The Addicted Mind Podcast

Recovery from addiction doesn’t just stop there. People in recovery could still be struggling with depression. While addiction and depression are somewhat correlated, both of them should still be addressed individually.In this episode, Duane speaks with Amy Law and Jeff Deck, authors of the book, “We Got This, Kids: A real-time and raw glimpse of alcoholism, depression, and loss during a search for more sunrises.” Amy shares the story of her brother, Andy, who committed suicide after a struggle with alcoholism and depression. At that time, Andy was writing his memoirs but never got to finish them. Amy's courage to share Andy's story and to let people into that is truly inspiring. In the book, Amy also shares her perspective of taking Andy’s memoirs and how she collaborated with Jeff Deck to bring their beautiful message to completion and share it with the world.If you're struggling or contemplating suicide, please reach out for help call 988 or 1-800-273-8255 if you're in the United States. If you're outside of the United States, search for a suicide hotline, reach out for help, and get the support that you need. In this episode, you will hear: Andy’s addiction story Why Amy decided to share Andy’s story Why Jeff decided to collaborate in writing the book The reason behind the title of the book Normalizing the topic of addiction and mental illness Key Quotes:[11:33] - " Depression lies... It lied to my brother. And as a result, it robbed him of the rest of his life." - Amy Law[19:08] - "Andy's story was so immediate and raw that I felt like the value that I could provide to other people suffering in similar situations was potentially immense." - Jeff Deck[25:51] - "Our intention is to help other families and everybody who's suffering from addiction and mental illness… It's time to normalize some of these conversations. It's overdue." - Amy Law[29:37] - "The small things can be so helpful. Even if it's just helping with loneliness and feeling you're alone in mental illness or depression or alcoholism. You're not." - Amy Law[30:49] - "A temporary decision leads to irreversible consequences. We hope people see that in this book and recognize if they are having a really dark moment, it's a temporary thing.” - Jeff Deck[31:44] - "Hang on. Seek out the help. No matter how small you think that help is, it probably has the potential to move mountains. Make that call." - Amy Law[32:07] - "To families, if you have even the slightest, barely audible alarm going off in your mind, pay attention to it. Pay very close attention to that. If it's present, act on it." - Amy LawSubscribe and ReviewHave you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:NovusMindfulLife.com“We Got This, Kids: A real-time and raw glimpse of alcoholism, depression, and loss during a search for more sunrises”https://www.amazon.com/Got-This-Kids-alcoholism-depression/dp/B09TDSCCB5 Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The fear of abandonment is universal. The problem is – we try to medicate that feeling with whatever gives us instant gratification (drugs, alcohol, food, television, sleeping, social media, shopping, etc.) Whatever that looks like, addiction can stem from an unhealed abandonment wound. And when you fail to take care of that wound, it can lead to self-sabotage. So how do we heal our abandonment issues?On today’s episode, Duane speaks with Susan Anderson, founder of Abandonment Recovery, a program that helps people with numerous issues such as heartbreak loss, self-sabotage, addiction, and compulsion. Susan shares her own story of how she got into this work of dealing with abandonment. Susan gives us an illustration of what abandonment looks like, how it impacts our life, and what we can do to overcome it.Susan points out that overcoming abandonment is a doing process. Therefore, just knowing about it isn't necessarily going to help you overcome the wound that may be negatively impacting your life. There needs to be action.In this episode, you will hear: Why abandonment is universal The correlation between abandonment and addiction Loneliness as a huge adult trigger Early abandonment vs. normal level of abandonment Self-sabotage and the outer child Forms of self-sabotage The power of visualization Key Quotes:[02:36] - "Abandonment translates to separation anxiety, which is something we all share as human beings. It's universal and we medicate that feeling.”[04:16] - “We all have a fear of abandonment, and when it's triggered by an adult experience, it can create a cascade of hormonal processes in the brain. No matter how strong we are, we can all experience a serious emotional crisis if the trigger is big enough in adulthood."[05:37] - "Overcoming abandonment is a doing process, not just a feeling process. It's a recovery. It's an ongoing process."[10:53] - "When we are going through an adult trigger, even if it's a mild trigger, the thing that we are most vulnerable to is becoming addicted to a substance or to an activity."[19:01] - "If you've had a lot of abandonment, you have a lot of self-sabotage... and you repeat the thing that's so familiar."[29:16] "You don't have to make gigantic changes to have your dreams start to line. You need to make enough of a change just to get that door to swing. It's an amazing thing that small changes make huge differences."[34:18] "Everyone's looking for a magic bullet that's why addictions are so popular... but they have to enter on a journey of developing a new relationship with themselves and it's something they have to really work out and take very seriously."Subscribe and ReviewHave you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:NovusMindfulLife.comAbandonment Recoveryhttps://www.abandonment.net/ Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today’s episode, Duane speaks with ultra-runner and recovering alcoholic and addict, Henry Ward, as he shares his own story of recovery, about how alcoholism and drugs took his whole life, and finally getting into treatment. For a few years, Henry was wandering around, not being able to do anything, until he stumbled into running. Today, he shares how running has impacted his life, and how he uses running, not only in his own recovery but also to bring his passion for running to others through his nonprofit Running Without the Devil. Growing up in a family and community where alcohol was prevalent, Henry subconsciously knew he got the addictive gene. Eventually, he got stuck into this vicious cycle which caused a lot of damage to his reputation and pushed away relationships. Ultimately, he went into treatment and discovered his passion for running. The more runner’s high he got, the more he felt like himself.After 22 years of drinking and using, Henry had dealt with all the pain, the shame, and the guilt. And so, for him, his physical pain from running was nothing compared to what he went through back then – because if he got through that, then he can get through anything. In this episode, you will hear: Henry’s story of addiction Putting the work in to set yourself up for success Discovering his passion for running What is an ultra-marathon? Pushing through the stinking thinking How he used his history of addiction to his advantage Key Quotes:[33:19] - "There is no magic pill. It doesn't matter if it's diet or exercise or recovery from addiction, you have to put the work in. If you want to succeed in a career, you can't just half-ass it.”[33:30] - "If you have a half-assed recovery, you're going to get half-assed results, and you probably go back out there."[38:15] - "I found that thing that helps you burn off the anxiety, get me out of my own head, get my confidence back. And when I run, I feel like myself. The more runner's high you get, the more I feel like myself."[40:22] - "You get a lot of time on your feet. But you get a lot of time in your head, and you really learn a lot about yourself and what the human body is capable of."[43:02] - "Quiet the negative voices. Quiet that devil and just take it like a small little fragment, and break it down... it teaches you to stay in the moment."[46:22] - "Everything always works out for the better and better than you imagine. It doesn't matter what it is, you get what you put into it."[46:29] - "Keep hustling, keep trying, keep asking people and keep networking, and something good is going to come of it. Put the time in, but it's not worth worrying about."Subscribe and ReviewHave you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:NovusMindfulLife.comRunning Without the Devilhttps://runningwithoutthedevil.com Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There’s always shame and guilt attached to addiction. But once you get to the other side of addiction, it’s going to be better than the life you had before. One of the mindset shifts important in recovery is being able to separate yourself from the addiction. Addiction is a chronic disease, it’s not a moral failing. Therefore, you should learn not to take it personally.On today’s episode, Duane speaks with Tish Marsh who shares her own struggle with opioid addiction that started after she had some medical procedures. Tish was a high-functioning addict that as a pharmacist, she still managed to work with drugs daily. But she reckons her profession was also instrumental to her recovery.Listen in as Tish also talks about her YouTube channel, Ask Pharmacist Tish, where she interviews the homeless community and advocates for mental health and addiction treatment and support. Her purpose is to expose the addiction and mental health issues that need to be treated so people can ultimately get out of homelessness. In this episode, you will hear: Her addiction and recovery story How addiction gets you to a survival mode How being a pharmacist helped her with her addiction Understanding the science behind the addiction Homelessness and addiction Talking to the homeless, hearing their stories, and validating their pain Key Quotes:[09:30] - "If you don't have those medications or whatever you're addicted to… everything is tunnel vision… Everything is about survival. You're in survival mode.”[10:12] - "Because I was a pharmacist, that helped me separate the addiction from myself... understanding it was the nature of the beast.”[11:02] - "It doesn't matter who you are, addiction will grab you. And if you don't know how to wrestle with it, it's going to pull you down with it.”[17:10] - "With addiction, you get so embarrassed...know what the drugs are... don't take it personally. Back away from the stigma."[25:48] - "My purpose is to expose or to bring to the surface the mental health that needs to be treated, and the addiction that needs to be treated from that to get out of the homelessness."[30:56] - "There's life on the other end of that and you're still alive. You still have a purpose."[31:58] - "Don't take it personally. It's a chronic disease. It's not a moral failing. Get a purpose, do something else. This addiction is lame, do something else."Subscribe and ReviewHave you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:NovusMindfulLife.comYouTube: Ask Pharmacist Trish: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbJGHpudhkX3JPrfED2U9fg Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There's an epidemic of a chemical overdose in our country today where more and more people are sick and dying faster. In fact, a 2021 report from the Centers for Disease Control suggests that over 100,000 people died of chemical overdoses in one year. This is not just an entrepreneurial, academic exercise. It’s now a moral obligation.Is there a way to do better than the conventional recovery industry? What does it take? Could we use innovation to build a platform that includes technology, residential, medical, psychotherapeutic engagement, and long-term aftercare? On today’s episode, Duane speaks with Tom Feegel, CEO of Beond Treatment. Not only does he have his own story of addiction and recovery to tell, but he also talks about how his entrepreneurial spirit has led him to create a place for individuals who are struggling with addiction and emotional trauma. Discover how a medicinal plant derivative called Ibogaine can help treat addiction and trauma so people who are suffering can finally unlock the chains and start a new life beyond addiction and trauma. In this episode, you will hear: Tom’s story of addiction and recovery How his entrepreneurial spirit influenced his own recovery The importance of learning to listen De-risking a venture What is Ibogaine and how does it work? Key Quotes:[05:35] - “There's actually one psychedelic that is conventionally used to overcome first opioid addiction and it was oftentimes used in other types of addiction – it’s called Ibogaine.”[07:41] - "About two and a half million people will go to rehab in the United States this year. And the statistical probability of success is debated somewhere around single-digit percentage for many.”[11:31] - “In de-risking a venture, oftentimes, the biggest failure is giving people what they say they want or need, rather than what they truly want or need.”[14:20] - “In 2021, the Centers for Disease Control says for the first time in U.S. history, over 100,000 people will have died this year of chemical overdose, and that it was rising. It's not just an entrepreneurial, academic exercise. This is a moral obligation."[25:18] - "The Iboga plant is used ceremonially and has been used since time immemorial in Gabon, specifically for initiation in the transitions of life."[28:31] - “After they take Ibogaine, the first step is they don't feel a craving. The second step is they want to change. Now they want to heal and have a sense of purpose and renewal. That's when we surround them with the conventional tools of recovery in psychotherapy.”[29:01] - "Iboga is the natural derivative of this plant. It's actually the bark of the root. Ibogaine is refined hydrochloride that's purified and testable for its purity."[43:36] - "Many people have come before you and recovered. I'm one of them. You deserve it. You deserve to heal because you can put all that pain to work. And you can help someone who will come after you. Never give up."Subscribe and ReviewHave you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:NovusMindfulLife.comhttps://www.beond.us/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIG_mKl-lzULk8s8s4J3-PA Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Stress and peer pressure are big issues with teens which could result in feelings of anxiety and depression, or worse, substance or alcohol abuse. School is complicated with all the peer pressure involved. And so, as parents, we need to give them the support they need as they walk their way through life. Oftentimes, parents are very focused on getting their kids better, but they're not doing anything to support themselves. What if there was a program that provides holistic support to both parents and teens? Well, the good news is there is – and it doesn’t cost anything to get the resources that you and your kids need. On today’s episode, Duane speaks with Kim Bemis of Gobi, a comprehensive educational platform that provides the first online drug and alcohol prevention and early intervention programs for parents and their teenagers that you do together. Gobi is dedicated to helping middle and high school teens and their families rethink their relationship with drugs and alcohol. Gobi is a platform for teens and parents to navigate difficult conversations about substance misuse. It helps teens get the skills needed to handle stress, peer pressure, and substance abuse, and it helps parents support their teenagers who might be struggling with it or are experimenting with it. In this episode, you will hear: Providing support to parents and teens What the 21-day program entails Why parents and teens are required to take walks together A focus on building skills to handle stress and peer pressure Common challenges of kids who walk through their program Motivational listening and interviewing with parents Prevention vs. intervention Key Quotes:[11:33] - "We all think that we should let our teenagers go and grow up, but we actually need to pay a little more attention to them."[13:35] - "We don't talk about how evil substance use is; we focus on building skills."[16:20] - "What I really hope is that we can disrupt the cycle for some of these kids and give them a different way of handling some of these pressures and ideas so that they don't end up being addicted."[18:29] - "Of the 65% of the kids who complete the program, 70% say they're willing to consider reducing or eliminating their substance use."[19:29] - "The hard part is getting the teen to talk to you." [21:04] - "Oftentimes, parents are very focused on getting their kid better, but they're not doing anything to support themselves."[24:25] - "We encourage parents to have a conversation with their kid about rules and consequences… The clearer you are about that messaging upfront, the less likely your kid is going to use.”Subscribe and ReviewHave you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:NovusMindfulLife.comwww.gobi.supportEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-addicted-mind-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Whether it's divorce, job loss, addiction, or being the spouse of an addict, we're all going through recovery from something. We can make our own path – and that’s what recovery is all about. You’ve just got to learn how to pick up and move on. On today’s episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane speaks with certified recovery and family addiction coach, Dana Golden, who talks about living on the other side of addiction. She shares what it was like living with a partner struggling with addiction and how she found her own freedom through that.Growing up, Dana's dad had a process addiction – gambling, sex, alcohol, you name it. From that, she learned some very maladaptive behaviors to cope with, which she carried over later on with her other relationships, including her then-husband. She eventually got sick and tired of being sick and tired. Having been brought up with the idea that she needs a man, she finally understood that her whole recovery journey was all about advocating for herself and celebrating her independence as a woman.Fast-forward to today, Dana and her ex-husband have come full circle, having co-authored the book “Addiction Rescue: The NO-BS Guide to Recovery,” and maintaining a great relationship, now as business partners and certified recovery coaches, helping other families heal.In this episode, you will hear: Going into a cycle of dysfunctional relationships How her ex-spouse gambled everything away Learning how to separate the person from the addiction How she came full-circle with her ex-husband Setting boundaries for yourself What happens during an intervention Key Quotes:[04:30] - "I thought by dumping his cocaine down the toilet, or emptying his bottles of booze in the sink that I can control his use... I quickly learned I wasn't going to cure him and I needed to cure me."[06:56] - "Just like an addict that's sick and tired of being sick and tired, I was sick and tired of being sick and tired."[10:31] - “We can make our own path and that's what recovery is all about. We have to recover from everything in life, whether it's divorce, job loss, addiction, or being the spouse of an addict. We're all in recovery from something.”[13:44] - "It doesn't matter how many times you fall down, it's just about picking yourself up again, and how many times you can get up – because anything's possible."[18:45] - "Relapse is a part of addiction... every time there's a relapse, it's an opportunity for growth."[20:55] - "Boundaries are so important. And before you can set them, you have to know that it's a boundary you can keep."Subscribe and ReviewHave you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:NovusMindfulLife.comwww.DanaGolden.comwww.liferecoverycoach.com Email: [email protected] Addiction Rescue: The NO-BS Guide to Recovery by David Marlon and Dana GoldenFind out what maladaptive role you've taken on in your relationship: www.danagolden.com/quiz. Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-addicted-mind-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today’s episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane speaks with Sarah Michaud, clinical psychologist and author of Co-Crazy: One Psychologist's Recovery from Codependency and Addiction: A Memoir and Roadmap to Freedom. One of the reasons Sarah published a book on codependency is that after working with patients and clients for the last 30 years, Sarah noticed that a lot of them were recovering addicts and alcoholics.In her book, Co-Crazy, Sarah shares her own story as well. In 2006, Sarah married a guy, who was 15 years sober, and thought he was the man of her dreams. Unfortunately, he ended up relapsing after getting surgery and getting into the opiates.The major underlying issue for a lot of recovering addicts is unresolved codependency. Codependent behavior comes out of fear and addiction comes out of fear or unresolved feelings. For an addicted person, there’s all that rationalizing, minimizing, and denial happening. It’s the same process for the codependent as well.How do you then recover from codependency and addiction? Today, Sarah discusses how focusing on yourself and understanding your own needs and wants first, is the way to find peace and freedom in your life – not sacrificing yourself for someone else's addiction.In this episode, you will hear: Codependency and addiction How codependency becomes progressive Focusing on yourself to get better The consequences of codependency Reconnection to the self Confronting the discomfort and being with it Key Quotes:[02:47] - “Codependent behavior comes out of fear, and addiction comes out of fear or unresolved feelings."[06:17] "Many people who are codependent don't have an addiction. They're just preoccupied with their partner's lives."[10:36] "Until I realized that I had to focus on myself to get better, and start figuring out what I needed, I couldn't change the situation."[11:37] "The biggest fear is the person dying… the delusion is that you're controlling the other person's behavior."[15:17] “The consequence of codependent behavior is that the people around us start to believe they can't take care of themselves.” [32:47] "If you can confront the discomfort and be with the discomfort, there might be a spike of intense bodily sensations. But if you set the boundary that is for longer-term comfort, then you're not going to have to experience it.”[36:45] “Check in with yourself even if it's five minutes a day and say, “What do I want? What do I need? What works for me?” because recovery is all about getting more in touch with yourself.”Subscribe and ReviewHave you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:Co-Crazy: One Psychologist's Recovery from Codependency and Addiction: A Memoir and Roadmap to Freedomwww.amazon.com/Co-Crazy-Psychologists-Recovery-Codependency-Addiction/dp/1736720430Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-addicted-mind-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today’s episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane talks with keynote speaker, author, executive coach, and humanitarian, Ron Kardashian. Author of the book, 30-Second Solution: Transform Your Body, Business, Relationships, and Life in Just Seconds at a Time, Ron discusses how making micro-changes in your life can change your brain and live the life you want. We all can change that narrative – and in changing that narrative and that belief system, we can change our life. Ron’s career started as a national strength and conditioning specialist; in other words, he was a personal trainer. His word of choice is Kinesiology, which is basically the study of human movement, and so, it was natural for him to fall in love with health and fitness. Ron played sports all the way through high school, and it landed him his own private practice in California. By the time he was 25, Ron had made it to the NFL consulting for professional athletes.One day, a gentleman from the San Francisco 49ers asked for his help. And what began as this in-depth study on human behavior and human performance from a mental standpoint has ultimately launched Ron's career as an executive coach for the last 20 years. Eventually, his practice moved into coaching business leaders, ecumenical leaders, heads of government, and heads of state.At that time, Ron was also suffering from his own addictions. And so, it was a three-fold quest to be healed, to become a practitioner, and to help other people.In this episode, you will hear: The correlation between success and personal development Hiring someone to trust Knowing yourself better through deep introspection Education - a very important element in addiction recovery Understanding the law of neuroplasticity The power of investing in yourself Choosing to be a better person in our micro-decisions Key Quotes:[04:38] - “As you unpack human behavior, you find the underlying root cause connected to traumas people go through... then the drug of choice is birthed because they're trying to learn coping mechanisms to smother these feelings and behaviors." [05:43] "The path of self-discovery is the home of the human soul in that we are on a personal quest to become better me's."[06:13] "The most wealthy people and the most successful people all have personal development as a core value."[07:28] “The side effect of a traumatized person is that you become very reclusive… if you can't find somebody that you trust, you can hire someone to trust.”[21:22] "The worst thing that human beings can do is hide areas they need to disclose, you have to get it out. It's a toxic poison."[24:16] "When somebody takes time to invest in themselves, it substantiates value. It sends a message to the brain that says, ``I am worthy."[32:50] - “These 30-second choices to choose an excellent spirit will transform your thinking and transform the lives of other people. It's very powerful.” If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:Websites:https://leconfidant.com/www.ronkardashian.com Books: 30-Second Solution: Transform Your Body, Business, Relationships, and Life in Just Seconds at a Timehttps://www.amazon.com/Ron-Kardashians-30-Second-Solution-Relationships/dp/0757315852 Getting In Shape God's Wayhttps://www.amazon.com/Getting-Shape-Gods-Way-Fitness/dp/1599793628 Podcast: Higher with Coach Ron Kardashianhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/higher-with-coach-ron-kardashian/id1570716544 Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this episode of The Addicted Mind podcast, Duane interviews Dr. Ursula Whiteside, a clinician, researcher, and trainer in the area of suicide prevention. Ursula struggled with her suicidal thoughts throughout her life, and in 1999, she moved to Washington state to learn from Marsha Linehan, the creator of DBT (dialectical behavior therapy). Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in some age groups and is more prevalent than car accidents, homicides, and breast cancer. Beyond these statistics, it is estimated that 10 million Americans every year have suicidal ideation. The exciting thing is that this overwhelming emotional crisis that can lead to suicidal ideation is not sustainable in the brain for more than 48 hours. So while people are within this timeframe, it often feels like things will always be this bad and that there is no hope. While it might not be helpful for them to think that they might feel this way for a couple of days, it might be beneficial for them to know that they will only feel this way for a couple of days at most. When Ursula talks with someone amid their suicidal ideation, she tells them to wait until this suicidal period passes before deciding to act on their ideation. There are a few simple things that someone in an overwhelming emotional crisis can do: (1) try to describe what is happening, (2) practice mindfulness by being in touch with your emotions, and (3) submerge your face in cold water for 20 seconds at a time for 3-5 minutes. For friends and family members, it can be helpful to know how to respond to their loved one’s thoughts and feelings. The best way to support them is by listening to them, taking care of them, and just being there for them. Suicidal thoughts are not uncommon, especially during adolescence, and in addition to DBT and ongoing conversations with your physician, the Now Matters Now website is an excellent resource for learning how to cope with difficult emotions and how to get through an overwhelming emotional crisis step-by-step. Ursula wants everyone struggling with suicidal thoughts that you can make plans for things to be different. You don’t have to believe your thoughts, and you can reach out for help in navigating these. Links:https://depts.washington.edu/uwbrtc/our-team/marsha-linehan/https://www.dbsalliance.org/ Connect with Ursula:https://www.ursulawhiteside.org/https://www.nowmattersnow.org/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-addicted-mind-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Can you train your brain to improve your sleep, better your health, and possibly abolish your tolerance for alcohol, drugs, or other things you might be struggling with?According to today’s guest, Dr. Andrew Hill, peak performance coach and the founding director of Peak Brain Institute, one of the most insidious things about brain and mind-stuff is that we feel like things are not going to change, and that is just not true. The brain shift happens – it's not a question of if, but how.Peak Brain Institute is a gym for your brain. It is a brain optimization company across life stages for some people. Neuroscientists help people take control of their own neuroscience the same way your favorite personal trainer at your gym helps you learn how to move through transformation goals.Also known as brain training, most forms of neurofeedback are a passive form of operant conditioning, but in an involuntary form. It’s essentially taking something you're not usually aware of. For instance, they’re raising information from the brain waves or blood flow up to a level where the brain can interact with it. Dr. Hill emphasizes the use of the brain, not the mind. Hence, it’s different from the classic biofeedback techniques such as the use of relaxation therapy.Neurofeedback is an option for you to help with your brain, and studies show its positive impact on people dealing with issues pertaining to anxiety, stress, alcohol use, and drug use. On this episode, Dr. Hill talks about what's going on and what's happening in the brain as this process is unfolding so you can gain a better understanding of your brain, what makes up who you are, and how you can change or improve that. In this episode, you will hear: Biofeedback versus neurofeedback How your brain is trained to achieve your goals How brain mapping works The differences in results with eyes closed versus eyes opened The impact of brain training on physical fitness How neurofeedback impacts people with alcohol and substance issues Key Quotes:[04:46] "Neurofeedback is biofeedback, or a form of control, shaping, or exercise of stuff in your brain.” [04:55] - "All neurofeedback is a form of biofeedback, but not all forms of biofeedback are done in the brain."[07:53] - “It's mostly involuntary because you can't feel your beta waves or your theta waves. But after about three or four sessions, you get this lingering effect that tends to show up for a couple of hours to about a day. It tends to impact the resources you have trained like your sleep, stress, and attention, and you get noticeable changes."[10:00] - "Your brain is mostly an electrical and mechanical machine... and the resources of your brain are roughly the same."[11:35] - "There are some things that emerge in the EEG that are almost diagnostic, or that are at least useful."[21:41] - "Other brains with similar complaints and similar goals don't respond the same way when you start doing neurofeedback. And so, you have to be very aware of the actual person's experience."[32:08] - "If you do a few weeks of neurofeedback, you abolish the tolerance for cannabis."[39:21] "One of the most insidious things about brain and mind-stuff is that we feel like things are not going to change, and that is just not true. The brain shift happens... It's not a question of if, it's how."If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:Peak Brain Institutehttps://peakbraininstitute.com Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Teenagers are normally withdrawn. But once you see some shifts in behavior or probably a liquor missing from the liquor cabinet, these could be red flags that your young adult is struggling with addiction.On today’s episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane speaks with Maks Ezrin, certified recovery coach and co-founder of Youth Prevention Mentors, and shares what they’re currently doing to help mentor young adults so they don’t fall into the trap of addiction – striking addiction before addiction strikes.Maks had his own experience with early addiction. Born and raised in New York City, Maks was living with his loving parents and pretty much had everything life had to offer. But wanting to be perceived as the cool kid in the bunch, Maks pretty much began partying and experimenting with drugs and alcohol at 13 years old. And by the age he was 15, he tried cocaine and ecstasy. By college, Maks was doubling down on substance abuse. His four years of college involved daily use of marijuana and Xanax then all of the other maladaptive behaviors came with it. Maks was practically living a double life because his parents knew nothing about it. He was compartmentalizing all these different pieces in his life that were giving him tremendous anxiety and angst, feeding into his addiction. Until one day, he woke up in the back of an ambulance and was still in denial that it was caused by an overdose. Eventually, Maks came across Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) through his friend who introduced him to it. Over the course of three months, he was using substances and going to meetings until it wasn't fun anymore. He was tired of lying to himself and the people around him who truly wanted him to get better. So on September 24, 2016, he made the full leap into the program.In this episode, you will hear: Maks’ story of addiction and recovery A feeling of being not enough Developing maladaptive behaviors along with the addiction Getting introduced to AA The birth of Youth Prevention Mentors How YPM provides support to young adults Signs your kids might be struggling The inverse cult of adolescence Breaking the stigma around mental health Key Quotes:[05:17] - "That's a big part of my story being perceived a certain way to kind of fill the void of not being enough."[10:42] - "I didn't have the foresight or the ability to look inward and kind of focus on, you know, what's really making me feel this way and how is this affecting my actions."[21:30] - "This disease takes people and it does not discriminate."[26:03] - "I didn't get the support that I needed and it led to an existence of chaos and overdose and substance misuse – and that doesn't need to be you. Let me give you some education." [28:03] - “When working with young adults, you have to take on the family.”[29:26] - “We create a life team around the family so that they feel support from all angles, and that there's that united approach of - we all know what direction we're going and we're all being held accountable by our separate parties.”[38:43] - "There's nothing wrong with meeting someone to get some help for your mental health or struggle with addiction."If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:Youth Prevention Mentorswww.youthpreventionmentors.com Instagram: @youthpreventionmentorsEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How has music played an impact on your life? In addiction treatment, there are various ways you can do to get the help you need or get to that place where you can find healing for true recovery to happen – music, being one of them. On today’s episode, Duane speaks with John Dillon – a singer and songwriter, radio producer, guitar maker, and author – to talk about his latest album, Hope Road: From Addiction to Recovery. John shares his story of finally finding sobriety and spiritual growth through the 12-step community and what led him to share his hope and wisdom through his music. It's interesting to hear John talk about how he tracked his own recovery through his album. John decided to write this album and share it with others who may still be struggling and who need more hope in their life so they can ultimately achieve recovery.John learned how to play the guitar at 13 years old. Growing up in the 60s, which was the hippie generation, John was a rebellious teenager. And back then, drugs and alcohol were part of the music scene. Seven more years later, the drugs and alcohol were not fun anymore. Then in the 80s, he just became addicted to cocaine. There was also a time when John joined a spiritual community in New Mexico, which gave him a sheltered life, without drugs and alcohol for eight years. Once he left that path, the drugs and alcohol started to creep back into his life again. John’s divine intervention came in the form of a run-in with the law, where he ended up getting pulled over by cops who found a bag of cocaine inside his car, along with an opened bottle of wine. At that point, he was ready to surrender and got into the 12-step program.In this episode, you will hear: John’s love of music His addiction to cocaine Going deep into his spirituality From being sober to coming back to addiction Living a double life Running in with the law as the start of his surrender process His 12-step journey How music played a role in his recovery A walk through some tracks in his album Key Quotes:[16:55] - "Music has been a very important part of my life, all through these ups and downs."[22:59] - "There's a certain magic about music. It carries a message in a way that can reach people more directly, more powerfully than the spoken word."[24:30] - "All my life I've there have been little pieces that are starting to make sense."[27:49] - "Being grateful and sharing gratitude is a real key to my sobriety."[28:45] - "It doesn't matter what your religion is, there's a way to get better."[30:18] - "The drug is just the beginning, then you get to dig in deep and find out what were the causes and conditions, and what things you can change and how you can change them."Subscribe and ReviewHave you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:Get John’s album on www.hoperoadmusic.com (on a "Pay What You Wish" basis) Book: The 20-20 Creativity Solutionhttps://motherjonesinheaven.com/product/the-20-20-creativity-solution-book-by-john-dillon/Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-addicted-mind-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Did you know that in some states, in two weeks after someone is released from incarceration, they are up to 127 times more likely to die of a drug overdose than the general population? On top of that, over two-thirds of people incarcerated are struggling with substance use disorders. On today’s episode, Duane speaks with Victoria Garrow, co-founding member of The Lookout Project, a nonprofit founded by five college students at the University of Michigan. Victoria explains the reason behind that big overlap between incarcerated people and overdose deaths, as well as their harm reduction approach to addiction treatment and recovery – one overdose response kit at a time.Victoria also shares her own experience with addiction in her family, losing her mother to a drug overdose when she was still 13 years old, and the impact it had on her, eventually turning that experience into founding The Lookout Project. Their hope is that people will be on the lookout for an overdose, especially among incarcerated people once they get out of prison.The antithesis of treatment is isolation. We saw it during the COVID-19 pandemic when many people were dying of overdoses and the rate of addiction was escalating – mainly because they were completely alone. Through these harm reduction approaches, more people can get access to services despite using drugs. This allows for human interaction, kindness, and connection, thereby, taking away some of the stigma surrounding drug use and welcoming people who use drugs into a space that lets them feel they deserve to be alive.In this episode, you will hear: The big overlap between incarcerated people and drug overdose Why people coming out of incarceration are so vulnerable to overdose How Narcan works for emergency treatment Getting funding for The Lookout Project How the project overcame its struggles in the midst of COVID What’s inside an overdose response kit How to spot an overdose The importance of testing fentanyl in drugs The harm reduction approach to addiction treatment Key Quotes:[04:41] - “In the two weeks after someone is released from incarceration, they're up to 127 times more likely to die of a drug overdose than the general population."