The Addicted Mind Podcast

On this episode of The Addicted Mind podcast, our guest is Suzie Wolfer, LCSW, SEP a therapist specializing in Somatic Experiencing®, a powerful system of healing trauma and addiction at it’s core and for completing trauma so that it’s let go of you.Sign Up For our 6 Day Mindfulness Email Seriestheaddictedmind.com/mindfulnessSomatic means “of the body,” which includes the sensations we feel when we experience different emotions and thoughts. Trauma and stress are stored in the body, causing behaviors, patterns or responses arising from implicit memory system or the unconscious.Our initial reaction to the uncomfortable feelings that are associated with trauma and stress is to stabilize these feelings by managing them from the “top down,” striving to suppress, control, or make the feelings go away. This desire to manage troubling thoughts and emotions, though useful in the short term, keeps us from healing the underlying stuck patterns, that show up as chronic Fight, Flight or Freeze behaviors or a combination of these.With somatic therapy, we help your body remember how to complete stuck Fight, Flight or Freeze patterns We call this re-negotiation. Instead of trying to get rid of scary, infuriating or numbing feelings and thoughts, you learn to watch them, especially in how your body expresses them.Imagine a roller coaster. It can be scary and exhilarating to feel the car taking you up, up, up to tower over the precipice, wondering if the little wheels will keep you safely on the rails. Challenging emotions, even pleasure, can start to feel scary, and it’s easy to use substances or compulsive behaviors to try to manage or outrun the sense of threat they pose, of “going off the rails.” The closer we get to the top of the roller coaster, the more energy builds inside us, including excitement.When you are able to observe what’s happening inside, especially observe your body sensations associated with thoughts and emotions, these emotional messengers can deliver their message and let go of you. When that happens, like when the roller coaster car comes back to the platform, you may feel a good feeling, a smile on your face, as you get off on level ground and go on to the next thing. Maybe even a little more confident in your ability of face challenges!Episode Linktheaddictedmind.com/53In the past decade of supporting her patients with Somatic Experiencing® Therapy, Suzie has found that this gentle approach helps people not only feel better, but get better, a little at a time, and in every session. Like a caboose on a train, the thinking process is sometimes the last to know!Here’s a little 3-step process you can try at home: Are you safe? Yes or no. Notice that feeling safe and being safe in this moment are two different things. Using your 5 senses, notice signals or data are you getting from the world outside you, which confirm that you are safe. What are these signals? Next, notice what happens in your body when you confirm that you are safe in this moment. Perhaps savor what you discover.  If you could take one thing from this podcast, here’s what Suzie would like you to know: “That you may discover that you are not broken.  Your body is simply trying to solve a different problem than your mind. Collaborating with your biology will help you heal and release stored trauma and feel like yourself again.” 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, we are joined by Michael Hobbes, a writer for The Huffington Post and co-host of the You’re Wrong About… podcast. Michael wrote an article entitled “Everything You Know About Obesity is Wrong” for HuffPost in September 2018 which has gotten a lot of attention in the psychology community as well as the culture at large. There are 160 million Americans that are classified as overweight or obese based on the BMI scale, but even though these individuals constitute 30% of the population, they are treated as a marginalized minority who are somehow tainted or inferior to the rest of Americans.During the interviews that Michael conducted for his article, he encountered countless people who felt guilt, shame, hurt, anger, and sadness based on the way they have been treated or the projections of what they want to look and feel like instead of the way they do right now. There seems to be a prevailing attitude that overweight or obese people are lazy and that if they would just exercise some self-control, they would suddenly shrink down to “normal.” There is not much tolerance for the overweight and obese community, making those individuals feel less than human and live in a constant state of stress about their weight and others’ perceptions of them, even if they are trying their best to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Michael hopes that his article advocates for this community to have their voices heard and be accepted for who they are, just the way they are. The mental toll that unsolicited advice and diet suggestions have on overweight individuals can put them in a cycle of stress that exacerbates any issues they may have and can even make them suicidal.Michael emphasizes the importance of stigma resistance, which gives overweight individuals a voice to express their needs and stand up for themselves in environments where they have never been heard before. It should not be a big deal for someone to ask for a bigger chair at a work meeting or to be seated at a table instead of a booth at a restaurant if needed. Fat shaming has no place in our society and can only be stopped if we realize that we are all equal and deserving of courteous behavior.