A Personal Journey Handling Her Son's Addiction with Mary Ann Palmer - Episode 83

This podcast episode features Certified Professional Coach Mary Ann Palmer who shares her struggles with denial about the severity of her son’s addiction and how she overcame it. She addresses misconceptions about addiction and stresses the importance of family support in the recovery process. Mary Ann emphasizes the need for patience and persistence due to the long-term nature of recovery. She also provides insights on managing a child's cravings, identifying triggers, and the benefits of community support. She advises working with a professional coach and continuous self-education. Chris and Mary Ann challenge the idea of waiting for a loved one to reach their lowest point before considering stepping in to help.

 

Episode Highlights

• The story of her mother's addiction and her brother suffering from alcohol use disorder and eventually passing sober
• The notable moment when she found her son's backpack full of empty beer bottles and had her first acceptance of the fact that there was something wrong
• The assumption and denial stage in which most parents are in when they seek out help
• The final time her son went to rehab was his path to sobriety, as he did so after finding out that his girlfriend was pregnant
• Her son's momentary relapse after a year of sobriety when she found him drunk in their kitchen
• How she strategized her response to her son's relapse using the CRAFT methodology and displayed calmness instead of anger, resulting in a constructive conversation
• The usefulness of the term "influence" in managing addictive behavior
• The exercise she uses to explain what addiction feels like to the person suffering from it
• What drew her to peer coaching and how she decided to help parents going through what she went through in dealing with a child suffering addiction
• How you can start preparing a plan and potentially writing a contract for relapse situations
• The importance of positively reinforcing good behaviors

 

Links and Resources from this Episode

• https://whyintervention.com/
• https://twitter.com/whyintervention
• https://www.facebook.com/whyintervention/
• https://www.maryanncpalmer.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-ann-c-palmer  

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