In this solo episode of Families Navigating Addiction and Recovery, I challenge the traditional, outdated "guidelines" that often trap families in black-and-white thinking.

From ultimatums and "tough love" to complete division, conventional advice frequently ignores the neurological realities of addiction and leaves family members facing severe chronic stress, burnout, and health risks.

While families did not cause the addiction, they hold the greatest power to influence positive change. I outline how families can shift from reacting to addiction's rules of engagement to establishing their own rules, learning to regulate their nervous systems, and stepping out of learned helplessness.

🎧 Follow or subscribe to Families Navigating Addiction and Recovery for more conversations about addiction and family recovery.

⭐ Leave a review and share this episode with someone who may benefit from it.

Jeff Jones helps families impacted by addiction understand how addiction affects the entire family system. Through his coaching, masterclass, book, and educational content, he helps families create clearer communication, healthier response patterns, and a different way forward.

If your family is navigating addiction and you're looking for a different way forward, I invite you to schedule a free discovery call with me.

Book a free discovery call: https://www.thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/book-a-call/

This six-session masterclass helps families understand how addiction affects the entire family and move away from confusion, emotional overload, and constant reaction. Families learn how to develop steadier, more intentional responses and create healthier patterns within the family.

Learn more: https://www.thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/masterclass-upgrade/

In Rethinking Addiction: The New Family Recovery Solution, Jeff Jones offers a different way for families to understand addiction by looking at the family system as a whole. The book introduces practical tools, Both/And thinking, clearer communication, and family rules that are stronger than addiction's chaos while maintaining connection with the person you love.

Get the book: https://www.thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/rethinking-addiction-book/

Work with Jeff: https://www.thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-jones-0303834/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thefamilyrecoverysolution

Substack: https://jeffjones.substack.com/

#FamilyAddictionSupport #FamilyRecovery #AddictionRecovery #LearnedHelplessness #NervousSystemRegulation #ToughLove #FamilyBurnout #AddictionEducation #ChronicStress #HealingFamilies

In this episode of Families Navigating Addiction and Recovery, I sit down with Gina Birkemeier, LPC, author of Generations Deep: Unmasking Inherited Trauma and Dysfunction to Rewrite Our Stories Through Faith and Therapy.

We dive into how inherited family patterns, secrets, and shame drive both addiction and family dysfunction. Gina shares how families can recognize when they are operating out of trauma, how to move from rigid "hiding" to active "healing," and why family members must prioritize their own recovery journey, not just focus on their loved one in active addiction.

🎧 Follow or subscribe to Families Navigating Addiction and Recovery for more conversations about addiction and family recovery.

⭐ Leave a review and share this episode with someone who may benefit from it.

Gina Birkemeier, LPC, is a licensed professional counselor, author, speaker, and founder of My Outloud Voice. With a dual background in theology and psychology, she teaches therapists and facilitates groups internationally, including in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Zimbabwe, on breaking generational patterns of trauma and shame.

Website: https://ginabirkemeier.com/

Substack: Search Gina Birkemeier on Substack for weekly articles, journal prompts, and centering exercises.

Instagram: @myoutloudvoice

Generations Deep: Unmasking Inherited Trauma and Dysfunction to Rewrite Our Stories Through Faith and Therapy
By Gina Birkemeier, LPC

Generations Deep Workbook
Features the ETPQ, Expanded Trauma Perspective Questionnaire, developed with 60 trauma-informed therapists.

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Discussed in relation to finding meaning between stimulus and response.

Dr. Dan Siegel's Hand Model of the Brain
Discussed as a way to understand the "flipped lid" and amygdala hijacking.

Jeff Jones helps families impacted by addiction understand how addiction affects the entire family system. Through his coaching, masterclass, book, and educational content, he helps families create clearer communication, healthier response patterns, and a different way forward.

If your family is navigating addiction and you're looking for a different way forward, I invite you to schedule a free discovery call with me.

Book a free discovery call: https://www.thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/book-a-call/

This six-week masterclass helps families understand how addiction affects the entire family and move away from confusion, emotional overload, and constant reaction. Families learn how to develop steadier, more intentional responses and create healthier patterns within the family.

Learn more: https://www.thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/masterclass-upgrade/

In Rethinking Addiction: The New Family Recovery Solution, Jeff Jones offers a different way for families to understand addiction by looking at the family system as a whole. The book introduces practical tools, Both/And thinking, clearer communication, and family rules that are stronger than addiction's chaos while maintaining connection with the person you love.

Get the book: https://www.thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/rethinking-addiction-book/

Work with Jeff: https://www.thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-jones-0303834/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thefamilyrecoverysolution

Substack: https://jeffjones.substack.com/

#InheritedTrauma #GenerationalTrauma #FamilyDysfunction #TraumaRecovery #FamilyRecovery #AddictionRecovery #FamilyAddictionSupport #NervousSystemRegulation #BreakingGenerationalCycles #HealingFamilies

In this episode of Families Navigating Addiction and Recovery, I'm joined by my colleague and friend Kristin Horstman, a gray area drinking coach.

We dive into what "gray area drinking" actually means, why traditional labels like "alcoholic" often create barriers to getting help, and how families can use nervous system regulation, co-regulation, and targeted nutrition to break the cycle of cravings and support long-term healing.

🎧 Follow or subscribe to Families Navigating Addiction and Recovery for more conversations about addiction and family recovery.

⭐ Leave a review and share this episode with someone who may benefit from it.

Kristin Horstman is a gray area drinking coach, speaker, and community facilitator who helps individuals navigate life without alcohol by focusing on nervous system regulation, amino acid nutrition, and daily somatic habits.

After ending her own 20-year relationship with alcohol, she now helps others build vibrant, alcohol-free lives. She is also a facilitator for Zero Proof Experiences and the host of the podcast Sunsets Are the New Happy Hour.

Website:
https://kristenhorstman.com/

Podcast: Sunsets Are the New Happy Hour
https://www.youtube.com/@kristinhorstman

Jeff Jones helps families impacted by addiction understand how addiction affects the entire family system. Through his coaching, masterclass, book, and educational content, he helps families create clearer communication, healthier response patterns, and a different way forward.

If your family is navigating addiction and you're looking for a different way forward, I invite you to schedule a free discovery call with me.

Book a free discovery call:
https://www.thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/book-a-call/

This six-week masterclass helps families understand how addiction affects the entire family and move away from confusion, emotional overload, and constant reaction. Families learn how to develop steadier, more intentional responses and create healthier patterns within the family.

Learn more:
https://www.thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/masterclass-upgrade/

In Rethinking Addiction: The New Family Recovery Solution, Jeff Jones offers a different way for families to understand addiction by looking at the family system as a whole. The book introduces practical tools, Both/And thinking, clearer communication, and family rules that are stronger than addiction's chaos while maintaining connection with the person you love.

Get the book:
https://www.thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/rethinking-addiction-book/

Work with Jeff: https://www.thefamilyrecoverysolution.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-jones-0303834/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thefamilyrecoverysolution

Substack: https://jeffjones.substack.com/

#GrayAreaDrinking #AlcoholFreeLiving #SoberCurious #NervousSystemRegulation #AlcoholRecovery #AddictionRecovery #FamilyRecovery #FamilyAddictionSupport