Hi Reader, Hey friends, it’s Duane, Quick question: When was the last time you celebrated you? Not just the big wins. I mean you as a person. Your growth. Your effort. The way you keep showing up even on hard days. A lot of us are great at noticing what still needs work. We move the goalpost, downplay progress, and brush past the small victories like they “do not count.” But they do count. In mental health and recovery, celebrating yourself is not ego. It is reinforcement. Your brain responds...
5 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, This week’s episode really got me thinking. I sat down with Nawal Roy, the founder of Holmusk, to talk about how data and AI could completely change mental health care and recovery. One of the biggest problems? Mental health treatment has often been based more on guesswork than hard data. Nawal shared that many people wait 8 to 10 years before getting meaningful help. And during that time, many cycle through medication after medication, trying to find something that works. That is...
7 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, Have you ever had a slip and your mind instantly goes to “I am worthless” or “I will never get better”? In this episode of The Addicted Mind +, Eric and I talk about something really important in recovery: the difference between guilt and shame. Guilt says “I made a mistake.” Shame says “I am the mistake.” And that difference matters more than most people realize. We break down how shame can quietly keep you stuck in the cycle, and we share a few simple tools you can start using...
11 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, Here is a simple truth that applies to mental health and recovery: What you practice grows. Your brain is always learning from repetition. Not just the big things, but the small ones too. What you think about, what you focus on, what you do each day. If you practice stress, your brain gets better at stress.If you practice calm, your brain gets better at calm. This is not about being perfect. It is about being aware. Small actions matter more than they seem. The way you respond to a...
12 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, Here is something easy to overlook: Life is not just in the big moments. It is in the ordinary ones. We often think things will feel better when something changes. When life slows down. When we reach a goal. When things finally click. But most of life is not made of big breakthroughs. It is made of quiet, everyday moments. Drinking your coffee. Taking a walk. Having a simple conversation. Getting through a regular day. In recovery and mental health, this matters more than we think....
19 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, This week’s episode is a deep one. I sat down with Dr. Stan Tatkin to talk about the neurobiology of betrayal and why it can feel so overwhelming. This is not just about broken trust. It is about what happens in your brain when your reality suddenly shifts. One key idea is this. Betrayal is not just what happened. It is what was hidden. When the truth comes out, it can change how you see your entire past. We also talk about why the brain can go into a trauma response after...
21 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, Here is something that does not get talked about enough: Too many decisions can wear you out. From the moment you wake up, your brain is making choices. What to eat. What to wear. What to respond to. What to do next. It adds up fast. This is called decision fatigue. And when it builds, your brain starts to look for shortcuts. That is when we feel overwhelmed, avoid things, or fall back into old habits. The solution is not to try harder. It is to make fewer decisions. Keep some...
26 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, This week on The Addicted Mind, I sat down with Noel Rihm and Bill Brady for a really powerful conversation. Both of them spent years struggling with addiction while also succeeding on the outside. They were told they were not responding to treatment. But what they discovered changed everything. It was not about willpower. It was about unhealed trauma. We talk about why some approaches to recovery miss the deeper cause and what can happen when you finally address what is underneath...
28 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, I recently sat down with Mitchell over at The Dad Nation Podcast for a conversation I think about often — the one that quietly begins with a man asking, "I cheated. Now what?" It's not an easy question. And most of the answers men hear land in one of two ditches: too soft ("just apologize and move on") or too shaming ("you're a terrible person"). Neither one helps anyone actually heal. So we went deeper. 🎧 Listen on Spotify to the Episode Now We talked about what to do in the first...
28 days ago • 1 min read