[08:20] "The reason why people coming out of incarceration are so vulnerable to overdose is that after being incarcerated, drugs are leaving their system. They're forced into detox and through that process, their tolerance is dropping way down."[09:04] "When those opioid receptors in the brain are full, that actually halts breathing. And so, the Narcan is able to push those opioids out of the receptors and allow breathing to return again."[10:14] "Our hope is that people will be on the lookout for an overdose... or when someone is incarcerated, looking out to when they aren't going to be incarcerated anymore and thinking about how they can prevent overdoses for themselves and also people in their lives."[25:07] "Recovery is any positive step towards change and improvement in one's life... it could just be testing your drugs and using clean needles and making sure you have Narcan with you."[26:11] "Having these harm reduction approaches where more people can get access to services despite using drugs allows for human interaction, kindness, and connection.”If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:The Lookout Projecthttps://www.lookoutproject.org/ Email: [email protected] Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A lot of people who come in and seek treatment for addiction are carrying complex trauma from growing up in a narcissistic family structure. And for a lot of people who have grown up in narcissistic families, it can be hard to see the patterns that are there. Everyone has a level of healthy narcissism. We all see things through our lens to some degree. The narcissist, however, has pathological levels of self-involvement and he or she experiences fundamental developmental deficits early on in life.On today’s episode, Duane speaks with Julie Hall, author of “The Narcissist In Your Life: Recognizing the Patterns and Learning to Break Free,” to talk about narcissism. Released in December 2019, the book aims to examine narcissistic personality disorder and how it affects the people close to a narcissist. Julie does an excellent job of breaking it down and pulling the pieces apart so people will have more clarity around this type of disorder.An educational writer, poet, and journalist, Julie comes from a narcissistic family as well. While working on her memoirs, she came to realize that narcissism had been a major theme throughout her life, so she shifted gears and began to write specifically about narcissism. This became part of Julie’s healing process.Julie has a popular blog called The Narcissist Family Files, and you can find the articles that she writes regularly in Psychology Today. She also has articles in The HuffPost and various other places on the internet. In this episode, you will hear: What motivated Julie to write the book The narcissistic family The traits of a narcissist Addiction and narcissism Coming out of the denial mechanism Why you need to be careful when seeking a therapist The importance of educating yourself about narcissistic personality disorder Key Quotes:[03:14] - "There are differences unique to a narcissistic family as opposed to an alcoholic family or an addicted family."[13:23] - “Addiction is a huge part of this whole narcissistic family system... people coming out of families like this are dysregulated themselves, and they are carrying complex trauma."[16:20] - "The first step is coming out of denial, taking a hard look at that origin family and those parents, and being willing to acknowledge the ways in which they hurt us and couldn't love us."[17:26] - "Some have had a series of failures with therapists who didn't understand the realities, narcissistic abuse, trauma, what that looks like and what that feels like."[17:41] - "The narcissistic personality will not take responsibility for their behavior. They will not self-reflect. They will not acknowledge fault or flaw, or any kind of behavior that hurts other people, and they don't have that empathy. They don't care."[20:49] - “The narcissist is really operating with different rules, there's a different playbook. And it's important to recognize that and be aware of that to protect ourselves. It's a grieving process.”[21:29] - "Children who grow up in narcissistic families have the same brain scan as war veterans."If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:Julie’s website and blog: www.narcissistfamilyfiles.com Books Mentioned: The Narcissist In Your Life, Recognizing the Patterns and Learning to Break Free by Julie HallThe Narcissistic Family: Diagnosis and Treatment by Robert M. Pressman and Stephanie Donaldson-PressmanEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Depression sucks and it’s such a hard place to be. On the other hand, addiction used to be framed as this lack of moral character or willpower, and addiction, too, is a very hard place to be. But there's hope.On this episode, Duane speaks with Ben Spielberg, the founder and CEO of TMS & Brain Health clinics. Ben is a specialist in neuroscience, neuromodulation, and neuroimaging. Today, Ben is going to talk about TMS or transcranial magnetic stimulation, and how TMS offers hope to people struggling with addiction and its underlying mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, and ultimately, returning joy and passion back to their lives.Ben started working in the field of mental health in 2010 as a biofeedback technician at a Substance Abuse and Recovery Treatment Center in Los Angeles. Part of his work was doing neurofeedback and he was just fascinated at how it impacted people, becoming more resilient to stressors without involving any medication or intervention. Eventually, Ben got a master's degree in neuroscience at Columbia with the hope to specialize in the overarching field called neuromodulation, which refers to evidence-based, nonpharmaceutical ways to create real changes in the brain.With neurofeedback, all people need to do is to show up. It doesn't really matter what you’re thinking about. Your brain is picking up on the signals regardless. Listen in as Ben sheds some light on how TMS targets and activates specific areas of the brain that help reduce depression, anxiety, and all other underlying issues that lead to addiction.In this episode, you will hear: Ben’s experience in neurofeedback and neuromodulation The concept of neuroplasticity What is TMS and how does it work? Cognitive-behavioral therapy vs. TMS Types of issues TMS can treat The role of ADHD in addiction The history of TMS Key Quotes:[05:54] - "With neurofeedback, all you have to do is show up. It doesn't really matter what you think about. Your brain is picking up on the signals regardless." [09:53] - "There's a part of the brain called the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex... it's the left top side of your head and that area has been shown to be underactive in people with depression."[10:35] - "When people do TMS typically five days a week, week by week, the symptoms of depression start to go away, just as this other part of the brain starts to come back online."[12:55] - "Cognitive behavioral therapy is definitely an evidence-based treatment for depression. But when it's not working, there's nowhere to go unless you're actually creating real changes in the brain."[15:37] - "People with ADHD are much more likely to be addicted than a neurotypical person… as well as way more likely to be incarcerated and a really a number of issues in life."[17:26] - "ADHD is an issue of sustained focus, whereas normally, people have the ability to continue focusing on things when they want to, and they're not necessarily bothered by any external or internal stimulus."[29:41] - "Addiction is really just a symptom of some other underlying mental health diagnosis."If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:TMS & Brain Health Clinicshttps://www.tmsbrainhealth.com/ Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When dealing with addiction, whether you’re addicted to alcohol, drugs, porn, food, or whatever it is, one of the most effective ways to achieve recovery is by going all the way back to your inner child and figuring out what triggers your pain points so you can eventually take mindful action.Author and licensed professional counselor, Eddie Capparucci, who specializes in the treatment of sex and pornography addiction, created the inner child recovery process to help people struggling with addiction. Eddie's father died when he was five and his mother who was left with four children had a nervous breakdown. All kids were then sent out to relatives they didn't even know and they stayed there for a year while she was recovering. Growing up, he found himself very isolated and developed an abandonment issue. With the early pain that he experienced with the loss of his father and his mother leaving him, Eddie was completely alone.As early as 16 years old, Eddie felt he needed to have more than one woman in his life. When he married in his 20s, once again, he found himself looking outside the marriage for companionship and company, even though what he had in his marriage was fine. He was caught cheating and he decided to walk away from his marriage to seek therapy. It was after that when Eddie married his current wife now. He has been happily married for 23 years now and has been faithful the entire time after doing that work.In this episode, Eddie discusses how healing our inner child plays a huge role in the road to addiction, and he specifically, outlines the nine different kinds of the inner child, and how the inner child impacts sexual addiction.In this episode, you will hear: What having a sense of abandonment feels like Bringing your defense mechanisms as a child into the adult world Eddie’s recovery journey How the cycle of addiction works How the inner child recovery process works The nine different kinds of the inner child Being mindful of the triggers The power of slowing down Dealing with high-speed internet pornography Key Quotes:[02:58] - "The road to recovery for our addiction goes to our childhood."[17:25] - "When you start to feel that ugliness within you... that just keeps you in the cycle. You go back to your addiction in order to forget and not feel. And that's the biggest problem." [17:42] - "One of the keys to dealing with sexual pornography addiction, or any addiction, is learning how to sit with that emotional pain, feel it, and understand that it's not going to kill you no matter how uncomfortable it is.”[21:10] - “By recognizing the childhood pain points, we understand the triggers that activate those pain points. And then the next most important thing in this whole process is mindfulness.”[23:54] - "You have to slow everything down... It's the compulsive behaviors that get us in the situation in the first place."[37:23] - "There are a lot of great resources that are out there that you can tap into so that you can make those substantial changes in your life, and that you can finish strong."If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:www.innerchild-sexaddiction.comhttps://abundantlifecounselingga.comConnect with Eddie: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecapparucci LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/capparucci/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edcappa/ Email: [email protected] Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Intimacy is such a key part of healing from trauma and addiction. The more we can be intimate, the more we can heal, and the more we can walk through our suffering. Ultimately, we realize we’re not alone.On today’s episode, Duane speaks with Zoe Kors, a sex and intimacy coach and the author of “Radical Intimacy: Cultivate the Deeply Connected Relationships You Desire and Deserve.” Zoe hosts The Radical Intimacy Podcast, which she launched in conjunction with the book to continue the conversation.As a Zen practitioner, yoga practitioner, and lifelong meditator, Zoe learned how Eastern philosophies and practices lend themselves to alleviating loneliness and disconnection. Especially when the pandemic hit, there’s that whole new level of needing to navigate human connection as well as a new paradigm – and at the foundation of that is the connection with ourselvesWe are taught to invest resources, time, energy, and money into things like financial stability, physical fitness, and health and wellness. But we are also told not to talk about intimacy, sex, or relationships because we're told it just takes care of itself. But that’s not really true. This is the reason Zoe wrote the book having seen how people have this fear and anxiety around intimacy, but also have a real longing to feel deeply connected. Hence, most of her work is right through the Radical Intimacy Matrix, a roadmap to the intersection of the three levels and the three kinds of intimacy thereby creating these nine areas of opportunity to cultivate connection or intimacy. In this episode, you will hear: Why a book about radical intimacy Understanding the human conditioning around sex and intimacy 3 levels of intimacy The Radical Intimacy Matrix Cultivating intimacy and working on all the nine areas of the matrix Accessing self-intimacy through central awareness Stepping into witness consciousness Key Quotes:[05:05] - "When the pandemic hit, that's just a whole new level of needing to navigate human connection and a new paradigm. Ultimately, at the foundation of that is the connection with ourselves."[06:24] - “We can only meet each other to the extent that we can meet ourselves. We can't share a piece of ourselves if we don't know what it is that we're sharing."[09:04] "Physical intimacy is the experience of connection and familiarity with our own physicality as well as that of another's."[08:53] - "Emotional intimacy is the experience of recognizing, articulating, expressing, and accepting the feelings and sentiments and moods of ourselves and others."[09:53] - "Energetic intimacy is the experience of feeling deeply connected to someone or ourselves beyond the utility of speech and touch."[18:49] - "Every time there's a difficult situation… step into witness consciousness. What it means is that you're able to simultaneously be in the experience, but also witness yourself in the experience.”[22:47] - “Cultivating intimacy and working all nine areas of the matrix really fortifies your life and balances you in a way that you can move through relationships skillfully."[29:43] - “We're not taught to sort of work this part of our lives. But we're also not taught to be with ourselves.”If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:https://www.zoekors.com/ Radical Intimacy: Cultivate the Deeply Connected Relationships You Desire and Deservehttps://www.amazon.com/Radical-Intimacy-Cultivate-Connected-Relationships/dp/0306826607 The Radical Intimacy Podcasthttps://open.spotify.com/show/0dwm96DWeTZ8I0wGIztmbO Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s so easy to compare your own trauma with somebody else's trauma but trauma is trauma. You can have no kids and not be married, and put your dog down. And that can be just as traumatic as somebody who went through losing a child. All of our pain is unique to us and it's painful to us no matter what it is. But at the end of the day, we are all left with two roads – one is the road of anger, despair, and hatred and the other is a road of inspiration and motivation – which one are you going to take?On this episode, Duane speaks with Jeff Johnston about his story of loss and grief, losing his eldest son and his wife to addiction, and having to deal with his own recovery from alcoholism. Jeff was a functional alcoholic who has been drinking since he was in eighth grade. He was also a compulsive gambler for 15 years. But his pivot point in his life came in October 2016 when his 23-year-old son, Seth died from fentanyl poisoning and heroin overdose.Jeff initially drank his way to cope with the pain. Then in December 2017, as an alcoholic since eighth grade, he just woke up and realized he was tired of being tired. Although we always have two choices, there was only one choice for him because the bitter road was never an option for him. In June 2021, his wife died of alcohol abuse at the age of 46. Jeff took the deaths in his family as the beginning of something beautiful. For Jeff, things didn’t happen to him, but things had to happen for him. With this kind of mindset, he is committed to living a life undeterred. He made a choice to turn his pain and suffering into something transformative, not only for him but also for other people. And out of that came his Living Undeterred project, where he tours around the United States, working to change the narrative on mental health, substance abuse, and addiction. In this episode, you will hear: Jeff’s story of losing his 23-year-old son The two roads you can go down Do things happen to you or for you? Pain is unavoidable, suffering is a choice Jeff’s coping mechanisms Keeping yourself from being addicted to your vulnerability Reframing your situation Ending the stigma of addiction About Living Undeterred The opposite of addiction The quiver of arrows metaphor in life Key Quotes:[08:43] - “Death presented an opportunity for me to be a better man, not a bitter man.”[10:20] - "We have one road of anger, despair, and hatred, and we become alcoholics ourselves. Or we have a road of inspiration and motivation, and this can be the single greatest moment in our lives to make our own lives better and those around us."[11:40] - "As an alcoholic since eighth grade, I just woke up and said, I'm tired of being tired."[13:21] - “Do things happen to you or do things happen for you?”[15:20] - "Pain is unavoidable, but suffering is a choice."[23:00] - “A death of somebody doesn't have to be the end of you. It can be the beginning of something beautiful."[27:59] - “The opposite of addiction is connection.”[31:06] - "We all have a "why" and you just have to find it. And then when you find it, your way gets revealed right in front of you." If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:Living Undeterredhttps://www.livingundeterred.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmGZTTnszWNlkG0sIGcp-YQ This One's For You: An Inspirational Journey Through Addiction, Death, and Meaninghttps://www.thisonesforyoubook.com/ Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today’s episode, Duane speaks with Etel Leit, who talks about her own story of living with addiction – not her own addiction, but in her relationship – and how addiction doesn't just impact the person struggling with addiction, but also everyone around that person. Addiction is not a one-person thing, but it's something that flows all over. It impacts the family, friends, bosses, and the people around them. Most often, too, addiction is looked at as a family disease. There’s this idea of trying to change the addicted person and becoming obsessed with it, that they eventually lose their identity along the way and it brings about feelings of shame and embarrassment. Therefore, part of the healing is not only looking into what goes into an addicted person’s mind, but also acknowledging what’s also going on in the mind of the person living next to the addict so then both parties can go through the healing journey together. If you’re somebody living with a person struggling with addiction, tune in to learn some tools you can use to heal yourself in the process. Etel also shares her healing journey, going through it and coming out the other side of that, and now working to help others going through the same. Etel’s book, “UnAddicted to You: Loving Yourself Through the Darkness” is a great read that offers some tools a person living next to an addicted person can use so they can find their spark within them once again.In this episode, you will hear: How relationship problems go all the way back since we were babies What goes on in the mind of a person living with an addicted person Putting a stop to people-pleasing Creating boundaries as a form of self-love Putting down the magnifying the glass and picking up the mirror The 3 C’s of a person living with an addicted person The first step is acknowledgement Key Quotes:"Addiction is not a one-person thing. It's something that flows all over – the family, friends, bosses."“The idea of going and trying to change the other person is something that is really embedded in people who are living next to the addict.”“A person who lives either with an active addict or active alcoholic, they even don't know what their hobbies are. Their hobby is the person.”