Are You Living in Quiet Desperation?

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Are You Living in Quiet Desperation? Everyone feels bored, restless, and dissatisfied at times. For those trying to solve and an addiction and move past recovery as well, this can seem especially troublesome. Mark and Michelle talk...

Shedding the Addict/Alcoholic Self Image

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Shedding the Addict/Alcoholic Self Image Even people who don’t buy into the addiction disease mythology, sometimes still have some of the beliefs about themselves that are part of that addict or alcoholic self-image. Mark and Michelle...

What is the Solution to Addiction?

The Addiction Solution Podcast  What is the Solution to Addiction? One of the criticisms we get here at The Freedom Model is, “You guys are saying The Freedom Model is the only way!?? Isn’t that just like AA?” Mark and Michelle explain what they mean when they say,...

Peeling Back the Onion to Find True Freedom from Addiction

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Peeling Back the Onion to Find True Freedom from Addiction 12 Step beliefs are pervasive in our society today, and those who’ve been exposed to AA or NA for any length of time often underestimate how programmed with misinformation they...

Does AA Fit the Criteria for Being a Cult? Part 2

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Does AA Fit the Criteria for Being a Cult? Part 2   Here at the Freedom Model, we often talk about Alcoholics Anonymous being a Cult and give ample evidence as to why.  Despite the overwhelming and blatantly obvious evidence, many...

Does AA Fit the Criteria for Being a Cult? Part 1

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Does AA Fit the Criteria for Being a Cult? Part 1   Here at the Freedom Model, we often talk about Alcoholics Anonymous being a Cult and give ample evidence as to why.  Despite the overwhelming and blatantly obvious evidence, many...

No One Needs AA or 12 Step Programs, and we mean No One!

The Addiction Solution Podcast  No One Needs AA or 12 Step Programs, and we mean No One!   “But AA works for some people.” Mark and Michelle take to task the popular idea that some people need a 12 step program, and that it “gets them sober.” Don’t forget to...

12 Step and Addiction Treatment Lies: Are They Justified?

The Addiction Solution Podcast  12 Step and Addiction Treatment Lies: Are They Justified?   Mark and Michelle tackle the premise that telling people the truth about addiction: which is that no one is actually powerless or out of control of their drinking or drug...

Addiction, Recovery, and Tragedy in Hollywood

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Addiction, Recovery, and Tragedy in Hollywood   It seems every time you turn on the news you hear of another actor, musician, or professional athlete that has relapsed, gone to rehab, or tragically overdosed and died. And when a...

Is Spirituality Needed to Solve Addiction?

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Is Spirituality Needed to Solve Addiction?   Is addiction a spiritual malady? Do you need to adopt a spiritual lifestyle to solve your addiction? Mark and Michelle provide the history behind this erroneous and problematic concept...

Does Trauma Cause Addiction?

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Does Trauma Cause Addiction?   The current popular thinking on addiction is that it’s caused by “underlying issues” including trauma, emotional problems, and mental health issues. This thinking is not supported by research and has...

Feeling Shame is a Choice

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Feeling Shame is a Choice   This topic is a listener request! Are there benefits to feeling shame? If shame is a choice why would people choose to feel it? Does feeling shame help you to change your life, or does it keep you stuck....

Changing the Addiction Treatment Paradigm

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Changing the Addiction Treatment Paradigm   Why do you have to bash the 12 step model and AA so much? You should just tell people what you do. Freedom Model co-developers Mark Scheeren and Michelle Dunbar explain their 30+ years of...

Alcoholics Anonymous ( AA) Saved My Life!

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Alcoholics Anonymous ( AA) Saved My Life!   According to AA’s internal data, approximately 5% of people who attend one AA meeting are still attending at the end of 1 year.  Of those there are a certain percentage that have remained...

The Tragic Addiction Treatment Trap

The Addiction Solution Podcast  The Tragic Addiction Treatment Trap   Addiction treatment and recovery can trap people for years and tragically, some people never make it out! This is an emotionally charge episode of The Addiction Solution as Mark and Michelle...

How Do You Know AA is a Cult?

The Addiction Solution Podcast  How Do You Know AA is a Cult?   Is AA a cult? How about the addiction treatment system in the US? Is it possible the entire addiction treatment industry is built on a cult? Mark Scheeren and Michelle Dunbar answer these questions...

Scaring or Shaming Yourself into Abstinence Doesn’t Work – Here’s Why

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Scaring or Shaming Yourself into Abstinence Doesn’t Work – Here’s Why   Fear and shame seem to be the default motivators that many people try to use to get themselves to stop drinking and using drugs, and other habits they want to...

