The Addicted Mind Podcast

There are a lot of negative consequences that can come from behavioral addictions. They include everything from financial problems to legal repercussions to health issues. Whether it’s gambling, gaming, sex, or pornography, it’s important to understand why some people are susceptible to certain behaviors. In fact, the same mechanism that influences chemical addiction could be responsible for behavioral addiction as well.On this episode, Duane speaks with Amanda Giordano, a licensed professional counselor and associate professor at the University of Georgia, who specializes in addiction counseling both in chemical addiction and behavioral addiction. Amanda is the author of a clinical reference book titled A Clinical Guide to Treating Behavioral Addictions. Today, she imparts her expertise in this field, explaining how the changes in the brain associated with behavioral addictions are actually very similar to the changes associated with chemical addictions. In other words, instead of becoming addicted to a chemical that originates outside of the body, the body is addicted to the release of its own neurochemicals (dopamine in particular). Once the brain’s reward system is activated, it releases neurotransmitters which can become very difficult for some people to abstain from as they become their primary means of regulating their emotions.Hence, for some susceptible individuals, a rewarding behavior can become an addiction where there’s a loss of control over that behavior. The behavior is continued despite negative consequences and it becomes compulsive for that individual. They experience cravings or a mental preoccupation with the behavior when they're not engaging in it. In this episode, you will hear: How a rewarding behavior can become an addiction Different types of behavioral addiction Resetting the brain takes time The 4 C’s of addiction The behavior becoming the salient part of their life Proven effective methods of treatment Factors that influence the susceptibility to behavioral addiction Positive reinforcement vs. negative reinforcement The three circles technique to identify the warning signs Key Quotes:[04:24] - “There are changes in the brain associated with behavioral addictions that are very similar to changes associated with chemical addictions.”[06:37] - “Instead of becoming addicted to a chemical that originates outside of the body, we're really becoming addicted to the release of our own neurochemicals.”[09:29] - “The brain can reset, but it takes time… It takes a little bit of time for the brain to reset and to again, start functioning the way it did prior to the start of the addiction.”[14:42] - “There are a lot of negative consequences that can come from behavioral addictions, everything from finances to legal repercussions to health issues.”[17:25] - “The chronic elevation of dopamine tricks the brain into thinking this must be a really important activity and must be necessary for my survival.”[30:26] - “If we can find alternative, healthier, more adaptive ways to regulate our emotions, then we might not need to turn to some of these problematic behaviors.”[42:13] - “Isolation, shame, and secrecy are some of the weapons that addiction uses to keep us silent and keep us sick."Supporting Resources:Email: [email protected] Amanda’s blog: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/contributors/amanda-l-giordano-phd-lpc A Clinical Guide to Treating Behavioral Addictions:https://www.amazon.com/Clinical-Guide-Treating-Behavioral-Addictions/dp/0826163165Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5):https://www.amazon.com/Diagnostic-Statistical-Manual-Mental-Disorders/dp/0890425558Irresistible by Adam Alter:https://www.amazon.com/Irresistible-Addictive-Technology-Business-Keeping/dp/1594206643Episode 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.

Sophie Aghdami is an addiction recovery coach in Australia. Today, she shares her own story of recovery from alcoholism as well as how a particular parable helped change her whole perspective on recovery, find success in healing, and create a thriving life. Sophie grew up in Switzerland and the UK and moved to Australia just two years ago. Her drinking started as an early teen. In the UK, it’s a cultural thing to start drinking early or at least be around it a lot. It was just the norm for Sophie. She also worked at a pub surrounded by people who were always drinking and, as she went through university, she stayed in that line of work.Sophie then started managing restaurants. She loved this job but it was very stressful and the hours were long. As a result, drinking became her coping and stress-release mechanism. She began drinking earlier and earlier in the day until it became her brain's reaction to cope with stressful situations.Eventually, Sophie realized that drinking was no longer a fun option for her but a necessity to kickstart her brain to face the day. It was then that she got out of the restaurant industry. Unfortunately, she still found herself stuck in alcoholism afterward.Finally, after a compassionate conversation with her brother, she decided to go to a five-week rehab in Thailand which was life-changing for her. Soon after, she found her calling as an addiction recovery coach. In this role, she not only helps others but also assists herself in her own recovery.In this episode, you will hear: When Sophie realized she had a drinking issue The pivotal moment when she decided to go to rehab Removing herself from a toxic environment How she found her calling as a recovery coach The parable that inspired Sophie to name her coaching company Recovery starts when you start feeding the good wolf Breaking down recovery into smaller steps and celebrating each tiny thing The need for support, especially in the early stages Key Quotes:[02:14] - "In the UK, it was a very cultural thing to start drinking very early, or at least be around it a lot."[05:43] - "In the restaurant industry, and especially alcohol, it's so socially acceptable. It's perceived as just doing something really fun."[17:24] - “When I was feeding my bad wolf, the relapses would begin or the addiction just continued.”[17:30] - “​​Feeding the good wolf, releasing that shame, giving ourselves compassion, love, having a connection, all of those things that I mentioned from the parable – that's where recovery really starts to strengthen and we're able to maintain it.”[20:03] - “To think of the bigger things that started being added in, over time, was too overwhelming so I ended up not doing anything. So I thought the best thing to do is do something tiny, and celebrate that tiny thing."[22:23] - "Courage is there so just try and reach out and step out of that dark place. There will always be someone there to help because the support is necessary."[24:57] - "When we build up the strong wolf, things like self-compassion do get stronger."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.thewolfyoufeed.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 talks with Charlie Gray about his journey of hope and resiliency through his toxic relationship with vodka and the one thing that allowed him to stay sober.In his memoir, At Least I’m Not The Frog: A Zany Memoir of Alcoholism & Recovery, Charlie Gray tells his story of being a recovering alcoholic sharing his experience of addiction, relapse, and recovery.Living as a high-functioning alcoholic for 11 years, his plan was to keep his job, make some good money, and just drink his way through. This went on until, physically, he could no longer do so. The way he puts it is, “You can only drink a gallon and a half of vodka every day or so for so long before even a young man's body begins to shut down.” The root cause behind such a behavior was his early childhood trauma from losing his mother. He was so focused on creating a life of purpose in honor of his mother that he never dreamed addiction would be something on the table for him. But then began 11 years of a toxic relationship with vodka.Charlie attended a number of treatment centers across the country. Over the years, he had gathered all of the tools necessary for recovery. He was receptive to advice on what to do to better himself; he just didn’t implement it. However, when the body says no more and your pain is too great, there comes a point when you decide to do something. One day, Charlie just woke up ready to receive the love and the message from his higher power that if he would just spend a little time trying the practices he had learned through those years, he would stay sober. And so, that’s what he did.In this episode, you will hear: Dealing with the loss of a mother The brain as a powerful tool for coping The huge disconnect between the heart and the head Charlie’s decision to use the tools he learned to stay sober A daily struggle to not succumb to the craving How writing has helped him recover Key Quotes:[04:36] - “I was so focused on creating a life of purpose in honor of my mother that I never dreamed that addiction would be something on the table for me.”[05:54] - “Your brain is such a powerful tool without you knowing it."[09:47] - “Thinking that you can control it – that's another great example of how clever our minds can be and the rationale they can create when you have proven 1000 times that you cannot control it.”[12:39] - “You can only drink a gallon and a half of vodka every day or so, for so long before even a young man's body begins to shut down."[20:38] - "It really wasn't until about a month or two after I'd been sober, that I began writing, and that is how I was able to stay sober through the rest of the pandemic.” [24:14] - “A lot of terrible things have happened to me. But I overcame them and I'm not the frog.”[32:57] - "Keep trying that even when it feels like you're never going to find your identity or you're never going to find your sobriety, it is out there."Supporting Resources:At Least I'm Not The Frog: A Zany Memoir Of Alcoholism & 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.

In this episode, Duane speaks with Robert Kanter, an international recovery advocate addressing the opioid epidemic. Today, he talks about his advocacy work with the opioid epidemic. He also tells his own story of recovery from alcohol and substance use disorders and how his daughter's struggles became the genesis of his advocacy work.In 2020, overdose fatalities hit 93,000 in the US. This was a record-breaking amount with COVID exacerbating the existing opioid crisis. It was an epidemic within the pandemic. Just to give you context of how serious this problem is, Robert says that we lost more people last year to overdose fatalities than we lost in the entire Vietnam War.Robert is in recovery from alcohol use disorder and substance use disorder and has now been sober for many years. Three years ago, his daughter almost overdosed on opiates and heroin, locked in an apartment with a drug-dealing boyfriend. Now, she just celebrated three years of sobriety.As a father, Robert felt completely powerless to do anything. This was a big part of what pushed him into the advocacy work he does now: helping other families who are in the same situation as he was. Hear more about his passion for getting the word out there and how he’s working to hold some companies and individuals accountable who are responsible for this opioid epidemic.One of the reasons this podcast exists is to change that stigma around addiction. Robert coming on the show today to talk about this brings a human face to it all.In this episode, you will hear: How the opioid epidemic started and who’s responsible The pill dumping in West Virginia as a landmark trial The role of the FDA in this whole crisis The Portugal model of harm reduction How people struggling with addiction are dissociated from their families The role of the media in reversing the epidemic Key Quotes:[02:25] - "There were 88,000 overdose fatalities in this country. It was revised up to 93,000, which is a record because you have the perfect storm of the pandemic, and you have fentanyl on the street...an epidemic within a pandemic."[03:19] - "We lost more people last year to overdose fatalities than we lost in the entire Vietnam War."[04:14] - “It's not like people are just going to stop being addicted. Money has to be there for treatment programs." [05:14] - “My vote for the real entity that really caused the epidemic is the Food and Drug Administration because they are the gatekeepers. They're the ones that are supposed to protect the American public.”[11:05] - “It's a step in the right direction. If these other lawsuits go through quickly, now, the money for treatment around the country is really starting to open up.”[20:56] - “You have to have the media and a consistent basis, covering the positive things that are happening."[23:43] - "We understand your pain and your suffering. And we have resources for you. And we have resources for your families. This is a family illness, the people we hurt the most are the people we love the most."[30:32] - "The more people that lose loved ones, the more these people are then going to get involved and really understand what happened. That's one of the unfortunate silver linings of all this."Supporting Resources:Faces & Voices of RecoveryEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.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 have to work and deal with our internal and early trauma. This can be more difficult to see and process without a reliable, trustworthy “other” in our lives. Sometimes it even takes an expert who can walk us through that journey in order for us to get to that safe space for healing and recovery.Today, Duane talks with Andrew Susskind about his book, It's Not About the Sex: Moving from Isolation to Intimacy after Sexual Addiction. They go into depth about attachment, emotional regulation, the need for reliable people to heal your traumatic wounds, and how we can do that when we're in recovery and still struggling with internal chaos. Andrew is a licensed clinical social worker, a Somatic Experiencing practitioner, a Brainspotting practitioner, and a certified group psychotherapist. The book is Andrew's passion project where he wrote about themes that have been on his mind for three decades now. Since then, so much has changed in the mental health field as well as the addiction and trauma world. Andrew’s book reflects many of those changes. Andrew not only leans on the experiences of his clients but on his personal experience as well. In 1994, Andrew went to his first SCA meeting, which stands for Sexual Compulsives Anonymous. In the therapy room, he noticed that people were learning how to stop their addictive behaviors. However, that's just the starting gate. His book covers some themes and different areas of healing that can happen beyond stopping destructive behavior.In this episode, you will hear: Somatic Experiencing and Brainspotting The mechanism behind our nervous system regulation The concept of upregulation vs. downregulation Why it’s not just about sex Having reliable relationships as a platform for healing Key Quotes:[06:57] - “Somatic Experiencing and Brainspotting are both trauma healing modalities that focus on Nervous System regulation.”[07:40] - “One of the keys to regulating the nervous system is knowing when we're dysregulated.”[08:29] - “Someone who feels most comfortable in their skin feels calm, peaceful, grounded, and hopefully feels resourceful, resilient, and buoyant.”[11:51] - “Even though it looks like compulsive sexual behavior, on the surface, once we scratch the surface, it's really about broken-heartedness.”[14:20] - “When someone is trying to regulate themselves, it's actually an attempt to feel better.”[17:49] - “If you scratch the surface on anyone who's sexually compulsive, you're going to find some kind of avoidant attachment within that.”[23:08] - “If we're connected within and to one another, and to something greater than ourselves, that's going to create a platform for healing.”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.westsidetherapist.comIt's Not About the Sex: Moving from Isolation to Intimacy after Sexual Addiction by Andrew Susskind www.Brainspotting.com Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.comSupport 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.

Patients with substance use disorder have every right to be pregnant and have children as much as anyone else. Some people look at it as being irresponsible but who are we to judge? In fact, our guest today explains how certain medications for substance use disorders could have played a part in improving the hormonal milieu of patients enough that a pregnancy might occur.On this episode, Duane speaks with Dr. Charles Schauberger, an OB/GYN and Addiction Medicine doctor who specializes in helping women who are struggling with substance use disorder go through pregnancy. This is an issue that doesn't get talked about or thought about a lot unless someone is in this situation. A strong advocate for addiction treatment and compassionate care, Charles shares his story of getting into this specialty and how women dealing with substance use disorder can have a very healthy and successful pregnancy if they’re given the right support. His motivation for helping these women comes from recognizing the discrimination against this group of underserved people who have limited resources, not to mention the stigma associated with their drug use which makes their pregnancy even harder. Charles started practicing as an obstetrician in 1982 and has delivered about 5,000 babies over the course of his career. In 2008, he experienced burnout, left his clinical practice, and became a hospital administrator. After two and a half years, he went back into practice again because he missed patient contact.In this episode, you will hear: Charles’ journey into medicine Some myths around pregnancy and substance use The stigmas that pregnant women struggling with substance abuse have Using MAT during pregnancy The real treatment for recovery Key Quotes:[08:06] - “Patients who have substance use disorder, have every right to be pregnant and have children as much as anyone else.”[10:28] - "I do suggest patients are better off if they are stable in their treatment and recovery before achieving a pregnancy. But I never talk down to anyone who gets pregnant while they're still actively using."[11:53] - "There are a lot of women who fear that their babies are going to be taken away from them."[13:31] - “I've never seen a baby with that severe of withdrawal symptoms. If they have received care, and are carefully monitored, their babies will not suffer.”[14:15] - “There have been theories that acute withdrawal from heroin or other opioids might be associated with greater risk of miscarriage or stillbirth. But for the most part, that's probably not the case.”[14:58] - “A dead mother leads to a dead baby so we really want to emphasize the importance of the use of those medications.”[15:57] - "Alcohol is particularly a bad drug when we think of the effects of alcohol on developing fetuses and newborns. The fetal alcohol syndrome is a significant concern."[19:30] - "Getting a decent job, or, and building relationships with people that are in recovery, clearing up your legal issues so that you can put that behind you – those are the things that build recovery and are so important to people with substance use disorder."[34:37] - "If they can seek help early in pregnancy, we have a better chance to help them through some of the difficulties and make for a successful and safe pregnancy."Supporting Resources:Women and Substance Use Disorders Action Group of the American Society of Addiction MedicineEpisode 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.

