Being in the restaurant industry, serving alcohol is such a big part of it. It’s intended to create an experience, just like the food, music, and the interior of the space. But if you're struggling with alcohol or drugs, it would be such a hard industry to be in because you're going to be around those all the time.  In fact, about 17% to 24% of restaurant workers around the country have issues with alcohol and drugs. And that’s because it’s the only industry where drinking and drugging have become the norm. They’ve created that kind of atmosphere where it's widely accepted and readily available.  Our guest today is Mickey Bakst, the co-founder of Ben’s Friends, a recovery community dedicated to helping struggling addicts in the food and beverage industry find sobriety and seek recovery and support – without having to give up their lives and their careers.  At the forefront of what they do is creating a community of people who not only understand the addiction, but understand the life that the F&B workers live in. Active since 2016, Ben’s Friends is a safe space to talk about it knowing that they will not be judged. In the treatment of all kinds of addictions, when people can talk about it and connect with others, and they can feel heard and understood – that's when change happens. 38 years sober now, Mickey was found in a hotel room after four days of drugging and drinking and ended up at the emergency room table. Because of his addiction, he also ended up losing his restaurant business, his home, and anybody who cared about him. Now at 69 years old, Mickey continues to live out his passion for helping individuals in the F&B industry who are struggling with addiction and he sets an example for those seeking sobriety.  On this episode, Mickey shares a little bit of his own story, some of the unique struggles that come with working in the restaurant community, and why Ben’s Friends can be so helpful for someone in the restaurant industry who’s struggling with alcohol and substance abuse. In this episode, you will hear: His struggles at AA The parts of AA that resonated with Mickey the most How Ben’s Friends started Why the restaurant industry is prone to alcohol and drug addiction How Ben’s Friends is able to create a strong community within their industry  Key Quotes: [08:29] - Nothing happened for me until I made a decision that for me, I wanted to live and I knew I couldn't live the way I was. [14:03] - "Anywhere from 17 to 24% of restaurant workers around the country are having issues with alcohol and drugs." [15:39] - "We're the only industry where drinking and drugging is the norm. It's accepted." [18:14] - "At the forefront of what we do is creating a community of people who not only understand the addiction, but understand the life that the F&B workers live in." [26:18] - "Once you make a decision, and that decision flows through your being that you can no longer drink if you want to live the life you want to live." [26:35] - "Ben's Friends gives people who are struggling with that obstacle a place to talk about it where they're not judged."   If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it. Supporting Resources: www.bensfriendshope.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/bensfriendsnational Facebook: www.facebook.com/bensfriendsnational  Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com   Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a...

Mindfulness – everybody hears about it and they have all kinds of ideas of what mindfulness is. A lot of times, they think it's this really complicated thing and that you have to do the whole kung fu thing to be mindful. But you don't have to. On today’s episode, Duane carries an inspiring conversation with Janet Fouts, the author of Microdosed Mindfulness.  Janet devolved into depression when her partner was diagnosed with cancer. She found it hard to handle things well, considering how she had to take care of her partner while also running her business. As her way of numbing the pain, she began to drink a lot and tried a few drugs. She found it hard to get out of it but she knew she had to stop. She ended up going to a mindfulness-based stress reduction course, a weekend retreat that blew her mind and led her to learn about mindfulness and dive deep into studying, quitting her job, and becoming a teacher. Janet identifies self-judgment as the biggest hurdle of a person’s mindfulness journey. When you stop to recognize that judgment, you begin to back away and get centered. Recognize that it's okay to come back to it. That's part of the process. So don't be hard on yourself if you didn't get to meditate today. All you need are microdoses, moments to start living mindfully instead of practicing mindfulness. Once mindfulness dawns on you, you realize it’s just about being aware. And when you're aware of the fact that you're not aware, you switch back to being aware again. It’s such a simple concept but it can take a long time for some people to get there. When you're in emotional suffering and a lot of pain, your body's telling you that you've got to get out and do something to stop the pain. It may tell you to do so by using drugs, for instance. In those times, sitting with mindfulness can be really challenging, even if it's just 10 seconds. But it can be done! In this episode, you will hear: How mindfulness came into