Matt and Chris go deep into the vantage point of being a family member of an individual that has a Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Family and friends can use the tips in this episode to navigate the realm of helping their loved ones.
Here are the main topics discussed in this episode:
- Chris’ experience telling his family he needed to quit drinking and how that was the catalyst for change
- Matt’s experience trying to recover without anyone knowing vs recovering fast with the support and accountability of his parents and other close family and friends
- Having immense compassion for loved ones with substance use disorders
- Learning about addiction in the brain to be able to have an understanding of why it’s so difficult for most people to quit
- How to help a loved one with love, compassion, boundaries, and more to optimize the chances of recovering
- Recommended online resources for the family and loved ones of individuals misusing alcohol and/or drugs
- Pleasure Unwoven documentary on how addiction changes the brain for the worse
- Dr. Kevin McCauley on a YouTube video discussing the same concepts from his documentary Pleasure Unwoven
- The spectrum of the tough love behaviors on one side and codependent/enabling behaviors on the opposite side
- Staying away from both extremes and finding a more balanced and effective strategy somewhere within like the Buddhist psychology “middle way” concept
- Navigating the domain and nuances of being a family member or close friend of an addicted loved
- Why there is no one-size-fits-all approach to family and addiction dynamics, although there are a superabundance of general guidelines that can help immensely
- Why addiction recovery is a marathon, not a sprint, and thus why it’s important to realize this and be patient with the addicted loved one, as this process is often not linear
Here are the resources mentioned in the outro of this episode:
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