What happens when your pain is greater than your fears? On this episode, Duane speaks with Recovery Pastor Craig Brown and author of the book, Stop Hiding, Start Healing. Craig shares his recovery journey coming out of an abusive, dysfunctional family and how he peeled off the layers of his pain, shame, and guilt, and finally found freedom again once he decided to surrender and give his life over to Christ-centered recovery. One of the striking things Craig also mentioned during this interview is that people think recovery is about addiction and about the drug addict, but recovery is about restoring souls. Growing up, Craig was feeling the pressure of having a dad who was a pastor, being in an environment where they were forced to fake it so his dad would look good in public. But the man he saw standing in the pulpit was entirely different than the one he saw at home. He had a lot of demons within him as well as a lot of struggles that he took out on Craig and his siblings.So at a very young age, Craig had to learn some coping mechanisms to deal with what he was going through. He didn't have good nurturing nor did he have any emotional, mental, or spiritual development. Once he got to high school, he started drinking. He felt a huge void and he wanted to get away from God and his family. From there, he began his descent to what he calls the pit of hell. He was partying everywhere and had no self-control. He felt totally isolated and didn’t have anybody he could talk to and trust. He just didn’t feel safe. His streak of unfortunate events continued on as he dropped out of college and took a job at a bar restaurant owned by the biggest cocaine dealer on the East Coast at the time. There, he got sucked up into the drug world. He was depressed and dark with no mission or vision until the pain in his life got greater than his fear of changing. It was then that he finally decided to surrender and God took over his life. From that surrender came freedom.In this episode, you will hear: Craig’s addiction and recovery journey The conscious decision to get well Shattering the bondage of shame and guilt Why the Bible is a blueprint for recovery Replacing negative self-talk with positive input The role of community in recovery Key Quotes:[06:28] - "Oftentimes, we take on the identity of our struggle, our pain. our shame. our guilt, failure."[07:09] - “When the pain is greater than my fear of changing, my fear of shame, my fear of embarrassment, when you're at that point, more often than not, you're going to do whatever it takes to get well.”[13:00] - “People have so many resources available to get well. But the shame of their past is debilitating.”[13:49] - “That shame and that guilt that is just keeping you in bondage. Let it be cracked and shattered, so you can be set free and begin healing.”[14:31] - “Of all places that people should be accepted. It's the church. And oftentimes that's not the case, unfortunately.”[15:56] - “If you've had adverse childhood events and painful events, you're going to find a way to cope, and you're more likely to turn to a substance, or pornography, or sex or food or whatever it is to make yourself feel medicated.”[18:31] - “Churches that teach practical application of Scripture, do extremely well in helping people fully understand how it applies to their situation.”[23:26] - "Whatever your community is, it has to be healthy, it has to be relational."Supporting Resources:Book: www.stophidingstarthealingbook.com Website: www.craigdbrown.com Facebook: Stop Hiding Start HealingEpisode 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.

Addictions are many things. But to simplify, they represent parts of our personalities that are out of balance. They represent a part of our body, mind, soul, or spirit that needs a lot of attention and that perhaps was neglected in childhood. As we continue using external substances, these imbalances get louder and louder until they have to be dealt with. Eventually, we get stuck in a cycle of shame and guilt that leads to hopelessness.On this episode, Duane speaks with Paul Churchill, the host and founder of Recovery Elevator. In 2015, Paul launched the podcast, which he thought was a risky move having only been six months sober from alcohol. It was a calculated gamble that actually saved his life. Now, it has opened a lot of doors for him to meet great people and impact other people’s lives.Paul was a normal drinker for about seven years since he was 15 years old. Soon, he found how the drug alcohol let him overcome his insecurities and fears in early childhood. At 22, after he graduated college, he moved to Granada, Spain and bought a bar. Moving to a foreign country with a drinking problem to buy a bar in Spain at a young age was a total dumpster fire. It was both the best time and the worst time of his life.The tipping point came at the very end when he blacked out for three straight days and realized he was tiptoeing around life and death. In 2010, he decided to go a month without alcohol and ended up going two and a half years without it. He was going forward on willpower. When you’re viewing life without alcohol as a sacrifice, your time is limited. So he went back to drinking, stopped again, and then went back to alcohol again. It was a cycle that gave him a sense of hopelessness to the point of him attempting suicide. In 2014, he finally surrendered and stopped fighting.Now, here he is – seven years later. He believes his addiction served a purpose that directed him to move forward in life without alcohol and to go internal instead of external for happiness and support.In this episode, you will hear: Paul’s addiction and recovery journey Being stuck in a cycle of shame and hopelessness How Paul was finding habits or distractions as part of his recovery Addiction as an adaptive behavior The endowment theory that forces us to connect Ending the stigma of addiction itself and getting help for it Overcoming addiction through community and accountability Key Quotes:[03:13] - “Addictions are many things. But to simplify them, they represent parts of our personalities that are out of balance.”[04:16] - “Alcohol was a self medicating elixir in it. It worked wonders. The problem was it wasn't sustainable.”[07:11] - “It's a real dangerous cycle that we can get on where we have intense anxiety, alcohol relieves it. And then when alcohol goes away, there's more anxiety.”[10:18] - “Hope is constantly looking into the future for a better world, and that's a trap in itself.”[10:23] - “When you have lost all hope, and you really come crashing down into the present moment, that's where the bulk of the recovery work happens in this present moment.”[14:50] - “A lot of these addictions, especially in modern society, they're adaptive behaviors.”[19:40] - “Overall human beings, they're wired to help. And most human beings are really good people.”[23:08] - “It is a societal issue. And it's not the issue for just the addict or the alcoholic. And it's not even really their fault. A lot of this is generational and passed down.”[24:06] - “How to depart from addiction is complicated... but it can also be as simple as community and accountability.”Supporting Resources:https://www.recoveryelevator.com/ In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Dr. Gabor Maté 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 we are in deep pain or we have these hardships in our life, we have to learn how to transmute them and turn them into something different – not just overcoming it. As for KL Wells, she decided to transmute her pain into service by helping others whose loved ones are struggling with addiction.KL is a businesswoman and she has a 30-year-old son who is a recovering addict. Through the course of her life, she has lived the generational story around addiction, not struggling with addiction herself, but being able to see addiction from a different perspective. Her mom was addicted to prescription medications, which was something popular back in those days. Then she had a brother who was addicted to cocaine. She married an alcoholic and divorced, and had her son out of that marriage. She subsequently remarried a recovering alcoholic of 28 years. Seeing her son being arrested at gunpoint and who was yelling at her to save him was a very traumatic experience for her. In that moment, every dream she had for him shattered. Her heart broke, but in that "cracking open," she also knew it was meant to happen for her, fully aware that you have to give yourself permission to completely dissolve, and let the emotions work through you. Hearing KL’s story, there's so much resilience flowing through her. When you have a child who is suffering from a disease that could kill him or her, it has a catalytic impact on us, as parents, like nothing else can. She knew she had to put this down in a way that she can help other people because it's incredibly painful to witness the people you love in so much suffering.Today, KL talks about her project, Voices InCourage, a community that provides that space where you actually feel heard on a multitude of layers and levels, and that people get you because they've walked that path. Then you can be raw and real, and transmute it for yourself so it serves your journey. In this episode, you will hear: KL’s journey as the loved one of different addicts The two major questions from which Voices InCourage was born out of The two life-defining moments for KL Transmuting your challenges instead of overcoming them Embracing our traumas and grief Key Quotes:[06:56] - “Pain pushes until vision pulls.”[08:36] - "When you have a child who is suffering with the disease that could kill him or her, it has a catalytic impact on us as parents, like nothing else can."[12:17] - “You have to give yourself permission to completely dissolve, and let the emotions work through you.”[14:53] - “In the midst of COVID, with all the numbers just skyrocketing in terms of overdoses and relapses, addiction going up, alcoholism going up, and abuse going up… We're in a pandemic of proportions we've never seen before.”[16:59] - “We are on the planet to serve. All of our life experiences are building blocks to service.”[18:26] - “We're human beings, and we have a full component of emotions and sadness and grief are part of life.”[25:37] - "95% of our success or failure is predicated on the community that we surround ourselves with."[26:46] - "One of the top human needs is to be heard and we're not trained to do this as a society, as a culture, as a world."Supporting Resources:https://voicesincourage.com/Man's Search for Meaning Book by Viktor FranklEpisode 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.

For most people who get into recovery, at some point, food and sugar become an issue in their life. It serves as a secondary feel-good mechanism when they're not feeling great. But why is sugar so appealing? Why do some people struggle so much with it that it causes problems in their life? On today’s episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane speaks with Mike Collins about the science behind sugar addiction and how it negatively impacts people in recovery. When Mike got sober, he went right back to sugar in massive amounts and a lot of people in recovery do that. Completely sugar-free for over 30 years now, Mike is the Chairman of the Board of a Food Addiction Institute that helps raise awareness about processed food and sugar worldwide. He is the founder of SugarAddiction.com which has been helping thousands successfully quit sugar for over nine years.Mike talks about the concept of an emotional management system where we are literally managing our emotions with a ubiquitous, almost free product that's available anywhere. Some people may stop for 30 days. But they revert back to their emotional management system, which has been co-opted by sugar. There are two major things here. First is how the food industry has weaponized this knowledge of the neurological workings of our brain – sugar being the gateway drug. It has that long shelf life so it's cheap to manufacture. And once they get you kind of addicted to it, they keep selling it to you. It's not just food, it's a mood changer.Mike shares his own story of how sugar impacted his own life when he started recovery, the impact of sugar addiction, and how to work through that process and get away from sugar addiction. In this episode, you will hear: Why sugar is the original gateway drug The science behind sugar addiction Why people are struggling with sugar addiction Sugar as a cultural norm Understanding the emotional management system The epidemic of overweight children and the real problem that’s causing it Key Quotes:[02:59] - “A group of people who are in recovery from drugs and alcohol have struggled with sugar.”[05:46] - “The nucleus accumbens, the dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, GABA, adrenal glands, oxytocin, even your endorphins – all these things are affected by sugar.”[07:32] - “We are literally managing our emotions with a ubiquitous, almost free product that's available anywhere.”[08:53] - “We have to separate hyper palatable foods and sugar from real food."[11:32] - “When you stop eating these refined carbohydrates and processed foods, even the gut biome has to start to shift and change and adapt to not having this product in the body.”[18:17] - “When you're consuming a large amount of sugar, your body is putting this hormone out that drives your behavior. Until you shift that, it becomes really hard to even stop the process.”[20:55] - “People fall back to the old emotional management system when something difficult comes up.”[35:13] - “We have an epidemic of overweight children, and they're not out shopping for food.”[36:19] - "The concept of calories needs to be destroyed. It's a ridiculous construct." Supporting Resources:www.sugaraddiction.comHooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions by Michael Mosshttps://www.amazon.com/Hooked-Food-Giants-Exploit-Addictions/dp/0812997298Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine by Robert H Lustighttps://www.amazon.com/Metabolical-Processed-Nutrition-Modern-Medicine/dp/0063027712 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.

Being in the restaurant industry, serving alcohol is such a big part of it. It’s intended to create an experience, just like the food, music, and the interior of the space. But if you're struggling with alcohol or drugs, it would be such a hard industry to be in because you're going to be around those all the time. In fact, about 17% to 24% of restaurant workers around the country have issues with alcohol and drugs. And that’s because it’s the only industry where drinking and drugging have become the norm. They’ve created that kind of atmosphere where it's widely accepted and readily available. Our guest today is Mickey Bakst, the co-founder of Ben’s Friends, a recovery community dedicated to helping struggling addicts in the food and beverage industry find sobriety and seek recovery and support – without having to give up their lives and their careers. At the forefront of what they do is creating a community of people who not only understand the addiction, but understand the life that the F&B workers live in. Active since 2016, Ben’s Friends is a safe space to talk about it knowing that they will not be judged.In the treatment of all kinds of addictions, when people can talk about it and connect with others, and they can feel heard and understood – that's when change happens.38 years sober now, Mickey was found in a hotel room after four days of drugging and drinking and ended up at the emergency room table. Because of his addiction, he also ended up losing his restaurant business, his home, and anybody who cared about him. Now at 69 years old, Mickey continues to live out his passion for helping individuals in the F&B industry who are struggling with addiction and he sets an example for those seeking sobriety. On this episode, Mickey shares a little bit of his own story, some of the unique struggles that come with working in the restaurant community, and why Ben’s Friends can be so helpful for someone in the restaurant industry who’s struggling with alcohol and substance abuse.In this episode, you will hear: His struggles at AA The parts of AA that resonated with Mickey the most How Ben’s Friends started Why the restaurant industry is prone to alcohol and drug addiction How Ben’s Friends is able to create a strong community within their industry Key Quotes:[08:29] - Nothing happened for me until I made a decision that for me, I wanted to live and I knew I couldn't live the way I was.[14:03] - "Anywhere from 17 to 24% of restaurant workers around the country are having issues with alcohol and drugs."[15:39] - "We're the only industry where drinking and drugging is the norm. It's accepted."[18:14] - "At the forefront of what we do is creating a community of people who not only understand the addiction, but understand the life that the F&B workers live in."[26:18] - "Once you make a decision, and that decision flows through your being that you can no longer drink if you want to live the life you want to live."[26:35] - "Ben's Friends gives people who are struggling with that obstacle a place to talk about it where they're not judged." 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.bensfriendshope.comInstagram: www.instagram.com/bensfriendsnationalFacebook: www.facebook.com/bensfriendsnational Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com 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.

