Addiction & Recovery

Laura McKowen is the founder and CEO of The Luckiest Club, a global sobriety support organization, and host of Tell Me Something True podcast.  Laura has been published in The New York Times, and her work has been featured in The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, the TODAY show and more and is the bestselling author of We Are The Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life,

In this episode, Eric and Laura discuss her important work in building a sobriety support community.

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Laura McKowen and I Discuss Community and Support in Sobriety and…

• Her tendency for people pleasing
• The use of fawning as a coping mechanism
• Recognizing codependency in relationships
• Why she loves reading fiction
• Her creation of “TLC” – The Luckiest Club as a sobriety support community
• How there’s sanity and discernment in community
• Understanding that it’s not your fault, but it is your responsibility
• Living your own values versus someone else’s values and choosing your actions accordingly
• Taking on the mission of learning the role we are meant to play in life

Laura McKowen links:

Laura’s Website

The Luckiest Club Online Sobriety Community

Tell Me Something True Podcast

Instagram

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When you purchase products and/or services from the sponsors of this episode, you help support The One You Feed.  Your support is greatly appreciated, thank you!

If you enjoyed this conversation with Laura McKowen, you might also enjoy these other episodes:

The Magic of Being Sober with Laura McKowen (2020)

The Freedom of Sobriety with Veronica Valli

Catherine Gray is a Sunday Times Bestselling author of five books, including debut smash hit The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober. She’s sold well over a quarter of a million books and her books have now been translated into nine languages. She’s been sober since 2013. Catherine has also written about being single later in life and learning to appreciate the ordinary.   

Eric and Catherine discuss her latest book, Sunshine Warm:  Unexpected Sober Joy That Lasts

But wait – there’s more! The episode is not quite over!! We continue the conversation and you can access this exclusive content right in your podcast player feed. Head over to our Patreon page and pledge to donate just $10 a month. It’s that simple and we’ll give you good stuff as a thank you!

Catherine Gray and I Discuss The Lasting Joy of Being Sober and…

• Her book, Sunshine Warm:  Unexpected Sober Joy That Lasts
• The power of getting more specific with your gratitude lists
• Being several years removed from addiction and in the advanced stages of recovery
• Understanding that addiction doesn’t have to define you, but that it’s always there
• No longer defining herself as an alcoholic after several years of sobriety
• Addiction can be the difference between what you intend to do and what you actually do
• How addiction is a spectrum and not black or white
• The issues with labeling yourself as an addict
• What matters most is asking yourself if your life would be better without the substance or behavior
• The challenge with addictions that are considered  socially acceptable 
• How most experts agree there isn’t such a thing as an addictive personality
• Some people may have addictive tendencies based on various traits
• Understanding that our perception of ourselves is what shapes our reality

Catherine Gray Links:

Catherine Gray

Twitter

Instagram

When you purchase products and/or services from the sponsors of this episode, you help support The One You Feed.  Your support is greatly appreciated, thank you!

If you enjoyed this conversation with Catherine Gray, you might also enjoy these other episodes:

Catherine Gray (2018 Interview)

Catherine Gray on Unexpected Joy (2019 Interview)

Maia Szalavitz is an American reporter and New York Times best-selling author who has focused much of her work on the topic of addiction. She has won awards from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Drug Policy Alliance, the American Psychological Association and the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology for her 30 years of groundbreaking writing on addiction, drug policy and neuroscience.

In this episode, Maia and Eric discuss her book, Undoing Drugs: The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction.

But wait – there’s more! The episode is not quite over!! We continue the conversation and you can access this exclusive content right in your podcast player feed. Head over to our Patreon page and pledge to donate just $10 a month. It’s that simple and we’ll give you good stuff as a thank you!

In This Interview, Maia Szalavitz and I Discuss The Case for Harm Reduction and…

• Her book: Undoing Drugs: The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction
• What “harm reduction” means in the case of addition
• The truth behind why we have the drug policies that we currently have
• Differentiating between the terms dependence and addiction
• The real problem of addiction being the compulsive behavior that’s ruining your life
• The role of moderation in substance use in people in recovery
• How to know whether or not moderation or abstinence is right for you
• The problem with a binary approach to drug use
• The harm reduction recovery approach as any positive change
• The difficult but crucial role of being a beginner to learn what’s right for you

Maia Szalavitz Links:

Maia’s Website

Twitter

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If you enjoyed this conversation with Maia Szalavitz, you might also enjoy these other episodes:

Maia Szalavitz on a Different Lens of Addiction (2017)

Judson Brewer on Addiction and the Craving Mind

Dr. Judith Grisel is a professor of Psychology at Bucknell University.  Judith is a behavioral neuroscientist with a particular interest in addiction.  Her work includes trying to determine what is different about people who develop drug addictions before they ever try a drug. 

