Love Over Addiction

Have you ever questioned whether to stay in your relationship or leave? It's a big question. And that's frankly an understatement. It's a life-changing, wildly impactful decision of a lifetime.

And listen, we never do judgment in this community. So whether you decide to stay or leave, that's up to you.

Today's episode though, it's about a whisper. A whisper within us that we may hear, or we may not be able to yet. The voice of addiction in our own heads is loud, ugly, demanding, and full of lies. It covers up our own voice. Our whisper within is clouded by the loud ugliness of our partner's addiction.

Learn how to uncover your whisper, and more importantly, listen to it.

Find more here: https://loveoveraddiction.com/listen-to-your-whisper/

Join the sisterhood: https://loveoveraddiction.com/

Connect personally: https://www.instagram.com/love_over_addiction/

Everything in our life is a season. Some seasons are longer than others, and some may be harder than others.

No matter what 'season' we may be in, we learn tips and tools to help us along the way.

When I was married to a good man that suffered from addiction, that was one of the hardest seasons of my life. I learned all kinds of tips and tools to handle the disease, and some of these, I still use to this day.

Today I'd love to share with you one simple tool that you can use every single day.

I used this tool when I was married to my ex-husband, and I started using it again recently when we moved into our new (99-year-old) house, and it started falling apart.

Find more: https://loveoveraddiction.com/simple-tool/

Join the sisterhood: https://loveoveraddiction.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/love_over_addiction/

Here's the loving truth: when you have children living in this situation, with their parent (or step-parent) suffering from addiction, you've got work to do.

You must be the strong and sober parent. You've got to protect them, teach them how to be safe, and educate them.

You must talk to them about addiction, no matter how awkward it may feel. And I totally understand having fears around it, I did too.

But you can learn how to talk to them about it, and I have tips for you today.

Find more here: https://loveoveraddiction.com/talk-to-your-children-about-addiction/

Connect personally: https://www.instagram.com/love_over_addiction/

Join the sisterhood: https://loveoveraddiction.com/

I believe in dream boards (or vision boards). And if you don't know what I'm talking about, just google it.

They sound incredibly hokey. They sound woo-woo, they sound a little like, "What?" But I stand by them. In my life, I've always had at least one vision board. And I've got crazy stories about these vision boards throughout my life, which I share in the Love Over Addiction program.

So today is all about your future. Why it's important to dream, envision, imagine, and how to actually do that. It's actually really hard for a lot of people, and it was at first for me too.

Find more here: https://loveoveraddiction.com/create-a-vision/

Connect personally: https://www.instagram.com/love_over_addiction/

Join the sisterhood: https://loveoveraddiction.com/

Stick with me here, because I know self-care is a buzzword right now. I'm not about buzzwords, but I am all about you learning the tools you need to handle this disease.

When we love someone suffering from addiction, our lives become chaotic and out of control. That's just the way addiction works.

So on today's episode, we'll dive deep into your self-care, and how to maintain it during a crisis. It's an important skill, and worth having these tools in your back pocket for the next time there's an especially chaotic time. Because addiction gets crazy, and our lives can get completely out of control.

These are helpful tips for everyday life and during a crisis.

Find more here: https://loveoveraddiction.com/self-care-during-a-crisis/

Connect personally: https://www.instagram.com/love_over_addiction/

Join the sisterhood: https://loveoveraddiction.com/

When we love someone suffering from addiction, we will eventually become completely isolated if we're not already. That's what addiction wants, and frankly, what it needs to thrive.

As you know, we believe that we're not powerless over this disease. There are things you can do to take your power back from addiction, and today is all about finding connection.

Today I share tips on what kind of friends to look for (and what kind of people you want to avoid), so that you can create friendships and share your story (what's really going on), with that special person, or two (three at most).

Find more here: https://loveoveraddiction.com/how-to-choose-friends/

Connect personally: https://www.instagram.com/love_over_addiction/

Join the sisterhood: https://loveoveraddiction.com/

Sometimes when we love someone suffering from addiction we can get into the mindset that it's all on us. Everything falls on our shoulders, and we're responsible for it all.

And let's be honest: many, many times, that is the case. We're not in a 'normal' relationship. Our partners are suffering from addiction, which means that our lives are different.

And here's the deal: it can be really daunting to think about making all these changes and shifts to make a better life, so let's break it down into bite-sized pieces. Those are the best, aren't they? Pretzel bites? Anyone?

Okay, moving on: this week I have one tip for you. It's super simple, broken down with examples and stories so you can take it and implement it into your life this week. Enjoy!

Find more here: https://loveoveraddiction.com/create-your-team-of-experts/

Connect personally: https://www.instagram.com/love_over_addiction/

Join the sisterhood: https://loveoveraddiction.com/love-over-addiction/

When we love someone suffering from addiction, we do our very best to help them. We try everything we can think of, read, or find on Google. We try it all. With the most pure and best intentions. We want our loved ones to get sober, and stay sober for good, right?

The reality is that all that energy we're putting into our loved ones, we need to be putting into ourselves. Because addiction has hurt us too, and we deserve recovery. We deserve energy. We deserve grace.

Today you'll learn about 12 behaviors you need to stop right now, today. And some of them may be harder than others, but you know that we're honest in this community. I share loving truths with you to help your recovery and your healing, even when they may be hard to hear.

Find more: https://loveoveraddiction.com/stop-enabling-behaviors/

Join the sisterhood: https://loveoveraddiction.com/

Connect personally: https://www.instagram.com/love_over_addiction/

In today's culture it seems like we're expected to be a certain way. Especially as women. We're expected to balance life, work, children, self-care, all of it. Every day. With balance, grace, and ease.

Well, I'm here to tell you that it's BS. It's not easy, especially when we love someone suffering from addiction.

So today's episode is a little different taste. It's real, raw, and unscripted. It's giving ourselves permission to be hot-messes and take the path of least resistance, just to get by.

It's a boost of encouragement that you're doing just as great as every other woman out there, including me.

Find more here: https://loveoveraddiction.com/finding-balance/

Connect here: https://www.instagram.com/love_over_addiction/

Join the sisterhood here: https://loveoveraddiction.com/

When we love someone suffering from addiction, we can start to become isolated. We may feel so wrapped up in our loved one's issues, that we start to lose our joy, our friendships, and the things that really matter to us.

When I was married to a good man that suffered from addiction I was lonely. So. Lonely. I remember longing for real friendship, and even being jealous of 'friends' I saw on social media posting pictures about all their girls' trips.

I let addiction steal my joy, including my closest friends. I was so wrapped up in my ex-husband's issues, that I lost everything else that mattered to me.

And this is all too common. Addiction wants us to feel lonely and powerless.

In today's episode I share a personal story about finding (and losing) friends, and most importantly, what you can do today if you're feeling lonely.

Find more: https://loveoveraddiction.com/when-addiction-steals-your-friendships/

Connect personally: https://www.instagram.com/love_over_addiction/

Find your sisterhood: https://loveoveraddiction.com/