At 16, when most teens are trying to figure out high school, friendships, and who they want to become, Azlyn became convinced it was her job to help save her brother who was struggling with addiction.

She covered for him. Kept tabs on him. Tried to protect him from consequences. Tried to protect her family. And when he went to rehab, she struggled with the idea of letting go of the role she had spent years playing.

But recovery wasn’t linear. Neither was relapse. And neither was Azlyn’s own journey of figuring out how to love her brother without losing herself in the process.

In this episode, Azlyn joins me to talk candidly about growing up alongside her brother’s addiction, the guilt and responsibility she carried as a young sibling, what relapse looked like from her side, and what she’s still learning about boundaries, self-care, and showing up for herself.

Because Azlyn doesn’t have it all figured out—and that’s kind of the point. Sometimes, healing means learning that you can love someone deeply without being responsible for what happens to them.

📘Download our FREE, sibling e-book: 6 actions to help navigate a sibling’s substance use journey

🤝Join our FREE and PRIVATE sibling-focused community: Siblings For Love of Recovery

📲Connect with FLOR: Instagram and TikTok

🎙Guest speaker: Azlyn Belisle, younger sibling to a brother in recovery

Drug tests. Revolving doors of rehabs. On and off the street. Judges, and parole officers — to families waiting and hoping for something to change. When a loved one’s treatment is dictated by external forces, why doesn’t it “work”, and what does it look like when it does?

Dr. Sheila Vakharia — researcher, social worker, and author of The Harm Reduction Gap — has worked inside outpatient treatment centers, drug courts, and needle exchange programs, giving her a rare, ground-level view of what actually helps people survive addiction, what gets in the way, and the power families have.

Together we dig into:

• Why addiction is the only health condition where people are expected to be "cured" before treatment even starts

• The stigma around methadone and buprenorphine — and why they're not "trading one drug for another"

• How the criminal legal system can be both a lifeline and a barrier to real care

• Why courts, insurance gaps, and fear-based messaging keep failing families

• What families can actually do — from local pharmacy advocacy to sharing your story with lawmakers and media

📘Download our FREE, sibling e-book: 6 actions to help navigate a sibling’s substance use journey

🤝Join our FREE and PRIVATE sibling-focused community: Siblings For Love of Recovery

📲Connect with FLOR: Instagram and TikTok

🎙Guest speaker: Dr. Sheila Vakharia, author and Deputy Director of the Department of Research and Academic Engagement at the Drug Policy Alliance

Episode resources:

• Sheila’s book: The Harm Reduction Gap: Helping Individuals Left Behind by Conventional Drug Prevention and Abstinence-Only Treatment

• Read how you can advocate for your loved one: One parent’s story
  

When someone you love is struggling with addiction, it's easy to feel like you only have two options: fix it or walk away. But there's a third path—and it starts with understanding that while you can't force recovery, you're not powerless either.

In this episode, I'm joined by Pam Lanhart, founder and executive director of Thrive Family Recovery Resources, a nonprofit supporting families affected by substance use and addiction. Pam is the daughter, sister, and mother of loved ones who have struggled with addiction, and after losing her son Jake, she's dedicated her life to helping families create the conditions for lasting recovery through compassionate, evidence-based approaches.

Together, we discuss:

• Why "tough love" often creates more chaos than change
• What CRAFT and Invitation to Change are—and how families can use them
• The role shame plays in relapse, especially during family visits
• How to set firm boundaries without damaging the relationship
• What ambivalence really means—and why it isn't the same as not wanting recovery
• The neuroscience behind behavior change and building new neural pathways
• Practical ways to respond during moments of crisis without becoming the fixer or crisis manager

Whether you're a parent, sibling, partner, or friend, this conversation will help you better understand addiction recovery, communicate more effectively, and support your loved one without losing yourself in the process.

If you've ever felt like you were failing someone you love, this episode is for you. You're not powerless—and you don't have to navigate family recovery alone.

📘 Download our FREE, sibling e-book: 6 actions to help navigate a sibling’s substance use journey

🤝 Join our FREE and PRIVATE sibling-focused community: Siblings For Love of Recovery

📲 Connect with FLOR: Instagram and TikTok

🎙 Guest speaker: Pam Lanhart, founder and executive director of Thrive Family Recovery Resources

Episode resources:

• Join Thrive’s Family Support Facebook Group

• About the Invitation to Change (ITC) method

• About CRAFT