The Addicted Mind Podcast

Today's guest is Maureen Stanton, the author of the memoir, Body Leaping Backwards, Memoir of a Delinquent Girlhood.  Maureen spent about forty years writing her book but she kept avoiding taking it to the point of getting published because there was shame in it for her. So she only started writing the book seriously in 2014, once her dad had passed away. He had done the very best he could for her so she wouldn't have wanted him to feel ashamed of her. Episode Link>>www.theaddictedmind.com/79Maureen wanted to tell the story of what happened with her so long ago because she believes that it is still relevant and that it will still resonate with teenagers today, even though the specifics are different.  Maureen's teenage years were a time of great anxiousness, sadness, and confusion. She felt that she wanted to disappear. She had feelings of self-doubt and she lacked self-confidence to the point of self-loathing. So she turned to drugs to self-medicate. She started using Angel Dust, a dissociative anesthetic that was a very prominent drug in the 1970s. It numbed her, helped her to escape from the emotional pain that she felt as a teenager, and allowed her to stop thinking about her insecurities and sadness. Maureen is now in her late 50s. She kept all her diaries from before she was using, and from the time when she began feeling a sense of despair and started doing drugs. Reading through the diaries as an adult, she was able to remember just how she had felt then, so she was able to convey that very clearly in her book.A lot of kids start using drugs or drinking during their fraught teenage years while crossing the bridge over the treacherous terrain from childhood to adulthood. Children who are suffering from psychic pain, and don't have guidance, are more likely to start using drugs and alcohol. Maureen started with alcohol and marijuana. Her friend's older brother then introduced her to Angel Dust. As it was smoked in a joint, it seemed to Maureen to be very similar to marijuana, and there were no warnings at the time about the dangers of using this terrible drug. There was still a part of her, however, that realized that it would cause damage to her brain cells.  Mauren believes that essential loneliness and discomfort are felt by teenagers because they don't yet know who they are. Maureen feels shame about her terrible, delinquent behavior while she was using drugs. She does, however, feel extremely fortunate that there was no lasting harm, that she knows of, done to anyone. Who we are, as individuals, is defined by our passions and our interests. Maureen gave all of that up for getting high. She progressively stopped doing the things she loved as she slid deeper into her addiction. So although the drugs helped her escape and provided some relief, she continued to erase herself. She eventually became so empty and despairing that she knew she had to ask for help. Her mother arranged for her to see a counselor and Maureen paid for her counseling herself with the money she earned working for a gas station. Maureen believes that the culture of a society impresses itself on teenagers in a way that they don't necessarily understand. In the 1970's the American culture was a bit lost, and there was a sense of despair, due to immoral leadership, the Vietnam war, and Watergate, and Maureen's journey seemed to mirror that to some extent.Looking back, Maureen realizes that some of the things she had to face were very hard, but she wanted to give something back and touch the hearts and minds of other teenagers. Her book is a public confession and she has written it in the hope of helping other people.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 guests for today are Mark Sheeran and Michelle Dunbar of the Baldwin Research Group. They have a thought-provoking conversation about The Freedom Model of addiction treatment, which is a non-Twelve Step, and non-disease model of treatment.Mark is 49-years old. He is the chairman of Baldwin Research and he is one of the authors of The Freedom Model. Mark co-founded the Saint Jude Retreat, which is where The Freedom Model is taught.Episode Link>>>>www.theaddictedmind.com/78Mark was involved in a serious drunk-driving accident thirty years ago, at the age of nineteen. This made him realize that he needed to change his life. He was mandated into treatment and found that he disagreed vehemently with what they were teaching him because he did not believe that he would be an alcoholic forever. His treatment experience was so bad that he knew there had to be a better way. After completing eighteen months of treatment he decided to figure out a better way for people. Within one year, he coined the phrase "non-Twelve Step”.Mark spent the next twelve years, doing research. He then met Michelle and they continued doing the research together, along with some others. Together, they developed the skeleton of what was to become The Freedom Model. The model was perfected over the next twenty years.Michelle is the Executive Director of Baldwin Research. She is also one of the co-authors of The Freedom Model. Michelle is the Director of the Saint Jude Retreat and she teaches the program.Mark and Michelle spent the first twelve years of the thirty that they were doing their research in AA, trying desperately to make it work and become more effective. But they were heretics at the same time. Where AA was saying that you never get over the problem, they were saying that you most certainly do.Mark went to over 3000 AA meetings. First, as a member, then as a skeptical member, then as a researcher, then as a researcher that was fairly anti-AA when he got to truly understand the