Janet’s life What awareness means How to get started with practicing mindfulness What it means when you normalize something How mindfulness shifts your perspective The biggest hurdle of starting a mindfulness journey Why you also need to celebrate Key Quotes: [02:45] - "I was convinced that if I just learned to meditate that everything would start to move slower, and I would be able to manage my life and everything would be wonderful." [05:34] - “It's really so simple when it dawns on you that all mindfulness is simply being aware.” [06:08] - “Another word I like to use is ‘notice’ - and that’s the simplest version of awareness.” [08:53] - “When we're aware, and when we're paying attention, we're such better human beings.” [15:39] - "We just need the microdoses. We just need the moments and pretty soon, we start living mindfully, instead of practicing mindfulness." [18:10] - “There's tons of maladaptive behaviors that we can get into if we want to. But sometimes you really just have to go, ‘Wow,’ this really hurts.” [21:08] - "We can actually retrain our brain to be happier, to have more joy simply by recognizing joy more often." Supporting Resources: www.microdosedmindfulness.com  Microdosed Mindfulness book: www.microdosedmindfulness.com/#e-book  Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Our guest today is AdaPia d'Errico and she is going to talk about intuition and paying attention to our authentic self. Her book is titled Productive Intuition: Connecting To The Subtle.  Often, our intuition and our authentic self can be very subtle and difficult to pay attention to, especially if we've struggled with trauma and hardship.  AdaPia is really passionate about her work, sharing her story, and sharing her wisdom.  Her Story AdaPia was at a point in her life where she was so completely lost and essentially went through a spiritual crisis. Everything she knew how to do was not working. She completely lost her marbles. She didn't have anybody to talk to.  She was prejudging herself before even going into something new. What life or the universe or God delivered to her was just failure. Her whole identity fell apart and, in that process, she realized it wasn't actually failure; it was a different door she had to go through to get clarity and trust herself. Her book comes out of her last few years of getting that clarity and discovering how intuitive she is, how intuitive we all are, and how to use that intuition intentionally. We all have intuition. Sometimes we use it and it works but we don't understand it. Other times we don't listen to it at all. If we've had trauma or hardship, especially early childhood trauma, listening to intuition can be difficult. In some ways, it doesn't even seem like it's there. We've all had different levels and types of trauma. What connects all of us as humans is trauma. The conditioning and stories we grew up with as well as being told who we should be and how to please were all essentially traumatic. In this episode, you will hear: How trauma connects all humans What the intuitive space is How we're neurologically biologically hardwired for intuition Ways of understanding our intuition Why it’s so hard to let go of a thought This takes work and energy! Key Quotes: [04:30] - "We've all had different levels and types of trauma, and what connects all of us as humans is trauma because we've all had it." [05:49] - “You just know. You're not believing something, you're not listening to a voice, it's not a voice, it's a knowing. And that is inherently tied to intuition.” [07:02] - "It's super important to get the left brain on board to really understand instead of blindly believing, because blind belief isn't going to get us anywhere." [07:40] - “There's all these different mechanisms inside of us that are ways of moving inward instead of outward.” [08:26] - “Noticing our own pattern starts to bring us inward because we're focusing on ourselves instead of on somebody else or on an outside object.” [10:30] - “That emotional, energetic charge lives in our body, which is why so much somatic work is really important to help us release the stories and release the thought.” Supporting Resources: Productive Intuition: Connecting To The Subtle www.adapiaderrico.com/  Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Why is addiction so hard to control? Does that mean addiction can’t be treated? On today’s episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane talks to Dr. Paul Kaloostian.  Dr. Paul Kaloostian is a neurosurgeon in Los Angeles as well as an author. His books include The Young Neurosurgeon: Lessons from My Patients and two different poetry books, From The Eyes Of A Doctor and My Surgical Cases Told In Poems. As a neurosurgeon for 17 years now, Dr. Kaloostian has dealt with thousands of cases of people with neurological conditions. Seeing the need for awareness of mental health, he took a poetic approach to his books to make it easier for the world to understand what it’s like for patients who are going through neurological conditions, some of which are caused or aggravated by addiction.  On today's episode, he talks about the brain, his patients, and why we do some of the things we do even when we don't necessarily want to do them.  