Explore stuck patterns through a fuller lens — not just as “addiction issues,” but as adaptations shaped by trauma, emotional disconnection, and the roles people had to play in childhood. Drawing on clinical experience, long-term recovery, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and the work of trauma experts, this episode breaks down what some recovery circles never talk about: why emotional suppression becomes the core problem, how rapid mood shifts are often misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder when it’s really dysregulation, the purpose our coping tools served, why peer-led programs help but don’t tell the whole story, and what genuine healing actually requires.

This is a grounded look at human behavior — beyond slogans, beyond self-blame — toward connection, agency, and the slow rebuilding of a relationship with yourself.