Living While Loving Your Child Through Addiction

Mary Tilson is a Certified Professional Recovery Coach, Trauma-informed Yoga and Meditation Teacher, the Founder of Sun & Moon Sober Living, and a person in long-term recovery. There is so much you can learn by listening to Mary's journey from substance use to recovery. Instead of focusing on your differences, Mary’s story offers a chance to recognize our shared human experiences.  Look fo...

Learn the unique advantages of using Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) to support your child’s recovery journey with guest Gail Embt, a Certified CRAFT Clinician. CRAFT offers powerful tools, yet many professionals and parents who need it don’t know about it. Whether you’re seeking solutions or understanding, this episode offers valuable insights to support your family.    Topics...

In this episode, we hear from Susie Armstrong, a multi-talented writer, healer, actor, artist, mother, and one of the key figures in Heather’s recovery journey for 8 years.  Every time you've heard Heather refer to her counselor, she’s talking about Susie. Susie's journey has been shaped by her unique experiences and her commitment to sharing love through various mediums. As a Life Coach,...

Heather talks to Michelle Weidenbenner the founder of Moms Letting Go and the All-Mighty Mom Tribe. Michelle is a passionate advocate, podcaster, and author dedicated to stopping the stigma of substance use disorder and providing hope, courage, and support to moms with addicted loved ones. Her latest book, "Unhackable Moms of Addicted Loved Ones, Closing the Gap between Havoc and Hope,"...

In this episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with author Pamela Brinker, whose book "Conscious Bravery: Caring for Someone with Addiction” explores the intersection of parenting and substance use. Pamela shares her personal experiences and insights, starting with her journey that led her to write the book. We dive into the concept of conscious bravery and how it relates to her work, emph...

In this episode, Heather discusses the misunderstood emotion of anger and explores its valuable purpose. The discomfort that anger causes can lead to numbing and distracting behaviors that keep you from tapping into anger’s powerful messages. Heather offers 5 insights about anger to help you embrace and learn from it, and a 3 step process to move through your anger.  Listen and gain a new perspect...

Join Heather and guest Andrea Seydel from the Saving You is Killing Me podcast as they delve into the challenging world of supporting loved ones struggling with addiction. In this episode, they share their experience with the stigmatized beliefs surrounding the term "enabling" and offer alternative perspectives that prioritize compassion, support, and understanding. Together they explore...

Heather and guest Marcie Steinberg discuss her journey of reliance and transformation. Hear her heartfelt account of learning that attending a wilderness program was just the first step in her son’s recovery journey and how she pivoted to learn the skills she needed to walk beside her son on her own recovery journey.  Some topics discussed in this episode: Learning that addiction/recovery is a mar...

In this episode, Heather speaks with Catherine Becker, founder of the nonprofit group Joys and Challenges of Relative Caregivers, along with her daughter Katie, who shares her perspective as someone in recovery from substance use disorder and a mother whose children were adopted by her parents. Catherine shares her experience of becoming a full-time parent to her grandchildren. She explains how sh...

Addiction within a family can be a challenging experience, particularly when more than one family member is affected. Whether it's a child or a spouse, the common thread is the experience of stigma and shame. In this episode, guest Amanda Lockyer from Addiction Makes Three, shares her experience as a wife, and Heather shares her experience as a mother. They candidly discuss how shame and stigm...

Jeff Foote, PhD co-founder of the Center For Motivation and Change and author of Beyond Addiction How Science and Kindness Help People Change answers questions submitted by members of Heather's Invitation to Change groups and Facebook group. Topics covered in this episode: Talking to your child about substance use when there are no green light moments How parents can use Motivational Interview...

Prioritizing your physical, emotional, and mental health is essential when navigating the challenges of supporting a child struggling with substances. Taking care of yourself is not selfish, but rather necessary for your own well-being so you can support your child in a sustainable way. Today's guest Corinne Crabtree is a master weight and life coach. Her program isn’t about WHAT you eat, it’s...

