033: The Courage to Find the Gift of Addiction

by | Dec 2, 2018 | Podcast

 

Today we discuss getting to the root cause of addiction and exploring what it means to live a life of sobriety.

 

What is really going on with addiction? Is it good versus evil, is it a lack of morals or willpower, an ignorance of how addiction works, or is it something else altogether?

Addiction is a very complex disease, and most people don’t understand why or how people actually become addicted to drugs or alcohol. The truth is, quitting takes a lot more than good intentions or goodwill. This is because alcohol and drugs actually change the way the brain works and they change who we are.

Who do you know that’s suffering from a problem with addiction? Think about it. Maybe it’s someone you don’t really know all that well, or maybe it’s someone that’s very close to you. This show is all about understanding addiction and the solutions available to help those that are struggling get the help that they need.

My first guest, Sherry Burditt, is an RN, Board Registered in Holistic Nursing and the Clinical Director for Hemet Valley Recovery Center & Sage Retreat. As the child of an alcoholic father with addiction running throughout her family, Sherry, fortunately, did not inherit the addictive gene.

Rather, she spent the better part of her life engaged in personally experiencing it and professionally treating it. Sherry shares insight on why people become addicted, the heavy baggage that comes along with addiction, and how shifting our thoughts and energy can change our whole lives.

My second guest, Mary Lou Rodgers, is the founder and operator of Ohana House which is a luxury sober living for women who are seeking support on their path to recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. As an adopted child, Mary Lou struggled with abandonment issues her entire life.

These issues along with the Irish gene for alcoholism turned what was once periodic binge drinking into what eventually became a diagnosis of alcoholism. Mary Lou shares her personal journey of lasting sobriety, the most critical component of getting sober, and how sober living helps transition people back into life after treatment.

 

We Discuss:

  • The widespread prevalence of addiction in our society today
  • The complexity of addiction and how it changes how our brain function and personality
  • Why certain people end up becoming addicts and/or alcoholics
  • The heavy and burdensome baggage that comes with addiction and how it can be removed
  • The management of Duality — Light energy (nurturing) vs. Dark energy (depleting)
  • How to reach the people that are high-functioning and don’t believe they have a problem
  • The importance of a peaceful, loving, and supportive environment on the road to sobriety
  • How sober living creates a safe place for treatment and transitioning back into life
  • The most critical component of getting sober and avoiding relapse and further suffering
  • The 7 energy centers in the body and how these Chakras relate to addiction

 

“When they’re ready, they meet their darkest moment and their darkest moment may be something that almost kills them. And maybe they have many darkest moments, but at some point in time that soul has had enough.”  –  Sherry Burditt

 

About Sherry:

Sherry Burditt is an RN, Board Registered in Holistic Nursing and has been the Clinical Director for Hemet Valley Recovery Center & Sage Retreat (Addiction Medicine Services, Inc.) since 2008. 

As an adult child of an alcoholic father, with addiction running throughout her family, Sherry, fortunately, did not inherit the addictive gene.

Rather, she spent the better part of her life engaged in personally experiencing it and professionally treating it.

Sherry is a Registered Nurse whose career spans over 40 years of clinical practice in Chemical Dependency, Behavioral Health, and Hospital Administration.

After receiving her nurse’s training in Jamestown, New York, she concentrated her practice specifically in Addiction Medicine and Behavioral Health.

In 2000, Sherry received Board Certification in Holistic Nursing through the American Holistic Nurses’ Association.

In private practice, she has worked individually with private clients, and has provided consultation services and holistic workshops to over 30 acute care hospitals, supervised and evaluated healthcare instructors, and facilitated conference and seminar presentations.

Her article, Holistic Therapies in the Treatment of Addictions, was published in Journey Magazine in 2011.

Sherry’s debut publication titled “The Gift of Addiction” (published by Balboa Press) helps addicts and alcoholics understand the path of addiction, the purpose for it in their lives, and the comfort of knowing that they possess all the necessary components to arrive at a place where they are able to create “a life beyond their wildest dreams.”

Sherry and her family live in Carlsbad, CA. As a Kriyaban yogi, Sherry has practiced Raja Yoga meditation since 1974.

 

About Mary Lou:

Mary Lou Rodgers found her path to lasting sobriety through a sober living house.

As an adopted child, Mary Lou struggled with abandonment her entire life.  She didn’t realize that her abandonment issues, along with the Irish “gene” for alcoholism, would turn her periodic and binge drinking eventually into a diagnosis of alcoholism.

The eldest of six adopted children, Mary Lou was raised in a non-traditional family and lived all over the US & Venezuela.

In her early career, Mary Lou worked professionally in the entertainment industry as a talent agent and as a Casting Director.

After starting a family, materialism became her measuring stick of a successful life. A huge estate, yachts, multiple properties, and vacations all over the world were the byproducts of her success – another byproduct was heavy drinking.

Eventually, this led to multiple rehab stints, therapy, and small amounts of time of sobriety only to relapse and relapse again.

Her sobriety date is July 18, 2010, and she attributes the journey of her recovery this last time to her experience in sober living.

Mary Lou attended the Navy Drug & Alcohol Counselor School for her CDAC certification. A near death experience in 2014 caused her to get serious about her passion, which is helping other women find their way to a new life, a life beyond their wildest dreams!

 

Check out the video below to watch our live interview in the studio:

 

“When the pain of using becomes greater than what we get from it, the gift of willingness is possible.”  –  Mary Lou Rodgers

 

Resources Mentioned:

 

Visit TheCourageToChangeEverything.com to pre-order Ken’s new book, The Courage to Change Everything: Strategies and Wisdom to Transform Your Life One Day at a Time

Learn More About Host Ken D. Foster

 

Thanks For Listening!

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