Is your pet tired of being your emotional support system?

In this hilarious and insightful episode, Sarah and Finn read a letter from Frank the Cat, who's fed up with being his owner's emotional bandaid during trauma documentaries. Through Frank's story, they explore how codependent patterns show up even in our relationships with pets and offer practical advice for setting healthy boundaries.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• You're not responsible for anyone else's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors - including your pet's comfort with your emotional needs
• Setting boundaries might feel harsh at first, but it's necessary for healthy relationships
• When we stop rescuing others, they're forced to look at their own issues and find real solutions
• Ask yourself "What do I need and want in this situation?" rather than automatically caretaking
• Even pets need freedom from being someone's emotional support system

NOTABLE QUOTE

"You are not responsible for what your owner feels or says, and if he needs to watch a trauma documentary to heal his trauma, then you can just go back into the sunbeam." — Dr. Sarah Michaud

Connect With Us

Website: https://drsarahmichaud.com

Buy the Book: Co-Crazy

If you loved this conversation, subscribe, rate, and review Leaving CrazyTown.

Hosted by Finn and Dr. Sarah Michaud. Codependency healing with humor, honesty, and hope. Subscribe and buckle up.

For educational and entertainment purposes only. Not a substitute for professional mental health treatment.

Do you still carry shame from things you did back then?

Finn and Dr. Sarah both hit major sobriety milestones — and they get raw about what's changed in recovery and what still needs work. They share humiliating stories from active addiction, talk about the gift of self-compassion, and remind us that recovery isn't about perfection. It's about not carrying the old you like a life sentence.

Key Takeaways

• Recovery gives you the ability to laugh at your past without carrying the shame of it
• Compassion for yourself is just as important as compassion for others — maybe more
• The things you work on in long-term recovery weren't even on your radar in active addiction
• Your bottom is your bottom — inside job or outside consequences, it's valid
• Forgiveness for who you were is part of the journey, not a luxury

Notable Quote

"I do not wish to shut the door on that past. I actually think it's quite funny how ridiculous we were, even though it still brings up shame." — Finn

Connect With Us

Dr. Sarah Michaud, Author of Co Crazy

Follow @leavingcrazytown on YouTube

Website: https://drsarahmichaud.com

If you loved this conversation, subscribe, rate, and review Leaving CrazyTown—and share it with a friend ready to reclaim their voice and leave confusion behind.

Leaving CrazyTown is a raw, real-talk podcast hosted by Finn and Dr. Sarah Michaud, two recovering addicts turned relatable guides on the wild ride of codependency healing. Each episode dives deep into the chaos of dysfunctional relationships, identity loss, and emotional recovery—with humor, honesty, and hope. Subscribe and buckle up—we're leaving CrazyTown.

*This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. If you're struggling, please seek support from a licensed professional.

Do you drink to numb pain you can't name?

Nicole Cameron endured six pregnancy losses while her alcoholism spiraled—each miscarriage deepening her denial, her isolation, and her belief that something was fundamentally wrong with her. Her husband begged her to get help. Adoption agencies turned her away. And still, she couldn't stop drinking. Until one phone call changed everything. Now 18 years sober, Nicole is an embodiment coach helping women heal trauma they've been carrying in their bodies for decades. In this raw, unfiltered conversation, she and Sarah talk about what happens when grief gets compounded by addiction, why women fall through the cracks, how her marriage survived, and what it actually takes to feel your feelings without medicating them away.

Key Takeaways

• Compounded grief accelerates: Each unprocessed loss makes the next one harder to bear—and easier to medicate
• Your body keeps the score: Trauma from pregnancy loss, abandonment, and addiction doesn't go away until you give it voice and movement
• The sixth miscarriage without drinking: Nicole's first sober pregnancy loss became a turning point—painful, but free
• Shame lives in silence: Women with children feel guilty, women without feel judged, and nobody talks about miscarriage openly enough
• Embodiment is healing: Moving meditation and somatic practices helped Nicole release decades of body-stored trauma

GUEST BIO

Nicole Cameron is an embodiment life coach and licensed Ish Tara teacher based in Calgary, Canada. With 18 years of sobriety, Nicole specializes in helping women heal from compounded grief, addiction, and trauma by reconnecting to their bodies through movement, breath, and nervous system regulation. After surviving six pregnancy losses and hitting her bottom with alcoholism, Nicole now guides women who feel disconnected, stuck in patterns, or numb to rediscover themselves from the body up.