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, our guest is Tom Horvath, founder of Practical Recovery and co-founder of Smart Recovery. Smart Recovery is a non-12-step approach to addictive behavior problems that provides an alternative to programs like Alcoholics Anonymous. While both methods provide new communities and relationships to build on as well as specific examples of individuals who are models of success, AA is based on the idea that you must give yourself up to a higher power because “you are powerless” and must rely on your sponsor and meetings in order to recover.12-step programs can be helpful to some, but they can be ineffective for others, so the demand for alternative programs is continuing to increase. Smart Recovery integrates any methods that have been supported by scientific evidence, are self-empowering and are applicable in a mutual help group, including CBT, DBT, and ACT. They recognize that there are multiple pathways to recovery and that great results occur in a community.Smart Recovery takes a self-empowering approach to recovery, relying on the individual to set their own limits and establishing a 4-point program for people to work through: Maintaining motivation Coping with craving Identifying and resolving other problems Achieving a greater lifestyle balance Smart Recovery emphasizes “ideal” recovery, rather than “real” recovery as is expected in 12-step programs. Ideal recovery may not be complete abstinence, but rather staying within the limits that each person sets (and potentially changes along the way) for themselves, which is the point of the accountability of attending meetings.Tom encourages those struggling with addictive behaviors or searching for a recovery group to be persistent in finding what works for you. Most people are able to resolve their problems with treatment, so just don’t give up.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.

Our guest on this episode of The Addicted Mind podcast is Dr. Ken Adams, a therapist specializing in the area of parental enmeshment and its connection to compulsive behaviors such as porn and sex addiction. All families are defined by the balance of closeness and separate between the members. Enmeshed families overemphasize their closeness, resulting in the parents controlling the decisions of their children, demanding their loyalty, prohibiting them from becoming involved with friends or activities outside of the family, and using guilt as a punishment for trying to separate any part of their lives from their parents. It is not uncommon for the parents in these types of families to treat the children as a surrogate husband or wife, expecting the child to fulfill their emotional needs.As a result of experiencing this lifestyle throughout childhood, adults usually find themselves struggling to live their own lives, even if they are geographically separated from each other. The enmeshment mentality can make them feel smothered, engulfed, or trapped by their parents, while remaining staunchly loyal to them, perhaps even at the cost of their marriage or other relationships. Living with this burden often leads to addictive behavior in the porn or sexual realm, with the affected adult child seeking freedom that does not come with any commitments. In every other area of their life, they feel stifled under the weight of others’ expectations, and compulsive behaviors give them the short-term release that they feel like they need.When Dr. Adams sees adult children affected by enmeshment for therapy, the first step is to move them from their pre-contemplative state of considering that they may have an issue with enmeshment and possibly a related addiction. Perhaps they have done some self-education by listening to podcasts, reading books or articles, or viewing videos on the topic, and they feel that they can identify with the feelings and behaviors being described. The next step a therapist takes is to delicately shift their internal entanglements and beliefs and help them establish external boundaries for themselves and their parents. He conducts intensive therapeutic workshops to help individuals through this process.If you think you or someone you know is struggling with parental enmeshment, remember that there are resources out there to help you gain the separation that is so crucial to thriving in your own life. Reach out and consider reading one of Dr. Adams’ books to learn more about taking the necessary steps toward true freedom.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.

