In Recovery

We're dropping in your feed today to share Dr. Nzinga's new show, Un-Addiction. Is addiction hereditary? Can stress or trauma cause addiction? Can I lead a fulfilling life after addiction? In Un-Addiction, the podcast, Dr. Nzinga Harrison and her guests will answer these questions and more. Hear hopeful and inspiring stories from your favorite artists, authors, and changemakers as we un-learn what...

In an eye-opening and powerful episode, In The Bubble host Andy Slavitt talks to Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), one of the most powerful members of Congress, about the debilitating anxiety he faced for years and his road back. Smith tells Andy about the fight against his inner voice that stirred his self-hatred, no matter how much he accomplished and how many people he helped. In his own revealing mom...

We are excited to share another Lemonada Media show you will love. It's called No One Is Coming to Save Us and it tackles the American child care crisis. No One Is Coming to Save Us has new episodes out every Thursday. Gloria is back and ready to tackle America’s child care crisis head-on. To kick off season 2, she calls up Lauren Cook, CEO of Ellis Early Learning in Boston. We met Lauren back in...

The team at In Recovery wanted to share with you a preview of another Lemonada Media series that they know you’ll want to tune in for. The 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. Board of Education paved the way for racial integration in public schools. But there's an unspoken consequence of this historic moment. Estimates show 38 thousand Black teachers were fired throughout the integration. Thi...

 As a holiday bonus, the team at In Recovery wanted to share one of their favorite podcasts of 2021 with you.  New Day from Lemonada Media is a podcast with a simple goal - helping you get through the day and look forward to tomorrow. Every week, Claire Bidwell Smith shares one way to make your day and life a little better. From waking up with more energy to finding contentment with relationships,...

Opioids are killing more people than ever. In 2020, overdose deaths in the U.S. spiked nearly 30% to a record high -- the sharpest annual increase in 30 years. Fentanyl sold on the street and the ongoing toll of the pandemic are the primary drivers. With so many of us affected, there’s a dire need for solutions. That’s why we’re re-releasing episodes 2-12 from season one with new updates from prev...

Beth’s daughter Brittany was 14 months sober when she turned 29 and was kicked off her insurance, ending her stint at the one treatment program that addressed both her addiction and her mental health. On June 25th she overdosed and died. For our season finale, we talk to Beth about Brittney’s legacy, how the system failed her, and what we can do to try and prevent it from happening to someone else...

This was supposed to be an episode about languishing –– a mental health term that came into the spotlight in COVID that means feelings of emptiness, stagnation, or the absence of happiness. But our expert on languishing canceled, due to their own physical and mental health issues. So we thought this was a great opportunity to answer all of the questions we’ve received about mental health in COVID....

It’s easy to recognize when the people close to us are going through a hard time, but recognizing that in ourselves is a different story. In our final AMA of Season 2, Nzinga answers questions from two listeners who aren’t sure how to help their siblings, and another listener who is worried about how his depression could derail his recovery. It turns out - relapse is not a single event. It’s a pro...

After criticisms on Twitter turned into a mob of personal attacks, Amanda Jetté Knox sunk into one of the deepest spirals of her life. She checked herself into the hospital for suicidal thinking. But it wasn’t the first time that she’d hit a low point, and she knows now that it won’t be the last. This week she shares how she’s walking the long road of depression and trauma recovery.   Read more fr...

The best way for Dr. Paul Kalanithi to process his terminal diagnosis was to write a book about accepting death. His wife, Dr. Lucy Kalanithi promised Paul she’d see the book through publication. Since then, she has shared her story all over the world and has helped people become more comfortable talking about death, grief, and acceptance.    Listen to Dr. Lucy’s podcast, Gravity.  Read Paul’s Boo...

We’re often taught that trauma is something that happens to us, but psychiatrist Dr. Alauna Curry explains that trauma is something that happens within us. Using different parts of the brain, she explains how our experiences and beliefs can lead us to experience something as traumatic, and how we can use those same systems to heal from that trauma.    Find Dr. Alauna on social media @dralauna.   H...

This week Nzinga answers two listener questions about setting boundaries in long-term relationships with partners who are working through addiction. Plus, one woman wants to know how to heal from her traumatic relationship patterns, while another caller wants to break out of their pattern of shame around an old pornography addiction.    The number for the National Domestic Violence Hotline is: 1.8...