“People-pleasing is lying– not only do I lie to the other person, but deeply, I lie to myself.”“Mean what you say, say what you mean, but don’t say it mean.” “When you see someone that isn't next to alcoholic or addict, they don't have the spark, they're in the dark.”“Put down the magnifying glass and pick up the mirror... stop judging others, look at yourself.”Subscribe and ReviewHave you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:www.etelleit.com (Promo code: THEADDICTMIND)UnAddicted to You: Loving Yourself Through the Darknesshttps://www.amazon.com/UnAddicted-You-Yourself-Through-Darkness/dp/0578871874 Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-addicted-mind-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There’s a rising popularity in the field of psychedelics as it relates to addiction treatment and healing trauma. But aren’t psychedelics addictive? On today’s episode, Duane speaks with Ronan Levy, co-founder of Field Trip Health, a company with a mission to heal the sick and better the well through psychedelics and psychedelic-assisted therapies. Ronan explains the role of psychedelics in healing trauma and addiction treatment and recovery.A trained lawyer by profession, Ronan hopped into the entrepreneurial world over 10 years ago and got an opportunity to start a business in the medical cannabis industry in Canada. Eventually, he discovered the role of psychedelics and since then, he has been committed to using this platform that opens up conversations to a whole new audience so he could reach more people in the hope that we can shift the conversation around mental health from a reactive place into something we do proactively. Ronan initially thought that if he could get people thinking about their mental health like their physical health and becoming proactive in developing emotional awareness and emotional resilience, then we would all be doing justice to the world and our healthcare systems. That’s when he started exploring psychedelic therapies and their potential to build a business around them. But more importantly, it’s not just the physical effects of psychedelics that drew him to this space, but how psychedelics play a significant role in raising the consciousness of humanity on a global scale. In this episode, you will hear: Psychedelics and healing trauma What are psychedelics? The risk of taking psychedelics The impact of psilocybin-assisted therapies What’s going on in the brain during a psychedelic experience The cross country ski track analogy Other benefits of psychedelic-assisted therapies What a psychedelic experience feels like Key Quotes:[07:02] - "If we could get people thinking about their mental health like their physical health, and being proactive and developing emotional awareness... we would be doing such a justice to the world." [08:08] - “It's about the conscious evolution of consciousness – how do we elevate humanity in a way that we can deal with the challenges that we face as a species and as a planet?”[08:28] - “Trying to use old techniques to address new problems is not going to work.”[10:19] - “It's virtually impossible to overdose on psychedelics. And when done in a proper therapeutic environment with medical professionals or psychotherapeutic professionals, the risk of the so-called bad trip or going crazy is virtually negligible.”[12:14] - "These are not just medicines, they actually change people and help them see the world from a different lens."[13:07] - “Psychedelics, particularly ketamine is such a powerful medicine for acute suicidal ideation… you have these layers of effect going on that are not only changing the emotional resonance of what's going on, but they're also actually changing the physical operation of your brain in a healthy and productive way.”[19:34] - "Through psychedelics and some of my personal experiences with psychedelics, I can start to see myself as being worthy of love and as being a successful human being even if I don't have a successful business."If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:Field Trip HealthTwitter: @RonanDLevyInstagram: @RonanDLevyEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today's episode, Duane speaks with Caroline Beidler who shares her story and talks specifically about building resiliency and recovery, the importance of resiliency, especially when it relates to overcoming trauma, and how she discovered that process in her own life. Caroline also shares a few things that you can do in your life immediately to help build resilience.Caroline's mental health recovery and addiction recovery were intertwined. She knew that if she wanted to thrive in her recovery, she had to heal her trauma and build resilience. Then a couple of years later, she decided to go back to school to become a social worker and help others who also seek recovery.Caroline lived with undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder for over 20 years. Caroline recalls experiencing panic attacks, anxiety, and depression triggered by her experiences of being in a room full of men. She struggled more with disordered eating and was in very unhealthy and emotionally abusive relationships. After finally seeking a mental health therapist, Caroline realized that so much of what was happening in her life was because of untreated trauma symptoms. As she discovered more practical tools to help her mental health and trauma resilience, her life and her world changed. With her healing transformed, she reached the next level in recovery and founded Bright Story Shine, a storytelling platform created to share and celebrate stories of recovery and resilience without judgment and shame. By bringing these stories out into the open, our pain can be witnessed and we can also witness other people's pain. There is something in that process that allows us to move forward and shift that story.In this episode, you will hear: Caroline’s story of recovery What resilience means Developing safe coping skills to promote resilience The role of storytelling in healing Skills that you can build in recovery Some characteristics of resilient people Key Quotes:[03:26] - "It's so much more recovery and healing than just putting the substances down."[07:28] - “We can choose healing. We can make a decision to turn another way, take another path, and go another route.”[09:29] - "Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress."[13:04] - “Research that shows storytelling, or telling our recovery and mental health stories actually promote healing in the brain.”[14:27] - “Over 80% of women in addiction recovery have experienced some type of trauma, most often sexual violence.”[15:09] - "We have the ability to shift our stories... in the next level of recovery, if we embrace our trauma healing and building resilience, we can really move forward into new levels of freedom."[16:57] - "Some of our unhealthy patterns in recovery are really closely linked with some of the trauma that we experienced early on in our life."Subscribe and ReviewHave you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:Bright Story ShineSeeking SafetyEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-addicted-mind-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane speaks with Justin Larson, the director of health systems for Thrive Peer Recovery, as he shares his story about his alcoholism and recovery.Justin was diagnosed with depression at the young age of eight. He was feeling fearful and anxious all the time until that time he picked up a drink and it just made all of those go away. At that moment, he fell in love with alcohol. Soon, it became his best friend that later controlled his life. Drinking became his number one coping mechanism. For him, it was the missing link to life, having found the one thing that enabled him to cope with life. From about the age of 15 to 32, what started out as this magic elixir that gave him the courage and made him feel whole, slowly turned into a necessity that he couldn’t go without. Alcohol slowly turned down on him.It reached a point in Justin’s life where he ran out of options for dealing with all his pain. He found himself in such a dark place that the only thing he could do was attempt suicide. Fortunately, Justin decided to seek treatment. Justin saw the value of peer recovery support because it assured him that he was not alone. Having gone through hell and clawed his way out of it, he wanted to pay it forward by helping others, who are going through the same path, claw their way out of the deep pit, too.In this episode, you will hear: Being diagnosed with depression at age 8 The decision to seek treatment The importance of peer recovery support What makes being with a peer unique The difference between a peer supporter and a counselor or therapist The role of a peer supporter Key Quotes:[09:37] - "That's a dangerous place to be in when I will do anything possible to get that next drink."[11:13] - “The alcohol was my best friend since I picked it up at a young age.”[21:51] - "I went through hell and clawed my way out of it. And I want to be able to lend my hand to others to help them get out of that, too."[23:47] "It's a very organic conversation that comes up between a peer and a peer recovery supporter. It's that identification piece that the peer can relate to the peer recovery supporter.”[28:12] - “It's part of that clinical team. But it's a non-clinical role that sometimes fills the void."[31:37] - "There's no greater high than helping others."[32:06] - “Hold on, it gets better. I know what you're going through. I've been there myself. It seems like there's no options, and there's no way out."[32:28] - "Please accept the help. Please be willing to make a change. I know it's scary. It was for me. But it's so worth it."Subscribe and ReviewHave you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:Thrive Peer SupportEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-addicted-mind-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Anxiety and worry are things we all can struggle with at times and the core of those feelings is fear. But at some point, we have to realize we have our own loving power that’s bigger than our fear. And we need to claim that to free ourselves from the bondage of pain and lack of self-worth. The body sometimes knows how much you can handle – and if you're open enough, it'll give you what you need to keep growing.On this episode, Duane talks to Gigi Langer about her award-winning book “50 Ways to Worry Less Now.” She takes us through her own recovery story, how worry and fear were a major part of it, and how she learned to overcome it and create the life that she loves and thrives in. Growing up in a family with an alcoholic in the family, Gigi chose to be the "good girl." At 40, she was completing her Ph.D. at Stanford and was under a lot of stress and pressure. She had a lot of crash and burn relationships and had divorced twice by the time she was in her doctoral program. She discovered marijuana, which somehow softened the blow of all her disappointments from all the tension and failed relationships. She thought her achievements and romance were going to take care of her feelings, but those didn't work obviously.Gigi practically lived a double life, being the good girl as the assistant professor at Stanford, and also living a life of promiscuity and in the early stages of alcoholism. She then proved to herself over the next six months that she could not predict what behavior she would display even if she only had one drink.Eventually, her third husband went to an Al-Anon meeting and Gigi went to AA. She stuck with the program and therapy. She got divorced after a year of all the therapy, this time, in a responsible way. The following year, she met her husband whom she has been married to for over 30 years now – happy and fulfilled.In this episode, you will hear: Gigi’s addiction and recovery journey The healing of the old patterns The whispered lies we tell ourselves Claiming your true self or loving power, bigger than your own fear Her desire to write a book The unconditional positive regard The biggest worry-buster and anxiety-buster technique Connecting with your authentic self Key Quotes:[11:57] - "The true self or loving power... we have to be honest and we have to claim some kind of power bigger than our own fear.”[13:37] - "I was afraid that if I ripped the band-aid off and started getting honest, all the feelings would come out and just completely destroy me. And that was not my experience. It still felt scary when those things came up. But I could handle them."[18:57] - "We think what our minds are producing is real and that our feelings are 100% real… but it is a story that our minds have made up based on our past."[19:33] - “The lies that we tell ourselves have nothing to do with who we are at base.”[25:41] - "Most of the things that are advertised and glorified are things that numb us away from our true selves… if we're numbing our feelings out with any habitual behavior, our chance of becoming happy is almost nil because we won't be able to get honest and own what's going on with us."[28:26] - "Scary things scare us. That's never going to stop. It's what happens once I notice I'm scared... Call someone, reach out for help, pray, meditate, and use some of the tools. Enter the process of working with it."If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:www.gigilanger.com50 Ways to Worry Less Now by Gigi LangerA Return to Love by Marianne WilliamsonEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're in the worst phase of human history where people are so stressed out, so afraid of judgment, and tentative as it relates to saying anything these days because of this “cancel culture” society. We have lost an enormous amount of substance and the ability to effectively communicate our thoughts and emotions verbally, vocally, and physically because we’re afraid of the ramifications. But if we can just get back to our basics and start talking to each other as humans, we're going to be in a much better situation. On today's episode, Duane speaks with keynote speaker and performance coach Brett Lavender about language communication and being the master of our own mind. Brett is the Founder and CEO of Persuasive Lion, a speaking, training, and coaching practice based on The Lost Languages program that teaches people valuable techniques of persuasive verbal & non-verbal communication to help people lead better and exceed their personal and professional goals.Brett’s father was killed right after his 6th birthday, and at 19, his mother died of liver cancer. He ended up in a very precarious situation with the couple who took him under their care and wasted all the money his mom had left him. At 21, Brett ended up 100% on his own. Soon after, he started studying humans, and how they would react to his behaviors. Over decades of self-education, Brett trained hundreds of speakers and communicators. And then it dawned on him how he could also use this to train civilians, who are not speakers, performers, or professionals, but just real humans, who need a better grasp on how to communicate with their boss, their employees, their co-workers, or their family. As he went through this process, he became very aware that we, as humans, are lost in terms of communication, thus, the concept of the lost languages. In this episode, you will hear: The difference between persuasion and manipulation How humans are forced to communicate with one another The concept of the lost languages The three quadrants of the human brain The value of speaking from an upturn to a downturn Why nonverbal is more important than verbal Self-talk is the most important of the lost languages How we have lost an enormous amount of substance Key Quotes:[02:01] - “There's a very fine line between persuasion and manipulation. They're very closely related behaviors. However, the intention is different.”[04:55] - “The only interaction that different species of life have in the natural world is to kill or be killed. Yet we're living in a very unnatural melting pot of all different species of human, forced to communicate with one another.”[17:06] - “Somewhere in our evolution, we have consistently lost the ability to communicate effectively interpersonally. It's getting worse and worse and worse and it's a downward spiral.”[27:54] - ​​"Nonverbal is way more important than verbal… Communication is not an easy thing, especially if you're uncomfortable."[31:41] - "How we train ourselves to react to situations is going to effectively create a different reaction from our audience."[33:42] "This is something that people who are struggling with addiction suffer from – not being able to expose themselves and communicate authentically and be real."[37:44] - "It's not about how you feel. It's about how you feel, about how you feel."[49:40] - "The most valuable conversations that we will ever have with anyone in our lives are the conversations that we have with ourselves."Supporting Resources:https://www.thepersuasivelion.com/ Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today’s episode, Duane speaks with Shahjehan Khan, a voiceover artist, actor, and musician based in Boston. He is the host of the King of the World podcast, which explores his life as a Pakistani American Muslim in the post-9/11 era, 20 years later. Shahjehan shares how he weaved his struggle with addiction to cannabis, how all of that came together for him, and how he got into recovery. Son of Pakistani American immigrants, Shahjehan grew up as an average American young person in the suburbs of Massachusetts. When 9/11 happened, he remembers being a senior in high school, sitting in a calculus class. At that time, he was already a struggling teenager, which also marked the beginnings of heavy substance use. By the time he got to college, he dropped out after a year, came home, and had his first suicide attempt. He was then introduced to AA, but it really didn’t resonate with him. He had a relapse a year after he joined a band. Until he realized he had to make that change. Now eleven years sober, Shahjehan found therapy to be the one thing that has helped him through his recovery journey. During the pandemic, he also found a community of recovering folks he could relate with.It also made him realize it was okay to be a multifaceted person. At the time, he felt like there were a bunch of little pieces that never felt like a cohesive whole. When he was first approached to tell his story, he didn't want to tell another 9/11-centered Muslim story because he was sick of it. Then he realized he could frame it in a coming-of-age way, being able to show the parallels of his own personal struggles with what was happening in his outer world post 9/11.The King of the World podcast is shining light on the American Muslim experience. And seeing the impact it had on him and the people he interviewed is also important for us to understand and grow as a society. In this episode, you will hear: Shahjehan’s addiction and recovery journey His experience the next day after 9/11 The moment he decided he needed change Experiencing a relapse being in a band Finding the right method of recovery for yourself Why he stopped attending meetings and focused on therapy The impact of the King of the World podcast on other people His recovery process Key Quotes:[11:28] - "Doing the podcast in itself was an act of realizing that it's okay to be this multifaceted person... there were all these little pieces that never felt like a cohesive whole."[11:40] - "A lot of people in early recovery feel like fragmented people.. it's that process of that exploration."[14:43] - "9/11 made it so that we would always be responsible for something we never did." [21:09] - "We're starting to finally become a voice for people in a way but it's this complicated thing where I myself inside, I'm sort of using that as a crutch almost."[26:43] - "It's not that it just happened overnight. It is a continuous process for sure."[27:30] - "You're so used to being that 'other' in the room that you almost welcome it in a way."[43:12] - “You should always be redefining success for yourself.”