Ricky Santiago, a specialist in adventure therapy, joined us for this episode of The Addicted Mind podcast. He uses specially planned and designed activities such as kayaking, snorkeling, and ropes courses in his adventure therapy sessions. Experiential therapy like adventure therapy maximizes the benefits of group therapy by building self-esteem, utilizing metaphors, and providing an arena to practice coping skills and process emotions. Ricky and his colleagues have often found more success through one experiential therapy session than through several talk therapy sessions because clients are not able to hide their true selves when they are participating in an activity that is challenging to them mentally, emotionally, or physically.Since the therapist is participating in the activity as well, the clients see how the therapist handles their emotions and difficulties they come across, and clients can more easily open up about fears or challenges in their own lives or experiences. Though the timing of the formal “processing” aspect of the therapy session differs depending on the activity and the group, this is a crucial step for clients to take as they draw parallels from the adventure activity to their own lives, perhaps realizing things that they never had or being willing to share a trauma that they had never voiced. The effects of the treatment are ongoing, as the client will continually draw on their experience as they approach the problems in their lives and take steps to resolve the situation, just as they had been taught.Ricky encourages everyone to remember that recovery is possible and pursuing the treatment you need can change the trajectory of your entire family if you show up motivated and ready to work toward healing.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, our guest is Anne Fletcher, author of 8 books including “Sober for Good” and “Inside Rehab.” Anne felt the need to write “Inside Rehab” after consulting with several experts, one of which posited that people usually spend more time picking out their next vacuum cleaner than they would finding the right addiction treatment facility. Driven by the notions that treatment should help people avoid hitting rock bottom and that their treatment should emphasize the benefits of sobriety over the pitfalls of addiction, she spent 4 years studying 15 different treatment centers across the country to see what was working and what wasn’t working for their patients.She was somewhat shocked to discover that most inpatient and outpatient treatment facilities heavily employ group-based treatment, 12-step methods such as AA, and counselors without medical or psychological expertise in their limited one-on-one sessions. As she expected, she heard stories of programs that worked for some people and not others, helpful and hurtful methods, and discrepancies between quality and cost. In fact, one of the facilities she studied had an on-site barber shop, cafeteria, radio station, and college level educational courses to help equip their patients with transferable skills that they could use to get a job after their treatment was concluded.Overall, Anne sees a lot of hope and opportunity in the future of addiction treatment facilities if they treat each patient as an individual and personalize their treatment to their background and situation, keeping in mind that therapeutic alliance between the patient and therapist is crucial to the patient’s recovery and success. She hopes to continue to see alternative methods to AA popping up across the country, because AA’s process does not work for everyone, but a vast majority of treatment programs rely on it to help their patients. She is a firm believer that treatment centers will change certain things that may not be working if consumers express their concerns and desires.Anne’s advice to those who may need addiction treatment is to start by receiving an assessment from an individual therapist who is not associated with a treatment center. They will be able to give you their professional opinion about what kind of treatment you might need and can point you in the right direction. Also, keep in mind that inpatient treatment is not always the most effective unless the patient is in danger of self-harm or needs a period of detox. Be persistent in finding the right treatment for you; you are not alone, and you do not have to continue to live with this substance use disorder.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.

Our guest on this episode of The Addicted Mind podcast is Nate Postlethwait, who joined us to share his recovery journey. Nate grew up in a very religious environment in a rural southern town, which had a profound impact on his childhood and his eventual recovery from the trauma he experienced and his resulting sex addiction. Sexual dysfunction was a generational issue with his family that was never properly handled, and he was the victim of multiple abusive encounters as a child, but it was not until his early 20’s that Nate realized that his compulsions were not typical. He came to understand that he was putting himself in physical danger due to his addiction which led him to feel tremendous shame. Acknowledging that he did not want his life to continue this way, he sought counsel and therapy within the religious community for several years, but he found that they were not equipped to address the biological roots of his trauma or addiction.In his first week at a treatment center, Nate felt that he had covered more ground toward recovery than he had during the past five years of religious counseling, and he immediately felt validated. His therapy there explained the biological reasons why he had been acting with such sexual compulsion and that he was not broken or weak. This therapy allowed him to shift his perspective, alleviate the shame, and reinstated boundaries that had never indeed been enforced. It provided his younger self with a voice to express the pain and hurt that he had been suppressing or trying to change through his addiction. By addressing the root of his trauma and addiction, he found that his desires were different, and he had the potential for positive self-care for the first time.Nate was able to build on the foundation that had been made during his time at the treatment center by taking a step back to evaluate his life and engage with himself to find who he was without these strongholds. He made a few drastic lifestyle changes and realized that he was still in need of therapy, so he began doing intensive EMDR sessions which allowed him to grow and continue the recovery journey. He is still in treatment, and as a part of his journey, he has started a blog and a podcast to discuss the “taboo” topics of male sexual abuse, heterosexuality, and homosexuality in the religious realm, PTSD, and EMDR.