RESOURCES AND LINKS

Coach With Nicole: www.coachingwithnicole.ca

Follow Nicole on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn: @coachwitnicole

NOTABLE QUOTE

"I was more full of glee and happiness that I did not drink, that I didn't self-medicate, that I actually felt it all—and it was hard, but there was a lot of freedom in that hardness." — Nicole Cameron

CONNECT WITH US

Dr. Sarah Michaud, Author of Co Crazy

Follow @leavingcrazytown on YouTube

Website: https://drsarahmichaud.com

If you loved this conversation, subscribe, rate, and review Leaving CrazyTown—and share it with a friend ready to reclaim their voice and leave confusion behind.

Leaving CrazyTown is a raw, real-talk podcast hosted by Finn and Dr. Sarah Michaud, two recovering addicts turned relatable guides on the wild ride of codependency healing. Each episode dives deep into the chaos of dysfunctional relationships, identity loss, and emotional recovery—with humor, honesty, and hope. Subscribe and buckle up—we're leaving CrazyTown.

This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. If you're struggling, please seek support from a licensed professional.

In this Boozeless Book Club episode of Leaving CrazyTown, Amy Liz Harrison and Dr. Sarah Michaud take a deep, thoughtful dive into Many Roads, One Journey: Moving Beyond the 12 Steps by Charlotte Davis Kasl. Together, they explore how rigidity, fear-based recovery messaging, and one-size-fits-all approaches can unintentionally limit healing—especially for women and people with histories of codependency or religious trauma. With honesty, nuance, and compassion, they discuss how to keep what works in traditional recovery models while making room for choice, discernment, and self-trust.
Key Takeaways

• Recovery loses power when it becomes rigid or fear-based

• One person’s path is not a universal blueprint

• Women often need self-trust and agency, not further self-reduction

• Accountability and compassion can coexist

• Thinking for yourself is not dangerous—it’s necessary

Key Timestamps

[02:00] Why this book feels “meaty” and challenging

[07:00] Rigidity, fear, and belonging in recovery

[13:00] Why women’s recovery needs differ

[20:00] Kasl’s expanded steps and codependency healing

[49:00] “Many roads” and the danger of “only one way”

Notable Resources

• Many Roads, One Journey: Moving Beyond the 12 Steps — Charlotte Davis Kasl

• Women, Sex & Addiction — Charlotte Davis Kasl

Dr. Sarah Michaud — Co-Crazy

If this episode resonated, subscribe, rate, and review Leaving CrazyTown—and share it with someone who needs permission to find their own way.

Leaving CrazyTown is a raw, real-talk podcast hosted by Finn and Dr. Sarah Michaud, two recovering addicts turned relatable guides on the wild ride of codependency healing. Each episode dives deep into the chaos of dysfunctional relationships, identity loss, and emotional recovery—with humor, honesty, and hope. Subscribe and buckle up—we’re leaving CrazyTown.

Do you even know who you are anymore?

It's Sarah's and Finn's anniversary month — time in recovery — and they're reflecting on three major ways they've changed since the using days. From self-reliance to honesty to actually feeling their feelings, this episode gets real about what shifts when you start doing the work. No perfect recovery stories here — just two people noticing what's different, what's better, and what still needs work.

Key Takeaways

• Self-reliance used to mean controlling everything and everyone — now it means trusting something bigger than yourself
• Avoiding feelings isn't the same as managing them — recovery teaches you to sit with discomfort instead of escaping it
• You can't have real relationships if nobody actually knows you — honesty and boundaries make connection possible
• Taking responsibility doesn't mean blaming yourself for everything — it means owning your actions and choices
• Recovery isn't about perfection — it's about catching yourself, repairing, and trying again

Notable Quote

"I was willing to take responsibility, but I was blind to the truth of what was actually going on." — Finn

Connect With Us

Dr. Sarah Michaud, Author of Co Crazy

Follow @leavingcrazytown on YouTube

Website: https://drsarahmichaud.com

If you loved this conversation, subscribe, rate, and review Leaving CrazyTown—and share it with a friend ready to reclaim their voice and leave confusion behind.

Leaving CrazyTown is a raw, real-talk podcast hosted by Finn and Dr. Sarah Michaud, two recovering addicts turned relatable guides on the wild ride of codependency healing. Each episode dives deep into the chaos of dysfunctional relationships, identity loss, and emotional recovery—with humor, honesty, and hope. Subscribe and buckle up—we're leaving CrazyTown.

*This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. If you're struggling, please seek support from a licensed professional.

Can you imagine having sex without booze… or does that thought make you want to crawl out of your skin?

In this episode, Finn and Dr. Sarah get honest about sober sex — what it looked like in addiction versus what it requires in recovery. From detachment, low standards, and seeking validation to body image fears, rejection anxiety, and learning discernment, they unpack the uncomfortable shift from numb hookups to real intimacy.