Not guilty for reason of insanity is a full acquittal of criminal charges. Does that mean it’s a get out of jail free card? Turns out it's much more complicated. Olachi Etoh first started hearing voices in 2009. It hit its peak five years later, when she thought she was experiencing a terrorist attack at Chicago O’Hare airport. Her reaction landed her in Cook County Jail for a year awaiting trial....

What happens after your question is answered on the show? One of our listeners decided to follow up to push back on part of Nzinga’s response. He and Nzinga discuss what resonated, what hurt, and end up digging into much more than either of them expected.    Please note, In Recovery contains mature themes and may not be appropriate for all listeners.    Click this link for a list of current sponso...

This week Nzinga catches up with activist and Pod Save the People host DeRay Mckesson and his dad, Calvin. Last year DeRay, his sister TeRay, and Calvin were on an episode of Last Day to talk about what it was like growing up around addiction and recovery. Now, we hear about the impact that conversation had on their relationship, and the way that COVID has (or hasn’t) changed the game for both of...

In this round of listener questions, one friend asks about serial monogamy and the pattern she sees in her female friends of hanging on to relationships. A brother wants to know what he can tell his sister about her curtailing her son's Fortnite tantrums. Plus, one woman who doesn't understand why her son would be given Suboxone.    Resources mentioned in the episode: Verywellmind CAGE AID - Elean...

Often when we hear about sex addiction, it’s used to excuse or justify bad behavior. In the last couple of years we can look to stories like Jeffery Toobin, Harvey Weinstein, and the Atlanta shooter Robert Long as examples of this. So how can we recognize and support people living with sex addiction and the stigma that comes with it? Nzinga talks to psychologist, sex expert and host of Sexology Po...

During a small retreat, six people in recovery discovered the way their childhood trauma played a part in the addictions they had. The retreat and the histories of each of the participants were part of the documentary Uprooting Addiction. This week, Nzinga sits down with two of the creators of the film, social worker and addiction specialist Hope Payson, and filmmaker Tory Jadow. The three talk ab...

One woman’s family seems to be addicted to chaos, but she’s not sure if that counts as an addiction. Plus, a man is curious about the similarities between adderall and meth, in the hopes of understanding his own jump from one to the other. And another woman cannot stop obsessively checking her ex’s social media accounts. Nzinga answers all of these questions and more in our first Ask Me Anything o...

What started out as chronic pain for David Smith’s father, ended in a fatal opioid overdose. In the years that followed, David lost a brother and sister to opioids. Like so many families, David feels like the healthcare system failed his family. He tells Nzinga how he feared he would become his Dad one day. The two talk about intergenerational trauma, David’s fatherhood journey, and how we can red...

Representative Leslie Herod knows what it's like to have a family member struggle with addiction and incarceration. But she also knows that this is more a failure of a greater system than a failure of a sibling, and that’s informed the policy and programs she’s spearheaded around mental health, substance misuse, and the criminal justice system. Nzinga and Representative Herod talk about how curren...

Over the last 14 months, everyone in this country has experienced some type of loss. But as a nation, we’re not always great at talking about our grief. So this week, Nzinga talks to grief counselor Claire Bidwell Smith about how there is no “right” way to grieve and the first steps we can all take to start to reckon with our losses from 2020.    Check out Claire’s books and additional writing on...

Georgia Hardstark quit meth on her own when she was 14 years old. Today, she thinks about this youthful willpower in her moments of self doubt, which she still has despite her huge success as one of the hosts of the hit comedy-true crime podcast My Favorite Murder. Georgia talks to Nzinga about the childhood factors that lead her to meth, her early recovery journey, and what she’s noticed since sh...

In Recovery Season 2 premieres on 4/26! Let’s face it, 2020 was rough for everyone. Suddenly, we're all in a state of mental recovery. So, join Dr. Nzinga Harrison as we all reckon with the trauma of the last year and the work ahead of us as we build a better “new normal.” We have an impactful lineup of guests including Georgia Hardstark, David Smith from Lemonada Media’s The Cost of Care, DeRay M...