The Embrace Family Recovery Podcast

Tom and Barb continue to share their own learning about the family disease of addiction. They have phenomenal shifts in their strategies with their son, his addiction, and his recovery.

Can't believe addiction is not an intellectual exercise?

As a mother, I need to orchestrate all relationships around Eric, right?

Their recovery expands in this episode as they embrace these tools of healing for all life's ups and downs, not just with this family disease.

Tom so respected the psychological learning of family recovery; he took it into his business model and added tools to his extensive business experience.

If you find yourself wondering, how can I get there? What are these tools? I want more help.

Go to my website 

 https://embracefamilyrecovery.com/work-with-margaret/

And learn more about how I can come alongside you in developing strategies and embracing the tools of recovery to offer you as family members a different quality of life. 

Support the show

Click here to grab your copy of Healthy Strategies for Family Members to Cope and Even Thrive Through Addiction and receive my weekly newsletter.

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Today You will meet Tom and Barb.

This couple surprised themselves in finding their recovery through attending a Family Program.  They thought they were attending to help heir son.

Barb, a self-described "Queen of Enabling" and Tom a Type A corporate man, master problem solver come together to share their journey of loving a son with the disease of chemical dependency.

This family disease creeps up on everyone in the family over time and the journey of healing takes different timelines for everyone.

"acceptance is the answer to all my problems today" - Big Book of AA p.417
Within the family, our job is our individual recovery while offering love and grace to the ones we love to find their path.

Learn more about how I can help at my website
https://embracefamilyrecovery.com/

Support the show

Click here to grab your copy of Healthy Strategies for Family Members to Cope and Even Thrive Through Addiction and receive my weekly newsletter.

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Do you ever feel like you have racing thoughts?
Are you constantly preoccupied with your loved one who has the disease of addiction?
Is it hard to focus on and care for yourself?

If you can say yes to any of these you have found the right podcast! 

This subject is near and dear to my heart, Monkey Chatter is something I created to describe the insanity I experience in my head, I call it the voice of my disease keeping me focused on my drug of no choice which is a walking, talking human being. 

I have heard from many that this name describes their experience well.  Having a name for the incessant voice in their head that keeps them focused on fixing, managing, and attempting to control their addict, has helped them be more aware of it.

Don't worry not only do I share an example of Monkey Chatter from my story, I also offer tools that have assisted me in my recovery. Thankfully the monkey  is more tame today however it can start screeching at me anytime I feel fear and then back to recovery basics I must go.

Find your recovery community, or reach out to me at
https://embracefamilyrecovery.com/work-with-margaret/

Support the show

Click here to grab your copy of Healthy Strategies for Family Members to Cope and Even Thrive Through Addiction and receive my weekly newsletter.

Click the links below to follow me on social media:

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The work of family recovery.

What are the challenges?
What are the payoffs?

In this episode, Sandy Swenson shares how as family members, we deny our addictions and issues because our preoccupation with our addicted loved one is all-consuming unless we develop a community of support and tools to develop self-focus rather than being other-focused 24/7.

What is there to be grateful for when the disease of addiction has infiltrated our family?
Could the answer be 'our recovery'?

As we end this episode Sandy reflects on the power of mamas, which seems fitting on this Mother's Day, May 9, 2021.

For the club of mothers of children with addiction - a club we never wanted to join, we are stronger together, find other mamas.

To all the mothers out there Happy Mothers Day!

Find out more about Sandy Swenson on her website:
https://www.sandyswenson.com/dandelion-strong-blog-for-moms-with-addicted-children/

Find resources and a full transcript of the episode on my webpage
https://embracefamilyrecovery.com/

Support the show

Click here to grab your copy of Healthy Strategies for Family Members to Cope and Even Thrive Through Addiction and receive my weekly newsletter.

Click the links below to follow me on social media:

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Sandy Swenson has coined the term 'Unabling' and she takes the time to share a reading from her meditation book entitled - 'Tending Dandelions. Honest Meditations for Mothers of Addicted Children.

How does helping ourselves help the people we love? It feels so selfish and Sandy will share why it is not at all selfish.

How do we love our person and set boundaries around the disease?
Tune in to hear Sandy's boundary.

How do we learn to stop throwing the tissues at them?

The power struggle with the disease of addiction is so futile for all involved especially the person with the disease of addiction.  The disease loves a target, a person or, situation to blame and justify the next use. What about thinking of it as how do we get ourselves out of the disease's crosshairs so it can not use us against our loved one.

Find out more about Sandy Swenson on her website:
https://www.sandyswenson.com/dandelion-strong-blog-for-moms-with-addicted-children/

Find resources and a full transcript of the episode on my webpage
https://embracefamilyrecovery.com/

Support the show

Click here to grab your copy of Healthy Strategies for Family Members to Cope and Even Thrive Through Addiction and receive my weekly newsletter.

Click the links below to follow me on social media:

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How do we love the person while protecting ourselves from their disease?

How do we do the right thing for us all when it feels so counterintuitive to the love we feel and the 'I shoulds' screaming in our head?