facts.According to Mark's research, people do move on from their addictions. Over 90% of drug addicts, alcoholics, and heavy substance abusers move past the problem as they get older, whether they treat it or not.With The Freedom Model, you have to undo the mythologies so that you become free to move on.As a young person, the idea that you are going to struggle with your "disease" forever can be very daunting.The Freedom Model debunks 23 of the grand myths that people are told about addiction so that people can make the choice as to the benefits of their using. Because people use because they like it.The Freedom Model helps people question why they make decisions and why they are motivated to use, based on their behavior, their belief systems, and the myths by which they may be living their lives.It is more natural to move on from addiction than it is to keep one. And it is much more natural for a human being to change than it is to remain static in a behavior. The key to recovery is to move the locus of control to the self.Shame sits in the way of recovery.At their residential retreats, people spend four weeks attending classes where they work with the 450 page Freedom Model curriculum. They don't take away people's cellphones and laptops or treat them like babies or criminals. It is a very conducive, quiet, learning environment. By the time that everyone leaves, the myths have been undone, they know that they can be free, and they have usually chosen either moderation or abstinence. Life in recovery doesn't have to be a daily struggle.It all comes down to a choice that we make to deal with difficult experiences. Mark and Michelle help people by challenging their beliefs that a substance will help them to deal with stressful situations. Links and resources:The Baldwin Research Group - https://www.baldwinresearch.com/Website for retreats - www.soberforever.netWebsite for the book and all services - www.thefreedommodel.org 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.

Today, Dave Jansa, of We Face It Together, talks about how he helps people get through a part of addiction treatment that sometimes tends to be overlooked. There are some people who suffer from addiction who have not necessarily hit their rock bottom. So, although they realize they have a problem, they have often not yet suffered the all big consequences of their addiction. Dave offers coaching, to help these people change their thinking about addiction and to help them change their addictive process before they have to face the deep consequences that are normally associated with addiction. Sixty-four-year-old Dave was born and raised in South Dakota. He comes from a big family where addiction was rife. Currently, five of the eight siblings in Dave's family are abstinent from drugs and alcohol. Dave started drinking alcohol when he was in high school. He also became a heavy marijuana smoker at the time. This curtailed his education because he quit college after his first semester and he went back to work full-time. Dave stopped using marijuana in his early thirties, after many attempts at moderation, and he is currently thirty-two years alcohol-free.During his mid-forties, Dave began to become intensely curious. With the advent of the internet, his curiosity led him to immerse himself in the very confusing landscape of the issues of addiction that he and his brothers had gone through. As a result, he retired early from his very good and long-term sales position and threw himself into the world of addiction.Dave started volunteering for a local community organization, which eventually became a very innovative organization that was doing things differently and breaking down barriers. He was a great fit for the organization and has been with them ever since then.Addiction is known to be a chronic disease. The pillars of chronic disease management are to detect it early and to deal with it as quickly as possible. This makes chronic diseases easier to treat but most people don't think of doing this with addictions.Dave firmly believes that people, who are clearly showing signs of what he refers to as 'pre-addiction', would do well to have a non-judgmental conversation with a health practitioner in a clinical environment.At Face It Together, they offer non-judgmental peer coaching. They never tell people what to do. They rather make suggestions. They often initially assist people towards a harm-reduction protocol, which is on the way to recognizing and dealing fully with their problems of addiction. Sometimes people with addictions simply need to recognize that it's normal to first want to cut back on using, before going for complete abstinence. At Face It Together, they knew that peer conversations were powerful. They employed science and embraced harm reduction and motivational interviewing. They also expanded on this and developed a tool called Recovery Capital Index, with which they can accurately measure someone's addiction wellness. This tool has been validated as an instrument, by Sanford Research, in South Dakota. This has been published in the South Dakota Journal of Medicine. Addiction wellness is measured way more in terms of how an individual is fitting into the world, and less in terms of how much drug they are using. At Face It Together, they work hard on people's behaviors and they have conversations with people about their journey. The Recovery Capital Index shows them where people are doing well and where they are not doing well. Today, Dave feels exponentially better than he did during the sixteen years that he was quitting alcohol.Links:We Face It Together's website - www.wefaceittogether.org 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.