In this episode, Judith and Eric discuss her book, “Never Enough:  The Neuroscience and Experience of Addiction” where she shares her personal experience of overcoming addiction as well as her passion for research into the neuroscience of addiction.

But wait – there’s more! The episode is not quite over!! We continue the conversation and you can access this exclusive content right in your podcast player feed. Head over to our Patreon page and pledge to donate just $10 a month. It’s that simple and we’ll give you good stuff as a thank you!

In This Interview, Judith Grisel and I Discuss the Neuroscience of Addiction, and…

• Her book, Never Enough:  The Neuroscience and Experience of Addiction”  
• Channeling her strong will and enthusiasm for addiction into recovery 
• Focusing on what she wanted rather than what she didn’t want
• The complexity of addiction is there are so many factors that lead to it
• Nature via nurture as well as the inherited risks of addiction
• The increased risk of teenagers with addictive disorders when using drugs or alcohol while the brain is still developing.
• The neural states associated with addiction also come from our history, culture, socialization, communication, and even microbiomes.
• The “debt of addiction is accrued when borrowing good feelings from the future is due”
• Mechanisms of what happens in the brain when abusing substances
• Tolerance is when the brain adapts and counteracts the effects of the drug
• Dependence is when you no longer like yourself without the drug
• Younger adults may be more prone to addiction, but also more resilient.
• Her experience of receiving tough love from her parents that ultimately led to recovery.
• How isolation causes addiction and addiction causes isolation
• Connection is crucial in the process of recovery

Dr. Judith Grisel Links:

Judy Grisel

Ted Talk

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Jordan Harbinger Show:  One of Eric’s favorite podcasts, the Jordan Harbinger Show, is where self-motivated people, just like you, dig deep into the untapped wisdom of the world’s sharpest minds- from legendary creators to intelligence operatives, iconoclastic writers to visionary change-makers. You’ll learn new strategies, perspectives, and tactics you won’t find anywhere else, then take these valuable insights into your own life and live what you listen to.  You can find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

If you enjoyed this conversation with Judy Grisel on the Neuroscience of Addiction, you might also enjoy these other episodes:

Dr. Gabor Mate

Johann Hari

Maia Szalavitz

Laura McKowen is an author,  award winning blogger and host of Spiritualish, a show that provides an irreverent take on self help.  She has been featured on WebMD, the New York Post, Bravo, the Today Show, and more.  Laura also hosts sold out retreats and courses teaching people to say Yes to a bigger life.  In this episode, she and Eric discuss her newest book, “We are the Luckiest, the Surprising Magic of a Sober Life”

You can find all of the most up to date crisis help & support resources that Eric is making available through The One You Feed by going to www.oneyoufeed.net/help

The wisdom and practice of self-compassion is a foundational principle that Eric teaches and helps his private clients learn to apply through the 1-on-1 Spiritual Habits Program. To learn more about this program, click here.

Need help with completing your goals in 2020? The One You Feed Transformation Program can help you accomplish your goals this year.

But wait – there’s more! The episode is not quite over!! We continue the conversation and you can access this exclusive content right in your podcast player feed. Head over to our Patreon page and pledge to donate just $10 a month. It’s that simple and we’ll give you good stuff as a thank you!

In This Interview, Laura McKowen and I Discuss the Magic of Being Sober and…

• Her book, We Are the Luckiest:  The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
• Addiction isn’t about will power or being bad
• How we as humans are “magnificent monsters” in that we all have light and dark inside of us
• Being in a liminal space is where transformation takes place.  
• Looking at challenging times and asking “What is this trying to teach me?”
• Embracing the mystery of not knowing
• How addiction demands everything
• Having a “split mind” – the conflict of wanting to drink and knowing that you shouldn’t
• The cognitive dissonance between who we think we are and what we’re doing
• Being afraid of how you’ll feel when you’re not drinking
• Understanding that sobriety gets better, then it gets worse, then it’s different
• Her experience with AA and the positive and negative aspects of this recovery program
• The importance of dealing with the physical body in recovery
• The fear of “aloneness” and not having a home within ourselves 
• Dealing with the ongoing struggle and need to be fixed or saved by someone
• Learning to not being afraid of herself and starting to build self esteem and dignity

Laura McKowen Links:

lauramckowen.com

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

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If you enjoyed this conversation with Laura McKowen on the Magic of Being Sober, you might also enjoy these other episodes:

Catherine Gray

Mishka Shubaly

Anna David