Mindfulness – everybody hears about it and they have all kinds of ideas of what mindfulness is. A lot of times, they think it's this really complicated thing and that you have to do the whole kung fu thing to be mindful. But you don't have to.On today’s episode, Duane carries an inspiring conversation with Janet Fouts, the author of Microdosed Mindfulness. Janet devolved into depression when her partner was diagnosed with cancer. She found it hard to handle things well, considering how she had to take care of her partner while also running her business. As her way of numbing the pain, she began to drink a lot and tried a few drugs. She found it hard to get out of it but she knew she had to stop.She ended up going to a mindfulness-based stress reduction course, a weekend retreat that blew her mind and led her to learn about mindfulness and dive deep into studying, quitting her job, and becoming a teacher.Janet identifies self-judgment as the biggest hurdle of a person’s mindfulness journey. When you stop to recognize that judgment, you begin to back away and get centered.Recognize that it's okay to come back to it. That's part of the process. So don't be hard on yourself if you didn't get to meditate today. All you need are microdoses, moments to start living mindfully instead of practicing mindfulness.Once mindfulness dawns on you, you realize it’s just about being aware. And when you're aware of the fact that you're not aware, you switch back to being aware again. It’s such a simple concept but it can take a long time for some people to get there.When you're in emotional suffering and a lot of pain, your body's telling you that you've got to get out and do something to stop the pain. It may tell you to do so by using drugs, for instance. In those times, sitting with mindfulness can be really challenging, even if it's just 10 seconds. But it can be done!In this episode, you will hear: How mindfulness came into Janet’s life What awareness means How to get started with practicing mindfulness What it means when you normalize something How mindfulness shifts your perspective The biggest hurdle of starting a mindfulness journey Why you also need to celebrate Key Quotes:[02:45] - "I was convinced that if I just learned to meditate that everything would start to move slower, and I would be able to manage my life and everything would be wonderful."[05:34] - “It's really so simple when it dawns on you that all mindfulness is simply being aware.”[06:08] - “Another word I like to use is ‘notice’ - and that’s the simplest version of awareness.”[08:53] - “When we're aware, and when we're paying attention, we're such better human beings.”[15:39] - "We just need the microdoses. We just need the moments and pretty soon, we start living mindfully, instead of practicing mindfulness."[18:10] - “There's tons of maladaptive behaviors that we can get into if we want to. But sometimes you really just have to go, ‘Wow,’ this really hurts.”[21:08] - "We can actually retrain our brain to be happier, to have more joy simply by recognizing joy more often."Supporting Resources:www.microdosedmindfulness.com Microdosed Mindfulness book: www.microdosedmindfulness.com/#e-book 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.

Our guest today is AdaPia d'Errico and she is going to talk about intuition and paying attention to our authentic self. Her book is titled Productive Intuition: Connecting To The Subtle. Often, our intuition and our authentic self can be very subtle and difficult to pay attention to, especially if we've struggled with trauma and hardship. AdaPia is really passionate about her work, sharing her story, and sharing her wisdom. Her StoryAdaPia was at a point in her life where she was so completely lost and essentially went through a spiritual crisis. Everything she knew how to do was not working. She completely lost her marbles. She didn't have anybody to talk to. She was prejudging herself before even going into something new. What life or the universe or God delivered to her was just failure. Her whole identity fell apart and, in that process, she realized it wasn't actually failure; it was a different door she had to go through to get clarity and trust herself.Her book comes out of her last few years of getting that clarity and discovering how intuitive she is, how intuitive we all are, and how to use that intuition intentionally. We all have intuition. Sometimes we use it and it works but we don't understand it. Other times we don't listen to it at all.If we've had trauma or hardship, especially early childhood trauma, listening to intuition can be difficult. In some ways, it doesn't even seem like it's there.We've all had different levels and types of trauma. What connects all of us as humans is trauma. The conditioning and stories we grew up with as well as being told who we should be and how to please were all essentially traumatic.In this episode, you will hear: How trauma connects all humans What the intuitive space is How we're neurologically biologically hardwired for intuition Ways of understanding our intuition Why it’s so hard to let go of a thought This takes work and energy! Key Quotes:[04:30] - "We've all had different levels and types of trauma, and what connects all of us as humans is trauma because we've all had it."[05:49] - “You just know. You're not believing something, you're not listening to a voice, it's not a voice, it's a knowing. And that is inherently tied to intuition.”[07:02] - "It's super important to get the left brain on board to really understand instead of blindly believing, because blind belief isn't going to get us anywhere."[07:40] - “There's all these different mechanisms inside of us that are ways of moving inward instead of outward.”[08:26] - “Noticing our own pattern starts to bring us inward because we're focusing on ourselves instead of on somebody else or on an outside object.”[10:30] - “That emotional, energetic charge lives in our body, which is why so much somatic work is really important to help us release the stories and release the thought.”Supporting Resources:Productive Intuition: Connecting To The Subtlewww.adapiaderrico.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.

Why is addiction so hard to control? Does that mean addiction can’t be treated? On today’s episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane talks to Dr. Paul Kaloostian. Dr. Paul Kaloostian is a neurosurgeon in Los Angeles as well as an author. His books include The Young Neurosurgeon: Lessons from My Patients and two different poetry books, From The Eyes Of A Doctor and My Surgical Cases Told In Poems.As a neurosurgeon for 17 years now, Dr. Kaloostian has dealt with thousands of cases of people with neurological conditions. Seeing the need for awareness of mental health, he took a poetic approach to his books to make it easier for the world to understand what it’s like for patients who are going through neurological conditions, some of which are caused or aggravated by addiction. On today's episode, he talks about the brain, his patients, and why we do some of the things we do even when we don't necessarily want to do them. No one wants to be addicted. But the brain is such a powerful organ that what our brains decide to do is what we do. We don't really have that much control. That’s why addiction is a hard problem to fight and beat. The brain is a powerful organ so once it gets stimulated, it's difficult to change. It takes work and energy – but it's not impossible. Because of Paul's compassion for his clients and his appreciation for the vulnerability of his clients to come and seek help, this is an episode you need to listen to. While you may not fully understand what people with neurological conditions are going through until you’ve gone through the same experience, having the ability to understand these concepts today is a good way to start to develop empathy.In this episode, you will hear: What drew Paul to neurosurgery Why he took a medical poetic approach in writing his books The need to show empathy to these patients How the brain is linked to addiction Areas of the brain responsible for addiction Why addiction is a pathological condition Why addiction is so hard to control Key Quotes:[04:30] - "A single cell of the brain has so many different functions within it. It's literally a universe within a cell."[06:54] - “We only really use about five to 10% of our brains… And just imagine if we're able to utilize another 10% of our brains, what we would know, and 50% more of our brains, what we would know.”[12:02] - “Addiction is a big, big problem, not only in the field I'm in but just globally, in terms of economic costs, and medical costs and violence that happens."[12:44] - “After a while of doing drugs, alcohol, or smoking, the brain thinks that's normal so it makes your body want to stay in that environment.”[15:08] - "It's really the reward part that dominates because people like that high feeling of winning, being happy and super excited. That always will win over any other type of feeling in your brain. That's just part of the addiction process.”[15:54] - "What our brains decide to do is what we do. That's why the brain is such a fascinating and critical aspect of our lives."[16:37] - "The brain is very, very powerful. And once the brain gets stimulated, it's a powerful organ to change. It takes work and energy. But it's not impossible."Supporting Resources:The Young Neurosurgeon: Lessons from My Patients From The Eyes Of A DoctorMy Surgical Cases Told In PoemsEpisode 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.

People going through addiction recovery deal with feelings of shame, guilt, and unworthiness that no one else can understand unless they’ve gone through a similar situation. However, if someone comes to them at their level, they can automatically pull some of that shame away. This is where peer specialists can help people through addiction treatment and recovery. Today’s guest is Kabir Singh, the CEO and Founder of Fresh Start Recovery Center and the Chief Operating Officer for Amatus Health. He talks about his journey through recovery and how he’s also helping others get the treatment they need and find healing in the process, all with human connection at its core.Kabir began gravitating towards substance abuse at an early age, not realizing he had a need for help that went unnoticed. Struggling at school, he always felt he wasn’t good enough and that he couldn’t measure up. He thought resorting to substance abuse was the only thing he was capable of doing. After getting a DUI three times throughout his life, he finally entered into the halls of recovery at 34 years old. He learned about his disease, about his addicted mind, and what drove and fueled his addiction. In 2013, he became one of the first certified peer recovery specialists in the state of Maryland. In this episode, he talks about his role as a peer specialist, who can become one, how to be certified, how they’re different from counselors and therapists, and the value they provide to people struggling with substance abuse disorder.Ultimately, it’s by bringing humaneness to our connection that people heal. When we find ourselves in extreme pain, we don’t know if we still have anything to give. Healing is all about reminding each other of our value and that we all have something to offer the world. In this episode, you will hear: Kabir’s road to addiction and recovery How he became a CPRS What peer recovery specialists do The advantages of a peer group Why peer intervention is very helpful in helping people heal The need for self-care as a peer specialist Key Quotes:[11:23] - "There are multiple pathways to recovery, and that's what the peer movement is about.”[11:44] - "My heart was always in the right place. But my thinking was not."[17:08] - "I entered into the halls of recovery, learned about the disease... I learned about my addicted mind, what drove and fueled the addiction."[22:55] - "You do not have to be a person in recovery, and you can be what's considered an ally to recovery."[24:59] - "We're all on the same level in the group."[25:36] - "When you have a therapist and a client, there is this kind of hierarchical, unspoken structure there."[28:26] - "You already feel so much shame, you're already in the hospital, and this person comes to you at your level, automatically pulls some of that shame away."[30:26] - " What a better way to reach folks than to bring down all those walls of inequality and level out the playing field."[33:42] - "More often than not, we are in recovery. And it's very important that we as peers, and I as a peer, do the work I need to do on myself outside so that I don't mix up the two."[35:56] - "The greatest sign of strength is asking for help."Supporting Resources:Fresh Start Recovery CenterAmatus HealthConnecticut Community of Addiction 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 of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane talks with relationship maven Abby Medcalf. Abby is a psychologist, author, podcast host, and a TEDx speaker. Abby is the author of the #1 Amazon best-selling book, Be Happily Married: Even If Your Partner Won't Do A Thing and host of the top-rated Relationships Made Easy Podcast. Abby is in long-term recovery from heroin. She was very functional and very good at hiding it for many years. Along her journey of recovery, she got a business degree and eventually started counseling her colleagues and helping them improve their relationships. That marked the beginning of her beautiful journey from self-recovery to helping people recover in life and relationships. Abby has helped thousands of people think differently so they can create connection, ease, and joy in their relationships. With over 30 years of experience, Abby is a recognized authority and sought-after speaker at organizations such as Google, Apple, AT&T, Kaiser, PG&E, American Airlines, and Chevron. Today, Abby shares some key insights from her book. She also touches on taking personal responsibility for your own feelings and the things you can do to change them. Abby has a ton of positive energy that she brings to this episode along with practical advice and steps backed up by research to help you feel better and change your life. In this episode, you will hear: Abby’s journey through heroin addiction recovery. The opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety, but connection. What is compassionate responsibility? Why you need to stop hitting the snooze button. How to keep yourself in positive momentum all day. What is the Reticular Activating System (RAS)? The reason people are not connecting. Planning your feelings like you plan your day. Key Quotes:[06:10] - “The opposite of addiction isn't sobriety – it's connection.”[06:37] - "You can be happily married and in a happy relationship if you're not married, even if your partner won't do anything because it's all about what you do."[08:10] "You're the dominant vibration. Have other people calibrate to you, don't you calibrate to them. And this is part of taking responsibility."[12:47] - "If you can just take one thing from your gratitude list, really feel it, feel the state of it, and be in it, you will have so much more bang for your buck than writing 15 pages of something."[16:33] - "Going places sometimes where no one knows you, you do have that chance to start over again." [18:29] - “The reticular activating system or RAS is your filter between your conscious and your subconscious mind. When you consciously think of something, it sends it as an order or an instruction to the subconscious to look for it.”[21:04] - "Our conscious brains process information at a rate of 50 bits per second, while our unconscious or subconscious brains process information at a rate of 11 million bits per second."[23:04] - "Why aren't we connecting? It's because people hear what you mean, not what you say. They can feel where that's from."Supporting Resources:www.abbymedcalf.com Be Happily Married: Even If Your Partner Won't Do A Thing Relationships Made Easy 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.

What most people don't realize about addiction, whether it’s to alcohol, drugs, shopping, overeating, or porn, is that it’s not the core of the problem. The addicted person just uses it to cope with their real problem: their addicted mind or funky brain. For recovery to happen, people need to change their thinking to grow to new levels of awareness.On this episode, Duane talks with Dennis Berry, the author of Funky Wisdom: A Practical Guide to Life and the host of The Funky Brain Podcast. He has been sober since April 8, 2003 and now has expertise in life mastery. During the time since 2003, he became a successful businessman, athlete, and family man. His journey and recovery helped him find his mission in life: to help others achieve inner peace, success, and mastery in every area of their lives. Dennis knows what it's like to be helpless and hopeless with no positive direction. He was able to climb out of the gutter and transform his life so now he spends his life helping others do the same. His goal is to help people understand life on a whole different level and to see the world differently.Living by his mantra of gratitude and service, he hopes to shorten people's learning curve for growing to new levels of awareness to six months or a year instead of five or seven years. Dennis calls himself a grateful alcoholic because all that he did got him to this new place of living, growth, understanding, and awareness. Today, Dennis talks about practical steps you can take to mitigate your suffering, ease your pain, and create the meaningful life you want. Hopefully, this episode helps you on your journey through recovery. In this episode, you will hear: It’s not about drinking but emotional sobriety. The inspiration behind his book and why “funky wisdom.” The HOW approach to what. What you need to do when your world changes. What can you do with your most valuable asset? If addiction is not the real problem, what is? How do you create willingness? Why he's a grateful alcoholic. The value of having an expert in every area of your life. Rewiring your beliefs and behaviors in six categories of your life. Why writing is more powerful than talk therapy. Key Quotes:[02:30] - "It wasn't about not drinking... it's about following up. It's about looking at the world in the eye and acting like a mature adult. And what we strive for really is emotional sobriety”[07:32] - "You can't solve a problem you can't admit exists."[07:43] - "When you're in enough pain, that's when the change can occur because we don't like change as human beings."[08:15] - “When I'm stressed out, angry, resentful, fearful, you know, what I find is usually that the world changed, and I didn't change along with it."[13:47] - “We need to really change our thinking to really grow to new levels of awareness.”[23:19] - “It may not help them at this moment. But we're planting those seeds."[28:17] - "We want to surround ourselves with success all the time, whenever possible. So I was taught to have an expert in every area of your life."[30:37] - "There's no shame in asking for help. In fact, it'll get you there faster."[32:50] - “What we need to do is focus on one goal at a time. We start knocking down each of those goals at a high level. And then all of a sudden, we start changing.”Supporting Resources:Funky Wisdom: A Practical Guide to LifeThe Funky Brain 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.

