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....

How We Walked Out of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)

The Addiction Solution Podcast  How We Walked Out of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) In this episode Mark Scheeren and Michelle Dunbar tell the story of how they slowly left the cult of Alcoholics Anonymous. Having grown up in AA, it took them several years to leave AA and...
Stop Bashing AA

Stop Bashing AA

“Why do you guys have to bash AA so much?” For more than 30 years I’ve heard people say this, or something like it to me and my colleagues here at the Freedom Model. It’s an interesting question. Curiously, the wording of this inquiry is almost always the same, even...

Stop Calling Addiction a Battle!

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Stop Calling Addiction a Battle! There are not too many things worse than feeling like you’re in a battle with yourself within your own mind. It’s time to stop calling addiction a battle! It isn’t but this belief that it is makes it...

Are You Waiting for Someone to Fix You?

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Are You Waiting for Someone to Fix You? When people seek help for addiction, they usually have a belief that someone or something outside of themselves must fix them. They’ve been told they are powerless, they are disordered, and...

Focus on Figuring out What You Want

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Focus on Figuring out What You Want Trying to solve a substance use problem can be challenging enough without having to constantly deal with the opinions and demands of others. Becoming overly concerned with what others think of you can...

It’s OK If You Need More Help

The Addiction Solution Podcast  It’s OK If You Need More Help When people find The Freedom Model for Addictions and they read or hear us say that no one needs treatment and that they already have everything inside themselves to stop their addiction, this may lead them...
How Is Your Dry January Going?

How Is Your Dry January Going?

For the past few years there has been a movement that began largely on social media called Dry January. This is where people pledge to remain abstinent from alcohol for the entire month of January. Certainly there are health benefits to not drinking, especially if you...

It’s Time to Ditch the 1930’s Folklore Approach to Addiction

The Addiction Solution Podcast  It’s Time to Ditch the 1930’s Folklore Approach to Addiction Alcoholics Anonymous and treatment based on its illogical dogma have been successful only in creating a worldwide cult based on fear. Not only does AA not help tens of...

Escaping the Recovery Trap and Creating The Freedom Model

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Escaping the Recovery Trap and Creating The Freedom Model Freedom Model co-authors Mark Scheeren, Steven Slate, and Michelle Dunbar once identified themselves as “addicts in recovery”. In this episode, Mark and Michelle talk about their...

Maybe It’s Time to Just Be Yourself!

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Maybe It’s Time to Just Be Yourself! How much time and energy do you spend worrying about what others think of you? Whether it’s your family, your co-workers, your friends, neighbors, or even people on social media, the stress and...

Devalue Drugs and Alcohol and Solve Your Addiction

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Devalue Drugs and Alcohol and Solve Your Addiction “I need alcohol for ___________” “I need drugs for __________” You fill in the blanks. This is addiction; when you feel like you need substances. Our culture imbues drugs and alcohol...

Ditch the Alca-Thons and Stop Stressing About the Holidays!

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Ditch the Alca-Thons and Stop Stressing About the Holidays! The recovery world paints the holidays in the most negative light possible. You’re supposed to fear this time of year because it’s a veritable trigger-palooza! The holidays can...

Justifying Substance Use with Self-Created Drama

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Justifying Substance Use with Self-Created Drama You had a spat with your co-worker, then you go home and your spouse starts to nag you about something they had asked you to do weeks ago. You know that you put it off, then forgot to do...

Do You Believe Your Life Can Be Better?

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Do You Believe Your Life Can Be Better?   Are you still struggling with heavy substance use? It might be that you want to change your preference, but you don’t really believe that you can. You just might believe that your life...
Drugs Don’t Have a Mind of Their Own

Drugs Don’t Have a Mind of Their Own

“Drinking makes my stress go away.” “I get things done when I do meth. It makes me motivated.” “Drinking makes me more social, I don’t feel so nervous when I’m buzzed up.” “I can say the things I normally can’t say. Substances help with my lack of assertiveness.”...

Focus On Benefits of Change and Move On From Addiction

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Focus On Benefits of Change and Move On From Addiction   When people are trying to change their substance use, the addiction treatment model is to focus on the negative consequences you’ve experienced and will keep experiencing due...

Helping Your Loved One Struggling With Addiction

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Helping Your Loved One Struggling With Addiction   Massive misinformation about addiction harms families of those who are struggling as much as it harms the substance user. In this Episode of The Addiction Solution, Freedom Model...

You Don’t Have to Quit!

The Addiction Solution Podcast  You Don’t Have to Quit! “When you think you must do something, you’re not owning it. You are obscuring the fact that it truly is your choice.” If you try to quit heavy substance use because you feel obligated,...

Bridging the Gap While Making a Preference Change

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Bridging the Gap While Making a Preference Change If you want to change your substance use habit, but still have a strong preference for intoxication, changing can seem impossible. While The Freedom Model states that mindlessly trying...