Today's guest is Gregg Champion and he will be talking about hitting rock bottom, what that means, and the significance of finding ourselves sitting at the crossroads of wanting to change from a life of addiction to one of recovery. Gregg also discusses his rock bottom, and he tells us his recovery story.Episode Link: www.theaddictedmind.com/76Gregg is the co-founder of START UP RECOVERY, located in the Pacific Palisades. START UP RECOVERY is a transformational residence that supports people through career, passion, and what Gregg refers to as a recovery play-book. Their four cornerstones are a community, accountability, education, and love. They also provide for their residents the unique service of mentorship for long-term sobriety and long-term success.Join The Addicted Mind Podcast Facebook Group>>>Gregg got sober 25-years ago when he was in his mid-twenties. He has managed to retain his sobriety by remaining willing to be willing. He maintains a mindset of life as a continuous journey going forward. In his first year of recovery, he did everything the old-school AA way, and over time, he began adding breath work, sound bath, and then Al-Anon to his play-book. He found that every time he became distressed in his disease, someone would show up with a new tool for him to try. He gets through all of life's painful problems with sobriety and with the support of the whole recovery network. He is always looking for ways to continue healing and growing.Living a counseled and supported life during the years of recovery is essential because, when left to our own devices, our ego will show up. And with pride and ego involved, we tend to make bad decisions, even when we're sober. One addict helping another really works! Rock bottom is choosing to do the same thing over again, knowing that the result is going to be bad. It can happen as a result of many different things, like childhood trauma, divorce, or addiction. At rock bottom, people often find themselves doing things that they said they would never do. It's the point when people begin to realize that they are powerless and their lives have become unmanageable. Having the compassionate support of others at this time is crucial.Developing joy in life, and shifting from addiction to passion are parts of the process of recovering from rock bottom. This does not happen overnight. It happens one day at a time and it can result in people becoming addicted to a life of recovery.For Gregg, it is important to help people to reach their rock bottom by showing them, rather than telling them, what he has done in his life to maintain his sobriety. He refers to this as co-piloting people through their recovery process. Life is difficult. So Gregg believes that the Twelve-Steps would be a very helpful tool to incorporate into the school system. He suggests introducing it to children in the fourth grade, before they have reached puberty, and before they have discovered drugs and alcohol. With this process, they could develop the essential skills necessary for living joyful and passionate lives.Recovery is a life-time process. Gregg encourages everyone to unpack their backpack of shame sooner rather than later because the longer it is carried, the heavier it gets, and the more it will weigh you down. To be tuned-in to recovery, he recommends being spiritually sound, sober, hard-working, diligent, and seriously honest.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.

Today's guest is Dr. Sonya Lott, a licensed psychologist with advanced training from Columbia University's Center for Complicated Grief. Sonya runs a private practice in Pennsylvania and she hosts the Reflections on Multicultural Competence Podcast. She is the founder and CEO of Cempsych LLC, a company offering continuing education for licensed mental health professionals. Today, Sonya talks to us about grief and loss, which is intertwined in many ways with the addictive process. She explains that living is about connection but, ironically, the more loss we experience, the greater the likelihood becomes that we will actually fear connection. Still, it is very important to acknowledge the need for connection.Join The Addicted Mind Podcast Facebook Group>>>Sonya explains that what we think and feel has a direct and immediate influence on what's happening with the neurotransmitters in our brain. This has a long-term impact on the way that hormones are released in the body. Over time, these reactions become chronic and cyclical, and they have an impact on every part of the body, including the immune system, making us more susceptible to illnesses.Episode Link:www.theaddictedmind.com/75Processing loss is important and we need to grieve to do it. Many people, however, don't frame their adverse experiences in terms of loss, even though their bodies and their hearts take it in as such. Often, people end up being diagnosed with depression or anxiety without having addressed the root cause, which is usually a painful loss of connection or secure attachment from their early childhood. It's important to frame any kind of loss and grieve for it because that awareness allows people to heal in a different and deeper way. This is crucial to the recovery process and it lessens the suffering.Losing a child is particularly challenging for parents because it goes against the natural order of things. Losing a child to an addiction is a bit like losing a loved one to suicide. It comes with a great sense of helplessness, so this type of loss could easily set someone up for complicated grief. Therapists who are well-informed about grief and addiction can be very helpful for finding meaning in life and establishing a new identity in terms of recovery from addiction. Self-help groups or groups like AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) and NA (Narcotics Anonymous) also provide support for individuals who are able to recognize their experiences of loss.Links and resources:Dr. Lott's website - https://drsonyalott.com/Cempsych website - www.cempsych.com Reflections on Multicultural Competence Podcast - https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/reflections-on-multicultural-competenceSupport 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.

