulsive addiction. You are now powerless!
Something for Nothing by Terrence Shulman
Click Here to view excerpts
Click Here for more preview
This book is an invaluable first step to understanding the issue of shoplifting, both for the shoplifter and the community. You will “live the story” with Terry and understand the mind of a shoplifter. You will gain valuable insights and action steps for overcoming the self-destructive addition of shoplifting.
I personally credit “Something for Nothing” with opening my eyes to see that my stealing problem was an addiction and not just a flaw in my moral character. I learned that stealing was an unhealthy way of dealing with unresolved issues in my life. I was able to gain an understanding of where to start searching inside myself for a healthy and balanced way of life, free from the self-destructive compulsion to steal. This book is a “must-have” for everyone in recovery from compulsive stealing.
Taking Back What’s Been Stolen: a STOP STEALING Workbook by Elizabeth Corsale MFT
Click Here to read my summary of this workbook
This workbook offers effective and practical methods to stop this destructive behavior, gain control of your life, and become free to create a life of choice, and ultimately of deeper meaning.
A Gentle Path through the Twelve Steps: The Classic Guide for All People in the Process of Recovery by Patrick J Carnes Ph.D.
Click Here to read much of this book FREE!
Click Here to read my summary of the book
This book is very helpful for those to whom the “12-step program” is a new concept. It is a workbook with probing questions that will help the honest seeker understand the most effective way through the 12 steps – even if you do not believe in God or a supreme being.
Breaking Addiction: A 7-Step Handbook for Ending Any Addiction by Lance M. Dodes, M.D.
Click Here to read much of this book FREE
Click Here to read my summary of the book
Breaking Addiction is a step-by-step guide to beating addiction of any kind—from drugs and gambling to alcoholism, overeating, and sex addiction. By recognizing and understanding the emotional forces underlying addictive behaviors, Dr. Dodes says any dangerous, life-destroying obsession can be overcome. Including special bonus sections for both families and health-care professionals, Breaking Addiction is the new handbook for those suffering from addiction—a valuable resource that addresses addiction’s root causes and serves as an alternative to Alcoholics Anonymous and similar recovery programs.
Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the 12 Steps by Richard Rohr
Click Here to read much of this book FREE
Breathing Under Water gave me new insight into my inner spiritual self. It was valuable to me because I used to feel that I could not follow the 12 Steps without first believing in God. This book shifted my paradigm to see the light that shines inside of me; the light that guides me. It is not a book that converts you to believe in God, but one that points out self-evident truths about your spiritual life that are just waiting in plain sight for you to discover – without being required to accept or reject a god as a higher power.
Change Your Brain, Change Your Life by Daniel Amen M.D.
Click Here to see it on Google Books
Click Here to read my summary of this book
“Change Your Brain, Change Your Life” by Dr. Daniel Amen is a book that delves into the relationship between brain function and behavior, offering insights into how optimizing brain health through lifestyle changes, nutrition, and brain exercises can impact decision-making, emotions, and mental health. In the context of shoplifting, the book suggests that individuals who engage in this behavior may have underlying issues with impulse control, anxiety, or depression that can be addressed through brain-healthy interventions. By making positive changes to their brain function through healthy habits such as exercise, meditation, and a nutritious diet, individuals may reduce their likelihood of shoplifting and improve their overall well-being.
Spontaneous Happiness by Dr. Andrew Weil
Click here to read much of this book FREE
Click Here for my short review of the book
Dr. Weil offers an array of scientifically proven strategies from Eastern and Western psychology to counteract low mood and enhance contentment, comfort, resilience, serenity, and emotional balance. Drawn from psychotherapy, mindfulness training, Buddhist psychology, nutritional science, and more, these strategies include body-oriented therapies to support emotional wellness, techniques for managing stress and anxiety and changing mental habits that keep us stuck in negative patterns, and advice on developing a spiritual dimension in our lives. Lastly, Dr. Weil presents an eight-week program that can be customized according to specific needs, with short and long-term advice on nutrition, exercise, supplements, environment, lifestyle, and much more.
Whether you are struggling with depression or simply want to feel happier, Dr. Weil’s revolutionary approach will shift the paradigm of emotional health and help you achieve greater contentment in your life.
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
Click Here to read much of this book FREE
Click Here for my summary review
The Seven Habits book may not sound like it relates to the problem of compulsive stealing, but it definitely is. You will learn a new way to look at and structure your life. You will come to understand that you are responsible for your life, and it provides a path to a new understanding of the power you hold within yourself. It will help you to tap the power to control the things you can change, serenity to accept the things you cannot change – and provide systematic wisdom to know the difference. (Adapted from the Serenity Prayer)
The Myth of Stress: Where Stress Really Comes From and How to Live a Happier and Healthier Life
Click Here to read a portion of this book
Click Here to read my summary of the book
Where does stress come from? For more than half a century, we’ve been told it comes from ‘adverse external influences’, that it’s a by-product of our ancestors’ fight-or-flight response, and that because life on earth has changed radically, stress is inevitable today. All of this, according to Andrew Bernstein, is wrong.
In The Myth of Stress, he shows you exactly why it’s wrong. He takes readers back to the 1930s, pointing out a fundamental error in how the stress concept was initially formulated, and how this mistaken formula has resulted in people relying on inefficient tools such as relaxation and positive thinking. Bernstein then reveals the truth about where stress comes from and introduces a 7-step process that transforms common challenges – including relationships, money, success, weight loss, heartbreak, uncertainty, interpersonal conflict, and the loss of a loved one. The Myth of Stress offers a complete re-education in the nature of negative emotions, training readers in how to transform any issue – at home, at school, at work – in order to live happier, healthier lives.
Healing the Shame that Binds You by John Bradshaw
Click Here to read much of this book FREE
Shame is the motivator behind our toxic behaviors: the compulsion, co-dependency, addiction, and drive to super-achieve that breaks down the family and destroys personal lives. It limits self-esteem development, causes anxiety and depression, and limits our ability to be connected in relationships. 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.
Rewiring the Addicted Brain with EMDR-Based Treatment b. I found this book to be filled with practical exercises that anyone can start implementing to help the addicted brain rewire toward a healthy way of thinking.
Summary: Attachment-focused EMDR and resource tapping applied to the clinical challenge of addictions recovery.
Writing for both EMDR therapists and substance abuse counselors, Laurel Parnell provides user-friendly tools to help support clients in recovery with EMDR-based techniques that can be easily integrated into all levels of addiction treatment.
Emphasizing the practical clinical application of principles and techniques helpful for addictions and addictive disorders, this book interweaves case material throughout, with some chapters presenting in-depth cases to illustrate the techniques. Topics include treating trauma and supporting resilience, tools for affect regulation, and rewiring the motivation-reward circuits.
Other books related to shoplifting addiction will be added to this site in the future. If you would like to recommend a book to be listed here, please submit it through my contact form.
For more help, go to www.helpforshoplifters.com/workbook
The sun can rise in your life when you are freed from the addiction of shoplifting.