"Put the Shovel Down": Helping a Loved One with Addiction w/ Amber Hollingsworth | Harder to Breathe
Your natural instinct is to fix it, but what if your efforts are making the problem worse?
We sit down with Addiction Expert Amber Hollingsworth, founder of the huge "Put the Shovel Down" community, who offers a revolutionary approach to family addiction recovery. Amber specializes in teaching family members how to stop enabling and break the cycle of blame that fuels addiction. This is essential listening for anyone who loves someone struggling with substance abuse.
In this powerful episode, you'll learn:
The "Villain" Role: Why the person with addiction often needs a family member to play the villain—and how to quit that role immediately.
Support vs. Enabling: Amber shares her simple formula to know if you're truly helping or unknowingly enabling your loved one.
The Power of Pre-Contemplation: Learn how to influence change before they hit rock bottom by using empathy to unlock their inner motivation.
Control is a Fallacy: Ryan and Amber discuss how giving up control is the crucial first step for both the addicted individual and their family.
Stop digging a deeper hole. Start building a path to recovery.
Episode Guide
00:00 - Welcome & Guest Intro
20:20 - Amber's Approach
22:00 - The "Villain Role"
25:40 - "Put the Shovel Down" Difference
30:30 - The Rock Bottom Question
34:00 - Reversing Family Dynamics
36:00 - Finding Internal Motivation
41:20 - Giving Up Control to Gain Control 4
8:20 - Support vs. Enabling Line
52:30 - "Put the Shovel Down" Meaning
55:00 - Addiction as Shame Spiral
01:01:20 - Amber's Origin Story
01:14:30 - Future Goals
🎧 Listen now:
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Or wherever you get your podcasts
📲 Follow Harder To Breathe:
🎙️ Libsyn: sites.libsyn.com/533902
👍 Facebook: facebook.com/RyanMichaelDusick
📸 Instagram: instagram.com/ryan_michael_dusick
🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@ryandusick
💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ryan-dusick-26460894
#TheHarderToBreathePodcast #RyanDusick #AmberHollingsworth #PutTheShovelDown #AddictionRecovery #FamilyAddiction #MentalHealth #Therapy #Counseling #RecoveryJourney #SubstanceAbuse #MotivationalInterviewing #BreakingStigma #YouTubeCommunity #Podcast #MentalWellness #Healing #SupportForFamilies #AddictionHelp #RelapsePrevention #PersonalGrowth #Inspiration
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Ruthie's Table 4
For more than 30 years The River Cafe in London, has been the home-from-home of artists, architects, designers, actors, collectors, writers, activists, and politicians. Michael Caine, Glenn Close, JJ Abrams, Steve McQueen, Victoria and David Beckham, and Lily Allen, are just some of the people who love to call The River Cafe home. On River Cafe Table 4, Rogers sits down with her customers—who have become friends—to talk about food memories. Table 4 explores how food impacts every aspect of our lives. “Foods is politics, food is cultural, food is how you express love, food is about your heritage, it defines who you and who you want to be,” says Rogers. Each week, Rogers invites her guest to reminisce about family suppers and first dates, what they cook, how they eat when performing, the restaurants they choose, and what food they seek when they need comfort. And to punctuate each episode of Table 4, guests such as Ralph Fiennes, Emily Blunt, and Alfonso Cuarón, read their favourite recipe from one of the best-selling River Cafe cookbooks. Table 4 itself, is situated near The River Cafe’s open kitchen, close to the bright pink wood-fired oven and next to the glossy yellow pass, where Ruthie oversees the restaurant. You are invited to take a seat at this intimate table and join the conversation. For more information, recipes, and ingredients, go to https://shoptherivercafe.co.uk/ Web: https://rivercafe.co.uk/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/therivercafelondon/ Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/therivercafelondon/ For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iheartradio app, apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com