No one wants to be addicted. But the brain is such a powerful organ that what our brains decide to do is what we do. We don't really have that much control. That’s why addiction is a hard problem to fight and beat. The brain is a powerful organ so once it gets stimulated, it's difficult to change. It takes work and energy – but it's not impossible.  Because of Paul's compassion for his clients and his appreciation for the vulnerability of his clients to come and seek help, this is an episode you need to listen to. While you may not fully understand what people with neurological conditions are going through until you’ve gone through the same experience, having the ability to understand these concepts today is a good way to start to develop empathy. In this episode, you will hear: What drew Paul to neurosurgery Why he took a medical poetic approach in writing his books The need to show empathy to these patients How the brain is linked to addiction Areas of the brain responsible for addiction Why addiction is a pathological condition Why addiction is so hard to control Key Quotes: [04:30] - "A single cell of the brain has so many different functions within it. It's literally a universe within a cell." [06:54] - “We only really use about five to 10% of our brains… And just imagine if we're able to utilize another 10% of our brains, what we would know, and 50% more of our brains, what we would know.” [12:02] - “Addiction is a big, big problem, not only in the field I'm in but just globally, in terms of economic costs, and medical costs and violence that happens." [12:44] - “After a while of doing drugs, alcohol, or smoking, the brain thinks that's normal so it makes your body want to stay in that environment.” [15:08] - "It's really the reward part that dominates because people like that high feeling of winning, being happy and super excited. That always will win over any other type of feeling in your brain. That's just part of the addiction process.” [15:54] - "What our brains decide to do is what we do. That's why the brain is such a fascinating and critical aspect of our lives." [16:37] - "The brain is very, very powerful. And once the brain gets stimulated, it's a powerful organ to change. It takes work and energy. But it's not impossible." Supporting Resources: The Young Neurosurgeon: Lessons from My Patients  From The Eyes Of A Doctor My Surgical Cases Told In Poems Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

People going through addiction recovery deal with feelings of shame, guilt, and unworthiness that no one else can understand unless they’ve gone through a similar situation. However, if someone comes to them at their level, they can automatically pull some of that shame away. This is where peer specialists can help people through addiction treatment and recovery.  Today’s guest is Kabir Singh, the CEO and Founder of Fresh Start Recovery Center and the Chief Operating Officer for Amatus Health. He talks about his journey through recovery and how he’s also helping others get the treatment they need and find healing in the process, all with human connection at its core. Kabir began gravitating towards substance abuse at an early age, not realizing he had a need for help that went unnoticed. Struggling at school, he always felt he wasn’t good enough and that he couldn’t measure up. He thought resorting to substance abuse was the only thing he was capable of doing. After getting a DUI three times throughout his life, he finally entered into the halls of recovery at 34 years old. He learned about his disease, about his addicted mind, and what drove and fueled his addiction.  In 2013, he became one of the first certified peer recovery specialists in the state of Maryland. In this episode, he talks about his role as a peer specialist, who can become one, how to be certified, how they’re different from counselors and therapists, and the value they provide to people struggling with substance abuse disorder. Ultimately, it’s by bringing humaneness to our connection that people heal. When we find ourselves in extreme pain, we don’t know if we still have anything to give. Healing is all about reminding each other of our value and that we all have something to offer the world.  In this episode, you will hear: Kabir’s road to addiction and recovery How he became a CPRS What peer recovery specialists do  The advantages of a peer group Why peer intervention is very helpful in helping people heal The need for self-care as a peer specialist Key Quotes: [11:23] - "There are multiple pathways to recovery, and that's what the peer movement is about.” [11:44] - "My heart was always in the right place. But my thinking was not." [17:08] - "I entered into the halls of recovery, learned about the disease... I learned about my addicted mind, what drove and fueled the addiction." [22:55] - "You do not have to be a person in recovery, and you can be what's considered an ally to recovery." [24:59] - "We're all on the same level in the group." [25:36] - "When you have a therapist and a client, there is this kind of hierarchical, unspoken structure there." [28:26] - "You already feel so much shame, you're already in the hospital, and this person comes to you at your level, automatically pulls some of that shame away." [30:26] - " What a better way to reach folks than to bring down all those walls of inequality and level out the playing field." [33:42] - "More often than not, we are in recovery. And it's very important that we as peers, and I as a peer, do the work I need to do on myself outside so that I don't mix up the two." [35:56] - "The greatest sign of strength is asking for help." Supporting Resources: Fresh Start Recovery Center Amatus Health Connecticut Community of Addiction Recovery Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

