December 16, 2025

Why Addiction and Unhealthy Relationships Often Go Together

42 minutes

Carrie and Michelle talk openly about how addiction, trauma, and unhealthy relationships often go hand in hand. They share lived experiences with abusive relationships, codependency, and emotional manipulation — and how recovery became the foundation for learning self-love, boundaries, and healthy connections. From leaving toxic partners to rebuilding trust in themselves, this episode explores what healing relationships actually look like in sobriety, why community matters, and how spaces like The Phoenix helped them rediscover who they are beyond addiction.

00:00 – Introductions & Recovery Backgrounds
01:00 – Why Unhealthy Relationships Are Common in Addiction
02:00 – Addiction, Insecurity, and Chasing Validation
03:15 – Substances Amplifying Relationship Chaos
04:16 – Knowing a Relationship Is Unhealthy but Staying
05:24 – Trauma Bonds and Why It’s Hard to Leave
06:20 – Self-Love, Boundaries, and Codependency
08:09 – Escalation, Gaslighting, and Emotional Abuse
08:40 – How Each Person Finally Got Out
10:19 – What Self-Love Looks Like in Recovery
11:43 – Healthy Friendships vs. Old “Using” Relationships
13:47 – Finding Support and Community in Recovery
15:00 – Hitting Bottom and Choosing Something Different
16:08 – Therapy, Boundaries, and Learning Red Flags
18:25 – Seeing People for Their Actions, Not Words
20:41 – Choosing Peace and the Cost of Chronic Stress
22:04 – Building Healthy Relationships in Recovery
23:25 – Confidence, Community, and Personal Growth
26:16 – Healing, Self-Respect, and Facing the Past
29:22 – What The Phoenix Is and Why It Matters
31:18 – Recovery Events, Connection, and Belonging
36:16 – Recovery Is About Discovering Who You Are
39:38 – Advice for Someone in Their First 24 Hours