Today, Erin Miller shares her story of losing her son, Chad, to heroin addiction. She talks very frankly about her painful process of grief and loss, and she explains how she's managed to find meaning and purpose in what she's been through, by using Chad's story to help others.Join The Addicted Mind Podcast Facebook Group>>>Five years have passed since Chad's death. During this time, Erin has gained a lot of insight and wisdom, and her current perspective is completely different from how it was at the time of his death. Being able to help others has made the whole experience worthwhile for her. Erin explains that addiction has become an epidemic. It is on the rise and it is destroying families and people's lives. She believes that there's one kind of addiction or another running in virtually every household because both street drugs and prescription medication are so very easily available today. This is why she advocates strongly for mental well-being and helps people to find ways, other than medication, to cope with their inner pain.Episode Linktheaddictedmind.com/74Erin advises parents to be open with their kids and let them know that having an addiction is not something to be judged. And as a parent, it is important to know that your child's addiction is not your fault if you have done your best. Erin has written a book, Miller Strong Rewrite Your Story - Take a Stand and Turn Your Past Into Your Superpower, which is due to be launched soon. She spent five years interviewing thousands of addicts and people in recovery and this taught her that nobody likes to own up to their faults or to admit that they are not in control.Erin started a foundation, called Miller Strong Seventeen Foundation. It is all about purpose because most people tend to lose their purpose somewhere in their lives. Erin explains that sharing our stories is very important because for every story shared someone is needing to hear that exact story. Erin believes that we should provide help for those who need it, and lean on each other, especially on the darkest days.Erin found God with the help of a spiritual healer in Indonesia.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.

In this episode, Mike Collins talks to us about sugar addiction. Mike is the chairman of the Food Addiction Institute, a non-profit which has been around since 2005. Their stated goal is to get chronic sugar use elevated to a substance use disorder. Mike found recovery from his drug and alcohol addiction a little more than 34 years ago when he was 28. Over the years, he got married and had a normal career and business life. Yet, as he progressed with his sobriety, he started to recognize that his patterns with sugar were almost identical to his using patterns with drugs and alcohol. If he didn't have it he suffered withdrawals and became anxious, and irritable. Join The Addicted Mind Podcast Facebook Group>>>In his intensive studies of addiction over the last five years, Mike has noticed that the sugar cravings in recovery seemed to revolve around the brain's reward system. He saw that many people, in their first year of recovery, would gain huge amounts of weight and he realized that they were getting an alternative dopamine rush from sugar. Sugar is an easy way to make ourselves feel better, so it often becomes a substitute for other addictive substances. And although sugar is a powerful psychoactive, it gets no respect as an addictive drug because it is a habit that we've had since we were children. It's freely available, so instead of dealing with the pain and discomfort of the withdrawals, most of us simply reach for more sugar. With its continued use, life becomes only about fighting off withdrawals, so all of us need to connect the dots and realize how sugar affects the brain. Episode Linktheaddictedmind.com/73Mike has been off sugar, flour, and caffeine for the last thirty years. It was a drawn-out and lonely struggle for him in the beginning, and it took a while to get off them, but once he managed to do it, he stuck to it. Mike has never seen anyone go for 90 days without sugar and then go back to it.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 Eli Nash, founder of the Mic Drop public speaking training program whose purpose is to help people articulate their stories. Eli has recently gained recognition from his TEDx video about escaping his porn addiction, and he hopes the Mic Drop program provides a platform for others to find connections through being vulnerable enough to speak their truth.Join The Addicted Mind Podcast Facebook Group>>>At a young age, Eli started scouring through his family’s mail to find any catalogs with a lingerie section and hiding those catalogs in secret stash places all around his house. When his family got a computer, his secret stashes became hidden computer folders containing pornographic images, and even when he knew he needed to stop this behavior, he simply couldn’t stop. This demoralizing process of wanting but failing to stop consuming this content just fed into the downward spiral, necessitating retreating back into porn even more.Calming The Addicted Mind - 6 Day Mindfulness Email Seriestheaddictedmind.com/mindfulnessWhen Eli finally hit his emotional rock bottom, he reached out to his therapist for 5 years and finally came clean about the behavior that he had been hiding in shame for most of his life. His therapist put him in touch with another one of his clients who was having a similar struggle with porn addiction, and Eli became a part of his new friend’s 12-step support group. Through this group, he was finally able to break the shame cycle and realize that he was not alone in his struggles. Brené Brown defines shame as “the fear of not being worthy of connection,” and Eli found this definition to be completely accurate in his own life. When he started to feel worthy of connection, his shame started to break down, and while it was not an overnight change, it was not as overwhelming.Episode Linktheaddictedmind.com/72Through this support group, he learned that telling his story brought him some freedom and connection that he had not known for so long. He realized that other people had similar stories and struggles that they had been hiding as well. In 2018, Eli launched Mic Drop as a resource for training people to tell their stories in a way that could aid their recovery journeys from the traumas or addictions in their past and also potentially use them as a jumping-off point for those listening who have similar struggles. Everyone has a story, but we will never know how alike we are until we are open about sharing what we have gone through.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.