On today’s episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane talks with relationship maven Abby Medcalf. Abby is a psychologist, author, podcast host, and a TEDx speaker. Abby is the author of the #1 Amazon best-selling book, Be Happily Married: Even If Your Partner Won't Do A Thing and host of the top-rated Relationships Made Easy Podcast.  Abby is in long-term recovery from heroin. She was very functional and very good at hiding it for many years. Along her journey of recovery, she got a business degree and eventually started counseling her colleagues and helping them improve their relationships. That marked the beginning of her beautiful journey from self-recovery to helping people recover in life and relationships. Abby has helped thousands of people think differently so they can create connection, ease, and joy in their relationships. With over 30 years of experience, Abby is a recognized authority and sought-after speaker at organizations such as Google, Apple, AT&T, Kaiser, PG&E, American Airlines, and Chevron.  Today, Abby shares some key insights from her book. She also touches on taking personal responsibility for your own feelings and the things you can do to change them. Abby has a ton of positive energy that she brings to this episode along with practical advice and steps backed up by research to help you feel better and change your life.  In this episode, you will hear: Abby’s journey through heroin addiction recovery. The opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety, but connection. What is compassionate responsibility? Why you need to stop hitting the snooze button. How to keep yourself in positive momentum all day. What is the Reticular Activating System (RAS)? The reason people are not connecting. Planning your feelings like you plan your day. Key Quotes: [06:10] - “The opposite of addiction isn't sobriety – it's connection.” [06:37] - "You can be happily married and in a happy relationship if you're not married, even if your partner won't do anything because it's all about what you do." [08:10] "You're the dominant vibration. Have other people calibrate to you, don't you calibrate to them. And this is part of taking responsibility." [12:47] - "If you can just take one thing from your gratitude list, really feel it, feel the state of it, and be in it, you will have so much more bang for your buck than writing 15 pages of something." [16:33] - "Going places sometimes where no one knows you, you do have that chance to start over again."  [18:29] - “The reticular activating system or RAS is your filter between your conscious and your subconscious mind. When you consciously think of something, it sends it as an order or an instruction to the subconscious to look for it.” [21:04] - "Our conscious brains process information at a rate of 50 bits per second, while our unconscious or subconscious brains process information at a rate of 11 million bits per second." [23:04] - "Why aren't we connecting? It's because people hear what you mean, not what you say. They can feel where that's from." Supporting Resources: www.abbymedcalf.com  Be Happily Married: Even If Your Partner Won't Do A Thing  Relationships Made Easy Podcast Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

What most people don't realize about addiction, whether it’s to alcohol, drugs, shopping, overeating, or porn, is that it’s not the core of the problem. The addicted person just uses it to cope with their real problem: their addicted mind or funky brain. For recovery to happen, people need to change their thinking to grow to new levels of awareness. On this episode, Duane talks with Dennis Berry, the author of Funky Wisdom: A Practical Guide to Life and the host of The Funky Brain Podcast. He has been sober since April 8, 2003 and now has expertise in life mastery. During the time since 2003, he became a successful businessman, athlete, and family man. His journey and recovery helped him find his mission in life: to help others achieve inner peace, success, and mastery in every area of their lives.  Dennis knows what it's like to be helpless and hopeless with no positive direction. He was able to climb out of the gutter and transform his life so now he spends his life helping others do the same. His goal is to help people understand life on a whole different level and to see the world differently. Living by his mantra of gratitude and service, he hopes to shorten people's learning curve for growing to new levels of awareness to six months or a year instead of five or seven years.  Dennis calls himself a grateful alcoholic because all that he did got him to this new place of living, growth, understanding, and awareness.  Today, Dennis talks about practical steps you can take to mitigate your suffering, ease your pain, and create the meaningful life you want. Hopefully, this episode helps you on your journey through recovery.  