Addiction, Mission, and Recovery w/ Breanne Demarco
May 22, 2024
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Breanne Demarco, a former missionary, shares her personal journey through addiction, recovery, and finding her mission. Topics include childhood traumas, divine intervention, encountering Christ, navigating ministry challenges, unconventional sanctity, addiction struggles, comparison of alcohol addiction with technology dependency, overcoming porn addiction, seeking redemption, and the importance of in-person connections in recovery.
Trauma can deeply impact self-perception and lead to addictive behaviors at a young age, emphasizing the need for individualized healing and empathy.
Mission work can nurture spiritual growth and self-discovery, fostering a deep love for God and others while serving the marginalized.
Encountering Christ amid addiction can bring transformative healing and lead to spiritual growth, highlighting the power of vulnerability and encounters with love.
Overcoming addiction requires self-awareness, community support, and reliance on faith, emphasizing the importance of accountability and service in recovery.
Navigating unexpected life paths and challenges, including unconventional vocations and relationships, can lead to growth, resilience, and finding purpose in vulnerability.
Deep dives
Struggling with Early Trauma and Addictions
The speaker discusses growing up in a Catholic environment and experiencing struggles with self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and an identity crisis at a young age. Despite having an active parish life and family support, early traumatic events like moving to a new town and being bullied led to a cycle of addictive behaviors, including self-harm, alcohol, and pornography at a young age.
Understanding Trauma and Self-Perception
The speaker delves into the complexities of trauma and its impact on self-perception. The episode highlights how small instances of bullying and rejection can deeply affect one's self-image, leading to a search for validation and acceptance through destructive behaviors. The discussion emphasizes the importance of acknowledging individual experiences of pain and trauma, without comparing or minimizing their effects on mental health.
Journey to Mission Work and Personal Growth
The speaker recounts a transformative journey to mission work in various countries, where encounters with saints and witnessing universal church unity profoundly impacted their faith. Despite facing internal struggles with addictions resurfacing upon return to the US, the episode showcases how experiences in mission work nurtured a deep love for God, the Church, and serving the marginalized, ultimately leading to spiritual growth and self-discovery.
Encountering Christ Through Struggles
The podcast shares a personal story of encountering Christ during struggles and addiction. The speaker discusses a profound experience in the hospital where they saw Christ in a Dominican priest, highlighting the transformative power of encountering love in the midst of brokenness and addiction. The journey continues with reflections on alcoholism, recovery, and the ongoing healing process after the initial encounter with Christ.
Following God's Unexpected Paths
The narrative unfolds with unexpected turns as the speaker navigates challenges and decisions in life. From struggling with addiction to considering religious life, the journey takes surprising paths, including encounters with rejection and finding unexpected calls to unconventional vocations. The narrative showcases the speaker's openness to God's plans, whether in seeking healing or embracing unanticipated life choices.
Embracing Unconventional Paths to Faith
The exploration delves into the complexities of faith and relationships, including the speaker's marriage to an atheist. The podcast reveals the speaker's reflections on facing societal expectations and personal challenges in faith, marriage, and ministry. The narrative echoes the theme of growth through vulnerability and the beauty of finding faith and purpose in unconventional and unexpected paths.
Understanding the Importance of Human Touch and Empathy for Homeless People
A key insight from the podcast is the significance of human touch and empathy for homeless individuals. The speaker shared a personal experience of interacting with homeless individuals and realizing that many of them lack physical contact due to their living conditions. Despite societal stigmas, the speaker emphasized the human need for touch and connection, highlighting that simple gestures like offering a hug can have a profound impact on individuals who are often marginalized and isolated.
Overcoming Addiction and the Journey to Recovery
Another main theme explored in the podcast is the speaker's personal journey of overcoming addiction, particularly alcoholism and pornography. The speaker candidly discussed the challenges of addiction, sharing experiences of relentless cravings, moments of despair, and the continuous battle for sobriety. Through the lens of addiction recovery programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, the speaker emphasized the importance of self-awareness, seeking support from loved ones, and relying on faith to navigate the complexities of addiction and maintain long-term recovery.
Overcoming Addiction Through Community Support and Service
In the podcast episode, the importance of community support in overcoming addiction is highlighted. The speaker emphasizes the need for connection and accountability to break the cycle of addiction. By engaging with a supportive community, individuals struggling with addiction can find encouragement to overcome challenges. Additionally, the role of service in recovery is discussed, where helping others is a way to shift focus, get out of isolation, and make positive strides towards sobriety.
Challenges and Strategies in Addiction Recovery
The podcast episode also delves into the challenges and strategies in addiction recovery. It touches upon the difficulty of asking for help and the process of relearning social activities without substances. The importance of willingness to do whatever it takes for sobriety is highlighted, showcasing the necessity of radical surrender and commitment to overcoming addiction. Moreover, the significance of consistent effort, continuous self-reflection, and seeking spiritual guidance through faith-based practices like confession and community support are emphasized for long-term recovery.
Breanne grew up in the Diocese of Austin, Texas and was heavily involved in various outreach ministries until she graduated and left the country to serve as a full-time foreign missionary. After traveling to 13 countries she returned home and began to serve in ministry Stateside - giving talks at youth retreats and events all over the U.S. She spent some time in the convent discerning her vocation, and also as the Campus Minister at Texas State University. She recently got married and now has two children. She has been sober for 8 years and has helped many other addicts pursue recovery along the way. In her free time, which doesn’t exist anymore since she is a mother, she likes to ride motorcycles, shoot guns, and go to Adoration.