[48:18] - "Find one person that you can be brutally honest with... and that can hear you out. And that's where the healing can start."If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:King of the World PodcastImmigrantly Podcastwww.shahjehankhan.com Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The stigma of addiction is so bad that people who are struggling with it choose to hide it. However, addiction is not the real problem, but rather the symptom of all these underlying hurts, pains, and suffering. Today’s episode is a replay of an interview with David Poses, who recently passed away, in honor of his life and legacy. A writer, speaker, and activist, David was a tireless advocate for all who struggled with mental health or addiction issues. David is the author of The Weight of Air: A Story About the Lies of Addiction and the Truth of Recovery. David struggled with addiction, which he chose to hide for a long time. After trying to find a treatment that worked for him, he soon discovered buprenorphine, an opioid used to treat opioid-use disorders, which also saved his life from heroin. David also realized that being sober only means abstaining from whatever it is you’re addicted to, while recovery happens only when you’ve healed the wounds that led you to addiction in the first place.That being said, there are different ways to treat addiction, and so, ultimately, you have to find one that works for you. In this episode, you will hear: Resorting to heroin due to depression but it was also heroin that caused his depression Why AA wasn’t the right solution for him Finding the treatment and recovery method that works for us How opioids affect the brain Two medications that have been proven to dramatically reduce your risk of death, relapse, and overdose How buprenorphine saved David’s life Achieving recovery through healing the wounds that led you to addiction The stigma of addiction Key Quotes:[13:58] - "For every kind of vice or addiction, your neurotransmitters rewire, and they seek out the next hit. There’s the idea that sobriety gets easier with time and your brain heals in time and things go back to normal... But there have been a lot of studies about opioids that show that it doesn't necessarily go back."[21:12] - "There are two medications that are proven to dramatically reduce your risk of death, relapse, and overdose: methadone and buprenorphine. All other forms of treatment or medications do not, and many others actually do the exact opposite."[21:31] - “Any kind of abstinence-based treatment, whether it's forced or voluntary, increases your risk of overdose because you come out of it, you have no tolerance, and that's when people die.”[23:10] - "Addiction has been so siloed off away from medicine for so long. Even with doctors, I tell the doctor the history and they assume I'm in there looking for drugs."[35:03] - "If sobriety is I'm not taking drugs anymore or abstinence. Recovery is healing the wounds that led you to drugs in the first place."[39:09] - "The stigma of addiction is so bad that I was seriously contemplating suicide."[41:02] - "Addiction is not the problem. Addiction is definitely a problem but drugs are a form of self-medication."[47:12] - "With any physical or psychological thing, we identify the source of pain, and we treat it so you can heal. With addiction, we explicitly tell you to ignore the source of pain because it's an excuse."If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:GoFundMe campaign to support David Poses’ familyhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/we-love-you-david-posesand-love-your-family The Weight of Air: A Story About the Lies of Addiction and the Truth of Recoveryhttps://davidposes.com/the-weight-of-air Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A lot of people are oblivious to recurring issues they encounter in life when those are actually the result of some unresolved childhood trauma manifesting in different ways. Whether it’s addiction, alcoholism, a toxic romantic relationship, a dysfunctional family, people-pleasing, impulsiveness, or you’re struggling with saying no – all these can be telltale signs of an inner wound that needs to be healed.In this episode, Duane speaks with Andrea Ashley, host of The Adult Child Podcast, about her own journey of recovery and how she went deeper in recovery when she started to deal with her adult child issues. Andrea shares what it took her to finally find some deeper healing purpose and meaning in her life.Andrea grew up in an alcoholic home and was the only child of an alcoholic mom and alcoholic dad. She turned to drugs and alcohol at 12 and became the focus of the family for the next seven years. She got sent to rehab for the first time in eighth grade. For seven years, she was in and out of rehabs and boarding schools. It did work in saving her family because her mom stopped drinking as much and her parents stopped fighting as much since they had to come together to deal with the nightmare that she was. At 19, Andrea got sober. But that was only the beginning of yet another journey through a deeper recovery of healing her adult child. Seven years sober, she found herself in a toxic relationship. Dating for less than a month and she reacted as if her life was over. She became a non-functioning human. But she had an aha moment realizing that her feeling wasn’t actually connected to the heartbreak but it was rooted in her childhood. Nine years sober, she found herself again in another toxic relationship that was associated with feelings of shame and powerlessness. When that relationship ended, she knew she had to treat it just as seriously as her alcoholism. It has been four years and the transformation has been mind-blowing. Her journey to healing her unresolved childhood pain led Andrea to launch the Adult Child Podcast, which now impacts thousands of people who are also dealing with their own adult children.In this episode, you will hear: The concept of the adult child Her journey recovering from toxic relationships Andrea’s childhood memories of having alcoholic parents The manifestations of complex trauma Addiction to excitement Finding a therapist that can help you Healing the little “t” trauma Embracing the pain Key Quotes:[18:17] - "As soon as I decided I like the guy, my peace of mind would just be hijacked in a second… and I had no idea that I was suffering from complex trauma."[20:49] - "Complex trauma doesn't have to be like big events, but recurring incidents. It doesn't even have to be big, but just a parent being hypercritical of you over and over."[24:16] - "Our template for relationship and love is developed during childhood."[24:37] - "One of the characteristics of an adult child is that we become addicted to excitement."[29:04] - “The core wound is all of this faulty programming that occurred during childhood.”[39:30] - “We don't grow unless we're in pain... I can get sober and never feel pain again. But it's not really presenting very many opportunities for growth."[41:46] - "There's nothing shameful or embarrassing about growing up in a dysfunctional family. Change is possible and you don't have to do it alone."If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:The Adult Child PodcastAdult Children of Alcoholics/Dysfunctional FamiliesThe Addictions Institute with Stephanie BrownThe ACA laundry list - the 14 common characteristics of an adult childEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today’s episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane speaks with Constance Scharff, co-author of Rock to Recovery: Music as a Catalyst for Human Transformation, and author of the award-winning poetry book, Meeting God at Midnight. They talk about other things you can do in your life to bring about recovery and create a meaningful, joyful life, specifically, through using music, meditation, and breathing to help heal from addiction and trauma. Constance has a Ph.D. in transformative studies where she studies the nature of change and how the change occurs in an individual. Having been sober for more than 23 years now, Constance saw how people coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan weren't getting sober and a lot of them were killing themselves. At that time, Constance was suicidally sober. And so, she thought there has to be a better treatment. She then changed the direction of her graduate studies and devoted her life to finding a better treatment – and there is! Constance went through a very significant early childhood trauma and she used alcohol to dampen the trauma symptoms and make her feel better. She drank until she felt nothing. In sobriety, when she wasn't pouring alcohol on those feelings, and at a time when there wasn't any good trauma treatment, she was just plagued with trauma symptoms. She figured that the reason some people end up killing themselves was that sobriety doesn't feel good and there were no options. The treatment they were getting didn’t solve the problem. She soon realized that trauma is stored in the body, but once she was able to feel those feelings and release them, they longer had any hold over her.In this episode, you will hear: The goal of recovery The misunderstanding around addiction The role of trauma in addiction What are complementary therapies? Examples of complementary therapies Understanding the neurological component The role of epigenetics in addiction Key Quotes:[03:25] "We get sober not to just get through life, but to really enjoy our lives and connect with other people and be part of our communities. The goal of recovery is connection."[05:51] "We assume that... if I remove alcohol, and alcohol is the problem, then I should get better... but they don't get better, they get worse."[08:46] "I really understood why the veterans would kill themselves because sobriety doesn't feel good and there are no other options. The treatment that you're getting doesn't solve the problem."[10:37] “Complementary therapies are about teaching us life skills that will serve us in our mental health and our recovery.”[13:23] “You don't have to be good to write music, play music, sing, write poetry, journal, craft, or act because the brain doesn't know the difference between skilled and unskilled. It only knows that you do it.”[19:44] "There are facts that are true... but how I relate to those facts is what makes all the difference."[32:29] “Trauma is stored in the body and when I can feel those feelings and release them, they no longer have a hold over me.”[43:27] “Each thing affects the mind and body in a different way. And so you want to keep poking the brain so that you don't over-focus because addiction is about obsession.”If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:www.constancescharff.comRock to Recovery: Music as a Catalyst for Human TransformationMeeting God at MidnightInstagram: @constancescharffEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane speaks with Tricia Parido, an international master addictions coach and a recovery lifestyle enthusiast. Passionate about helping people attain sober lifestyles so they can live free and fulfilled, Tricia established the Turning Leaves Recovery Life and Wellness Coaching. Tricia has a 30-year story of addictions, negative attachments, and habits holding her hostage in life, and she also has a 25-year recovery journey because not everything was ready to recover at the same time. The last bit of her journey was getting rid of the alcohol and the benzodiazepines that really took her out.Tricia started drinking at 12 and as she got older, she became an open daily drinker. She worked hard to be a high-functioning alcoholic so she could keep her daily drinking. In her early 30s, Tricia developed a generalized anxiety disorder. The doctor prescribed Xanax for her anxiety and it worked. But there's that feedback loop in taking things like Xanax where you initially feel good immediately and then there’s that kickback effect that intensifies things and your anxiety gets worse. Sadly, that becomes so difficult to handle when you don’t have the skills to deal with it.At 43, Tricia found herself stuck in psychological addictions, dealing with eating disorders, people-pleasing, shopping addiction, and codependence. Being the control freak she is, she no longer had any control. Driven by curiosity about why those things were happening to her at that age, she decided to seek help.For the most part, education was a big part of her recovery. She got her psychology degree and went into an intensive coaching program accredited for addiction. She studied all things that were behavioral and chemical addiction in nature. Eventually, Tricia found coaching as a modality that fit her personality.In this episode, you will hear: Tricia’s addiction and recovery journey Finding a modality that fits your personality Creating and nurturing emotional intelligence The locus of control theory How a recovery lifestyle works The power of changing your perspective Manifestation through action What stops people from putting their skills into practical application Understanding post-acute withdrawal The role of nutrition in your recovery Key Quotes:[06:24] - “We weren't taught emotional intelligence. We weren't taught impulse control, distress, tolerance, and emotion regulation.”[10:44] - "Anybody that's aspiring to be a practitioner, find the modality that speaks your language because you're going to help more people."[13:48] - “The substance isn't really the problem. Sure, it exacerbates them. But there's a reason it came about, to begin with. And it's different for everybody.”[14:46] - “The alcohol, the marijuana, whatever it is, it's an external locus of control. You are relying on something outside of yourself to bring you peace, joy, comfort, relief, value, validity, and worthiness.”[20:57] - “We have to learn how to live for ourselves first without feeling guilty, selfish, punished or restricted.”[23:19] - “​​If you don't like the way you're perceiving your life, it's up to you to change your perception.”[26:39] - “​​Manifestation is an action word – it requires you to do something. You must get up off your couch to manifest anything.”If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:https://www.triciaparido.comhttps://www.turningleavesrecovery.comEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane speaks with Serge Prengel, the author of The Proactive Twelve Steps for Mindful Recovery. They dive deep into the process of change and this concept of the virtuous cycle that creates a positive feedback loop in our lives so we can make the strategic change and create a meaningful life that feels good and is purposeful. Serge is a therapist who's big on experiential or somatic psychotherapy. He believes that everybody is very different and every situation is very different. Serge talks about how you can be proactive in your approach, and over time, gradually step out of feeling stuck and powerless so you can enjoy a balanced and happy life. Serge has had a long-term dialogue with the 12 Steps for the past 30 years, which he discovered through friends who were in recovery. He always admired the power of the 12-step culture, the idea of having a common path, and the community it has created. He admires the system where people can have peer support and they can pull themselves together out of something that would feel like a morass.That being said, Serge also had a problem with the 12 Step’s concept of reliance on divine intervention or higher power. However, at the same time, he sees that something is working. This led him to a path of going deeper into the dialogue around the 12-Step to get a better understanding of what works. Then he would be able to translate it so other people can understand it better and be able to follow the path more effectively.In this episode, you will hear: A more generalized concept of healing His definition of trauma Building the tools through practice The importance of group work The inner power instead of the higher power How the felt sense experience functions as a guide The virtuous cycle of trauma healing The power of the mindful pause How the change starts to manifest itself Key Quotes:[09:55] - “It's impossible to be a human being, without having had some situations and some experiences, which are beyond their capacity to digest at the time.”[11:27] - “In the moment of being confronted with trauma as an individual, you're exactly in the position where you're disempowered, where you are with the least access to your capacities. And so it takes practical tools to actually overcome these kinds of moments.”[12:08] - “We're different people when different parts of the nervous system are in gear. And so, you cannot build the tools when you're activated."[18:24] - “The inner experience of being saved by God is an inner experience that actually can be also experienced by people who don't believe in God, and that's progressively connecting to that sense of higher power.”[24:31] - “Being more connected to ourselves is the healing, and the healing enables us to be more connected to ourselves. This is how we hit that virtuous cycle. And then the vicious cycle is that progressive cycle of disconnection.”[25:34] - "When you're in the midst of trauma, you cannot have access to that simplicity. What feels obvious when you're out of it does not feel obvious when you're in it."[27:17] - "That mindful pause becomes the DNA of the process because it's something that moment by moment helps you orient but is also something that helps you stay and be progressively more able to accept."[32:59] - "Look for kindred spirits who are willing to engage in a process of healing together."If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:The Proactive Twelve Steps for Mindful RecoveryEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today’s episode, Duane speaks with author Benjamin Boyce about his addiction story and how the war on drugs impacted his ability to better his life and live a meaningful life. The discussion dives deep into the war on drugs, how it can exacerbate the problems of addiction, and its impact on our society as a whole. Benjamin is the author of Dr. Junkie: One Man's Story of Addiction and Crime That Will Challenge Everything You Know About the War on Drugs and the host of The Dr. Junkie Show.Benjamin was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (now part of the autism spectrum). Studies in the last 5-10 years have shown that people with Asperger's or on the autism spectrum that use marijuana or other cannabis products show reduced social anxiety. However, he realized that criminality showed up right behind it because he had to hide the marijuana and not tell people about it. For him, becoming the bad guy was just self-fulfilling. Like most of us, Benjamin grew up misinformed about drugs. It was misinformation that exploded into a lifestyle of crime and punishment. Benjamin was told he was a criminal so once he ran out of money, it was easy to start stealing stuff. He ended up shooting mainline injecting heroin and cocaine for four or five years. Then this “war on drugs” that has put him in the system just made things worse. He went to prison in 2004 and spent some time in the largest walled prison on earth. Once out of prison, he found a loophole in the system’s full-time employment requirement by going to college. So he got a Bachelor's and a Master's and then he worked through getting his Ph.D. Benjamin is now teaching at Denver University and the University of Colorado. The latter has a recent program where they now teach degree classes to people in prison.The zero-tolerance that the system has put in place is an antithesis of the help people need. When really, the goal is to get people in life, not just in a consistent loop of use.In this episode, you will hear: Benjamin’s addiction and recovery journey The roots of the war on drugs Survival mode vs. healing mode How we can become role models to our kids Having a strong support network Defining your own recovery Key Quotes:[07:14] - "Lots of studies nowadays, in the last 5-10 years, have shown that people with Asperger's or on the autism spectrum that use marijuana or other cannabis products show reduced social anxiety."[11:11] - “It increases the likelihood of overdose when somebody gets out because you're taking them at a moment of trauma, doubling that trauma, putting them in a hole and making sure they know the people around you don't care."[13:38] - “We’ve built the war on drugs to make sure a victory looks like making sure the price of street drugs goes up tomorrow.”[18:05] - "There's a way to do this that leans into our humanity. But I think we've also got to keep it in the confines and the framework of what our culture demands."[20:51] - "Why are we spending all of this effort and energy fighting a 100-year old war that is largely against our own citizens who could all be, instead of costing us money, paying taxes, running businesses, and having productive lives?"