In this episode, you will hear: It’s not about drinking but emotional sobriety. The inspiration behind his book and why “funky wisdom.” The HOW approach to what. What you need to do when your world changes. What can you do with your most valuable asset? If addiction is not the real problem, what is? How do you create willingness? Why he's a grateful alcoholic. The value of having an expert in every area of your life. Rewiring your beliefs and behaviors in six categories of your life. Why writing is more powerful than talk therapy. Key Quotes: [02:30] - "It wasn't about not drinking... it's about following up. It's about looking at the world in the eye and acting like a mature adult. And what we strive for really is emotional sobriety” [07:32] - "You can't solve a problem you can't admit exists." [07:43] - "When you're in enough pain, that's when the change can occur because we don't like change as human beings." [08:15] - “When I'm stressed out, angry, resentful, fearful, you know, what I find is usually that the world changed, and I didn't change along with it." [13:47] - “We need to really change our thinking to really grow to new levels of awareness.” [23:19] - “It may not help them at this moment. But we're planting those seeds." [28:17] - "We want to surround ourselves with success all the time, whenever possible. So I was taught to have an expert in every area of your life." [30:37] - "There's no shame in asking for help. In fact, it'll get you there faster." [32:50] - “What we need to do is focus on one goal at a time. We start knocking down each of those goals at a high level. And then all of a sudden, we start changing.” Supporting Resources: Funky Wisdom: A Practical Guide to Life The Funky Brain Podcast Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

When a partner has a substance use disorder, there's a lot of mistrust. There's a lot of lying and hiding which damages the intimacy, connection, and faith in the relationship. Afterward, all of that has to be repaired. On today’s episode, Duane talks with international corporate attorney Chantal Jauvin about her journey to recovery as a partner of someone with a substance abuse disorder. As an international corporate attorney with expertise in trade law and financial services, Chantal has worked with Fortune 500 companies from around the world, dealing with matters from free trade zone manufacturing in Costa Rica to fast-moving consumer goods in Europe. Her work has allowed her to travel to different places including Cambodia, Russia, and Vienna. Chantal's journey of recovery started by meeting the man that she fell in love with (who eventually became her husband). Soon, she found out about his dark secret: he was a functional alcoholic. She was not aware that he was struggling with a disease or that he was hiding it. She was initially in denial of his addiction. She made excuses that just left her blindsided. Finally, they went to relationship counseling and that paved the way for her husband’s healing process. In her new book, “Love Without Martinis: How Couples Build Healthy Relationships in Recovery Based on Real Stories,” Chantal shares her wisdom about healing through the stories of real couples going through the same experience. As she says in the interview, it is the book she wished she had at the beginning of her journey of understanding and growing while loving someone who is in their own recovery.  Today, she talks about her experience, how she got to this book, and how she was able to get other couples to talk about their experiences and share their wisdom of what they learned going through this experience.  In this episode, you will hear: Chantal’s professional background as an attorney Her journey of recovery with her husband’s addiction problems How her husband’s changing behavior prompted her to change as well The different phases that a partner of someone with substance abuse disorder goes through The benefits of having a third party to help your partner through addiction treatment What Chantal did during the treatment and recovery process How the relationship needs to be fixed as well How she got other couples to share their own stories of addiction recovery Key Quotes: [06:19] - “I do what I think a lot of us who love someone who struggles with alcohol is, in my mind, I make a lot of excuses.” [08:08] - “When you love someone who has an addiction, all of a sudden your world closes in and all you can think of is how you're going to get them to stop drinking.” [10:24] - “I wasn't happy with my own behavior, how I was becoming so wrapped in him." [12:59] - “I was not aware that he was struggling with a disease. But I knew something wasn't right about all this alcohol.” [15:18] - “What happens when you have a third party that comes into the conversation, they're able to bring perspective and able to ask the right questions.” [17:32] - “I had to learn to let him be in charge of his own recovery, but be supportive of him."  [21:33] - “In recovery, when you're in a relationship there is – I am recovering. My partner is recovering, but our relationship is recovering.” [22:38] - “It's hard to be vulnerable to someone who has not been trustworthy. So how do you re-establish that connection?” [31:52] - "The thing about addiction, we have to remember is we're not dealing with the person, we're really dealing with the disease." Supporting Resources: Love Without Martinis: How Couples Build Healthy Relationships in Recovery Based on Real Stories Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.c...