When a partner has a substance use disorder, there's a lot of mistrust. There's a lot of lying and hiding which damages the intimacy, connection, and faith in the relationship. Afterward, all of that has to be repaired.On today’s episode, Duane talks with international corporate attorney Chantal Jauvin about her journey to recovery as a partner of someone with a substance abuse disorder.As an international corporate attorney with expertise in trade law and financial services, Chantal has worked with Fortune 500 companies from around the world, dealing with matters from free trade zone manufacturing in Costa Rica to fast-moving consumer goods in Europe. Her work has allowed her to travel to different places including Cambodia, Russia, and Vienna.Chantal's journey of recovery started by meeting the man that she fell in love with (who eventually became her husband). Soon, she found out about his dark secret: he was a functional alcoholic. She was not aware that he was struggling with a disease or that he was hiding it. She was initially in denial of his addiction. She made excuses that just left her blindsided. Finally, they went to relationship counseling and that paved the way for her husband’s healing process.In her new book, “Love Without Martinis: How Couples Build Healthy Relationships in Recovery Based on Real Stories,” Chantal shares her wisdom about healing through the stories of real couples going through the same experience. As she says in the interview, it is the book she wished she had at the beginning of her journey of understanding and growing while loving someone who is in their own recovery. Today, she talks about her experience, how she got to this book, and how she was able to get other couples to talk about their experiences and share their wisdom of what they learned going through this experience. In this episode, you will hear: Chantal’s professional background as an attorney Her journey of recovery with her husband’s addiction problems How her husband’s changing behavior prompted her to change as well The different phases that a partner of someone with substance abuse disorder goes through The benefits of having a third party to help your partner through addiction treatment What Chantal did during the treatment and recovery process How the relationship needs to be fixed as well How she got other couples to share their own stories of addiction recovery Key Quotes:[06:19] - “I do what I think a lot of us who love someone who struggles with alcohol is, in my mind, I make a lot of excuses.”[08:08] - “When you love someone who has an addiction, all of a sudden your world closes in and all you can think of is how you're going to get them to stop drinking.”[10:24] - “I wasn't happy with my own behavior, how I was becoming so wrapped in him."[12:59] - “I was not aware that he was struggling with a disease. But I knew something wasn't right about all this alcohol.”[15:18] - “What happens when you have a third party that comes into the conversation, they're able to bring perspective and able to ask the right questions.”[17:32] - “I had to learn to let him be in charge of his own recovery, but be supportive of him." [21:33] - “In recovery, when you're in a relationship there is – I am recovering. My partner is recovering, but our relationship is recovering.”[22:38] - “It's hard to be vulnerable to someone who has not been trustworthy. So how do you re-establish that connection?”[31:52] - "The thing about addiction, we have to remember is we're not dealing with the person, we're really dealing with the disease."Supporting Resources:Love Without Martinis: How Couples Build Healthy Relationships in Recovery Based on Real StoriesEpisode 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.

You could be suffering from chronic stress without knowing it. Alternatively, you might know it but are just so used to it that you think it’s normal. Well, it’s not normal. You have to act on it before it takes a toll on your health and happiness.We have many different stressors in life. The human alarm is in the brain but we are wired to ignore it because we're wired for fight or flight. Humans evolved but, like other creatures, we used to live in caves or under trees. We had to know where the bears and wolves were. We had to be on guard against predators. As humans moved into cities and suburbs, most of us didn't have those worries but our brains haven't caught up. The alarm system hasn't evolved. It still sends chemicals throughout the body that lead to chronic stress. Chronic stress has various symptoms, including weight loss, weight gain, sugar cravings, salt cravings, disrupted sleep, fatigue, and muscle tension. Some people escape into alcohol, drugs, pornography, video games, work, or just about anything else to distract their brains from stress and pretend it isn’t happening. We just can’t tolerate it.On today’s episode, Duane speaks with Jennifer Love, the co-author of When Crisis Strikes: Five Steps to Heal Your Brain, Body, and Life From Chronic Stress. The book has outlined five steps to help people heal from life’s chronic stressors. If you have a crisis that comes up, you can walk through these steps. The more you do so, the better you're going to get at it and the more resilient you're going to become. Over time, you will have less stress. Jennifer is a board-certified psychiatrist in Addiction Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine and is a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the American Board of Addiction Medicine. She is an award-winning researcher and international speaker who focuses on stress and the brain. In this episode, you will hear: Writing the book, When Crisis Strikes and why Jennifer wrote a book about chronic stress What chronic stress is The Crisis Response System: what’s going on in the body when we’re under unconscious stress 5 steps to get you through chronic stress and become a better version of yourself How COVID has impacted chronic stress Key Quotes:[04:43] - “‘Your health doesn't freeze. Your dad's health doesn't freeze. Your divorce process or your unhappy marriage doesn't freeze. Nothing freezes in COVID except the economy."[15:16] - “We gain weight. We have disrupted sleep, or sugar cravings, salt cravings, fatigue, and muscle tension. It all comes out physically because our brains are now in survival mode.”[17:26] - “The fuel in life is stress.”[22:43] - “You can't really treat that stress when you're in the middle of it.”[27:23] - “We have to get the brain away from the alarm enough that we can focus on the things that will actually get us through the crisis until that alarm turns off.”[28:59] - “Some people escape into alcohol, drugs, pornography, video games, work. It's just anything to distract my brain from this. I need to pretend this isn't happening. I can't tolerate it.”[42:30] - “Our beliefs are firmly rooted in who we are.”[48:53] - “We still have the ability to rise. We have that within us and crisis makes us feel we do not. And hope is what teaches us that we do.”Supporting Resources:Book: https://www.amazon.com/When-Crisis-Strikes-Chronic-Stress/dp/0806540818 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.

Addiction is a response to pain and trauma. Reaching out and making yourself vulnerable is challenging when you've been traumatized. You may not trust people and you may not trust the process. So what needs to be done to discharge the trauma off your body and break free from the symptoms – addiction being one of them?In this episode, Duane talks with Mike Govoni, an integrative holistic recovery coach who specializes in healing not only addiction but trauma as well. He has extensive experience in helping addicts overcome trauma and free themselves from addiction, a path that he has walked personally. Mike was traumatized in utero, which led to his early-onset illness in long-term recovery. This set him up for addiction. As a result of childhood trauma, pain, and suffering, Mike escaped through alcohol and drugs at an early age. He smoked his first joint at 11. By the time he was 18 years old, he got addicted to oxycontin – the first substance that took his soul out of him. He had always thought it was under control until he finally had to reach out for help. When he was hit with depression, his mom brought him to a 12-step meeting which was his first exposure to life in recovery. At that point, he got sober and has been for about 16 years now.Interestingly, he never knew he was suffering from unprocessed unhealed trauma. It took the universe to conspire for his awakening and for him to have a mystical experience that led to profound healing. That's what led him on the journey to what he does today.Today, Mike and Duane are going to have an in-depth conversation about trauma, early trauma, how it hides in the body, and how we can begin to process through that trauma to be able to release it, find freedom, and be our authentic selves.In this episode, you will hear: Mike’s entry into addiction and where his childhood trauma came from How addiction is related to trauma What keeps people from seeking help Why trauma starts in utero What trauma really means and how it’s been programmed in the subconscious How our nervous system can help discharge the trauma The role of others in the process of healing yourself Key Quotes:[07:18] - “Addiction is a response to pain and trauma. And reaching out and making yourself vulnerable is challenging when you've been traumatized.”[07:58] - "If you look at the work of Stanislav Grof, who is a well-known psychotherapist, he talked about birth as the first real trauma." [09:28] - "Trauma is really misunderstood. There's a lot of different definitions of trauma."[10:52] - “You can be in long-term recovery, and still be suffering from the symptoms of trauma.”[13:23] - “Many of us have traumas that we have suppressed and repressed so much that it's below consciousness.”[27:11] - “The nervous system naturally knows how to move through the cycle and discharge the trauma."[32:56] - “When you're stuck in survival mode, you don't have access to your creativity or have access to the full potential of who you are."[33:25] - “It's no wonder why people in addiction isolate and don't have access to this social engagement system. We're social primates. We are built for connection. We are built for touch.”Supporting Resources:The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der KolkEpisode 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.

You’ve probably heard of someone who’s suffered from chronic pain, gone to doctors, ran all the tests necessary, and surprisingly, none of the doctors could actually diagnose the problem. Andrew Hahn, Founder of Life Centered Therapy, joins today’s episode to explain how chronic pain, limiting beliefs, and even addictions are not physical in nature, but energetic. Hahn is a licensed clinical psychologist who received his A.B. Magna Cum Laude in Social Studies/Psychology from Harvard University and his Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Hahnemann University. He is certified by Helen Palmer to teach the Enneagram and has also been a faculty member in the graduate Counseling Programs at Lesley University and Northeastern University. On this episode, Andrew talks about regressions, past lives, and changing our internalized narrative. He shares how our symptoms and suffering are an invitation for awareness, integrations, and mastery of experiences that we have yet been unable to handle.Part of the conversation covers how every kind of suffering is something that couldn't be handled and taken in stride. Whether you call it chronic pain, fibromyalgia, autoimmune disease, depression, anxiety, addiction, bad relationships – it's something that couldn't be handled and integrated. Trauma is subjective. It's something that can't be handled. And so, people need to be free of their reactivity. Every symptom you have is, on the surface, awful – but on a soul level, it's a clue to what it is that couldn't be handled and integrated. That includes addiction. In order to heal, one has to master what couldn't be handled and integrated and then change his or her narrative. Once you’ve conquered that, you transcend it. Then you're not in that piece of suffering anymore. In this episode, you will hear: The beginnings of Life Centered Therapy The concept of pain and where it’s coming from Healing from pain and trauma through a shift of perspective Understanding your story of betrayal How changing your narrative leads to growth and healing The reason for chronic pain that can’t be explained even by doctors The positive emotional charge behind addiction as well as anticipatory fears Key Quotes:[11:10] - “Everything you suffer about is something that couldn't be handled and taken in stride. “[11:42] - “Trauma is subjective. It's just simply something that can't be handled.”[13:02] - "What is healing? – mastering what couldn't be handled and integrated."[14:12] - “The shift is from being identified with the one who is traumatized to identifying with the one who is holding or hosting or witnessing the one who is traumatized, which is who we really are.”[24:28] - “Every discomfort is a narrative that couldn't be handled, and anything you can't handle has an exact associated discomfort, becomes the discomfort, and the world's changed.”[26:09] - "Find what you're suffering about. Drop, whatever you think it is. Scan your body. Find the sensation. Bring all your awareness to such a degree there that you become that sensation from the inside-out."[37:30] - "The thing you think is an accident and fate, you unconsciously create without awareness because that sensation acts like a magnet."Supporting Resources:www.lifecenteredtherapy.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.

You could be raised by parents who are very nice people and they may not have any drinking or drug use issues. They could be super religious. But that doesn’t guarantee it’s going to save you from drug addiction or alcoholism. It's perfectly acceptable to ask for prayers if somebody is sick. But what happens when you do a repeated bad behavior that you can't seem to control?As children, we don’t really have the power to change our environment that has been created by adults. We have been taught to be fundamentally flawed and that we are all sinners. And sometimes, when our brains have been wired that way, it naturally brings feelings of guilt, shame, and pain – that the only way to numb those is resorting to addiction. On today’s episode, Duane talks to Arlina Allen, host of The One Day at a Time podcast and creator of the Sober Life School. Arlina Allen has been sober since 1994 after living a wild life of drugs, alcohol, and sex. Her tagline at the time was – “If it was in a bottle, a bag or blue jeans, I was doing it!” Alina had quite a rough childhood. She started seeing a shrink at age 9, drinking at age 10, and started smoking weed in junior high. Her parents got divorced when she was young, and she was sexually abused by their neighbor. Growing up, she only had two feelings: guilty and wrong – and she used addiction as her way out of pain. Eventually, this left her feeling lost, full of self-loathing, demoralized, and hopeless. Then she finally reached out to some sober friends who offered her a little bit of hope and safety to be able to look inward.Today, Arlina shares her understanding of how our own natural tendency for negativity and confirmation bias creates a painful feedback loop of continued self-loathing and continued pain, and finally, how reaching out to others can help change that process so we can unpack our baggage, see things more clearly with compassion, and begin to make the changes we want.In this episode, you will hear: How the shame spiral keeps going Understanding confirmation bias, negativity bias, and the brain’s default network What prompted her to finally make that switch to the other side How part of the AA’s 12-step program allows you to unload all of your baggage The role of community in addiction recovery Key Quotes:[07:11] - “In childhood, we develop these beliefs about who we are, it's like the subconscious mind. It's how we operate from it's like a computer's operating system. We then operate from that presupposition about who we think we are, and what we deserve, and what we're capable of. [07:36] - “Confirmation bias meaning I've made a decision about who I was and what I was worth. And then my subconscious mind then looks for information to support my belief.”[08:16] - "The default mode network is like a thermostat, where you don't get too high, and you don't get too low. We live within this comfort zone."[15:54] - “We do have a negativity bias where we're looking for the problem so that we can solve it so that we can survive. But what we don't realize is that we are forgetting about our assets. We're forgetting to focus on the thousand things that go right every day.”[21:08] - "I just didn't see a way out. I was so self-centered but incapable of self-examination."[25:45] - “The how of recovery is honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness.”[31:54] - “There is no doing this alone because our minds are compromised. And so we need an outside objective, compassionate, third-party perspective on what's going on.”Supporting Resources:Arlina’s Self-Esteem Course: https://www.selfesteemcourse.com/The One Day at a Time: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-day-at-a-time-podcast/id1453590397 Sober Life School: https://www.soberlifeschool.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.

