If you’ve spent the past year holding everything together while your loved one's addiction has chipped away at your energy, your hope, and your sense of self, this episode is for you.

In this raw, honest conversation, we look back at the year you’ve survived.

Not minimising it.

Not pretending it was “fine.”

Not brushing it off because “it used to be worse.”

This episode gently and truthfully names what you’ve been carrying:

• The constant tension in the home

• The emotional load of parenting alone

• The hypervigilance that has become your second skin

• The grief for the relationship you hoped for

• The exhaustion of managing everyone’s feelings but your own

• The loneliness of knowing most people will never understand this life

You are not dramatic.

You are not “overreacting.”

You are a human who has been living in survival mode for far too long.

1️⃣ If you already know you cannot do another year like this one, the waitlist for Pathway to Wellness is now open. This is my signature program helps you rebuild your life alongside (or beyond) a loved one’s addiction, with calm, confidence, and community

👉 Join the waitlist here

2️⃣ Book a Friendly Chat: Explore what working together could look like because you’ve been trying “this way” long enough, and it’s not helping anyone.

👉 Click here to find a time

3️⃣ Download the Free Crisis Conversation Guide: Learn what to say (and what not to say) when addiction takes over, with real scripts that help you stay grounded even when it’s messy.

👉 Get the Free Guide

4️⃣ Connect on Instagram: @addictionmakesthree

5️⃣ Questions or reflections? 💌 amanda@addictionmakesthree.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part 6 of the Holiday Series

If you’ve lived through more than one chaotic December, you’ve probably told yourself:

“Christmas will only be okay if he’s sober.”

“Maybe this year will be different… if he sticks to what he promised.”

In this bonus episode of the Holiday Series, I am sharing the part nobody really tells spouses and families of someone struggling with addiction:

Your experience of Christmas doesn’t actually depend on whether they drinks, use, shows up on time, or follow through on promises.

It depends on you having a plan, support and steadiness in yourself.

I talk about...

Why most people here quietly assume “this is just how December is now” …and how that belief keeps you stuck repeating the same painful holiday patterns, year after year.

I share stories from past clients and how they went into Christmas with a plan, even while their partner’s drinking/drug use was unpredictable. and what actually changed for them and their kids.

The hidden cost of “I’ll just handle it” and why white-knuckling your way through the holidays leaves you depleted, resentful and running on fumes by New Year’s.

How to shifting from “waiting for them to be better” to “I’m allowed to create calm, clarity and moments of joy independent of what they do.”

What realistic hope looks like when you’re the safe parent, and howow to hold both: grief for what you wish your family could be and hope that your holidays can feel different from the inside out.

If this episode feels like it’s narrating your life, you’re not broken, dramatic or asking for too much.

You’re exhausted from carrying far more than anyone can see, and you deserve support, too.

And your holiday experience can be different (even if nothing changes on their end)

🎄 JOIN THE FREE HOLIDAY SURVIVAL GUIDE WORKSHOP

This is where we turn understanding into a plan.

Inside, you’ll learn real tools to navigate this season:

💛 Grounding strategies for chaotic moments

💛 Scripts for difficult family conversations

💛 How to reduce conflict without walking on eggshells

💛 Boundaries that actually protect your peace

💛 A plan for unpredictable moments

💛 Permission (and support) to prioritise YOU

You deserve a holiday that doesn’t depend on which “version” of Them shows up.

👉 Save your free seat here

1️⃣ Book a Friendly Chat: Explore what working together could look like because you’ve been trying “this way” long enough, and it’s not helping anyone.

👉 Click here to find a time

2️⃣ Join the Pathway to Wellness Waitlist: My signature program helps you rebuild your life alongside (or beyond) a loved one’s addiction — with calm, confidence, and community

👉 Join the waitlist here

3️⃣ Download the Free Crisis Conversation Guide: Learn what to say (and what not to say) when addiction takes over, with real scripts that help you stay grounded even when it’s messy.

👉 Get the Free Guide

4️⃣ Connect on Instagram: @addictionmakesthree

5️⃣ Questions or reflections? 💌 amanda@addictionmakesthree.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part 5 of the Holiday Series

This episode is the deep breath you didn’t know you needed.

If you’re heading into December telling yourself, “I’ll be fine… I’ve done this before… I can handle it,” this one is for you.

Because the truth is:

✨ You have handled too much.

✨ Your body is bracing, even if you’re pretending you’re okay.

✨ And you absolutely do not have to repeat another year of emotional roulette.

In this episode, Amanda gently walks you through:

The real reason your chest tightens as the holiday approaches

Why familiarity doesn’t equal healthy

How your nervous system remembers what your mind is trying to downplay

The physical cost of carrying someone else’s addiction for too long

Why “being the strong one” is quietly burning you out

What needs to shift before the chaos of the season begins

Why emotional preparation matters more than holiday plans, menus, or logistics

How to move out of survival mode and into something steadier

This is your permission slip to stop white-knuckling your way through December.

It’s the reminder you didn’t know you needed:

You are not meant to just “handle” the holidays

You are meant to be supported, grounded, and well.

And your holiday experience can be different (even if nothing changes on their end)

🎄 JOIN THE FREE HOLIDAY SURVIVAL GUIDE WORKSHOP

This is where we turn understanding into a plan.

Inside, you’ll learn real tools to navigate this season:

💛 Grounding strategies for chaotic moments

💛 Scripts for difficult family conversations

💛 How to reduce conflict without walking on eggshells

💛 Boundaries that actually protect your peace

💛 A plan for unpredictable moments

💛 Permission (and support) to prioritise YOU

You deserve a holiday that doesn’t depend on which “version” of Them shows up.

👉 Save your free seat here

1️⃣ Book a Friendly Chat: Explore what working together could look like because you’ve been trying “this way” long enough, and it’s not helping anyone.

👉 Click here to find a time

2️⃣ Join the Pathway to Wellness Waitlist: My signature program helps you rebuild your life alongside (or beyond) a loved one’s addiction — with calm, confidence, and community

👉 Join the waitlist here

3️⃣ Download the Free Crisis Conversation Guide: Learn what to say (and what not to say) when addiction takes over, with real scripts that help you stay grounded even when it’s messy.

👉 Get the Free Guide

4️⃣ Connect on Instagram: @addictionmakesthree

5️⃣ Questions or reflections? 💌 amanda@addictionmakesthree.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.