Detaching with Love not only saves the person detaching from living in the disease's control, it affords your addicted love one a chance to feel the consequences of their disease.  A painful truth of the disease of addiction for both addicts and their loved ones - none of us surrender to the work of our recovery without feeling the pain of our consequences.

I hope anyone out there listening initially feels less alone with this universal challenge of learning how to detach from the disease and love the person.  Secondly, I hope through Sandy's honest, open, vulnerability in sharing her story, you find a safe place and a way to share your story. That is when healing can begin.  Connecting with others who have walked the path as a loved one of an addict, is the way we get well, it certainly lessens the isolation.

Today Sandy Swenson reads an excerpt from her book, The Joey Song.  You will not want to miss it, and I hope you buy her book if you have never read it!

Find out more about Sandy Swenson on her website:
https://www.sandyswenson.com/dandelion-strong-blog-for-moms-with-addicted-children/

Find resources and a full transcript of the episode on my webpage
https://embracefamilyrecovery.com/

Support the show

Click here to grab your copy of Healthy Strategies for Family Members to Cope and Even Thrive Through Addiction and receive my weekly newsletter.

Click the links below to follow me on social media:

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I need a sponsor?

We need to go to meetings?

Family members not only need their own recovery they deserve it.

Sadly many loved ones don't find their own recovery. They spend all their time and energy trying to fix, manage and control their addicted loved one. Falsely believing if they get their addict into recovery, they will be good again.

Sandy Swenson shares in this episode that she had to learn the power is in her own recovery versus the powerlessness in trying to fix Joey.  Not only is the disease of addiction parallel for the family and their addict the recovery journey is also.

Family recovery is counter intuitive to every ounce of their being...just as getting sober is counterintuitive to every ounce of the addict's being when they are using.

Find out more about Sandy Swenson on her website:
https://www.sandyswenson.com/dandelion-strong-blog-for-moms-with-addicted-children/

Find resources and a full transcript of the episode on my webpage
https://embracefamilyrecovery.com/

Support the show

Click here to grab your copy of Healthy Strategies for Family Members to Cope and Even Thrive Through Addiction and receive my weekly newsletter.

Click the links below to follow me on social media:

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Today I have such an exciting guest for you to meet ...
Sandy Swenson.

As a professional in the field of addiction and serving family members, I have recommended Sandy Swenson's books to many people.

Every week in the Family Program at Hazelden Betty Ford, I read from 'Tending Dandelions', Sandy Swenson's meditation book for mothers of addicts.

Sandy shares her story in this episode, also shares on her journey out of denial and what tough love means to her.

Sandy has started a movement for "Mama's" where she has dedicated herself to educating, enveloping and empowering moms with addicted children.  Learn more on her website
https://www.sandyswenson.com/dandelion-strong-blog-for-moms-with-addicted-children/

Every Monday at 8:30 am Central Time Sandy offers a live event on her FaceBook Page - Sandy Swenson.  
Dandelion Mamas from across the globe share a burst of positivity and strength for 10 minutes. Together we are living with heartache and wishes. And together we are stronger. 

Find resources and a full transcript of the episode on my webpage
https://embracefamilyrecovery.com/

Support the show

Click here to grab your copy of Healthy Strategies for Family Members to Cope and Even Thrive Through Addiction and receive my weekly newsletter.

Click the links below to follow me on social media:

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Today will be different...

No conversation with a guest.  Just me, Margaret Swift Thompson sharing about the cunning, baffling, and powerful family disease of addiction.

There are so many parallel experiences that the people who have the addiction share with the family members. Such as denial, isolation, increased tolerance, and the solution. 

My observation having served this population for a few decades is that the services for the family side of this disease are seriously lacking.

Thus I have launched my business, Embrace Family Recovery LLC to help fill the void and offer coaching to people who love someone with the disease of addiction. 

We will work together to establish boundaries, develop a healthy support network, and role model family recovery out loud believing that doing this is a much more effective strategy than ever telling an addict what to do.

Reach out to me at https://embracefamilyrecovery.com/

Fill out the Work with Margaret page
https://embracefamilyrecovery.com/work-with-margaret/ 
we can schedule a complimentary discovery call.

Support the show

Click here to grab your copy of Healthy Strategies for Family Members to Cope and Even Thrive Through Addiction and receive my weekly newsletter.

Click the links below to follow me on social media:

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Today we have the final episode with Kirkland Hamill. The author of the book Filthy Beasts. 

In this episode, like the others with Kirkland, and as he courageously did in his book Kirkland shares vulnerably, openly, with humor and great storytelling about the residual effects of the family disease of addiction and more importantly the gifts of his recovery through Al-Anon. 

Kirkland shares the common experience in recovery of three steps forward and two back.
How recovery is not a straight line from A to Z.

Spirituality is another of many topics of family recovery that we cover in our conversation.

Find resources and the transcript of this episode on my webpage
embracefamilyrecovery.com

Support the show

Click here to grab your copy of Healthy Strategies for Family Members to Cope and Even Thrive Through Addiction and receive my weekly newsletter.

Click the links below to follow me on social media:

Facebook

Instagram

LinkedIn