Destigmatizing Intoxication

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Destigmatizing Intoxication   No one gets addicted to doing something they don’t like to do but many people who struggle with heavy substance use become confused as to why they keep doing it. Mark and Michelle explain why...

The Brain Disease Model of Addiction is Bunk

The Addiction Solution Podcast  The Brain Disease Model of Addiction is Bunk   Anytime we say that addiction isn’t a disease, it always ticks people off! The first few chapters as well as the appendices of our book The Freedom Model for Addictions compiles...

The Allure of Support Group Meetings

The Addiction Solution Podcast  The Allure of Support Group Meetings   There is a strong belief in our society that people who’ve struggled with heavy substance use need support to stay abstinent; and that they need support specifically from others who have...

Are You Sidetracked by Indirect Processes of Change?

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Are You Sidetracked by Indirect Processes of Change?   Have you tried working out, going to meetings, doing yoga, joining a church, or one of the many things people do to try to stop their heavy substance use? Have you spent time...

What’s in a Name?

The Addiction Solution Podcast  What’s in a Name? When we came up with the name of this podcast, The Addiction Solution, we thought that with all the recovery podcasts out there, someone must have already picked that name. We were shocked to find out no one had....

Will You Keep Doing Something You Don’t Want to Do?

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Will You Keep Doing Something You Don’t Want to Do? When people come to believe they are “addicted” they begin to frame their substance use as something that they are still doing, but no longer want to do. This creates immense confusion...

What If I Still Really Like Intoxication?

The Addiction Solution Podcast  What If I Still Really Like Intoxication? If you’ve been trying to stop your heavy substance use but keep going back to it, then you still really like it, even if you totally hate the consequences. Mark and Michelle explain what you can...

Do You Have Control Over Your Emotions?

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Do You Have Control Over Your Emotions? In Chapter 18 of The Freedom Model for Addictions, it states that emotions don’t happen to you, they happen by you. Many readers question this statement and some summarily dismiss it and then...

The Freedom Model is Changing the World!

The Addiction Solution Podcast  The Freedom Model is Changing the World! The ultimate goal of The Freedom Model Team is to change the way people with substance use problems are helped worldwide. Mark and Michelle talk about why this mission is so important and how The...

Finding the Courage to Move Forward

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Finding the Courage to Move Forward Breaking out of substance use rut, or any rut, and moving forward can take a tremendous amount of courage. Mark and Michelle discuss how they have helped people to find the courage change their lives...

Having to Hit Rock Bottom is Bullsh**!

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Having to Hit Rock Bottom is Bullsh**! There are infinite reasons people stop their addictions and they are all valid! The idea that heavy substances users have to “hit rock bottom” before they stop their addiction is not supported by...

The Mind vs. the Brain: Where Does Addiction Actually Exist?

The Addiction Solution Podcast  The Mind vs. the Brain: Where Does Addiction Actually Exist? Addiction treatment professionals believe that addiction exists in the brain, and they use all kinds of externals means to try to fix people struggling with addiction. These...

The Dark Sides of Addiction Rehab and Treatment

The Addiction Solution Podcast  The Dark Sides of Addiction Rehab and Treatment After spending more than 3 decades working with substance users and their families, Mark and Michelle witnessed firsthand the massive corruption and abusive practices in addiction rehabs...

Leaving the Cult of Alcoholics Anonymous and 12 Step Recovery

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Leaving the Cult of Alcoholics Anonymous and 12 Step Recovery Leaving Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or another 12 step recovery program can be scary, confusing, and lonely, but you are actually in good company! Most people (95%) don’t stay...

Stop Fighting Against Yourself and Choose

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Stop Fighting Against Yourself and Choose In this episode, Mark and Michelle discuss the how the dramatization of addiction over the years has led to many believing they are fighting a battle within themselves between good and evil,  Or...

Overcomplicating Addiction and Substance Use

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Overcomplicating Addiction and Substance Use In this episode, Mark and Michelle discuss the topic of overthinking addiction and substance use.  Throughout the years, many self proclaimed gurus, entrepreneurs, and bureaucrats have...

Introducing Freedom Model International Membership

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Introducing Freedom Model International Membership Beginning in April, 2022, The Freedom Model is launching a membership site you can join. You will be able to work through The Freedom Model Online Program and receive additional...

Do I Need to Go to Drug Rehab?

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Do I Need to Go to Drug Rehab? Many people struggling with addiction find themselves asking the question. Do I need to go to drug rehab? To answer such a question, one must first know what drug rehab is, what it isn’t, and what...

Deconstructing the Loss of Control Myth

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Deconstructing the Loss of Control Myth The crux of the addiction disease theory is that substance users cross a line where their substance use becomes involuntary. In other words, they continue to drink or use drugs against their will....

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