[21:41] - “There are other ways to achieve those same states that we use drugs to get to. You get preoccupied chasing the drug when you're in an addiction loop. But if you can put that aside for a day or a week or a month or a year, the wound starts to heal.”If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:Dr. Junkie: One Man's Story of Addiction and Crime That Will Challenge Everything You Know About the War on DrugsThe Dr. Junkie ShowEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today’s episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane talks with Paul Schulte, the author of We Agnostics: How William James, Father of American Psychology, Advanced A Spiritual Solution to Addiction: How a Venerated Harvard Doctor Inspired the 12 Step Movement. Paul is going to talk about Williams James's philosophy, what he brought to addiction treatment and addiction care, and how his work strongly influenced the work of Bill Wilson, founder of the 12-step program, Alcoholics Anonymous.He talks about how William James was able to articulate the theme he saw in human change – something that has been talked about in religious circles and spirituality for over 3,000 years. It’s the theme of a person who is lost, feels broken, and ultimately is able to find serenity and calmness. With a degree in drug and alcohol addiction counseling, Paul did an internship at the UCLA School of Medicine. There, he was drawn into what was going on with the different types of treatment and the influences of the 12-step movement. He came across William James’ Book, The Varieties of Religious Experience, which has had a tremendous influence on American life. Paul very much resonated with William’s experiences, how he had developed all of his ideas about the unconscious, and where these urges to suddenly stop what seems like a chronic behavior comes from in humans.William questions what causes these transformations in humans. Way before Freud developed his idea of the subconscious, William was one of the early pioneers of the subconscious and the desire to move towards a new form of regeneration of the human spirit coming from the subconscious.In this episode, you will hear: How Paul resonated with William James The universality of the human condition The 3 marks of the soul-sick The two-fold mark of a spiritual experience Why William James says we are all agnostic How Bill W. adopted the idea of William James Beautiful analogies in William’s book that describes the human experience and its similarities to the 12-step movement Dealing with chaotic emotions and purging fear Not excusing the behavior but forgiving it The sense of regeneration Key Quotes:[06:19] - “William James was on to something about the obsession of the mind. But certainly, the spiritual element of trying to get cleaned up. That was a very big quantum leap in the understanding of addiction.”[10:09] - “I had this thing in me, this weird soul-sickness in the way before I picked up my first drink."[14:20] - “That feeling of self-loathing, and alienation and fear, which are basically the three marks of that soul sick.”[14:39] - “The mark of a spiritual experience is twofold. One, life gets bigger. And number two, we feel like we belong and that there's a union with other people.”[23:26] - “We're not falling apart, when we think we're falling apart, we're actually falling together.”[27:05] - “It's from this sense of destitution, that we rebuild ourselves, and when all the shams and all the lies of dishonesty are peeled away."[30:50] - "We don't go around excusing behavior. We forgive the behavior."[33:57] - “The fundamental point of helping others is self-forgetfulness, and the more that we engage in self-forgetfulness, the better off we are going to be because we get away from that oppressive ego, which wants to reassert itself.”If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:We Agnostics: How William James, Father of American Psychology, Advanced A Spiritual Solution to Addiction: How a Venerated Harvard Doctor Inspired the 12 Step MovementThe Varieties Of Religious Experience: A Study In Human NatureThe Big BookEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today’s episode, Duane speaks with Michael Anthony, author of Think Unbroken: Understanding and Overcoming Childhood Trauma. When you have a history of childhood trauma, there are things that you just have to unlearn and reframe. But to do that, you have to bring awareness to it. When Michael was four years old, his mother, who was a drug addict and alcoholic, cut off his right index finger. His mother was a victim of abuse and his stepfather was highly abusive. Michael was in and out of the hospital multiple times. For the majority of his childhood, he was homeless and deeply in poverty. By the time he was 12 years old, he had lived with 30 different families. They were always getting bounced around, getting evicted, or getting their water and heat turned off.Michael got high for the first time when he was 12 and drunk when he was 13. At 15 years old, he was expelled from school for selling drugs. He was put into the last chance program and still did not graduate high school on time. Michael thought money was the solution to abuse, homelessness, and poverty. So he decided to chase money – legally. He worked really hard and ended up getting a job with a Fortune 10 company at 20 years old. With no high school diploma and no college education, he started making six figures but his life got so much worse. Heading into 26 years old, he found himself being 350 pounds, smoking two packs a day, drinking himself to sleep, and then attempting suicide for the second time. Money was supposed to solve the problem but he was done. When he woke up the next morning and went to the bathroom, he looked at himself in the mirror and asked himself, “What are you willing to do to have the life that you want to have?” The answer was no excuses, just results. 11 years later, Michael is here talking about his journey. He has done a tremendous amount of work – every modality of therapy, coaching, reading books, and going to seminars. He has dived deep into understanding himself and now has over 30 trauma-informed certifications.In this episode, you will hear: Michael’s journey through addiction and recovery Why being homeless was one of the greatest things that happened to him Why people with trauma lie to therapists The identity crisis Understanding the biology and physiology behind your body’s response The crux of self and putting rational meaning to your behavioral patterns The worst-case scenario and the power of changing your energy What mindset really is Key Quotes:[11:25] - “When you come from a very traumatic background, the opportunity for you to discover who you are is literally stolen from you.”[15:02] - “The key to life is to do what you want to do, and not do what you don't want to do.”[17:55] - “Indecision is a decision. You have to get off the fence about your life. Then you have to put yourself in this position to operate in a way that feels true for you." [22:46] - “When you stop tying your identity to the end goal of everything that you're trying to do in your life, but instead just into the day to day moments in the way that you operate with the effort and energy that you put in, that failure becomes less burdensome."[24:54] - “The longer you wait to be you, the more painful it's going to be to tear the band-aid off.”[25:36] - “The worst-case scenario is death. Outside of that, that means you have an opportunity.”[27:13] - “What you think becomes what you speak, what you speak becomes your actions, and your actions become your reality.”[33:09] - “If you look for joy, you will find it. And if you look for the pain, it'll be there too."Supporting Resources:Think Unbroken: Understanding and Overcoming Childhood TraumaEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today’s episode, Duane speaks with Chris Howard, the founder of Ethos Recovery, a long-term recovery house for men. He’s also the founder of Lifestyle Interventions where he offers family intervention mentoring. Chris shares his journey of addiction and recovery and his experience working with families, helping them deal with addiction, and helping them heal as a whole system. A Los Angeles native, Chris grew up in a home with a schizoaffective mother and ended up in foster care. As a young man, Chris turned to drugs and alcohol to help escape his troubles in life and thought that his rite of passage into adulthood was going to prison. Chris eventually became a drug addict and drug dealer. He was engaging in all this maladaptive behavior without anyone telling him anything. After more than a decade of struggling with addiction, Chris finally decided to change his course and help other people going through the same thing.Now working in a helping field, Chris wants to help people without belittling them or making them feel worse about their suffering. He believes that his job is to help people question their maladaptive belief systems, their coping strategies, and why they (and even their families) are afraid of being honest. During the conversation, Chris explains that we’re now seeing a pendulum shift in treatment and recovery from being a heavily social model – that could be lacking in accountability – into one that is very clinical and lacking in empathy. These two have to meet somewhere in the middle. We must hold people accountable while also having love and compassion as we walk them through their recovery journey. There has to be a balance between both in order to create a potent formula for healing, personal growth, and being your best self. In this episode, you will hear: Chris’ journey through addiction and recovery How he began working with families Understanding the family dynamic Why trauma isn’t always the root cause of addiction Emotional reasoning tied into trauma The accountability perspective with DBT or Dialectical Behavior Therapy If drugs aren’t the problem, what is? The need to balance accountability and empathy How to heal as a family unit Key Quotes:[07:54] - “The group dynamic at times can help elevate your level of consciousness.”[12:30] - "The hardest thing to watch is people who maybe are more personality disordered and the families can't let go... they put themselves through so much pain and suffering as a result of their love for this person who either can't or will not change."[13:28] - “Trauma is the dominant narrative in mental health and substance abuse treatment at this point. It's not that I don't believe in trauma, I just don't believe every addict is a result of trauma.”[20:31] - “Working on mental health and substance abuse problems, it often gets worse before it gets better because you no longer have that to shield you to cope.”[21:14] - “Drugs aren't the problem. They're actually a phenomenal solution for human beings. The problem is they can't cope for some reason.”[24:40] - “The empathy aspect might actually even be one of the most important aspects because a lot of times, the mental state that individuals who struggle with mental health and substance abuse are in, is so deprived as a result of their life experience.”[32:48] - "Families often equate more money with better treatment. And it's not necessarily true."If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:Ethos Recovery Lifestyle InterventionsEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How do you heal from addiction and alcoholism that you created? You may impact others through your addiction but you can also impact them through your recovery and healing. On today’s episode, Duane talks with Wendy Adamson, author of Mother Load and Incorrigible, about intergenerational trauma and how that impacts addiction recovery, getting better, mental health, relationships, and more. As a teen, Wendy was labeled as incorrigible which is defined as, "not able to be corrected, improved, or reformed.” That's what the justice system called her. They pretty much gave up on her and put her into the system. Wendy was taken away from her father, plucked from her life, and put in a juvenile hall. From there, she went to foster homes with different environments that nobody ever questioned. Nobody was asking about her or what she had been through. She was locked up not just physically but also mentally.Unfortunately, there is still a lack of trauma-informed language for kids going into the system. Saying to a parent that their kid is incorrigible just sounds hopeless. Part of Wendy's desire to write a book is to give other people hope that they are not incorrigible and that they can come out on the other side. Taking her experience and using it as a tool to help others became a transformative experience for her. Wendy explains that there’s intergenerational trauma being passed on unconsciously through children until somebody wakes up in the family. Wendy’s mother was 38 when she had a psychotic break and killed herself. She lost her mind and never got an opportunity to get it back. Wendy, too, had a drug-induced psychotic break at 38 and ended up shooting her husband's girlfriend in the arm. She didn’t own any responsibility for it. She was blaming others and deflecting as addicts do. When Wendy finally reached a moment of clarity, she realized she was not only breaking her own heart but her children's as well because the trauma was being transmitted to them. It was the same trauma that she had not resolved. As a result, her older son went into the juvenile court system just like she did.In this episode, you will hear: The lack of trauma-informed language in our society evidenced by our justice system labeling teens as incorrigible The shame around mental illness Going from a moment of victimization to a moment of clarity Taking one step in the right direction There’s no defense against kindness How to create a positive feedback loop Understanding the impact of ​​intergenerational trauma Letting go of the outcome We’re always getting opportunities to redeem ourselves. Key Quotes:[03:14] - “You may impact others through your addiction, but you can impact them through your recovery and through your healing.”[12:27] - "When you're level to the point where you're out of ideas, and you surrender, and people are kind to you, you have no defense against kindness."[15:41] - “What we put out there, we get back, the universe responds by corresponding to my nature.”[22:05] - “We have the power to transmute the trauma when one person decides to change, there is a ripple effect within the family system.”[25:28] - "As a parent, you're just throwing information over the wall and you don't know if it's landing and if they're catching it."[31:08] - “There's something that happens and the things are revealed to you that you didn't know through your writing.”[33:42] - "Life is not a snapshot. You know, it's not just one image frozen in time. We get opportunities and we're always getting opportunities to redeem ourselves."Supporting Resources:www.wendyadamson.com Mother Load: A Memoir of Addiction, Gun Violence & Finding a Life of PurposeIncorrigible: A Coming-of-Age Memoir of Loss, Addiction & IncarcerationHav A SoleEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today’s episode, Duane speaks with Mike Grant about his recovery story and how he used running as a tool to help him through his recovery process. Mike currently works in the health care system as a licensed clinical social worker. He primarily works with people stuck in addiction. He’s an alcohol and drug counselor and the author of (Re)Making A Sandwich: An Addiction Case Study. As a lover of ultra marathons, Mike started a local running club for people in recovery and they have organized runs and done races together. Mike grew up with some anger issues as a result of things that happened in his home. He started drinking at 13 years old and thought it would help him for many years. Instead, drinking at such a young age stunted his emotional development. He lacked the emotional skill set he needed to make good decisions in his life.Part of Mike’s story was being a habitual DUI offender. After being placed on county probation due to multiple DUI offenses, Mike finally realized that the consequences of his drinking could negatively affect his son. He got tired of backtracking his life with law issues, financial issues, and everything else he couldn't juggle or keep straight because of his relationship with alcohol. Knowing that he needed mandated treatment for himself, Mike did a three-year diversion program that changed his life and he has been sober ever since. The diversion program was more of a life management program to him than a non-drinking program because he learned how to live life in a lot of ways.Ultimately, working with people in active addiction allows Mike to connect with the rawness of what addiction really is. There's no romanticizing it from the side of recovery because he knows what it's really like. In this episode, you will hear: Mike’s alcohol addiction and recovery journey How he invested in his progress through running How to make the huge mental shift from “I can’t” to “I can” How running helps some people in recovery Why grit is a transferable skill you can bring from addiction to recovery Key Quotes:[07:02] - "I would make some progress in something and then alcohol would knock me back or my behaviors while drinking would knock me back."[12:04] - "I've shifted this perspective of shame-based thinking where I can't do something to why can't I?"[13:27] - ​​"If you actually enjoy the work that you're doing, it can make a workweek more tolerable."[14:31] - "Running is a metaphor for so many things. You have to do it. No one can do it for you. Set goals. You get out there and do it."[19:01] - "When you're in recovery, building grit is so important because you've got to weather some difficult things."[19:28] - “​​Grit is a transferable skill from your addiction…if you can use those skills that you learned in your addiction and bring to your recovery, that grit will get you far.”[22:33] - “Life doesn't have to be changed overnight. You just do little consistent things and get back to it, and monumental things can happen in 10 years.”[26:09] - “Life is messy and beating yourself up over it isn't going to help.”Supporting Resources:(Re)Making A Sandwich: An Addiction Case StudyEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today’s episode, Duane talks with Justin B. Long about his journey through childhood trauma and how he tried to escape it through alcoholism. We discuss the traps of toxic masculinity, the idea that, as men, we can't share our feelings. We can't be vulnerable. We should be stoic at all times. In the episode, you’ll learn how that idea prevents us from being able to heal from our past wounds. Justin shares his story of hope and healing for everyone else out there who's struggling with the same issues. Justin is the author of The Righteous Rage of a Ten-Year-Old Boy: A Journey of Self-Discovery. In his book, he talks about uncovering our deeper feelings by addressing childhood events and traumas and changing how our emotions are tied to those memories. Justin has poured his deepest, darkest secrets into the book. As he pointed out, the more sunshine gets on those secrets, the less power they have over him. As he was trying to recover from alcoholism in his mid-30's, Justin had to go back to the beginning of time to understand what drove him to alcoholism. Justin grew up with two very emotionally dysfunctional parents: his dad was a workaholic and a rageaholic and his mom was deep into extreme religiosity and hoped that God would solve her emotional challenges. He found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. His parents didn't have any emotional tools to support him or help him. Therefore, he grew up in an unhealthy environment. The way his dad treated him taught him that he was a failure no matter what he did. Feeling unworthy, uncomfortable, and untrusting, Justin turned to books as a way to escape reality. Then, as he got older, he discovered alcohol. It made him feel good about himself and he felt accepted for the first time in his life. So, alcohol became his tool to feel good about himself. Justin didn’t realize that it wasn’t a solution or that it was just a band-aid. However, like all external things, it had diminishing returns over time. It worked less and less until it stopped working altogether.In this episode, you will hear: Justin’s childhood trauma What it was like to not know how to handle his feelings How covering up feelings of shame and guilt through drinking became a cycle How he changed his perspective from being a failure to being okay How a recovery meeting became the first pinprick that showed him reality What his righteous rage looked like and how letting it go allowed him to achieve true freedom What happens when your pain is greater than your fear Why it’s okay to feel your feelings Justin’s motivation to put his book out there Key Quotes:[09:21] - "My biggest problem that made me decide I had to quit drinking was that the more I got drunk around other people, the more I misbehaved and just couldn't seem to control myself."