You could be suffering from chronic stress without knowing it. Alternatively, you might know it but are just so used to it that you think it’s normal. Well, it’s not normal. You have to act on it before it takes a toll on your health and happiness. We have many different stressors in life. The human alarm is in the brain but we are wired to ignore it because we're wired for fight or flight. Humans evolved but, like other creatures, we used to live in caves or under trees. We had to know where the bears and wolves were. We had to be on guard against predators. As humans moved into cities and suburbs, most of us didn't have those worries but our brains haven't caught up. The alarm system hasn't evolved. It still sends chemicals throughout the body that lead to chronic stress.  Chronic stress has various symptoms, including weight loss, weight gain, sugar cravings, salt cravings, disrupted sleep, fatigue, and muscle tension. Some people escape into alcohol, drugs, pornography, video games, work, or just about anything else to distract their brains from stress and pretend it isn’t happening. We just can’t tolerate it. On today’s episode, Duane speaks with Jennifer Love, the co-author of When Crisis Strikes: Five Steps to Heal Your Brain, Body, and Life From Chronic Stress. The book has outlined five steps to help people heal from life’s chronic stressors. If you have a crisis that comes up, you can walk through these steps. The more you do so, the better you're going to get at it and the more resilient you're going to become. Over time, you will have less stress.  Jennifer is a board-certified psychiatrist in Addiction Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine and is a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the American Board of Addiction Medicine. She is an award-winning researcher and international speaker who focuses on stress and the brain.  In this episode, you will hear: Writing the book, When Crisis Strikes and why Jennifer wrote a book about chronic stress What chronic stress is The Crisis Response System: what’s going on in the body when we’re under unconscious stress 5 steps to get you through chronic stress and become a better version of yourself How COVID has impacted chronic stress Key Quotes: [04:43] - “‘Your health doesn't freeze. Your dad's health doesn't freeze. Your divorce process or your unhappy marriage doesn't freeze. Nothing freezes in COVID except the economy." [15:16] - “We gain weight. We have disrupted sleep, or sugar cravings, salt cravings, fatigue, and muscle tension. It all comes out physically because our brains are now in survival mode.” [17:26] - “The fuel in life is stress.” [22:43] - “You can't really treat that stress when you're in the middle of it.” [27:23] - “We have to get the brain away from the alarm enough that we can focus on the things that will actually get us through the crisis until that alarm turns off.” [28:59] - “Some people escape into alcohol, drugs, pornography, video games, work. It's just anything to distract my brain from this. I need to pretend this isn't happening. I can't tolerate it.” [42:30] - “Our beliefs are firmly rooted in who we are.” [48:53] - “We still have the ability to rise. We have that within us and crisis makes us feel we do not. And hope is what teaches us that we do.” Supporting Resources: Book: https://www.amazon.com/When-Crisis-Strikes-Chronic-Stress/dp/0806540818  Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Addiction is a response to pain and trauma. Reaching out and making yourself vulnerable is challenging when you've been traumatized. You may not trust people and you may not trust the process. So what needs to be done to discharge the trauma off your body and break free from the symptoms – addiction being one of them? In this episode, Duane talks with Mike Govoni, an integrative holistic recovery coach who specializes in healing not only addiction but trauma as well. He has extensive experience in helping addicts overcome trauma and free themselves from addiction, a path that he has walked personally.  Mike was traumatized in utero, which led to his early-onset illness in long-term recovery. This set him up for addiction. As a result of childhood trauma, pain, and suffering, Mike escaped through alcohol and drugs at an early age. He smoked his first joint at 11. By the time he was 18 years old, he got addicted to oxycontin – the first substance that took his soul out of him. He had always thought it was under control until he finally had to reach out for help. When he was hit with depression, his mom brought him to a 12-step meeting which was his first exposure to life in recovery. At that point, he got sober and has been for about 16 years now. Interestingly, he never knew he was suffering from unprocessed unhealed trauma. It took the universe to conspire for his awakening and for him to have a mystical experience that led to profound healing. That's what led him on the journey to what he does today. Today, Mike and Duane are going to have an in-depth conversation about trauma, early trauma, how it hides in the body, and how we can begin to process through that trauma to be able to release it, find freedom, and be our authentic selves. In this episode, you will hear: Mike’s entry into addiction and where his childhood trauma came from How addiction is related to trauma What keeps people from seeking help Why trauma starts in utero What trauma really means and how it’s been programmed in the subconscious How our nervous system can help discharge the trauma The role of others in the process of healing yourself Key Quotes: [07:18] - “Addiction is a response to pain and trauma. And reaching out and making yourself vulnerable is challenging when you've been traumatized.” [07:58] - "If you look at the work of Stanislav Grof, who is a well-known psychotherapist, he talked about birth as the first real trauma."  [09:28] - "Trauma is really misunderstood. There's a lot of different definitions of trauma." [10:52] - “You can be in long-term recovery, and still be suffering from the symptoms of trauma.” [13:23] - “Many of us have traumas that we have suppressed and repressed so much that it's below consciousness.” [27:11] - “The nervous system naturally knows how to move through the cycle and discharge the trauma." [32:56] - “When you're stuck in survival mode, you don't have access to your creativity or have access to the full potential of who you are." [33:25] - “It's no wonder why people in addiction isolate and don't have access to this social engagement system. We're social primates. We are built for connection. We are built for touch.” Supporting Resources: The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.