In this first episode of the new season of the Families Navigating Addiction & Recovery podcast, I'm reintroducing the heart of this work and what you can expect moving forward. After a six-year hiatus, I'm coming back with weekly episodes focused on empowering families impacted by addiction, especially families who have been told they are powerless until their loved one decides to change. I'll be sharing more about the Healing Arc inside my Brain Health Masterclass, including mixed messages in addiction, finding calm in the storm, fueling personal resilience, building healthier connections, restoring peace to family life, and making better decisions along the way. My hope is that this season gives families a clearer pathway to begin their own healing process, create new conversations, and become stronger than addiction's rules of engagement.

If your family is navigating addiction and you're looking for a different way forward, I invite you to schedule a free discovery call with me here:

https://www.thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/book-a-call/

Addiction doesn't just affect the person using. It reshapes the entire family. In this 6-week masterclass, you'll learn how to move out of confusion, emotional overload, and constant reaction, and begin developing steadier, more intentional leadership within your family. This premium masterclass upgrade includes instant access, learn-at-your-own-pace lessons, and full course access for families who are ready to better understand addiction's impact and begin creating new response patterns.

Learn more: https://www.thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/masterclass-upgrade/

In Rethinking Addiction: The New Family Recovery Solution, Jeff Jones offers a different way for families to understand addiction, not by focusing only on fixing the individual, but by looking at the family system as a whole. The book introduces practical tools, Both/And thinking, clearer communication, and a new way to create family rules that are stronger than addiction's chaos while staying connected to the person you love.

Get the book:
https://www.thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/rethinking-addiction-book/

Work with Jeff:
https://www.thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-jones-0303834/

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@thefamilyrecoverysolution

Substack:
https://jeffjones.substack.com/

"So much of what we do perpetuates problems, not by intent, but by a lack of understanding." -Dr. Mike Barnes

The main focus of the recovery process is often given to the addict in the family and there's nothing wrong with that. It is out of genuine love that they go to great lengths to make sure the needs of their loved one are well provided for. But for family recovery to be realized in its entirety, they must look into the often undermined effects of addiction: trauma. Family members don't realize that they are traumatized until they start prioritizing their own needs. Hence today's episode homes in on how to help family members realize that they are traumatized and help them recover from it. Our guest, Dr. Mike Barnes also talks about the biology of how we cope with problems and the epigenetics of addiction and trauma. This understanding will greatly help in the treatment and recovery process that families may choose along their journey. He also differentiates between problem and crisis and how our stories create an impact on the decisions we make. Dr. Barnes also gives some suggestions in making the paradigm shift in family recovery even more effective. It only takes one or two members to spark the change. The question now lies on who's going to take that privilege.

Get the show notes, transcription and resources mentioned at http://thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/

Highlights:

03:47 Serving Families With Addiction

10:47 Living in Recovery Together

18:32 Coping Begins With Family Goals and Values

23:48 Helping Families To Understand That They Are Traumatized

31:53 The Epigenetics of Addiction and Trauma

38:13 Understanding The Biology of How We Cope To And Solve Problems

44:50 3 Rules of an Alcoholic Family And How to Challenge Them

54:55 A Shift In Recovery Processes Needed

"We need to communalize rather than individualize. And we need to normalize rather than pathologize." - Ed Tick

The society we're living in today has forced veterans to carry the moral and social burdens of warfare alone. As a result, their unspoken pain and sorrows evolved into trauma and addiction problems which also affect the family unit that they belong to. From this, societal issues increase and communities sink into decay. To address this problem, Dr. Ed Tick and Denise Klein join the platform to share their wisdom. They impress on seeing beyond the surface recovery and diving deeper into the feelings associated with addiction rather than just the cessation of visible symptoms. They also expound on how to spark significant cultural changes as opposed to smaller individual changes and how to build communities through visualization, open communication, and creating opportunities. They also highlight the need to normalize rather than pathologize. Individual empowerment is the key to strengthen the family and eventually the whole community. Tune in and join the healing movement!

Get the show notes, transcription and resources mentioned at http://thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/

Highlights:

04:00 Veteran Experience Help Heal Addiction

13:30 Symptoms That Causes Breakdown In Families

16:34 Trauma As Normative Part Of Experience

18:13 Educating People About Trauma

30:08 Everyone Gets Traumatized Everyday

35:45 Making Trauma More Visible

40:18 Move Into Normalization And Communalization

45:31 Warriors Return

48:07 Empowerment And Being Authentic

"The idea behind sex addiction is not to stop having sex entirely and remove sex from your life. The idea is to develop a healthy sexuality." - Joshua Shea

The desire for love and pleasure is innate to all humans. However, as the world evolved, activities that were traditionally regarded as private and conservative are gradually becoming acceptable with the general public. Pornography is one of the industries that has dominated the web and access to it has become easier. As a result, even school-aged children are at risk of developing an addiction as their curiosity peeks and peer pressure pushes them deeper into the pleasure pool. Today, Joshua Shea, a former pornography addict, shares his battle with pornography. He lists the warnings signs of pornography addiction and differentiates the two types of pornography users. He also gives a comparison of different addictions and what makes them similar to each other. As we begin to understand pornography, the kind of intervention necessary becomes clearer and the motivation to stand against it becomes stronger. Pornography may have the power to destroy morals and psychological balance. But nothing is stronger than a family working together to uphold their integrity. Tune in and learn how to develop a healthy sexuality.

