Loving An Addict | Al-Anon, Exhausted, Stressed, Overwhelmed, Coping

When you are caring for someone else, whether it is from addiction or if it is due to illness or any other way you must find ways to prioritize yourself.    It does not have to be something major, it can be small things.  If you do not take sometime to check in with you. You will notice you will eventually be constantly stressed and truly exhausted, both physically and emotionally.   Get extra sup...

Life happens. Sometimes it takes loud wake up calls to realize you need to practice more self care. especially in hard seasons when you do not want to.   Whether it is addiction, children, a demanding job or your parents, we tend to be pulled in so many directions. One day you may notice that you have put yourself on the back burner far too long.   My life update and how it is a reminder for you t...

If you love someone struggling with an addiction, setting boundaries can feel incredibly uncomfortable and stressful. You may know deep down that you need to protect your peace, stop overwhelming yourself, or step out of the constant cycle of rescuing... but the moment you do , guilt shows up.    Why?    In this episode, we're talking about why guilt often follows boundary setting- especially when...

We take our bodies' for granted. We go through our day to day worrying about everything and everybody, but what about our body?   Try this exercise throughout the day to check in with your body and see what it is telling you.    Do you need extra support? Work with me!   Join the Facebook community   Have a question? email me mailto:taraglittle@gmail.com

One way that you may be coping with the high stress situation of loving someone with an addiction is food.  Let's face it we are exhausted, overwhelmed and under chronic stress. We are looking for ways to cope, even if we do not know it.  This is not abnormal and it is nothing to be ashamed of. If you feel concerned or would like a shift for your emotional or stress eating.  Try checking in with y...

Feeling angry tends to come with the territory of loving someone with an addiction.   It is a strong emotion and one of many. Sometimes we try to suppress our anger while other times we feel so angry but we do not even know why.   Today I will go over why it is ok to feel angry but also what holding on to that anger is doing to your body.   Book a one one session with me  Join the Facebook communi...

Days, weeks and months of stress adds up. Their addiction is adding to all of the other stress that life brings and you may be feeling that!   If you find that you seem less tolerant, feel more overwhelmed or emotional, you are not crazy or weak. Your stress bucket is probably full. Listen as I explain the stress bucket with 3 tips to starting emptying yours.   Book a one one session with me    Jo...

Last week I shared my story about how the years of unmanaged stress from my loved one's addiction caused my cortisol to be chronically elevated.   This week I wanted to share some symptoms of chronically elevated cortisol and some tips on how to keep your cortisol regulated.  Maybe try incorporating one of these tools a day ! Remember the goal is never to have cortisol at zero. Cortisol is a benef...

Years of chronic stress, during my loved one's addiction struggles not only led me feeling overwhelmed, and exhausted, but I did not know that a lot of the reason for this was because I was not supporting my body.    I began to experience emotional and physical changes in my body due to a dysregulated nervous system and chronically elevated cortisol. Here is some of my story.   Ways to connect: Co...

The purpose of this podcast is to support you as you navigate this season of chaos while loving someone with an addiction.   Today I wanted go over my 6 foundations of supporting your body while it is under this chronic stress. Be the ANCHOR in the sea of turmoil that addiction brings.  ⚓️   You do not need to try to overhaul your life all at once. Take these foundations a little at a time and st...

Lack of sleep and loving someone with an a addiction tend to go hand and hand, unfortunately.  It seems that as soon as our head hits the pillow, our mind begins to wander.   Your body needs sleep to function and to juggle everything that you need juggle.   Let's get out of survival mode and become the anchor in the sea of chaos that addiction brings.   Today I am giving you some tips to help you...

Addiction is a thief. It steals our loved ones away, it steals your joy and slowly it steals you. Little by little as their addiction takes over and you become so many things that you did not even sign up for. You may realize that you do not even know who you are anymore. I urge you to start reconnecting to yourself. Remember that your identity is not their addiction. Join the facebook community  ...