Recovery is not one size fits all. It is also not a one-and-done situation. Rather, recovery is a process and a journey. When someone gets sober and begins recovery, they are just starting to walk down the path of healing. Many of their previous feelings and temptations may continue to come up. However, they are gradually learning the tools they need to stay on their new path. Shelby John is passionate about helping people who are in this stage of recovery. She is the host of the Confident Sober Women podcast and the founder of the Facebook group by the same name. Shelby particularly loves to work with women who struggle with substances by helping them control their minds and bodies and build confidence, using everything she has learned in her own recovery. In this episode, you will hear: Shelby’s mental health and addiction story. What being self-centered really means. The problem with hiding and inauthenticity in our culture. The eye-opening moment for Shelby in her alcoholism. Why we can’t fight addiction by trying harder on our own. How Shelby helps others who are walking through recovery. How trauma is relative and can lead to addiction no matter what it looks like. What generational trauma is. The link between anxiety and not understanding your core values. How to determine your values and make decisions that align with them. Key Quotes:[4:56] - “I didn't have a lot of reasons why I didn't feel comfortable within myself. I mean I had some… trauma in my childhood but not like what I viewed as to be very extreme. And so I spent a lot of time thinking, ‘What's wrong with you? Why don't you feel good enough? You have all this life... you've got this boyfriend and these parents and you go to school.’ But yet I still felt really kind of dark on the inside.”[9:15] - “I was immediately like, ‘I'm not self-centered. What are you talking about? I can't stand myself.’ And what I came to learn, was taught that self-centeredness isn't what I think about myself but how often. And I learned that I thought about myself all the time… When was I gonna drink, when was the next time I was going to drink, when was I going to act out in this way, when was I going to have to lie, when was I gonna have to lie about the lie?”[18:57] - “There was a lot of things that didn't happen to me. I've never had a DUI. I've never been in trouble other than that… My marriage stayed intact. I have three beautiful teenagers… As I was told early on, when I started working through some step work... you know, my list of transgressions or whatever might not have been that long, but it's… still pretty big, what was on there. So I needed that, I needed that powerful statement right in my face for me to kind of get it because I was a little stubborn and it was helpful. And it's helpful for me to look back to remind myself where I came from.”[31:31] - “A lot of people don't reach out for help because they feel like they shouldn't have problems, like, they feel like they shouldn't be anxious or they shouldn't be depressed and they judge themselves and then all that shame comes up. And then they don't reach out for help and they don't get support and they have to turn to these isolative ways to cope: alcohol, drugs, sex… gambling, whatever it is to try and just numb that out, get that away.”[35:20] - “Our backgrounds or our upbringings or our situations, maybe even your stress… it doesn't excuse you lashing out at your child and acting a fool, but it sure does help explain it.”Supporting Resources:NovusMindfulLife.comShelby’s websiteConfident Sober Women Facebook groupConfident Sober Women 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.

Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. That cliche is true even (and sometimes especially) when dealing with addiction.Today’s guest is a prime example. David Poses is the author of The Weight of Air: A Story About the Lies of Addiction and the Truth of Recovery. In this memoir, David covers his heroin addiction and how he used buprenorphine to help him overcome it. Throughout the show, David is sharing about the struggles he encountered when trying to find treatment. Many methods that were common at the time weren’t working for him until he finally found a doctor that would prescribe him buprenorphine. That is what saved his life from heroin. Based on his experience, David has amazing insight into addiction treatment and some of the real issues surrounding how it is viewed today. Tune in to hear it all.In this episode, you will hear: How David’s struggle with depression led him to seek out heroin. One of the biggest misunderstandings of mental health. Why we need to find the recovery method that works for us. The unique way opioids affect our brains. When heroin started becoming problematic for David. How he started looking at alternative treatments. What methadone is. David’s journey through meeting his wife, having their daughter, and relapsing. How buprenorphine saved his life. Why addiction isn’t the real problem but what leads people to self-medicate is. Key Quotes:[5:36] - “If you sprained your ankle and it's all kind of sympathy and we know that, you know, you're not going to be able to will that pain away or snap out of it, you know, you go to the hospital and get the crutches and whatever. With emotional pain, you know, people tell you, you know, “Calm down, snap out of it, don't you want to be happy?” That doesn't matter. I mean, that kind of stuff just made me feel so much worse.” [13:23] - “I'm a big supporter of 12 step groups because they offer support and community. But I also understand that it, you know, addiction, disease, our physical bodies, our brain, our neurobiology is complex and we don't understand everything, but having a support community, I think can be really crucial for healing. But at the same time, it has its limitations… There's a lot of options out there and there's a lot of ways to get sober and there's a lot of ways to get recovery, or even if sobriety, as they say, is not your purpose, you have to find what works for you.”[18:33] - “I hated the lying. I hated the nonstop risks. I hated not knowing what I was doing.”[24:14] - “Yeah, I was ashamed. And... addiction has been so siloed off away from, you know, medicine for so long. That, you know, even with doctors, even today, like I tell a doctor that you know, I have a history of whatever and, you know, they assume that like I'm in there looking for drugs.”[28:35] - “So Ruby and I walked to the drugstore and picked up the refill and we're on our way home. And I just knew that this was not gonna end well. And we got back home and I brought her up to the bathroom with me and I opened the Percocet and I just was like looking at her and I flushed them.”[33:57] - “The idea that craving is, you know, we're not talking about ice cream here. So it was like, your foot’s chopped off, you're craving morphine, you're drowning underwater, you're craving oxygen. So, you know, it's that kind of craving.”[42:04] - “If you're at a point in your life where you're, you know, sticking needles in your arm, like, something's not right. Addiction is not the problem. You know, addiction is definitely a problem. But like, we're self-medicating, drugs are a form of self-medication.” Supporting Resources:NovusMindfulLife.comDavid’s websiteThe Weight of AirDavid on TwitterDavid on InstagramDavid on FacebookEpisode 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.

When we’ve had trauma in our life, we can get really disconnected from our emotions. We don’t know how to express them or how to use them. Often, we turn to the only thing that we think will work: a substance or behavior that helps us escape or avoid those emotions.However, what if we tried something different? Journaling has grown in popularity over the past few years. People have found its power as a method of getting their emotions down onto a page and helping them see their lives a little differently. Today’s guest used journaling in this exact way to help her recover from addiction. Harriet Hunter is the author of the daily devotional book Miracles of Recovery. Today, Harriet is sharing her compelling story of moving out of addiction, experiencing incredible loss, and continuing to move forward despite it all. Join our conversation to hear more. In this episode, you will hear: Harriet’s hardships in childhood that led to her addiction. When and how she began recovery and got sober. Her tumultuous relationship with her daughter. How writing helped her get and stay sober. How she has taken her grief and used it to help others. How journaling can help anybody change their perspective. Key Quotes:[4:56] - “Marijuana was my love of choice, though… it just did for me what I could not do for myself. And that is absolutely take me away.”[8:20] - “I was a high-functioning drunk. I could entertain 40 people, keep smiling, but I never could remember the next day who was there or what happened.”[10:26] - “I got sober in 1999 and I never looked back because I did all my relapsing in that 30-year run.” [18:12] - “I learned now, if I hadn’t learned which I had with my husband, that I am powerless. But you know, God was with me every day. And AA saved my life.”[26:30] - “We have found out collectively that something happens to the brain. It sees it and hears it in a much more intentional, focused way than just talking. I found out that when I write, I can't get away from myself. I have to slow my brain down.”[31:32] - “One of the ways I ask women to write their gratitudes is not to just put a word at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, happy, sad, whatever. No, no, you have to be able to see what it is you feel. If you don't see it, then it's not real.”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.comJournaling with a PurposeMiracles of Recovery: Daily Meditations of Hope, Courage, and FaithEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com9zXov7o76D1d1WeRh9p0Support 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.

Hiding--many addicts do it. It’s what keeps them locked in prisons of guilt and shame. It’s how they convince even themselves that they don’t have a problem. It’s the very thing that prevents them from getting the help that they so desperately need.Today’s guest, Wanja Joy, has experience with hiding. She hid her alcohol addiction from everyone in her life. Even after she reached out for help and started seeing a therapist, she hid her struggle with alcohol from him.However, today she is the host of Wanja on Air: Actions in Recovery. On her podcast, she shares her story of struggling with alcohol and how she used it to cover up. She tells how she eventually overcame her guilt, shame, and perfectionism and reached out for help. Wanja changed her life and now brings that change to others. Wanja is just a genuine spirit who wants to bring joy to other people, so tune in to hear our incredible conversation about her story of recovery.In this episode, you will hear: All about Wanja’s childhood and how perfectionism began brewing in her at a very young age. How addiction can start in our minds. When and how Wanja first began to realize she has an issue with alcohol. Her struggle with hiding her addiction. When she first started being honest and asked for help. The intense drive that pushed her forward her entire life. The tools she learned in rehab that helped her begin to abstain from alcohol. When she decided to share her story with others. What her podcast and coaching are all about. Key Quotes:[04:05] - “My mom is a teacher and I'm her daughter, and we weren't given an option to do things like reading. It was not an option to have good grades. Those things were not optional. So when I ended up in the height of my disease, I realized that I was actually brewing perfectionism from a very young age.”[05:33] - “Way before I picked up a substance, I did have a disease of perception... it was all made in my mind and it started really young.”[08:29] - “And in my mind, when growing up and everything else in between, I just thought alcohol is a liquid and you could have it or leave it. But at some point, for me, I was obsessive about it. And I knew that wasn’t normal. So my choice was, at the time with this mind of mine that plants a seed and blows it up, I'm just going to hide it.”[13:01] - “I was in such denial that I actually believed my own lies.”[19:24] - “But somehow I had this mind that was made up that I needed to do certain things at certain times. And I felt like I was being delayed because now I'm setting my degree later than I wanted to and so I have to catch up.”[30:17] - “I was really vigilant about feeding my alcoholism. So now I started feeding my recovery at the same rate. It started being beautiful but it wasn’t at the beginning.”[36:25] - “So many times I think so many of us can get lost that we don't realize we're like everybody else. We all have these fears and insecurities and shame and sometimes trauma. And if we share our story, I think it helps so many more people and to mitigate that suffering.”[42:15] - “We can get addicted to stress without even knowing, to a core belief without even knowing.”Supporting Resources:NovusMindfulLife.comWanja on AiR (Actions in Recovery) podcastBook a free call with WanjaEpisode 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.

Addiction is often the result of pain in our early years of life. Whether it’s passed down through genetics or an attempt to escape the pain, many addicts can point to a hard childhood as the source of their addiction. This is why it’s so important to recognize our family patterns and root out the disease of addiction while we still can. Today’s guest, Kate Russell, grew up in just such an unhealthy environment. She was physically abused as a child and was raised by an alcoholic mother. However, she now holds amazing compassion as a result of having worked through her trauma and eventual addiction.Kate is now the author of Down The Rabbit Hole, a memoir of abuse, addiction, and recovery. Getting to read her book, hear her story, and then talk to her on the other side of it all was amazing. Kate inspired me and I think she will do the same for all of you. Tune in to hear all about her book and how she not only endured but grew through her difficult life experiences.In this episode, you will hear: The “God voice” that helped Kate get through the abuse she endured in her childhood. The way abuse got so deeply embedded into her that she began to abuse her sister. When she first began to see the parallel between her, her mom, and addiction. Where the term “rabbit hole” in the title of her book came from. How she became addicted to marijuana and alcohol. The hole that’s left in our hearts when we heal from an addiction. Kate’s journey towards sobriety. How recovery looks different than she expected. How she has developed such compassion for herself and her parents. Why it’s so important to feel all of your feelings and let yourself cry sometimes. Key Quotes:[04:38] - “That’s really what the book ended up being about, for me, was the mind... it’s just how our minds work. Not just addicts, but just how the mind works.” [16:17] - “So ‘Down a Rabbit Hole’ refers to falling down into triggered thinking. So triggered thinking is when we revert back into a helpless childhood, that helplessness we felt in our childhood.”[20:28] - “The drugs... aren’t very successful at covering up that that deeper level of pain or loneliness or depression or whatever it is. And then you start to realize, ‘Oh, wait, this isn't quite working anymore.’”[23:06] - “I was always reaching out for help but wasn’t always met with the results I would have hoped.”[26:25] - “That’s what I think recovery is. It’s just like slowly unpeeling the onion.”[28:19] “When I got sober, there's a pink cloud, if you will call it… life is… different, but everything’s the same. I had the same job, same apartment, same car, but I was sober… everything was new and different.”[30:01] - “The addictive mind is fear: a fear to change. It's fear. You are set in your ways.”[32:28] - “It's always when you get to the other side, you always look back and go, ‘It wasn't that bad.’ Or, ‘You know what, it was hard at times. It was. But I got through it. And if I can get through it, so can you.’” Supporting Resources:NovusMindfulLife.comKateRussellAuthor.comDown the Rabbit HoleEpisode 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.

When we go through extreme pain, it’s easy to feel like we’re all alone. We doubt that anybody has felt the level of pain that we are currently experiencing. Life begins to feel hopeless and we start believing that there is just no reason to carry on.However, there is always some good ahead. Think of the countless stories of those who have survived unimaginable circumstances and lived to tell about it. If we will just do what we can at the moment, taking as few steps as we can muster, and keep our eyes locked on the amazing things to come, we, too, can endure any trial. Today I am speaking with Steve Melen, the author of Killing Graces. Steve carries a resiliency and a hope for getting through the hard stuff in life that is inspiring. During our conversation, we discuss his journey through stomach cancer, addiction, and survival. Steve is an amazing example of someone who has gone through extreme struggle and pain and made it out to the other side. His story is both riveting and hopeful, so tune in to hear it all for yourself.In this episode, you will hear: The story of how Steve found out he had stomach cancer and how he endured all of his treatments. How he got addicted to opiates. When he first realized he had a real problem with opiate addiction. How he began to get off of the pain meds. How being a father gave him the strength to push through withdrawal. His attempts at getting back to a sense of normalcy. The emotional pain he was holding inside and how he worked through it. The patterns of numbing he fell into. How therapy helped him finally heal. Where the idea for Killer Graces came from. How he came up with that title for his book. Key Quotes:[09:16] - “Everyone... thought the worst was going to happen and so they weren’t going to stop me from numbing my pain.”[13:21] - “So, I left the hospital and said, ‘Now I'm just going to… fight this. I'm going to go through this battle of detox and I'm going to take it on. And I did and I didn't realize how hard it was. It was the hardest thing I've ever done.’”[16:55] - “If I didn't have her I don't know where I would have gone. I would have probably found some other purpose. But at that point… that’s what I had. I needed… not… to have her be 15, 14 years old like she is now and be like, ‘Oh, I don't really remember,’ or just look at pictures of me. I did not want that to be the case.”[17:23] “When you're in all of that pain, just focus on that: this is where I am going, this is what I am doing, this is how I'm going to go.”[17:35] “The focus has to go off of yourself.”[30:07] “I hope no one goes through this. But we all have family, children, parents, relatives going through these things. And it's going to be hard. Something's going to be hard for you at some point.”[32:51] “You just said, ‘I'll just do the next step. I'll just do the next thing in front of me. I'll just keep doing it, one little thing at a time.’ And really, that's all you need to do and you'll get there.”[35:49] “Have faith in yourself that you can do more than you think you can… face it and do what is suggested and what you feel is right... Try to make progress, as little as the progress can be.Supporting Resources:Steve’s website: https://stevemelen.com/Killer Graces: https://www.amazon.com/Killer-Graces-power-breakthrough-living/dp/1735165719/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=killer+graces&qid=1614194588&sr=8-1NovusMindfulLife.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.