Get the show notes, transcription and resources mentioned at http://thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/

Highlights:

05:50 Internet Has Changed The Game

11:38 Warning Signs Of Pornography

20:00 Two Types Of Pornography Users

23:01 Two Things Partners Need To Do

28:11 Parallels Of All Addictions

30:40 Standpoints Of Family Members

37:33 Understanding Pornography

43:13 Addiction Is A Disease

"There's no ruler until that addict bottoms out and wakes up into their conscious self, their authentic self, and starts the path of recovery."

Codependency is a confusing topic under addiction. Numerous ideas branch out that often lead to misunderstanding and eventually, increased harm. Today, Rene Eram joins the stage to enlighten some of the misinformation on codependency and expound on the subject from a different perspective. He explains the nature of roles played out in the drama and points out to these roles as both inherited where one comes out as dominant. These invisible patterns create an obsessive connection that often leads to betrayal, rejection, and abandonment. Rene also discusses the hang-over stage in this type of relationship and nurturing broken programming as a means of coping mechanisms. We all can be addicted to something but this conversation warns mainly on a much destructive form of addiction: progressive addiction. The goal of recovery is to neutralize codependency and move to your authentic self. Don't miss out on today's episode.

Get the show notes, transcription and resources mentioned at http://thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/

Highlights:

02:50 Fascination With Invisible Patterns

04:07 Invisible Patterns

06:09 Two Roles: Controller And Dependent

11:16 Codependent Mapping

20:26 Hang-over Stage

24:32 Inherited Pattern Of Codependence

37:12 Being Their Authentic Self

43:49 Self Rescue Mission

"The real key to success is what happens after they leave treatment." -Stan McKnight

Technological advancement has really brought the world to a new era. Communication, education, travel and even relationships are not how they used to be decades ago. If you're contemplating on finding an intervention that's compatible with your situation and conditions, there are things that you must consider. Stan McKnight shares his expertise on navigating addiction and recovery. It's rather imperative to know the do's and don'ts before jumping in to a decision. The life of your loved one is at stake, hence, an uneducated or partially educated judgment can be very detrimental. This conversation is full of wisdom that can help you and your family before, during and after treatment. Stan also shares a useful tool to aid in developing accountability and trust in the family nucleus. Today's episode is for everyone who is determined to get to recovery and change their life forever.

Get the show notes, transcription and resources mentioned at http://thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/

Highlights:

02:48 Getting a Vital Lesson From Interventions and Recovery

07:38 Addiction- 2000 and Beyond

09:07 What NOT To Do

16:03 How to Diagnose Denial

17:24 What To Do

21:59 The Accountability Tool

27:29 Send the Right Message

32:42 Try IAM!

"All you need to do is take action every day to support your body and your body is going to take care of you." -Nancy Miggins

To take care of yourself is to take care of others. The last thing we want is to fall ill when everybody has already recovered. It's something everyone must do and gain mastery over. When we are at the negative end of the continuum, we cannot function at an optimum level. Therefore, any decision made while in that state of stress can mean only trouble. Joining us in today's episode is Dr. Nancy Miggins, a seasoned expert in health and wellness. She provides practical guidance on how to master self-care in 8 simple steps. She also lets us in on some fun facts about detoxification and weight loss. The human physiological makeup is designed to be able to heal itself. Therefore, as the owners of our personage, it is our sheer duty to support it. Join in and "reclaim your power over health"!

Get the show notes, transcription and resources mentioned at http://thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/

Highlights:

03:50 Reclaim Power Over Health Without Narcotics

08:13 How to Shift From Self-Destructive Patterns

17:49 Stress and Disease

21:06 Facilitated Pathway

24:39 How to Break Down Stress

29:37 How to Find Gratitude Amidst Crisis

40:30 Where Does Healing Really Happen?

46:52 8 Daily Practices to Master Health

"The first step is really just seeing what the pieces are at play and accepting the pieces at play as they are." -Vincent Peronne

Sometimes what makes our fight harder is not the fight itself, but the things that we can't control. In that event, what are we to do? Vincent Peronne sheds light on this topic and expounds on the inside out of neurology. He also shares about the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP), a type of sensory-intervention developed by Dr. Stephen Porges and how it can complement recovery. You can move through adversities and win your battle. This conversation will help you determine the best possible steps to help your loved one.

Get the show notes, transcription and resources mentioned at

http://thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/

Highlights:

03:33 Learning the Inside Out of Neurology

12:48 Strength of the Family vs Strength of Addiction

24:44 The Safe And Sound Protocol and Sensory Healing

33:17 What's In and Out of Our Control

38:50 Effective Handling of What's In and Out of Our Control

46:52 Groups and Nervous System Regulation

49:46 Increase Your Resiliency