They explore how addiction blurred choice, how early sobriety brings a flood of insecurity, and why staying in your body is both terrifying and transformative. Because sober sex isn’t about performance — it’s about presence.

And presence requires vulnerability.

Takeaways

• In addiction, sex is often about validation, fear, and proving worth — not connection
• Sober sex brings up body image issues and rejection fears that substances once numbed
• Discernment is a recovery skill — you get to choose who you’re intimate with
• Casual relationships can activate codependent patterns if you ignore your own truth• Real intimacy requires vulnerability, honesty, and embracing discomfort
• Fun and play are possible in sober sex — it doesn’t have to be heavy or performative
  

Notable ResourcesDr. Sarah Michaud, Author of Co CrazyFollow @leavingcrazytown on YouTubeWebsite: https://drsarahmichaud.com/

If this conversation resonated, subscribe, rate, and review Leaving CrazyTown — and share it with someone navigating intimacy in recovery.

Leaving CrazyTown is a raw, real-talk podcast hosted by Finn and Dr. Sarah Michaud, two recovering addicts turned relatable guides on the wild ride of codependency healing. Each episode dives deep into the chaos of dysfunctional relationships, identity loss, and emotional recovery — with humor, honesty, and hope. Subscribe and buckle up — we’re leaving CrazyTown.

In this Boozeless Book Club episode, Dr. Sarah Michaud and Amy Liz Harrison dive deep into Wake Up by Jen Hatmaker—a book that challenges rigid belief systems, recovery dogma, and fear-based spirituality. Together, they unpack what happens when programs meant to heal start replacing one form of control with another, especially for women navigating sobriety, faith, and codependency. This is an honest, nuanced conversation about reclaiming discernment, self-trust, and emotional freedom—without throwing out what truly works.

Key Takeaways

• Rigid recovery rules often mirror the same power dynamics we’re trying to heal from

• Women in recovery frequently need self-trust—not ego reduction

• Fear-based spirituality undermines emotional sobriety

• Both accountability and personal agency can coexist

• Thinking for yourself is not a relapse—it’s growth

Key Timestamps

[02:10] Why this book felt “meaty” and activating

[07:45] Trading one dogma for another in recovery

[14:30] Fear-based faith, shame, and loss of self

[22:10] When “look at your part” becomes self-blame

[30:40] Holding nuance without burning bridges

Notable Resources

• Wake Up — Jen Hatmaker

• Dr. Sarah Michaud, Author of Co Crazy

• https://drsarahmichaud.com/

If this episode stirred something in you, subscribe, rate, and review Leaving CrazyTown—and share it with someone learning to trust themselves again.

Leaving CrazyTown is a raw, real-talk podcast hosted by Finn and Dr. Sarah Michaud, two recovering addicts turned relatable guides on the wild ride of codependency healing. Each episode dives deep into the chaos of dysfunctional relationships, identity loss, and emotional recovery—with humor, honesty, and hope. Subscribe and buckle up—we’re leaving CrazyTown.

Is it love… or is it codependency dressed up as romance?

In this Valentine’s Day episode, Finn and Dr. Sarah break down the real differences between healthy love and codependent attachment. Drawing from their own relationships (yes, they’re both in love right now), they unpack the subtle ways we confuse control, people-pleasing, emotional blame, and conflict avoidance with “being loving.”

From emotional regulation and over-offering to relentless self-sacrifice and white lies, this episode gives you three clear distinctions between love and codependency—plus the hard truths that deepen intimacy instead of destroying it.

Because real love doesn’t require you to disappear.And it definitely doesn’t require you to manage someone else’s emotions.

Takeaways

• Love means regulating your own emotions instead of blaming your partner

• Codependency often shows up as fixing, over-managing, or forcing help

• Asking once and trusting the answer builds respect and intimacy

• Self-sacrifice without boundaries leads to resentment and rage

• Honest, difficult conversations create deeper connection than conflict avoidance ever will

Notable Resources

Dr. Sarah Michaud, Author of Co CrazyFollow @leavingcrazytown on YouTubeWebsite: https://drsarahmichaud.com/

If you loved this conversation, subscribe, rate, and review Leaving CrazyTown—and share it with a friend ready to reclaim their voice and leave confusion behind.

Leaving CrazyTown is a raw, real-talk podcast hosted by Finn and Dr. Sarah Michaud, two recovering addicts turned relatable guides on the wild ride of codependency healing. Each episode dives deep into the chaos of dysfunctional relationships, identity loss, and emotional recovery—with humor, honesty, and hope. Subscribe and buckle up—we’re leaving CrazyTown.