[13:15] - “Everything that I thought I knew about myself to be true was not true. And I get to rewrite that story."[16:12] - "In your formative years, you take everything from around you, and you believe that to be true."[18:33] - “True freedom comes in moving past that and letting go of that rage, even if it's justified.”[21:02] - “The pain has to get greater than the fear. And that's how it was for me. It hurt bad enough that I was willing to step into the fear."[22:14] - “I'm trying to learn how to feel the feelings and be okay with them. And sometimes it hurts, but I've learned that that's okay, too. It's part of it.”[25:17] - “The more sunshine gets on those secrets, the less power they have over me.”Supporting Resources:The Righteous Rage of a Ten-Year-Old Boy: A Journey of Self-DiscoveryEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today’s episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane speaks with Gill Tietz, a biochemist and the host of the Sober Powered Podcast. Gill shares her alcohol addiction journey, the connection between our brain chemistry and addiction, and how she used her knowledge of science to achieve sobriety, change her way of thinking, and ultimately change her life.Gill had her first drink at 18 years old and, after feeling shame and guilt, she decided not to drink anymore after that. Four years later, when she was at grad school, she started drinking with her colleagues. Having dealt with bullying and trauma early in life, Gill just wanted to fit in. Once she had just one drink, she thought it was magic and the best feeling in the world. Best of all, she finally felt included. Within a year, she became a daily drinker. Drinking was a huge part of the culture of the lab she worked at so she thought it was normal behavior. By the second year, she was drinking a lot more with 80% or more alcohol in her drinks. She was blacking out several nights a week and going to work massively hungover. Towards the end, she started having several mental health issues, hating herself, and becoming very suicidal. Finally, Gill braved through her alcohol issue by accepting reality and looking at her drinking for what it was versus what she was hoping it could be someday. By removing emotions from the equation, she started to look at things from a more scientific perspective. Having removed feelings of shame and guilt, she opened herself up to self-compassion. In this episode, you will hear: What it’s like to be in a work culture where drinking is normal How drinking impacts mental health The science behind addiction How understanding the science behind it opened Gill up to self-compassion How sobriety is achieved by looking at facts and removing emotions How brain chemistry is related to addiction The study looking at endorphin levels for social drinkers and people with alcohol issues The misconception about dopamine The concept of neuroplasticity Key Quotes:[10:08] - "I really didn't think my behavior was weird. I was just doing what you're supposed to do."[19:42] - “In science, you're trained to be very objective. Your thoughts and beliefs about something don't make it true.”[20:07] - “The big reason I was able to stop – I finally accepted reality and looked at my drinking for what it actually was."[22:56] - “When you can disconnect yourself from that, and just look at the actual facts of what's going on, it's helpful to make a good decision."[24:47] - “It's a bunch of different risks that add and subtract from each other. And if they add up enough, your risk of having a problem is very, very high. And then bam, you have a problem."[29:15] - “As you abuse alcohol, it makes changes to your reward system and other areas of your brain. [29:27] - “Not everyone's brain reacts exactly the same to alcohol.”[32:26] - “Endorphins actually trigger the release of dopamine."Supporting Resources:Sober Powered PodcastEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today’s episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane talks with author Benjamin Hardy about his personal experience with addiction and the chaos that comes along with it. Benjamin describes the process overcoming his own addictions involved going through a “redemptive process,” which involved forgiving his father and rebuilding the relationship there. With trauma, you’re always looking in the rear-view mirror, but you need to make meaning going forward. Meaning is not going to strike you—you have to make it yourself. The beauty of this is that you can change the meaning of your past, Benjamin says. It’s key to have empathy for your old self. Benjamin also talks about how writing about your trauma can really help. Turning away from the past, you can have hope for the future. Without a hope for the future, Benjamin says, the present becomes meaningless. You can also choose to ascribe a meaning to your past. We call it “meaning-making,” Benjamin says. Part of becoming emotionally-developed includes this idea of choosing the meaning of your past.He shares a story about how you can actively work to a solution for something that didn’t go exactly how you planned instead of snapping to a quick decision. You can choose to frame it in a new way instead of being defined by a failure. Choosing the meaning going forward can change how you store that forever. In his story, Benjamin points to the fact that he was vulnerable enough to share his feelings with the people in question as part of the process.Moving onto his book, Benjamin unpacks the idea that your personality is going to change, and that you have the power to choose who you want to be in the future. Your personality is just how you consistently show up. It’s crucial to have your identity based on who you actually want to be in the future. The same courage that moves you to say “I need help” is the courage it takes to tell people who you want to be in the future. It takes courage, as Benjamin says, because it’s uncertain. You’ll realize you might be rejected, but that you also need to do some “rejecting” to get you where you ultimately want to be. When you are open and honest, nothing is hiding anymore. Key quotes:05:05 — “There’s capital ‘T’ trauma and lowercase ‘t’ trauma.”07:55 — “While I was running, I think I was subconsciously building confidence and thinking about my future.”09:25 — “Memory is not objective; it’s more of a set of meanings we’ve given.”12:40 — ”You’re a normal person even though you’ve made mistakes—and by the way, we’ve all made mistakes.”16:45 — “We get stuck remembering the past rather than imagining the future.”29:45 — “You shorten the refractory period by taking action.”33:30 — “Identity and personality are two different things.”36:50 — “Who you want to be is part of your true self.”38:30 — “We’re more likely to believe the stories we tell people about who we are.”41:15 — “There is potential for you to look back at this thing you’re going through and be grateful.”Supporting Resources:Check out Benjamin’s website at https://benjaminhardy.comEPISODE CREDITS: If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today’s episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane speaks with Dr. Joseph Volpicelli, a world-renowned scientist clinician whose research led to the discovery of naltrexone (a drug that treats alcohol addiction) among many other discoveries related to addiction treatment. Today, he talks about how naltrexone can help someone struggling with alcohol addiction reduce their cravings. With the help of naltrexone as one of the tools in their toolkit of recovery, people can now start to build a meaningful, purposeful life. They also talk about the importance of the other component: not just the medical intervention, but also the psychosocial interventions for recovery.Dr. Volpicelli has been interested in addiction treatment and research for 40 years now. Such interest started when he was a medical student working with individuals who were returning from Vietnam who had developed an alcohol addiction. Many of them were using opiates but when they came back to the United States, they started drinking more alcohol. For a long time, he has been interested in the relationship between stress, alcohol drinking, and opiates, and has taken that observation into the laboratory working with rats. What he found out was that the ability to control trauma had a very profound effect in terms of one's ability to fight something like cancer. When you're exposed to uncontrollable trauma, your brain releases endogenous endorphins and endogenous morphine-like molecules that help kill the pain. The problem with addiction is that the behavior makes you feel better temporarily but it sows the seeds for the next episode when you’ll need to use alcohol or drugs again, thereby creating an addictive cycle.Dr. Volpicelli discovered how naltrexone helps moderate the highs and lows and, therefore, helps break that addictive cycle. This then gives a person a chance to find other things in life and gives them a sense of purpose and social connectedness.In this episode, you will hear: How Dr. Volpicelli got interested in addiction treatment Trauma and its effects on physical or behavioral disorders How stress is related to alcohol addiction Withdrawal from your own endogenous opiates The endorphin effect that happens in addiction How naltrexone breaks the addictive cycle Understanding the logical brain vs. the emotional brain The BRENDA Approach to enhance adherence Key Quotes:[04:06] - “The ability to control the trauma had a very profound effect in terms of one's ability to fight something like cancer.”[08:05] - “When you're exposed to uncontrollable trauma, your brain releases endogenous endorphins and endogenous morphine-like molecules that help kill the pain.”[09:24] - “A lot of times when people have a very stressful week, on the weekends, they just feel like sitting on a couch eating potato chips, and for some folks when they drink, it helps improve their mood… that's probably withdrawal from your own endogenous opiates.”[10:53] - "The problem with addiction is that the behavior, drinking alcohol or any other behavior, makes you feel better temporarily. But it sows the seeds for the next episode where you need to use the drug again. And so it creates an addictive cycle."[13:58] - “The naltrexone helps moderate the highs and lows so it helps break that addictive cycle.”[15:33] - “By breaking that cycle, the medicine then gives a person a chance to find other things in life to give them a sense of purpose and social connectedness.”[23:24] - "Rather than fight our emotional brain, it's important to understand how it works."[25:55] - "We like to do something purposeful and meaningful in our lives. And people who establish that have much less risk of going back to relapse."Supporting Resources:https://volpicellicenter.com Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today's episode, Duane speaks with Howard Lipp about the recovery he experienced after coming up against a wall that he couldn't move. He also shares about the experience he had in rehab that led him to do some work with psychedelics. This enabled him to transcend and find a way out of his suffering and pain.Howard jumped into the world of recovery in 2002 after hitting a wall with drugs and alcohol which he describes as impenetrable. He later realized he had a callous on his forehead from running into the same wall for such a long time without realizing it. Although he wasn't actively suicidal, he no longer wanted to live the way he was living.Therefore, he went through a Pavlovian conditioning program that worked for a while. The problem was that it didn't solve the internal conflict he had within him: his feelings of worthlessness and all the pain he carried from his past of abuse and bullying. Howard went through most of his life believing there was something foundationally wrong with him. It was easy to grab evidence from his experience as a child and from the fact that he needed something outside of himself to feel okay in his skin. The only thing that shut that up was alcohol. It worked well. The problem is, eventually every substance will fail.Howard went to a treatment center and had the most unusual experience after being awake for 21 days. Then, he didn't move for three days and had no detox symptoms or medications applied to his body. Today, Howard talks about the out-of-body experience he had at this treatment center. He also shares his first experience with plant-based medicine and how it broke through something within him. He felt an immediate connection to the presence of a great mystery of spirit. He later realized that his addiction was not to a substance but to his thinking. He believed every single thought he had and that the thinker was him rather than the construct itself. He also started to see how his experience had informed his beliefs. In this episode, you will hear: The belief that leads to a feeling of unworthiness Looking beyond the constructive self The self-flagellating false self that beats the crap out of us The belief that we’re separate from the Divine Why circumstances are not the challenge but the thinking mind is What happens when you use your mind as the guidance system for living The benefits of plant-based medicine in healing addiction and trauma Key Quotes:[03:13] - “You can't solve the problem with the thing that's causing the problem.”[04:50] - "We come from the realm of the great mystery, and land into a body and we're not received as this whole and complete being. Instead, we're given lots of reasons why we're not whole and complete."[12:28] - "As Michael Palin says, ‘If you really want to change your mind, you're going to have to address these false selves.’" [16:25] - "Nobody is really suffering from an addiction to a substance and that is a known fact that it's a symptom."[23:16] - “Psychedelics bring you into the present moment and you can't run away.”[29:32] - “My suffering is not what's happening in the moment. It's the story I tell myself about it.”[42:02] - "The greatest lie we tell ourselves and our kids is that the value of a human being can be codified or quantified by anything of this world, our job, or money or all of that. But the essence of what we are can’t be measured."If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:www.enaandhoward.com Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Getting through the first two years of recovery can be extremely difficult. Just when you think you've gone as far as you can go, you realize you’re only at the beginning. You need to develop the skill set to master recovery and live your best life.On today’s episode, Duane speaks with Barry Lehman about achieving long-term recovery or recovery after the first two years of sobriety. They specifically talk about what that looks like and how we can gain mastery so we can live our best life and find joy and happiness in recovery. Barry is a retired pastor and has been sober for 33 years now. While he was in ministry as a parish pastor, he discovered he was an alcoholic. He went into a treatment program and stayed in the ministry for another 11 years after getting sober. He also got his Doctor of Ministry in Counseling and got his license as an Alcohol and Drug Counselor which he has served as part-time for 28 years now.Through his recovery journey, Barry learned how to be healthy and he now hopes he can share his story with others. In his book, Mastering Recovery, Barry talks about long-term recovery. He realized that the nitty-gritty of staying sober for more than two years isn't talked about enough. When you’re in recovery, everything changes drastically. You have to find out how to live again and that’s not easy. In your first two years of recovery, you learn how to go about normal life and enjoy various occasions without alcohol. However, once you hit the third year, you can’t just go on doing things you used to do and just try doing them sober. If that’s all you do, you’ll end up having lots of cravings as well as mental and emotional relapses. In this episode, you will hear: Why Barry wrote the book Mastering Recovery What mastery really is Practice as the path to mastery How to do a personal inventory Trauma-informed treatment Finding meaning and purpose Building a recovery-positive list Key Quotes:[07:44] - “The real nitty-gritty down and dirty way of staying sober beyond two years isn't very often talked about.”[12:29] - “Getting better at something important to you. – that's what mastery is.”[12:56] - “That's the path of mastery, keep practicing… When you think you've come to the end, you're only just beginning.”[18:42] - “Trauma-informed treatment, while it’s a buzzword, it's also very real.”[20:25] "Learning about movement, learning about exercise, is a big step that many of us need to take at that two-year mark, if not before."[27:50] - "Even when you're angry and upset, or frustrated, you begin to learn how to deal with those. And that's part of the practice."[29:45] - "I got to have that awareness of myself and my world of who I am. That's long-term recovery."[31:42] - "If you're lucky enough to have good people around you, who have been through good treatment and good therapy, you'll be able to lay down the stepping stones that will keep you growing in that area."If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:www.balehman.comBook: Mastering RecoveryEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today's episode, Duane talks with Faith Elicia about her nine-year journey through an eating disorder. They discuss how she struggled several times to get help and how she finally found something that worked for her. They also talk about what helped her deal with not only her eating disorder but also with her anxiety, depression, and family history of addiction and family dysfunction. Faith's story provides a lot of hope that, even when you feel at your worst and like you can't go on, there's still hope out there. Faith comes from an addictive household, being a child of an alcoholic. She used to believe that all dads yelled. She was scared of all fathers and generalized that all dads are mean. At 16, Faith saw her dad drunk for the first time, throwing a chair while she was hiding under the table. Then, he sought help and got sober for 30 years until his death three years ago.She also has a sister who found recovery in Narcotics Anonymous and another sister who found recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous. Although she was very familiar with the behaviors of addiction growing up, she wasn't aware that there was addiction in their house because of shame. Everything had to stay within the walls. After she had her third child, Faith dealt with anxiety, panic, and agoraphobia. This was in the 80s and there wasn't really an understanding of anxiety disorders at that time. She couldn't tell anyone for fear they would lock her up in a psychiatric ward. Mental health just wasn't talked about like it is now. Understandably, Faith was petrified. She was very afraid of drugs and alcohol. However, impulsive compulsive behavior can come out in other forms. Food became her way of coping and dealing with her internal chaos. Faith’s anxiety disorder turned into an eating disorder. It wasn't until she started to incorporate a mindfulness practice that things shifted for her.In this episode, you will hear: Growing up in a family with addictive behaviors Depression and anxiety during her third pregnancy How her anxiety disorder morphed into an eating disorder Feeling guilt knowing her daughter also had an eating disorder Finding her home in Codependency Anonymous The shift that occurred when she joined the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program How she deals with the eating disorder voice that comes in Digging deeper into what’s really going on Key Quotes:[08:39] - “Addiction is a disease. It's a sickness.”[14:41] - ​​"It becomes all-consuming, weighing myself all day. It really took over."[16:26] - “It's very important for someone who thinks they have an eating disorder to seek help from someone who specializes in it and who really understands it."