Ever seen or heard of people who would come in for addiction treatment over and over again – like they almost always come in for the same problem with the same sense of empowerment? You could throw as many drugs at them or do all kinds of physical interventions but nothing changes. If you're just living in your physical body, doctors can help you just fine. But if you're living in your physical body and your spiritual body is in need of healing, then they would have a hard time doing that. Western medicine tries to generalize in this physics-based realm, which is very important. But there’s also this spiritual realm addressed mainly by alternative medicine.In this episode, Duane speaks with Mona Balogh and she’s going to talk about her book, “How to Stay Out of My Emergency Room: Master Your Health and Find Joy in Your Life by Balancing the Power of Your Mind, Your Body, and Your Higher Self.”Today, Mona talks about her discoveries as an ER doctor and working with people who were continually coming into the ER. And she was left wondering why they kept coming back. Nothing was changing. Until one day, she stumbled into an addiction treatment conference that shifted everything for her. She began looking through her clients and realized that the bigger issue was not just the behavior, but it was something spiritual – an emptiness in their soul that needed to be filled. In this episode, you will hear: How her spiritual awareness journey began Who are the frequent flyers? How the addiction medicine conference became her turning point How energy medicine is applied to addiction treatment The power of someone who compassionately sees you The difference between Western medicine and alternative medicine Dealing with the pressure of doing alternative medicine being an allopathic doctor The 2 separate, but related paths mentioned in her book that can be achieved through meditation Key Quotes:[06:15] - “Drug addicts and alcoholics have an emptiness in their soul and that emptiness needed to be filled with something.”[07:03] - “Frequent flyers are people who would come in over and over again, almost always for the same problem with the same sense of empowerment.” [08:35] - "It's this huge gorilla in the room that's completely being ignored. I'm rolling my eyes, they're rolling their eyes back at me. And nothing's changing."[10:54] - “Whether you’re the addict or you're the treater of the addiction, or just the loved one or caregiver – it's enormous work because you're dealing with an enormous gorilla.”[14:22] - "The 12-step program is all about having others listen and hear you, but not getting away with anything that they don't already know."[15:20] - “Western medicine tries to generalize in this physics-based realm, which is very important... but then, there's a special realm, which is what the alternative medicine addresses."[16:20] - "One of the things that nontraditional medicine has opened my eyes up to is the richness and the beauty of the special treatments."[21:32] - "There's something far greater, far better than our physical self."[25:06] - "To get to the point where you're always striving towards your higher self, your Yang self, you need to know how to meditate and how to behave within that meditation.”Supporting Resources:“How to Stay Out of My Emergency Room: Master Your Health and Find Joy in Your Life by Balancing the Power of Your Mind, Your Body, and Your Higher Self”www.MonaBalogh.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.

Children who grow up in an addictive home internalize a lot of toxic shame where they lose the ability to believe in their own worth and value. For some people, it has never been instilled in them, to begin with. But there is an emotional connection between the addict and their family. Regardless of how old you are – if you were raised with addiction, you deserve to be acknowledged.On today’s episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane talks to Dr. Claudia Black, a world-renowned expert on addiction and codependency. Claudia has been working in the field of addictive disorders for over 40 years. She recently released the third edition of her book, “It Will Never Happen to Me: Growing Up with Addiction as Youngsters, Adolescents, and Adults.”Growing up with substance use disorders, there was really a lot of fear that permeated her life – the fear that also permeates the lives of so many people growing up in an addictive home. Claudia believes that nobody deserves to live with fear and shame. Children don't deserve that. Partners don't deserve that. And certainly, the addicted person doesn't deserve that. And it's that belief that has driven Claudia to her 40-year-plus career, and eventually, writing the book, which now has over 2 million copies in print. Challenging the status quo in the late 70’s, Claudia’s work has been a fundamental part of recovery treatment and it has laid a big foundation in the recovery community today. Her work has given a voice and validation to this suffering that people didn't even know how to name back then. In fact, her work around family roles and rules had a huge impact on Duane's recovery and growth. In this episode, you will hear: Growing up in toxic shame, fear, and sadness How the book came to be The emotional connection between the addict and their family The systematic approach to treatment How Claudia’s work challenged the status quo back then Acknowledging the children of addiction Recognizing the different family roles and how to address them How to walk through pain The two big resistances to recovery and the value of self-help groups Key Quotes:[03:20] - “As children, we internalize a lot of toxic shame... we lose the ability to believe in our own worth and value.”[06:47] - “If you were raised with addiction, I don't care how old you were, you deserve to be acknowledged.”[09:22] - “In the treatment, we're not working with just the person who comes for treatment – but truly, the family is the client.”[14:17] - "The addiction in the family would be ignored by everybody else if they could ignore it." [15:36] - "The issues are ageless... we may understand more about it, we may be more sophisticated in our treatment, but the experience for the person really doesn't change."[20:05] - “That's what recovery is about for a teenager or an adult child – is what you didn't learn, as well as challenging the beliefs along the way.”[25:12] - "For some people, things are more blatant than for others, but it is so chronic."[30:31] - “A lot of people get in trouble as they try and do the skill work without looking at the emotional work or looking at the belief that's associated.”Supporting Resources:It Will Never Happen to Me: Growing Up with Addiction as Youngsters, Adolescents, and AdultsEpisode 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.

A lot of times, parents out there have kids struggling with addiction and they don’t know what to do or how to notice it. Unfortunately, adolescent addiction is oftentimes written off by a lot of parents because they think what they see as some crazy teenage behavior is just a normal developmental issue – but that may not be the case. Let’s add the fact that kids hardly tell their parents about their substance abuse for fear of being judged. And this becomes a huge motivator for them to shut down. How do we bridge this gap then?On today’s episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane talks with Richard Capriola, substance abuse counselor and author of the book The Addicted Child: A Parent's Guide to Adolescent Substance Abuse. Whether you’re a parent with an adolescent kid struggling with substance or alcohol abuse, or you know someone whose kid is struggling from substance or alcohol abuse, or you suspect your kid is struggling with this issue because you’re noticing some changes in their appearance, behavior, attitude – adolescent addiction isn’t something you should be taking lightly. While addiction affects the child, it also affects the entire family system. And this is why the family has to be there throughout this whole process as well. They all should work together as a team to ensure a better outcome.In this episode, you will hear: The Addicted Child as a roadmap for parents and children struggling with substance abuse Two differences between adult addiction and adolescent addiction Treatment for substance abuse among adolescents How the family is involved in the treatment Common reactions from parents The importance of looking at the warning signs How to lessen the possibility of addiction in your children Key Quotes:[02:58] - “A lot of parents were surprised at the extent of their child's use of substances.”[05:43] - “For a 14, 15, 16-year-old adolescent, their brain is still in the process of developing so putting alcohol or drugs into a developing brain runs at much higher risk of more serious consequences.”[08:19] - “The motivation factor many times is to identify and then address the underlying issue that is really driving the child to use the alcohol or the marijuana.”[09:04] - “Once you can move the discussion away from focusing on alcohol and drug abuse, then you've opened the door for them talking about what's really troubling them.”[11:58] - “The addiction affects the child, but it also has effects on the entire family system as well.”[16:06] - “A lot of parents misinterpret the signals they're seeing… they tend to write it off as just being some type of developmental issue.”[26:50] - “Look beyond just the alcohol and drug use. There might be an underlying issue that needs to be treated as well.”[28:05] - “A large part of treatment involves not only addressing the alcohol and the drug use but teaching kids these coping skills.”Supporting Resources:www.helptheaddictedchild.com The Addicted Child: A Parent's Guide to Adolescent Substance Abusehttps://www.amazon.com/Addicted-Child-Parents-Adolescent-Substance/dp/1098327233Episode 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.

Substance abuse disorder is something that people don't always discuss, and what you don't know, is where you can go awry. On today’s episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane talks to Cathy Ferree, the CEO of the Indiana State Museum, about their exhibit called FIX: Heartbreak and Hope Inside Our Opioid Crisis. It's an amazing exhibit that really delves into the opioid crisis from a human perspective. It’s a story that creates compassion and understanding all at the same time. Cathy wants to change the narrative about opioid addiction, mental health in general, and to really take away that stigma. Having been raised to be very cognizant of people and their feelings, and how much people try to live behind things rather than in front of them, Cathy took charge in finding a role that a museum could play in helping with this crisis. Museums are a place where people trust to give you information and put things in context for you. And it's great to be able to put this into a museum and have an exhibit that really talks about it in a reliable way. There are two things that really stand out to me here – the interactive part, which is the knowledge part, and also the extreme compassion for someone who is struggling with addiction because it can be very hard for people who have not struggled with addiction to really understand it. Hopefully, this helps shift the community outlook on addiction to one of recovery, one of hope, and to a possibility of change.In this episode, you will hear: How the exhibit came to be and why Why they partnered with the recovery community Some hurdles they had to overcome 3 things they want visitors to walk away with The goal to have multiple entry points for a better understanding How they were able to put all the creativity together Key Quotes:[05:33] - “People trust museums. We give you information, we ask you to ask questions, we put things in context for you.”[05:55] - “Substance abuse disorder is something that people don't always discuss. And what we know is what you don't know, is where you can go awry.”[13:00] - “It's not a linear experience, you could start with the science, and understand that this is a disease.”[16:25] - "Opioid has an ability to take hold of your brain in a way no other drug does." [17:10] - "We want people to really better understand so they can then be more compassionate and have an opportunity to really contribute to the benefit of someone they know that may be suffering or in a difficult situation, rather than making it worse."[20:33] - "This is a disease that people are struggling with, and you can help them. This is a disease that you could be struggling with. And we hope this helps you."[25:06] "At the end of the day, people will help one another. So please look for help, because there is always help somewhere."Supporting Resources:FIX: Heartbreak and Hope Inside Our Opioid Crisishttps://www.indianamuseum.org/experiences/fix-heartbreak-hope/Video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4i-vJoQHhkVideo 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2BNsHrvGGQVideo 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXK-u2TOGj8Episode 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.