In the sea of our loved ones addiction and substance abuse,  we neglect ourselves including our minds and our bodies. This continues to leave us exhausted and eventually to burnout   To move us out of survival mode we need to support our body in many different ways. One of the ways is moving it. The chronic stress that we experience shows up as headaches, tension, joint pain, and more.   Stress Ma...

It is easy to jump out of bed and start scrolling, turn on the news, or open the laptop and start checking emails. When you are under the chronic stress of loving someone with an addiction from substance abuse or alcohol.  Try these 4 simple  morning routines to start your day in a more peaceful way. Begin to go from barely coping to creating safety in your body in moment that you can.   Balanced...

When your loved one is struggling with addiction from substance abuse or alcohol it is normal for us to want to rescue them or fix them.   But what is this doing to your body? Are you carrying more that you need to be? Are you taking on to much and barely coping?   Lack of boundaries leaves us stressed, exhausted and ultimately burnout.   Where can you make changes this week to remind yourself wha...

When you love someone struggling with an addiction from substance abuse or alcohol one of the hardest emotions that many do not talk about is the grief that you experience for someone who is still alive.  The stress and exhaustion you may be feeling could be linked to the fact that you are trying to push these feelings away.   Join the Facebook community!   mailto:taraglittle@gmail.com

Hey there! I am so excited for today's episode. I have with me a special guest, Cassie Hutton. Cassie is a HTMA Practitioner who helps women heal burnout through holistic, trauma informed functional care. She is going to talk to you about how the chronic stress of your loved ones addiction from substance abuse or alcohol can be depleting you leaving you burnout and exhausted.   I hope you enjoy! ...

Hi there! I know that sometimes eating meals or preparing meals is the last thing on our mind but it is key to giving our body the safety it needs and the mental and physical energy it needs during the stress and exhaustion that we experience when we have a loved one with an addiction from substance abuse or alcohol   Today I will give you some simple but nutrient dense dinner meal ideas.   Links...

Hi Friend! I know that sometimes when we are in the thick of things the last thing that we want to do is eat. Or maybe you want to grab some sugary foods only to cope. We are under stress, burnout and exhausted from our loved one's addiction from substance abuse or alcohol  we want to let our body know that it is safe and that it will be fed.   Today I give you three simple balanced lunch examples...

Do you find yourself skipping meals because you feel too stressed or exhausted to eat?   Are you finding yourself binging on sugary snacks in the evening to cope with the stress and overwhelm of your loved one's addiction?   Today I want to discuss the importance of nourishing your body with balanced meals to help create safety in your body and nervous system to help prevent burnout.   Want to con...

Today we discuss the last state, the Fawn State of the nervous system.    How people pleasing or enabling during your loved one's addiction from substance abuse or alcoholism is slowly causing you to lose yourself and how to take steps to move out of this state.    Contact me! mailto:taraglittle@gmail.com  

In today's episode I talk about the Dorsal state or freeze state of our nervous system.   Months or years of being in the flight or fight state can eventually put your body in a shut down state.   If you are struggling with the stress, exhaustion and feeling burnout out from your loved one's addiction from substance abuse or alcohol you may find that you are in this state.   I give you examples of...

`Weeks, months or years of focusing on your loved one's addiction can you put your nervous system in a chronic state of flight or fight. Especially if you do not know what to look for.  Are you feeling chronically stressed, exhausted, or burnout?   Are you setting healthy boundaries for yourself? Listen up for some symptoms that can help you determine if this is happening to you.   Also, 3  simple...

Boundary setting is key to taking control of your wellbeing when it comes to loving someone struggling with addiction.   Lack of boundaries and self care is causing you to feel stressed, exhausted and can lead to burnout.   Try the tip in today's episode to remember the things that you can and cannot control.   If you found this helpful please share this with someone you feel needs to hear it.   ...

5 scriptures to turn to when you are really struggling with your loved ones addiction.   Scripture gives us guidance for how to cope with our stress, and exhaustion.   1 Peter 5:7  Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you   Psalms 46:10 Be still and know that I am God   Philippians 4: 6-7 Do not be anxious about anything- Present your requests to God   Matthew 11: 28-30 Come to me all...