[19:00] - “No two eating disorders are the same. No two recoveries are the same. ... this is a process. It's a journey.”[19:21] - “This is a journey of self-awareness, self-discovery, retraining my thoughts filling that void that was always inside with self-care."[32:34] - "When the eating disorder voice is trying to distract me, it's from some feeling or situation that I don't want to deal with."If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:Do You See What I See? by Faith EliciaThe Four Agreements by Don Miguel RuizCodependency AnonymousEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today's episode, Duane speaks with Jan Winhall, the author of Treating Trauma and Addiction with the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model: A Bottom-Up Approach. Jan's book is a combination of over 40 years of working with trauma and addiction and reflecting on how to bring an embodied approach to addiction treatment. We currently understand trauma and addiction from more of a top-down cognitive approach. For example, the DSM, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, sees it through a pathologizing lens. When Jan started her work, she was fresh out of graduate school where she got assigned to run a group for young women who were incest survivors. Early on, it taught her how to understand addiction through the nervous system. As feminist therapists, they were very curious about using new models because they felt the current models were misogynistic. Instead of helping women feel empowered, they did the opposite. They were shocked to see how these women who were viewed as victims of violence were actually being pathologized, getting admitted to hospitals, and being put on medications. This led to the basis of the Polyvagal model which asserted that their responses weren’t maladaptive; rather, their responses were adaptive in maladaptive environments.Today, Jan explains how our nervous system influences our behavioral choices and how we perceive the world and our situations. She also teaches how we can use the felt sense with the help of others to create a sense of safety in our lives. With that sense of safety, we will be able to choose more strategic behaviors that lead us to become our best selves. In this episode, you will hear: How the dual system of the vagus nerve works The Polyvagal model explained What happens when the body gets stuck in freeze Other blended states in the nervous system How to develop felt sensing practices to heal from trauma How the state we’re in determines how we experience the world Key Quotes:[03:52] - "It was shocking to see how these women that I viewed as being victims of violence were really being pathologized."[06:49] - “All of these behavioral addictions and substance abuse stuff were ways that we're helping them to numb they kind of got that on some level.”[09:05] - "Our autonomic nervous system is the part of us that watches to see if we're safe. And if we don't feel safe enough, then we move into that flight-fight place in the sympathetic branch."[09:24] - “The dorsal branch of the vagus nerve simultaneously helps you and kicks in when you're in a big trouble by shutting everything down in the body.”[10:42] - “Our bodies have this way of protecting us when we really need to shut down. The problem is that we get stuck there.” [12:40] - “You can see when someone gets triggered, the traumatic experience becomes as fresh as if it was happening right now.”[17:32] - “Through the practice of felt sensing, you're learning slowly, over time, how to feel safe enough in your body to connect with your feelings and let go of dissociating, and numbing, and being more and more and more present with yourself.”[21:32] - “To take responsibility, you have to be present and you have to be gentle with yourself.”[24:53] - "How we feel, how we experience the world is determined by what state we're in."If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:https://janwinhall.com/Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today’s episode, Duane speaks with Dr. Karol Darsa about how to recognize trauma as well as some of the first steps you need to take to deal with trauma. Karol is the author of the book, The Trauma Map: Five Steps to Reconnect With Yourself. She dives deep into how trauma impacts us in our everyday life as well as what we can do to deal with our traumatic histories so we can heal and feel better.If you have struggled with some trauma in your past, hopefully you will get a lot of insights from this episode as Karol shares her professional wisdom on recovering from trauma. A licensed psychologist for 23 years, Karol found herself repeating certain information over and over again. She realized what was really missing in a lot of people's minds was the understanding of what trauma is and what it does. Maybe they knew what trauma was but didn't understand that it could impact them to the degree that it was impacting them. Many people think trauma only applies to people who have been to war or were sexually abused. They don't consider other things to be trauma. However, trauma can also result from smaller incidents when people didn't even realize they felt traumatized. Hoping to explain the basics of trauma and how it works, Karol decided to write the book, The Trauma Map: Five Steps to Reconnect With Yourself. Karol also noticed an overarching characteristic of self-blame among her clients who were dealing with trauma. They were quick to judge themselves much more than they should. Therefore, Karol also wrote the book as a great tool for minimizing self-blame.In this episode, you will hear: What trauma is What the different types of trauma could look like Why the power of positive thinking sometimes backfires for people Recognizing relational trauma How trauma causes you to disconnect from your body Why people find it difficult to face painful situations Dismissing your feelings means a lack of self-acceptance How to eliminate self-blame Key Quotes:[03:49] - “What was really missing in a lot of people's minds is really the understanding of what trauma is, and what it does.”[04:57] - “The power of the positive thinking, sometimes that actually backfires for a lot of people.”[05:56] - “Many people think trauma means if you been to war, or maybe if you were sexually abused, but other than that, people don't consider other things as trauma.”[06:31] - “Trauma is a situation where it's so overwhelming that it makes you feel powerless, basically unable to cope.”[07:13] - “The most common trauma that people minimize is relational trauma.”[09:30] - "In the relational traumas, reactions don't function that way. People have to be able to look at their symptoms and recognize it."[13:50] - "We have a limited capacity to actually face painful situations. As human beings, we all are that way."[17:17] - "One of the problems of dismissing feelings or putting things away or dismissing our body is that we are ultimately not accepting who we are."If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:The Trauma MapEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We cannot overstate the impact this pandemic has had on our healthcare providers. When you think about all the stress and pressures these front-liners are going through day in and day out, you can see how a lot of aspects are playing in that are leading to clinical burnout and, ultimately, addiction. Yet, we need to recognize that this is just a part of a larger system that's going on in the individual.On this episode, Duane talks with clinical psychologist Michael Tkach as he shares about addiction and other issues that healthcare workers are facing during these COVID times. A clinical psychologist by training, Michael is the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Behavioral Health Officer for Affinity Empowering, a technology-based solutions provider that supports overall health and wellness endeavors and that has also become a major provider of COVID-19 testing.Michael recently conducted research on medical care providers who are providing care to individuals diagnosed with terminal illnesses. What was highlighted in the research was a sense of powerlessness. These providers have no power to change the course of the etiology of the disease and they’re left with no other option but to simply manage the disease. Michael was drawn into the mental health field after growing up in a neighborhood with a high prevalence of addiction as well as death by suicide. He eventually ended up at Hazelden Betty Ford for postdoctoral residency and then later came on staff there holding a variety of different roles. Today, Michael shares his expertise and wisdom about addiction treatment and how we can help individuals struggling with addiction, especially our frontline healthcare workers who are working so hard to provide the best care they can under extremely difficult circumstances. If you're a healthcare worker out there struggling, please reach out for help so you can get the support you need. In this episode, you will hear: Looking at addiction from a much larger scope Clinical burnout caused by a sense of powerlessness The perfect storm of many social supports not being there The lack of social support when people are looking to reduce stress and disengage How alcohol sales have increased during the pandemic The overlapping Venn diagram of prevalence between traumatic experiences and substance use Getting in-person support vs. virtual support Key Quotes:[05:23] - "The way that I approach addiction and addiction treatment is how all of those factors coalesce and come into a single point to affect the individual rather than trying to be reductionistic." [09:26] - “When we start looking at what happened with COVID and how places were overwhelmed, what you started seeing is that clinical burnout that goes along with that feeling of helplessness.”[13:39] - "A lot of times, we think of addiction as a disease state that really thrives in isolation, people have shame. They hide it, they want to downplay how much they're using."[14:38] - “During the beginning of the pandemic, globally from April to June of 2020, alcohol sales increased over 34% to the year prior.”[18:15] - “There are those traumatic experiences where people are talking about loss, they're talking about those experiences and those pressures to keep going that leads towards burnout.”[18:25] - “There is this overlapping Venn diagram of prevalence between traumatic experiences and substance use."[23:53] - “As much as we love to think that therapy is therapy and supportive support, it is a different skill set to do it virtually than to do it in person.”If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:Affinity EmpoweringEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Entrepreneurs and high-performing individuals are highly persistent and driven. Oftentimes, they are in control as they push themselves to success. They look really good on the outside. However, when they have an undercurrent of hurt and pain that is never expressed or paid attention to, they’re also likely to numb out from the pain through alcohol, drugs, sex, or something else.Let’s add to that the fact that drinking is pretty normalized in Canada, the US, and Western Europe. It’s even more normalized in many businesses as their way of closing deals. Unfortunately, we need to understand the progressive nature of this disease.On today’s episode, Duane speaks with David Greer, an entrepreneur, author, and coach who shares about his own recovery journey, specifically from the perspective of being a successful entrepreneur. David was a high-functioning alcoholic who had a difficult time recognizing that he had an issue with alcohol. For decades, he was in denial because he had it all together on the outside. His moment of clarity came to him one evening while sailing on the Mediterranean under the stars. He feels that his higher power touched him at that very moment.David has been in recovery for over 12 years now. For the last six years, he has been a business coach and a facilitator of strategic planning who works exclusively with entrepreneurs. He decided to break his anonymity from the 12-step program and come out publicly to help other entrepreneurs who are running successful businesses and also struggling with alcohol or addiction so they can move to the next level.In this episode, you will hear: Drinking being normalized in certain cultures and in business Sailing through the Mediterranean Sea The moment David’s higher power touched him Hiring a coach on his 50th birthday David’s three biggest fears His breakthrough moment of admitting he was an alcoholic The #1 characteristic of entrepreneurs Why self-care is very critical as entrepreneurs Hiring a coach versus a consultant Navigating through challenging social situations when you’re early in recovery Key Quotes:[06:16] - “Drinking is normalized in Canada, in the U.S., and Western Europe. But then, in a business context, in many cases, I think it's even more normalized like it's the lubricant to close deals.”[08:43] - "I was in denial for decades because I just had a massive capacity to drink and not show a lot of adverse effects."[22:40] - "The bottom line is I don't like negative feelings... and my three biggest fears are I'm not good enough... it's my fault...and who do you think you are – to deserve a great life?"[26:08] - "I'm uncomfortable with crying because that wasn't allowed in the household that I grew up in."[27:59] - "People ask me, like, what's the number one characteristic of entrepreneurs? And my response to that is persistence."[29:04] - “There's three parts to your life… when you're setting goals for yourself for the year or the quarter – career/finances, business; your life, your relationships, your significant other, your family; and then in the middle is yourself.”[31:20] - "There's a whole myth that to build a successful business, you have to be a workaholic."If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:www.coachdjgreer.comDavid’s book: Wind in Your Sails: Vital Strategies That Accelerate Your Entrepreneurial GrowthEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today's episode, Duane speaks with spiritual leader and author Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati. In her book Hollywood to the Himalayas, she shares the journey of her transformation from trauma and abuse to healing and freedom. Her hope is to bring people into the natural state of freedom, peace, and joy and, ultimately, free people from suffering, pain, and addiction.Although Sadhvi has written other books on her teachings, she reveals that this was the first time she shared her actual full story – uncensored, raw, deep, vulnerable, honest, and genuine. She decided to write the book after seeing how critical it is to bridge spirituality and humanity at this time when too many people are in the throes of human struggle, including addiction.Sadhvi grew up in Hollywood. She lived a privileged life, had access to the best education, and graduated from Stanford University. And yet, as everyone with addiction understands, something was bubbling beneath the surface. At an early age, Sadhvi dealt with sexual abuse and abandonment and, as a result, was yearning for love and approval. While she was succeeding beautifully in every external way, inside she felt like she had done something wrong and there was something wrong with her. Addiction became her go-to stress response and it never occurred to her that she could be free.At the age of 25, Sadhvi went to India and had an extraordinary spiritual awakening experience. It was unexpected, unanticipated, and unsought for on any conscious level. From that moment on, she knew she was one with all of the Divine creation and the rest of her life began. In this episode, you will hear: Sadhvi’s journey through addiction and spiritual awakening Letting go of pain and the identification with pain Practicing to keep the mind on track How we become slaves to our thoughts What forgiveness means The two arcs of the book, Hollywood to the Himalayas Key Quotes:[03:18] - “It seems so critical today that we bridge spirituality and humanity.”[16:02] - “The dilemma with using psychedelics to get there is you have to just keep using them, which of course does not benefit anyone when you substitute awakening for addiction, and instead of freedom, you end up a slave.” [18:10] - “What to do comes really naturally once you have an experience of who you are. The dilemma for so many of us is we don't know who we are and so we don't know what to do.”[20:03] - “The most extraordinary lesson has been that our freedom is our highest goal… and the question always is – is this pain, is this grudge, is this identity – is it worth my freedom?”[20:43] - “We act like thoughts run the show. We act like we are slaves and the thoughts are the master.”[23:46] - “Forgiveness says regardless of what you have done to me, regardless of what your anger, ignorance, fear, confusion, your patterns, regardless of what those made you do to me, I still deserve to be free. That is my birthright.”[26:55] - “Regardless of how stuck you feel, you can be free. You have that veto power."[29:10] - “You're not your body any more than you are your car. Your car is a vehicle that takes you places. Your body is a vehicle. It's what the soul is using on this particular leg of the karmic journey, but you're not the body."If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:Hollywood to Himalayas: A Journey of Healing and TransformationEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today’s episode, Duane speaks with Michelle Chalfant, host of The Adult Chair Podcast, about being our best selves by sitting in the adult chair and how our adult self can help us navigate all parts of our trauma, inner child, and ego. Michelle gives practical advice that can help you move forward in your life in a way that will create meaning and purpose. A therapist and coach, Michelle currently does coaching certification and workshops based on the Adult Chair Model, which was a culmination and combination of several teachers she has worked with over the last 25 years.The Adult Chair Model is a manual for life. It helps you learn how to feel your emotions, something that many of us have not been taught to do well. Michelle says that a lot of us know how to be physically healthy and have a good understanding of that. However, when it comes to emotional health, humans aren't great at it. Learning how to live as a healthy adult is the touchstone of The Adult Chair Model. When you begin to live with compassion, boundaries, and empowerment, and when you’re connected to your emotions instead of reacting to them, you become an emotionally healthy adult and the most authentic version of yourself.Growing up, Michelle was part of an Italian family and was raised with alcoholism all around her. She recalls moments in college when she felt unhappy and even had suicidal thoughts. As her way of escaping from pain, she resorted to three things: smoking pot, drinking, and overeating. After consulting a psychiatrist, she got diagnosed with depression and was given four days’ worth of medication. Three days later, she stopped taking the meds and decided to find another way to heal herself. In this episode, you will hear: Her addiction and recovery journey from depression Turning towards the pain and learning how to feel your emotions How to become friends with your emotions Your body as your navigation system Checking in with your inner child Key Quotes:[03:20] - “The Adult Chair Model is a manual for life.”[03:40] - “A lot of us know to be physically healthy… but when it comes to emotional health, humans aren't great at that.”[14:46] - “You can only take people as far as you've gone.”[15:29] - "It's pausing life temporarily and then you hit play again the moment all the effects wear off, and all of a sudden, you're back in it and the pain is right there again. You have to turn toward the pain."[15:48] - “You've got to get to know your pain and we have to learn how to feel our emotions. And that is something human beings are not taught well how to do.”[19:20] - “You've got to go in there and let those feelings come through."[22:30] - “I found that I had to become friends with my emotions.”[26:54] - "When we tune into the body, we realize it's a navigation system for us and it tells us when we're off, when we're on, when we're okay, and when we're not okay."If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:https://theadultchair.com/The Adult Chair PodcastEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.