Opium has been around but what many people don't realize is how much it has shaped society and culture. The United States has spent over $1 trillion on drug enforcement since President Nixon declared a war on drugs. And by any measure, that crisis has become worse. Could we ever imagine a time where humanity is finally free of these substances? On today's episode, Duane talks with John Halpern and David Blistein, co-authors of the book, Opium: How an Ancient Flower Shaped and Poisoned Our World, where they talk about the history of opium and the reasons they wrote this book. It’s a call for compassion and care for people who are struggling with addiction.Unfortunately, our current system is not providing proper treatment. Worse, we punish people for not accepting treatment or seeking it out in the United States. The person who gets blamed is the one who's suffering. Whatever people need to do politically or as a society about these issues of drug abuse should not be legislated onto the backs of our patients' suffering and pain. And yet, that's still is happening.The Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration admits that over 90% of people in the United States who would like to get serviced have no ability to get treatment. There’s a confusing message we’re sending out to people that there’s no safe way to use it. We're not talking about what these drugs do. We're not accepting how they are medicines and that they have these horrible side effects, and extreme versions of those side effects when we see somebody addicted. Instead, we punish them as if they had a full volitional choice when it’s causing changes to their brain over time. At the end of the day, we need to welcome people with substance abuse issues for being the human beings that they are and with the problems they have because we all have problems. And we need to treat them with respect and love and understanding and learn from them.In this episode, you will hear: When the use of opium began What does the term chasing the dragon mean The potential of peptides to replace opiates The current justice system as it relates to drug courts How the interdiction of drugs corrupts the governments at all levels The lack of proper treatment How the opioid epidemic started with Purdue Pharma Possible strategies and solutions to solve this problem The confusing message we’re sending out to people that there’s no safe way to use it Key Quotes:[08:26] - "For 5000 years, virtually the only antidepressant we had was opium."[10:03] - "A drug is not a drug is not a drug, how people get addicted to a drug is different and understanding some of the impact they have on us also can be different." [12:59] - "We are tethered much more tightly to the opium plant, a plant that does not even exist in the wild today more than ever."[14:10] - "The person who gets blamed is the one who's suffering."[17:19] - "I consider drug court a human rights crime because we have prosecutors and judges pretending that they can practice medicine when they have no training in it."[20:25] - "We turn around without providing proper treatment, and then we punish people for not accepting treatment or seeking it out in the United States."[28:15] - "There are more people dying each year now from opioid-related overdoses than those that died in the Vietnam War. That's 70,000 people a year dying now."[35:23] - "Labeling heroin and other opiates as drugs of abuse doesn't erase the fact that they are medicines in the United States."Supporting Resources:https://www.facebook.com/addictedmindpodcast/Opium: How an Ancient Flower Shaped and Poisoned Our World by John Halpern and David Blisteinhttps://www.booksamillion.com/p/Opium/John-H-Halpern/9780316417679?id=8111534007531Episode 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 mother and son, Laura and Tom Boldt, authors of Unraveled, A Mother and Son Story of Addiction and Redemption. They talk about their story of recovery and how they worked together to get recovery. They each share how their recovery impacts each other, and how they were able to do it. It is a great story of hope, compassion, and gratitude for the life they've created in recovery together – as a family. A Mother and Son’s StoryComing from a family of many alcoholics, Laura was certain she wasn't going to end up like her alcoholic mom. But fast-forward to having four children, Laura fell into full-blown alcoholism when her youngest child was two years old. It was on Halloween night 2008 that everything changed for her when she got into a serious car accident. She could barely remember what happened to her the next morning. At that point, she knew she needed help.At that time when Laura stopped drinking, her son, Tom, had already experienced bullying and switched schools a few times. He simply wanted a place to belong, which he had found in drinking and drugs. While alcoholism reflected how Laura was living free and having fun, it was completely opposite for Tom. It was more violent. There was more blood and there were more hospital visits. His alcoholism worsened to the point that it not only led to broken bones, but also, broken relationships. Then one Halloween night in 2012, he got in a couple of bar fights and ended up running down the freeway. The next morning, he just decided he was done.Addiction is a family disease because everybody around you suffers from it. The family essentially has a very important role to play during this healing process and there needs to be understanding and compassion. Part of Laura and Tom’s healing process was writing the book, which was not only cathartic to both of them, but an opportunity for them to send this message of hope.In this episode, you will hear: Laura’s story of alcoholism and the turning point that made her decided to stop Tom’s story of alcoholism and drug abuse, and his decision to stop The effects of drinking on Laura and Tom Their journey through recovery together The role of the family in addiction recovery The difficulties and challenges in recovery together What they discovered about each other Writing the book as a cathartic process for them and as a way to send their message of hope Key Quotes:[02:36] - "When you try to control your drinking, you only realize that it's controlling you."[03:39] - "People around you are far more aware of your alcoholism before you are."[07:18] - "I could have killed somebody else. My kids could be without a mother because of drinking."[13:07] - "I was completely unaware of the effects of alcohol... I just thought it was normal."[19:56] - "I started learning so much about the disease and Laura was so amazing and would fill me in on her journey and her experience."[22:42] - "Not all families have the opportunity to heal for whatever reason. But it does make it easier for the alcoholic and the addict to have a family that plays into that healing."[23:23] - "Resentments can cause relapse... it's a daily practice for us to stay healthy."[32:48] - "My life is filled with so much joy, so much fun, and, and true laughter that's not ignited by alcohol, and it really is a more peaceful way to live."Supporting Resources:https://unraveledthebook.com/Unraveled, A Mother and Son Story of Addiction and Redemptionhttps://www.amazon.com/Unraveled-Mother-Story-Addiction-Redemption/dp/1632993198Episode 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 sits down with Jeff Nash to talk about addiction, recovery, and the importance of finding and engaging in a recovery community. Jeff is the executive director at Habilitat in Hawaii.Raised in Dallas, Jeff struggled with drug addiction for most of his adult life. By the time he was sixteen, Jeff was shooting heroin and other drugs. By 30, he finally was in the right spot to get on top of his addictions. While staying at Habilitat, he was trained under their philosophy and now runs many programs. He talks about having gone through fourteen different treatment facilities—mostly at the behest of his parents. It took being in jail at 29 and quitting methadone cold-turkey to see that he couldn’t continue to live this way as an addict.Calming The Addicted Mind - 6 Day Mindfulness Email SeriesHe saw a model for change at Habilitat, even though getting out of jail was the initial motivator. Its different approach than medical treatment centers attracted Jeff because they treat the individual. Their methods changed the way he thought and ultimately prepared him for life.As far as how it looked different, they gave him a sense of belonging. The socialization perspective was not medical but rather behavioral. They have this element of treating the criminogenic needs, Jeff says. Habilitat addresses by teaching people how to interact with other people healthily. Habilitat is big on emotional intelligence, including how to respond and how to react in an emotionally mature way.Jeff says, “for those of us that continue to struggle, we may need to look for long-term treatment options.” He urges the listeners to continue to work at it. He quotes his late father: “you’re going to quit using drugs one way or another.” It fell on deaf ears at the time, but he realized that it was ultimately up to him to prevent drug use from taking his life. He wants all the listeners to know that change is possible, and there is help available.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 talks to Dylan Beynon, founder, and CEO of Mindbloom, a health and well-being company that provides physician-prescribed psychedelics and guided ketamine therapy.Dylan describes the time he first experienced MDMA at the suggestion of a friend who thought he needed to break out of his shell. Having an enlightening experience, Dylan sought to figure out how to use ketamine to help people break out of their traumas and addictions. But how does ketamine actually help you?Two years ago, under ketamine therapy, Dylan personally realized the therapeutic value of psychedelics. He explains that the effects of ketamine therapy are that they open up the brain’s neuroplasticity, which allows people to lay down some new ways of thinking. It can ultimately push people out of their established neuropathways to open their eyes to new options for positive change.What is the difference between recreational and therapeutic use? Research has shown that single, recreational use of ketamine in a controlled environment has a response rate for symptoms of depression of 65 to 70%, Dylan explains, which is much higher than common SSRIs like Lexapro and Wellbutrin.Mindbloom has three main goals: Dramatically increase access to psychedelic therapy. Which means dropping prices and translating to telehealth options. This also means investing in education and content resources. Deliver exceptional clinical outcome, and Deliver exceptional client experience. A lot of psychedelic therapy is in setting the stage for lasting behavioral changes from engaging neuroplastic states. Preparation, experience, and integration are the three stages of psychedelic therapy. Great effort goes into preparing clients for the experience and what to do when under a psychedelic experience. They try to get clients to get into the habit of journaling so that they do not forget the new “feelings” or “memories” they experience during the opened window of neuroplasticity.The mission at Mindbloom is to “transform minds today to transform lives tomorrow.” Their protocol is four ketamine therapy sessions over 1-2 months. The neuroplasticity and behavioral changes should compound over that time period. The goal, though, is indefinite lasting change. And overall, it is extremely safe to use in a controlled setting. There are dangers when used recreationally, but Mindbloom is committed to providing safe access to this revolutionary means of therapy.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 author, teacher, and mother Mary Burns. During their discussion, Mary meditates on grief, loss, and her son’s struggle with addiction and mental illness.As early as seven, Mary’s son, Eric, started to have something like screaming fits. She believed it was a phase that would pass. By the time he was a teenager, the screaming fits became “rages.” Looking back, Mary could tell that there was something wrong. The rages were extremely out of character. Eventually, he would turn to hard drugs.After several months, Eric asked his mom for help. The hospitals, unfortunately, turned Eric away because they determined his addiction was not “severe enough.” In New Jersey, Mary was only able to get Eric checked into an outpatient facility with her insurance coverage. Her company only wanted to provide ten days treatment after his first relapse. Perhaps, she muses, Eric would have been able to work through his addiction and avoid relapse. Duane posits that the mythology of addiction is hurting our ability to really help people that are struggling in less visible ways. Four days before he died, he spoke of his strength through Jesus Christ. But for some reason, he took drugs, overdosed, and died. It shows just how insidious drugs are, Mary says.Moving onto Eric’s death, Mary talks about how leaning on her faith really helped her to get through it. It gave her perspective to grasp onto the good times, despite all the loss. He struggled with life, but he let the good things reflect while absorbing the negative. She believes he’s in a better place, which is the little bit of hope she needs.Since our understanding of addiction has moved from a moral issue to a genuine pathology, our attitudes have changed. But treatment has not kept up. Mary and Duane talk toward the end about how the protocol for addiction treatment needs serious reform to actually help the people that need attentive care. They need an intensive support network to really get them through it. The old philosophies come from old paradigms that misunderstand addiction. You don’t need to hit rock bottom, Duane says. There’s no such thing—you can get help now.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 author, speaker, and teacher Jenna Riemersma about internal family systems, or IFS. Jenna describes how IFS can help to transform your feelings about addictions and past trauma.Jenna talks about how IFS argues that all of our parts are good. And as counterintuitive as that is, it’s important to understand that the core of your Self is fundamentally good.Experiencing a “part” of yourself is similar to the idea of having “parts” of our personalities. We want to give those parts their credit because they come from our true Selves, which are good. When a part of us is taken over by a burden, it’s hard for us to take those parts back. Jenna gives an example of a playful part being burdened by a trauma. IFS calls these parts “exiles,” and they carry a lot of weight, especially when you want to try to access those formerly playful parts of yourself.Jenna illustrates this point with the Manager and the addicted Firefighter, and how we have these competing identities who both want the destruction of addiction while simultaneously wanting to be free of addiction. The Manager wants to seek counsel, but the Firefighter is afraid of the change and pain. 10 times out of 10, the Firefighter actually hates contributing to that pain. We wouldn’t start with that kind of revelation, but we would eventually work our way toward the patient understanding that ultimately the center of their being wants to be free from addiction.Being able to confront these parts of ourselves without judgment is key. Have you ever experienced a time where all parts of yourself have been welcomed, Jenna asks. IFS helps us to uncover what is already there by surrendering a quality of self that is locked up in shame and hate. Michelangelo once said of a sculpture that he was “releasing the angel trapped in the stone.”We need to ask ourselves what am I feeling toward, and if it’s anything but the 8 Cs, we need to step back and try to change the situation. Do you think it’s possible to change the way that your Firefighter part sees the world? Many think that it’s impossible, but if you’re willing to at least engage in the process, IFS can help you to not feel so hopeless, so alarmed, and so defeated.Jenna wants to emphasize that all parts of you are welcome, and all parts of you are safe here.The 8 Cs of IFS are: Calm Connection Compassion Creativity Clarity Curiosity Confidence, and Courage 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 to hip-hop artist Chris Hamilton (aka “ILL TONE”) about the struggle of addiction and the joy of recovery.He struggled with social anxiety and wrestling with his sexual identity while amongst conservatives on Vancouver Island. He found hip hop after getting expelled from school and identified with the fact that they talked about struggle.Duane and Chris talk about the fellowship and the validating aspect of group therapy. To be able to speak honestly, as Chris says, frees you from feeling like a monster. It helps to know that you are not alone.He started on cocaine around age 15, even though he had previously told himself that he would never do that. After his third car accident at 19, he felt so bad about it that he decided to commit himself to a residential treatment. He relapsed with weed in the parking lot after getting out of the treatment facility. Before long, he’d returned back to using daily.Over time, he started binging on the weekend instead of using every day, which freed up some time for him to focus on building his skills, finishing school, and working on his future in music. His music has been helpful, but Chris talks about how his group is the most important aspect to his recovery. Having access to a bunch of people who understand the struggle and can offer in-person support is the most helpful tool in his belt.Chris’ addiction prevented him from being able to feel and enjoy his life fully. Chris says to grow your network. It doesn’t matter what your problem is, you can find people that are going through what you are. And these people will support you and help you to overcome your addiction.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 to author Marques Marchand about addiction, dual diagnoses, and understanding your past.Christmas 2009, Marques was working at a restaurant and woke up with flu-like symptoms. He hit rock bottom a year later, and decided to quit everything cold, right after Thanksgiving. He struggled to keep friendships and work, and eventually he snapped. From 2006-2010, he sought mental health advice from therapists.Calming The Addicted Mind - 6 Day Mindfulness Email Seriestheaddictedmind.com/mindfulnessHis recovery process was long and arduous. Besides going to the ER every couple of weeks and racking up thousands of dollars of debt, he also discovered he was an alcoholic and had bipolar disorder type II. Now with a few different medications, the help of the 12-step programs, and better health practices, Marques has been able to free himself from the ups and downs of his addictive behavior.Join The Addicted Mind Podcast Facebook Group>>>Sometime in his 30s, while working as a concierge in San Francisco, Marques started writing and it took off. He originally started by just telling his story in Junk Knowledge, but he hasn’t been able to satiate the writing bug since. He loves the idea of working through his shame and helping other people to work through recovery by sharing his own story.Episode Linktheaddictedmind.com/107Marques is about to publish his third book, which is not about addiction, but rather about his time working in the hotel industry. He describes his time leading up to COVID and how that affected his industry. He works a full time job working for his uncle’s business, but now he also has a lot of time to help people in his neighborhood. The one thing he’d like to tell listeners is that the beginning of a healthy, successful life is to first reach out. “Don’t be afraid to be a fool for your life,” Marques says. Someone is going to want to listen to you and help. There are so many people going through the same thing. Take a chance on yourself for your own recovery.