Dr. Ellie Katz has spent the past 35 years working in the area of addiction treatment, using her holistic approach and real talk with compassion to work with her clients. She joins us on this episode of the Addicted Mind podcast to discuss her experiences and observations about the field and about human nature.Join The Addicted Mind Podcast Facebook Group>>>Ellie has been living in Israel for 40+ years and she began her career in psychological linguistics, but she always had a desire to help people directly. Even as an adolescent, people recognized her deep intuition about those around her, calling her the Earth Mother and coming to her for advice and guidance. Ever since she transitioned to helping people with their addiction treatment, her focus has been on helping her clients and their families sort through the irresistible urges that had been ruling the addicts’ bodies.Calming The Addicted Mind - 6 Day Mindfulness Email Seriestheaddictedmind.com/mindfulnessEllie went through a traumatic surgical procedure when she was 5 years old, which caused her to develop an addiction to food that her mother did not know how to handle. Having experienced these psychological ramifications of eating for several years, she can recognize where the addicts that come to her treatment facility are struggling. Patients spend between 7-12 months in the therapeutic rehab community where Ellie works, and she teaches them how to interact with each other and do the internal work necessary to heal the impacts of their addictions.Episode Linktheaddictedmind.com/71She created a model that she calls “The Six Essentials”, which are building blocks for personal success: Some of them are good mood, love, and kindness, discipline, flexibility, and forgiveness.Ellie is not afraid to call her clients out when she sees them say or do something that they said they wouldn’t say or do and she provides them with the support to help them change. She believes in caring for everyone without judgment because she recognizes that it could have just as easily been her struggling with the addiction. She wants the best for her clients who are really just wounded people in need of someone to help them pick themselves up and head in the right direction.Ellie wants everyone to know that as long as you are drawing breath, change is possible. 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 Leslie Cole, an addiction medicine physician at a clinic outside of Nashville, Tennessee, and author of the book “Quit Pain Pills.” Leslie spent the first 20 years of her medical career as an internist. The journey of self-discovery stemming from realizing she had been struggling with an eating disorder led her down a different path. She found hope and healing through recovery literature during that time. When an addiction clinic called her out of the blue to offer her a job, she knew that she had found her sweet spot, helping others find hope and healing.Join The Addicted Mind Podcast Facebook Group>>>Leslie is a firm believer in providing an environment to patients where they feel welcomed, accepted, loved, and safe. People struggling with addiction are used to the shame heaped onto them from themselves and others, but they are not used to a provider listening to them without judgment. As a part of her clinic’s program, patients fill out an Adverse Childhood Event questionnaire, which is likely to indicate that they experienced Traumas (big T) and traumas (little t) as they were growing up that they had just accepted as normal. This experience at Leslie’s clinic may be the first time they realize how these traumatic events continue to impact them even in adulthood.Calming The Addicted Mind - 6 Day Mindfulness Email Seriestheaddictedmind.com/mindfulnessDuring Leslie’s recovery from an eating disorder, her therapist pointed out to her that the most important relationship in all of life is your relationship with yourself. This colors how to interact with others and with the world. This realization is the basis for Leslie’s approach with patients at the clinic because they probably don’t know how impactful this primary relationship is in their own life and recovery journey.Episode Linktheaddictedmind.com/70In 2017, Leslie was diagnosed with breast cancer, which resulted in chemotherapy and a mastectomy. She found that during her battle with cancer, she received so much support and encouragement from those around her. When she went back to work at the clinic, she was struck by the stark contrast between how she had been treated as a cancer patient and how addiction patients are treated. This contrast prompted her to write her book, “Quit Pain Pills,” to provide hope without judgment and helpful resources to anyone struggling with addiction who has never been greeted with optimism by their family members, friends, or healthcare providers.Leslie wants to make sure that everyone knows that you are not beyond help. You can always make a change, so give yourself every possible chance.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.