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, our guest is Marla Berger, a clinician in the field of experiential therapy, who joined us to talk about equine-assisted psychotherapy. Research and experience show that treatment centers, which incorporate some experiential treatment into their program, see their clients make more progress more quickly. Equine-assisted psychotherapy and other similar activities give clients an opportunity to apply the insights they have gained through their talk therapy sessions.During an equine session, an equine specialist and a clinician create a custom environment for the client or group of clients based on their needs and other environmental factors, and they facilitate the framework of the session. Clients then have the opportunity to interact (or not interact) with the horses or donkeys and ascribe meaning to what is happening. Animals are incredibly intuitive by nature because of their survival-driven need to be in tune with their environment, so they can sense in a client various emotions or behaviors and react out of their intuition. People are subconsciously going to interact with the animals in the same ways that they behave in other relationships, through the presence or absence of love, mutual respect, communication, and boundaries. By the clients recognizing how their behaviors or attitudes make the animals react, they can have revelations about their lives that they may have been oblivious to without this therapy.Equine therapy is a very promising tool for therapists, clinicians, and clients themselves that can aid in the recovery or healing process. 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, we are joined by Amy Emerson and Shannon Carlin of the Multidisciplinary Approach for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) research group. Amy and Shannon’s group has had 107 participants complete their MDMA-assisted PTSD therapy program in the last several years, with promising results. As you may know, PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) affects 7% of the US population who have experienced life-threatening events such as military combat, car accidents, natural disasters, or childhood abuse. Individuals with PTSD experience prolonged instability in their lives, perhaps resulting in hypervigilance, fear, difficulty sleeping, and lack of trust.MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy, allows participants to experience the opposite of their PTSD symptoms, ideally increasing trust and dampening fear. Participants go through 3 previous therapy visits to establish a baseline and get them familiar with the therapy process, then they have their first MDMA session, followed by 3 integrative sessions, their second MDMA session, 3 more integrative sessions, and then their final MDMA session and 3 integrative sessions. Overall, the therapy sessions span 12-15 weeks, and though the courses are quite intense, participants have found this method to be less invasive and retraumatizing than their previous experiences with talk therapy.During their MDMA sessions, participants will spend 8 hours with 2 therapists who will guide the participant to follow their inner process by listening to their internal healing intelligence. This could mean that the participant talks a lot or barely at all during the session, but the purpose of the subsequent integrative visits is to help the participant process what they experienced and develop the new perspectives that they may be feeling in terms of life in general, coping with their trauma, work, and relationships.The MAPS research group’s research has shown that 2 months after completing their last therapy session, 56% of participants no longer had PTSD, while 12 months after finishing their therapy, 68% no longer had PTSD. Participants have been pleasantly surprised by their results and healing, and therapists are observing the sessions and effects have been amazed at its effectiveness.To anyone who has been seeking help and been discouraged with your progress, Amy and Shannon want you to know that there is hope and research advances are providing new treatment options to the field faster than ever before. Keep seeking help until you find the right fit for you.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-addicted-mind-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest on this episode of The Addicted Mind podcast is Brad Kammer, a therapist specializing in somatic psychotherapy to solve shock and developmental traumas. Brad’s interest in somatic psychotherapy began during his time as an aid worker working with Burmese refugees. He observed their healing rituals, which frequently involved physical actions such as singing, chanting, or performing, and while he was going through his own healing process from the secondary PTSD from his time with the Burmese people, he realized that talking through trauma is not always effective.By working through the complex traumas experienced during childhood or other traumatic events with the body, healing can be much more attainable. Additionally, using more natural and realistic relationship-focused alternatives to the typical therapy session involving closed shades, a locked door, and no interruptions make people much more likely to share openly and get to the root of their traumas.Whether we realize it or not, our psychobiological patterns are established early on, and these patterns impact how we will cope with unfortunate circumstances and make decisions throughout adolescence and adulthood. These patterns are mainly formed by our attachment or bonding circumstances with our caregivers when we are children, and we often find that patterns we developed out of the necessity for survival as children are actually getting in our way as adults and keep us from experiencing true freedom and joy. Brad uses the NARM (NeuroAffective Relational Model) to help individuals process their emotions from the top down (from thoughts and identity to emotional and physical aspects) and the bottom up (from the body to the thoughts and behaviors). He finds that clients often experience excitement and fear as the notice that their patterns are changing; excitement for the freedom they have found along with fear regarding the change and the potential loss of attachment, even if their attachment figure is no longer living.Therapy is a process, so results do not begin overnight, but with consistency and intentionality, therapy can provide the opportunity to reorganize and transform your life.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.