Heather and guest Cordelia Kraus talk about addiction, recovery, and parenting while challenging traditional beliefs and exploring alternative perspectives and approaches to what “it works” means. Their hope is to provide insights, information, and support while encouraging thoughtful reflection and understanding in navigating the complexities of addiction and recovery within a family context. The...

Heather Interviewed parent coach Cathy Taughinbaugh. As a result of her journey with her own child's drug use, Cathy wanted to become an advocate for parents and create awareness about substance use disorder. Cathy is the author of The Compassion Antidote: A Path to Change for You and Your Child Struggling with Substance Use. She is also the creator of the Regain Your Hope online course. Cathy...

Addiction is influenced by bio-psycho-social factors, yet biology has been mostly left out of treatment considerations - until now. Dr Evelyn Higgins from Wired For Addiction® created a genetic test that measures brain chemicals, hormones, and specific genes linked to risk taking, impulse control, addiction, depression, and anxiety. Measuring those risk factors takes the guesswork out of treatment...

Adoptees are almost twice as likely to develop substance use disorder. That statistic gave Beth Syverson insight into why her adopted son Joey was struggling with substances.  Beth is using her lived experience to help adoptive parents who are coming "out of the fog" and realizing the adoption that created their family also created trauma for their child. Even if you haven't been tou...

Shame doesn't just show up in your mind, it shows up in your closet too.  When you're struggling with your child's addiction and life is throwing challenge after challenge your way; self-care and what you put on your body might not be a priority. Heather talks with master certified coach and personal stylist Judith Gaton about how your thoughts and feelings about yourself are reflected...

Do you feel guilty or blame yourself a lot? Forgiving yourself is the path to emotional freedom and connection.  If you feel guilty about something you did or didn't do or you're blaming yourself for your child's substance use then forgiving yourself is how you work through it. If you don't forgive yourself, the guilt and blame keep you stuck. In this episode, Heather gives you 5 s...

Every parent experiences anxiety worrying about their kids, but parents who are watching a child struggle with substance use experience even more intense levels of anxiety and more instances of it.  It doesn't have to be that way though.  You can start changing your anxiety experience today. All you have to do is take the time to bring yourself into the present moment so you can define the emo...

Heather talks to guest Gillian Tietz who is the host of Sober Powered, a top 50 mental health podcast, and the founder of Sober Powered Media, a podcast network with 5 other top mental health podcasts. Gill was Heather's first guest on the podcast for episode #9. In that episode, they talked about some of the science behind substance use. This time Gill is here to talk about her Living a Sober...

Today marks one year since Helanna passed away from a fentanyl overdose. This podcast would not exist without Helanna so her interview is being released again to honor her memory. It is one of the most listened-to episodes on the podcast.  Heather also shares some of the realizations she's had since Helanna passed, in an updated intro to the episode.   Link to find Naloxone If you can't fi...

Did you know we can want two things that contradict each other at the same time? It's called ambivalence and it's a complex emotion. It’s part of the messiness of being human. When we feel complex competing emotions the last thing we want is someone to minimize how we feel by oversimplifying it, yet that’s what we do when we label our kid’s ambivalence about substances as denial or accuse...

Heather interviewed Certified Master Breathwork Facilitator Victoria Starr. Your breath is your body's only system that is voluntary and under your control. Intentional breathing can reduce anxiety, help with sleep and digestion, increase energy, boost the immune system, and lower blood pressure. You experience the most peace in the present moment, even during stressful situations. Projecting...

Do you know that the amount of stress you feel and the intensity of the emotions you feel along with it are based on your beliefs about your ability to handle the situation? The amount of stress you feel comes from your thoughts rather than the situation.  That means stress can be reduced by gaining the skills you need to handle the situation and being intentional with how you think about it.  Oth...

In celebration of National Recovery Month, Heather talks to guest Pam Lanhart about her own family's recovery and how she supports other families in their recovery. Pam is passionate about helping families use evidence-based best practices to help families find peace, stay regulated, create the conditions that support recovery and move their loved ones toward change. She believes that a health...