What Is Your New Self Image? The Addiction Solution Podcast’s 100th Episode

The Addiction Solution Podcast  What Is Your New Self Image? The Addiction Solution Podcast’s 100th Episode Many heavy substance users struggle to envision a life without heavy intoxication with their preferred substance. Oftentimes they hold the self image of...

Purgatory Between Recovery and Freedom

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Purgatory Between Recovery and Freedom If you’ve found The Freedom Model and it makes sense to you, but you are still holding onto some of the beliefs in the AA and recovery world, that’s a tough place to be and you’re...

Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup and Learning the Magical Powers of Substances

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup and Learning the Magical Powers of Substances In the 1800’s opiates were legal and advertised honestly for the pharmacological benefits they provided: cough suppression, physical pain relief,...

Demystifying Substance Effects

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Demystifying Substance Effects Drugs and alcohol are often thought to have varying effects on someone’s thoughts.  For example, certain drugs and substances take away anxiety, make you more outgoing, make you depressed, etc.  Or...

The Freedom Model’s Expansion to Change the World

The Addiction Solution Podcast  The Freedom Model’s Expansion to Change the World How do you change a well-entrenched paradigm? You do the research to debunk it. You begin helping people with that new information. You abandon the erroneous language and show...

Addiction Treatment Hurts Families

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Addiction Treatment Hurts Families In today’s episode, Mark and Michelle explain how Addiction Treatment can have various harmful effects on families.  We’ve helped families work through various mental, emotional, and...

Are You the Family F*ck up?

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Are You the Family F*ck up? If you’ve ever been told or thought of yourself as the “family f**k-up” then this episode of The Addiction Solution Podcast is for you! Both Mark and Michelle were told this and thus...

The Allure of the Binge, and How to Stop It

The Addiction Solution Podcast  The Allure of the Binge, and How to Stop It This is the second podcast in recent episodes that addresses the binge cycle. Mark and Michelle tackle the binge habit from a different angle, shedding real light on why it’s so alluring...

Replacing AA with Freedom Model International

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Replacing AA with Freedom Model International As our audience has grown, and continues to grow, the need has arisen to create a community of people who have rejected the addiction/treatment/recovery religion. While no one needs support...

Don’t Get Distracted by Recovery Processes

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Don’t Get Distracted by Recovery Processes Do you have to go to meetings, identify your character defects and read them to your sponsor, go to the gym, or join a church? Do you have to become more spiritual, more selfless, kinder,...

Stopping Addiction without Willpower

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Stopping Addiction without Willpower Most people think willpower is needed to stop drinking or drug using, especially when they’ve developed a habit of drinking or using heavily. And while it is true that you may be able to stop...

How to Stop the Binge Drinking/Drug Using Cycle

The Addiction Solution Podcast  How to Stop the Binge Drinking/Drug Using Cycle If you’ve been trying to stop your heavy substance use, and you now find yourself in a cycle of heavy binge use for a few days, total abstinence for days, weeks, or months, and then...

Beware of Non-12 Step Imposters!

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Beware of Non-12 Step Imposters! As more and more people seeking help for addiction are seeking alternatives to 12 step-based treatment, rehabs, and meetings, more and more treatment programs, and rehabs are advertising they offer a...

There are No Causes of Addiction

The Addiction Solution Podcast  There are No Causes of Addiction In this episode of The Addiction Solution Podcast, we discuss how there are no causes of addiction. Chapter 6 of The Freedom Model for Addictions is entitled “Learned Connections” and it...

Don’t Mindlessly Count Sober Days

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Don’t Mindlessly Count Sober Days In this episode of The Addiction Solution Podcast, Mark and Michelle take on the practice of counting “sober days” and explain the inherent problems with that being the primary focus...

Does Anyone Need Addiction Treatment?

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Does Anyone Need Addiction Treatment? If you tell someone you think you might have a problem with alcohol or drugs, most people will tell you to get yourself into rehab. There is a belief in our culture that addiction is a disease and...

Breaking Out of a Rut Is Easier Than You Think

The Addiction Solution Podcast  Breaking Out of a Rut Is Easier Than You Think Are you in a comfortable rut? Do you have a habit that you liked at one time but is no longer satisfying? Do you feel stuck? Know that everyone does from time to time. You can break out of...
Social and Environmental Factors DO NOT Cause Addiction

Social and Environmental Factors DO NOT Cause Addiction

In The Freedom Model for Addictions, Escape the Treatment and Recovery Trap, we discuss the erroneous, but common idea, that environmental and social factors cause addiction. The fact that both your environment (lifestyle, home, and career, etc.) and your social life...
Here are 5 Benefits of Spending Some Time Abstinent

Here are 5 Benefits of Spending Some Time Abstinent

In addiction recovery, you have two options: heavy, uncontrolled substance use that leads to jails, institutions, and death, or complete abstinence from all substances whether you like it or not. And in treatment/recovery the primary motivator for abstinence is...

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