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 sits down with Tracy Kenela about “calming the chaos” and creating peace and calm in our lives.Therapist and podcast host, Tracy discusses how she came to start studying “overwhelm” as a psychological concept. An expert in chaos, Tracy explains how chaotic factors contribute to our being overwhelmed.Calming The Addicted Mind - 6 Day Mindfulness Email Seriestheaddictedmind.com/mindfulnessTraci breaks down the different kinds of shock and responses that may manifest when our brain confronts chaos. It seems as though people get addicted to chaos or the absence of chaos. These things really just distract people from addressing the issues that matter.If you’ve grown up in chaos, it’s possible you’re reenacting chaos as a means of coping with trauma. Tracy and Duane both urge people in this case to seek counseling because they can break the cycle of chaos if they really want to.There is a phenomenon of victimhood in chaos addiction, too. People tend to self-create this chaos to get the right kind of attention or reactions from people around them. This is different from legitimate chaos (like the kind that just shows up in your life), but you still will need to respond to the chaos. Having a strategy to respond to chaos could save your life.Join The Addicted Mind Podcast Facebook Group>>>Tracy then briefly talks about how she would go about treating someone who may need help dealing with the chaos in their lives. She will validate the chaos first and then offer ways to “calm the shock.” This part is rather physical, honestly. She may offer ice or a heat pack—some people even respond to particularly strong smells. Anything to help counteract the shock.She uses some motivational interviewing, but most of her work uses the trans-theoretical model. This model helps her to figure out at what point they’re at in regards to changing their behavior and moving away from the chaos. She then encourages her patients to take steps toward control. Even a small step like working on daily mindfulness can help you make huge gains in your focus and productivity.Episode Linktheaddictedmind.com/106What does coping with the chaos look like? It’s usually slower, Tracy says. Taking slow, deliberate steps. Taking deep breaths and moving slowly—these things will help you to become more mindful.If you think you’re dealing with chaos, the first step is to talk to a professional to get help with relaxation tools and mindfulness practices.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 sits down with Dr. Robb Kelly to discuss alcohol and opioid addiction.Educated at Oxford, he drank through most of school. He was fired from his job as a police officer, which made him realize that his drinking was problematic. Unfortunately for Robb, it would take him losing everything to finally course correct.Robb realized that the alcoholic mind preys on you. Toward his own story, he talks about committing suicide four times, two of which his heart actually stopped.Calming The Addicted Mind - 6 Day Mindfulness Email Seriestheaddictedmind.com/mindfulnessAt his most broken moment, he started crying and realized that he couldn’t get over the alcohol on his own. He knew there was something different, which got him interested in neuroscience.He knows that he was born with the addictive brain, and he has to be careful about his relationships as a result.Join The Addicted Mind Podcast Facebook Group>>>Robb talks about how his brain is wired differently, and the key to his success was realizing that. He started to notice the symptoms of alcoholism when he would buy a bottle and he immediately felt better. “For the alcoholic, the brain is telling them that they need alcohol to survive,” Robb says.In his research, Robb found that we can change the way that we think. The neuroplasticity of the brain allows us to redirect our thoughts. We can literally change the direction of our most damning thoughts.Robb also damns the medical research community for not prioritizing treatment of the disease. He says there’s no money in it and so the disease persists.Moving to neuro-linguistic programming, Robb explains the role it plays in the addict’s mind. Back in the tribal days, Robb explains, a primal feeling used to wake cavemen up. But now, we don’t really listen to that feeling because we are driven by fear.If you think you can’t do something, Robb says, someone put that there. And it’s not true. If you can’t visualize it, you can’t make it happen. You have to manipulate your brain to break down those barriers. “I don’t say ‘impossible’—I say, ‘I’m possible.’”We don’t see ourselves as others see us, Robb argues, and if we did, we’d be able to do anything. You have to actually believe that your mindset is important. And stop living in fear.Episode Linktheaddictedmind.com/105Toward the end, Robb shares a story about visiting his friend and famed chef, Gordon Ramsay. At one point after dinner, Ramsay turned to Robb and asked, “do you know why I’m the best chef in the world?” Robb answered: “because you’re a damned good cook?” Ramsay replied, “because I tell everybody.”There is so much importance in finding the people who live the life you want. They will inspire and propel you forward. Even through tragedy and difficulty, Duane says, it’s all in the mindset. And in the end, Robb says, you need to just take the first step.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 Daniel Snyder about decriminalizing drugs, the opioid crisis, and dealing with addiction.Based in Vancouver, Daniel describes working through the opioid epidemic in British Columbia. He shares some stories that demonstrate that addiction is a hidden thing for many people; that is, it’s not always as visible as the media would have you believe.Calming The Addicted Mind - 6 Day Mindfulness Email Seriestheaddictedmind.com/mindfulnessHe does believe that recovery is a process, which includes setbacks. Daniel initially believed that every relapse was a complete failure, but he soon figured out how to change his thinking around the recovery process. A friend asked him a pressing question that pushed him to realize he can learn through recovery. Overcoming the stigma of “once an addict, always an addict” was key.In Canada, there is an in-depth data evaluation process for fentanyl. They are offering guidance even in the midst of COVID for people struggling with addiction, but fentanyl has all but “saturated” the drug supply at large. Daniel was fortunate enough to have gone through his addiction behind closed doors.Join The Addicted Mind Podcast Facebook Group>>>Duane and Daniel also discuss how people struggling through addiction actually need to be connected to people to be successful. The intervention method of breaking addiction is dismally effective because it pits people against the last people in the world that they could still be connected with.Moving on to the politics of drug enforcement, Daniel discusses how people under addiction struggles are not free to just “decide” to get their act together, as the legality of it would suggest.Episode Linktheaddictedmind.com/104Daniel explains that many of the now-antiquated ideas around drugs that informed initial federal policy are backwards. The criminalization of drug use was not born out of a compassion for people struggling with addiction. He advocates for reform that would consider this.The grim reality, he says, is that people ultimately die as a result of doing business with the drug dealer. It seems counterintuitive, Daniel explains, because we still look at drug use as criminal. In Mexico, a black market for alcohol popped up after the government shut down liquor stores in the wake of COVID. That market killed 100 people in a month from alcohol poisoning.There is also a fear attached to what a world with legalized drugs would look like. Daniel argues that ultimately it would reduce crime, it would reduce death, and it would reduce cost to the public in the health and human services sphere. People are now looking at the potential benefits that legalization could offer.If we can meet people where they’re at, we could actually save lives, Daniel posits.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 Georgia-based counselor Eddie Capparucci about his personal experience with addiction and how to fight off sex and porn addiction. He also talks about the impact of fears of abandonment and how that drives sexually destructive behavior.Calming The Addicted Mind - 6 Day Mindfulness Email Seriestheaddictedmind.com/mindfulnessJumping into the idea of the inner child, Eddie explains that children make up for not being seen by creating new realities in their mind. Playing out fantasies in their heads is part of how they cope with abandonment. He never realized that because of that pain, he was using women.Join The Addicted Mind Podcast Facebook Group>>>After you get through the period of regret, Eddie says, you experience a kind of euphoria in understanding what the problem is. Eddie walked away from two marriages because he felt that his infidelity couldn’t be fixed. Soon after, he sought therapy and began to understand his abandonment issues.Eddie also discusses his idea of the “inner child.” It provides insight into why people engage in addictive behaviors. By identifying the core emotional triggers, you can take control.He names nine different kinds in his Inner Child model: The Bored Child The Unaffirmed Child The Unnoticed Child The Emotionally Void Child The Lack-of-Control Child The Entitled Child The Inferior-Weak Child The Stressed Child The Sexually Early/Stimulated/Abused Child Most people identify with three of four of these kids. Some people identify with all nine of them. The goal here is to identify the triggers associated with your inner child.Moving onto treatment, Eddie talks about how you need to produce mindfulness. Once you’ve identified your triggers, you can start to apply them to situations moving forward that activate your inner child.People with sex and porn addictions are trying to comfort the inner child. It’s easier to feel sexual arousal, Duane says, than to feel depression or isolation.Episode Linktheaddictedmind.com/103Eddie is concerned about how the ease of access to porn will affect the next generation. He believes that young boys are going to be taught that objectification is normalized and even encouraged.When you understand your own trauma, you can move forward. You’re no longer stuck as a “bad person.” But people have to hit the point where they do want change in their lives. And someone actually interested in the sex industry only gets there because their self worth has already been eroded. It’s tough because most people don’t really want to look back and look their pain in the face. They don’t want to spend time thinking about how they were hurt in their childhood. But ultimately — there’s a benefit to doing this work. You can change your life. There are a ton of resources you can tap into and you can finish strong.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 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.Calming The Addicted Mind - 6 Day Mindfulness Email Seriestheaddictedmind.com/mindfulnessBenjamin 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.Join The Addicted Mind Podcast Facebook Group>>>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.Episode Linktheaddictedmind.com/102Moving 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.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 Andrew P. about the concept of cognitive bias and how this process works in the middle of addiction. Andrew also talks about his own journey with addiction in light cognitive bias.Calming The Addicted Mind - 6 Day Mindfulness Email Series theaddictedmind.com/mindfulnessAlongside his medical practice, Andrew ran a psychotherapy practice for 15 years before becoming addicted to alcohol and opiates. After hitting rock bottom, Andrew’s friends brought him to a 12-step program and a light went off that allowed for him. Being able to see that other people were able to get themselves out of the pit was huge. It’s crucial to understand that there’s nothing wrong with you, but that the symptoms of addiction are common.Cognitive bias, or our natural inclination to make information match what we already believe, was the research focus for Andrew for many years. He found that people with addictions distort information to the extremes using a very intense form of cognitive bias. In other words, addiction amplifies the effects of cognitive bias.Join The Addicted Mind Podcast Facebook Group>>>Being able to recognize cognitive bias at all can help the addict, because it challenges you to think about the way that you’re thinking: metacognition or plain mindfulness. People ultimately want to know the why; they want to know why they think the way they do, and why their brain works the way it does.Andrew encourages people to be open-minded, which he recognizes is difficult. Creating a list of feedback from other people can help to defeat cognitive bias. The empty chair technique works to try to visualize the situation if you don’t have someone in arm’s reach to offer feedback. There are techniques you can actually use to challenge your cognitive biases, which can help you to overcome your addiction.Andrew wants everyone to know that all are capable of a lasting recovery if they only accept the help that is out there.Episode Linktheaddictedmind.com/101Andrew breaks down three prominent forms of cognitive bias that The attentional bias, or the bias that’s attached to our attention. The optimism bias, where we cling to the belief that things will end up okay, despite all evidence pointing to your own destruction. The recall bias, in which the addict recalls what they want to believe. They forget the bad stuff and recall the bad days as something rosy-glassed. 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 sits down with father, husband, sales executive, speaker, and author Kyle Dean Houston. They speak about being in the throes of addiction, despairing for hope, staring down your own doom, and ultimately persevering through recovery.Calming The Addicted Mind - 6 Day Mindfulness Email Seriestheaddictedmind.com/mindfulnessKyle openly describes trying methamphetamines and quickly spiraling into a needle-using meth user. At rock bottom, Kyle was overcome with depression and tried to overdose, but failed. He talks about spending months in county jail trying to learn to make the right decisions. Making and breaking promises to his family, Kyle eventually realized that he was powerless over his own actions and he couldn’t continue to live that way. Coming to grips with the role that the brain plays in your addiction was crucial during this time.Join The Addicted Mind Podcast Facebook Group>>>The moment that really changed everything was when he realized he could have a purpose for his life. Being alone in jail put Kyle in the position to finally start thinking about what he could actually do to change his life. His relationship with God and the spiritual goes back to his childhood, but in the moments alone in jail, his understanding of the spiritual really opened up. He began to see the full weight of his own ability to take control of his life. It struck him like a hammer, he says. He says that in the jail cell, he never felt so alone.Episode Linktheaddictedmind.com/100In transitioning out of prison, Kyle was institutionalized and he was scared to death. He knew that people were aware of his problems, his PTSD, and he felt prison would’ve been better. But only five months later, he met his future-wife, who would go on to be his rock and cornerstone. Kyle credits her for virtually all of his success. That, and his intense drive to accomplish what he sets out to do.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 interviews Erika Flint about hypnosis, hypnotherapy, and how the two can help you to overcome mental blocks in your life.Formerly a software engineer, Erika loves the idea of reprogramming, even your mind. Her recent book, Can You Be a Hypnotist? shows how virtually anyone who wants to be a hypnotist can become one. She tries to subvert the idea that all hypnotists are stage hypnotists. There is a more practical kind of hypnosis that can help you with your mental health.Calming The Addicted Mind - 6 Day Mindfulness Email Seriestheaddictedmind.com/mindfulnessThough her job was great on paper, it ultimately wasn’t fulfilling. After going through her struggles with alcohol, she hit her rock bottom. Seeking meaning, she found hypnosis was useful in battling demons and fighting off addictions. Now, she spends her time helping people to get their lives back, to love their lives fundamentally.Join The Addicted Mind Podcast Facebook Group>>>Interestingly, people are regularly entering into hypnosis, whether they know it or not. The goal of Erika’s work is to get people to enter that state intentionally to achieve some specific purpose. Hypnosis helps to cut through the conscious mind into the unconscious mind. It helps to target beliefs and values to get to the source of particular behaviors. Hypnosis can help to identify “limiting beliefs” and uproot them, dismantling unhealthy thoughts and behaviors in the process.Episode Linktheaddictedmind.com/99Because hypnosis is an “opt-in” experience, it cannot be done in covert. There has to be a willingness on the part of both people in order to be successful. Because so many of the decisions we make are based on convictions in the subconscious, hypnosis tries to get to those baked in prejudices to free up the conscious mind. And contrary to popular belief, it all happens very quickly.Erika’s style, called “insight hypnosis” is directed at coming to moments of insight. The goal is for her clients to have massive “aha” moments and generate great results in just one session. Erika mentions her concept of “bad data,” which is basically bad or misinformed perspectives and attitudes that can be corrected by illuminating truths through insight hypnosis.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 to author and counselor Rabbi Simon Jacobson about making meaning out of suffering, and understanding your own purpose.Calming The Addicted Mind - 6 Day Mindfulness Email Seriestheaddictedmind.com/mindfulnessRabbi Jacobson talks about how surrendering to a higher power, and relinquishing control over your circumstances gives you an edge on dealing with pain. Unfortunately, we don’t have an answer to injustices writ large, but we can have some hope in giving up control. This change in power can give you the strength to make positive action as a result of suffering.Duane shares a bit from his past to illustrate how you oftentimes need to let go of the desire to understand why loss happens, because you ultimately will not find the reason. Letting go of that need for a reason can help you to heal and move forward.Join The Addicted Mind Podcast Facebook Group>>>There is a healthy way to channel pain from loss and trauma. You can reinvest your time into healing and supporting other people going through the same thing. At the end of this, it will not be in vain if you are able to help others walk through their darkest moments.Toward the end, Rabbi Jacobson talks about his academic life and his background as a writer. Interested by the seeming homogeneity across people’s concerns for their lives, Rabbi Jacobson conducted some research into how to actually make your life meaningful. Perhaps, with the right effort, we could achieve a higher state of human consciousness that values meaning over meaninglessness and places high values on human life.Episode Linktheaddictedmind.com/98Support 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 sits down with author Robert Imbeault to talk about his book Before I Leave You. Robert also speaks to his own battle with addiction, his suicide attempts, and his eventual recovery. Calming The Addicted Mind - 6 Day Mindfulness Email Seriestheaddictedmind.com/mindfulnessBased in Ottawa, Canada, Rob shares his story of how experiencing a memory of being raped as an eight-year-old turned his life upside-down as he became a shell of himself fueled by drugs and alcohol as a result. After hitting many rock-bottoms, he attempted suicide a few times. But in recovery, he reminds us that despite how dark the story can be, there is hope on the other side.Join The Addicted Mind Podcast Facebook Group>>>Unable to find authentic happiness, Rob pushed further into his work obsession at the sacrifice of his personal relationships. When a memory of his childhood assault comes crashing back, Rob is left catatonic and unable to fully confront his trauma. He let his marriage deteriorate during his spiraling. On a trip to Las Vegas, Rob discovered how alive he felt on ecstasy and cocaine. He believes, too, that these mistakes ultimately empowered him. He’d become all but non-functional at home and at work. The duality between his personal destruction and business success continued to escalate and tear at him. His then-girlfriend’s decision to make him confront his drug addiction more or less made him wake up.Episode Linktheaddictedmind.com/97After visiting Walden, Rob knew that he wanted to live. But before this, his awakening to the notion that he was not a good human in any sense made the idea of suicide tempting to him. Ultimately, Rob felt it would free him of all of his burdens. What actually helped turn all of this around for Rob was the decision to write out his rationalizations. He calls them “secret goodbyes,” and Rob credits his writing with freeing him from the bonds of his mental place. It was his “solace” to write. He then started meditating and became a practicing Buddhist. Rob and his wife became pregnant, which enforced their “zero-tolerance” policy. They’ve both been clean ever since.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.