TAM+ EP 110 Turn Criticism into Growth: Transforming Your Response to Criticism
The Addicted Mind Podcast
Duane Osterlind, LMFT
4.7 • 655 Ratings
🗓️ 4 June 2026
⏱️ 18 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Download: Growth Mindset Worksheet
Ever felt like feedback in your recovery journey hits you like a punch to the gut? You're not alone. In this eye-opening episode of The Addicted Mind Plus, hosts Duane and Eric Osterlind dive into why criticism can feel so painful during recovery and share game-changing strategies to transform those tough moments into opportunities for growth. Drawing from cutting-edge research in neuroscience and psychology, they explain how our early life experiences shape our sensitivity to criticism and why some people struggle more than others with feedback. But here's the good news: by adopting what scientists call a "growth mindset," you can learn to receive feedback differently and use it to strengthen your recovery journey. The brothers share practical, easy-to-implement strategies that can help you shift from feeling defensive and ashamed to seeing criticism as valuable feedback for your growth. Whether you're in recovery or supporting someone who is, this episode offers essential tools for turning difficult feedback into stepping stones toward lasting change.
KEY TOPICS
- Understanding why criticism hits harder for some people
- The connection between early childhood experiences and sensitivity to criticism
- How the brain's stress response system affects our reaction to feedback
- Dr. Carol Dweck's research on growth mindset
- Three practical strategies for developing a growth mindset
- The role of criticism in sustainable recovery
- Practical tools and worksheets for implementing these strategies
TIMESTAMPS
[00:01:07] Introduction to criticism's impact on recovery
[00:02:45] Understanding sensitivity to criticism through attachment theory
[00:06:00] Introduction to growth mindset concept
[00:08:00] Real-world examples of criticism in recovery
[00:11:11] Three practical strategies for developing growth mindset
[00:13:21] Practicing affirming statements
[00:14:57] Resources and community support information
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | All right, everybody, today's sponsor is Wired for Addiction, and I am so excited about this partnership. |
| 0:05.6 | You might remember Dr. Evelyn Higgins from when she came on the show, and honestly, her work has really shifted the way I think about recovery. |
| 0:12.9 | Here's the thing. If you've been stuck, chronic relapse, addiction switching, anxiety that won't lift, |
| 0:18.4 | treatment that only works for a little while, if you feel like you've tried everything and you're still not where you want to be, this might be the piece that's been missing. |
| 0:27.3 | Because for so long, we've asked, how do we change the behavior? |
| 0:30.9 | But here's a deeper question. |
| 0:32.5 | What biology is actually producing it? |
| 0:35.8 | Brain chemistry, stress response, genetic, cellular energy, all of |
| 0:39.8 | it shapes how you feel and why you keep doing the things you don't want to do. What I love about |
| 0:45.3 | Wired for Addiction is they actually measure it. They map your biology and build a personalized |
| 0:50.9 | plan to bring those systems back into balance. So if you're tired of trying, start here, download their free guide, |
| 0:58.8 | The Biology of Addiction, 10 core biomarkers at theaddictedmind.com forward slash wired. |
| 1:04.7 | The addictedmind.com forward slash wired. |
| 1:07.0 | There'll be a link in the show notes. |
| 1:08.5 | You're not broken. |
| 1:09.6 | Sometimes your biology just needs to be |
| 1:11.7 | understood and I think that brings a lot of hope so download the free guide all right on to this episode |
| 1:20.7 | welcome to the addicted mind plus the podcast where recovery mental health and wellness take the front seat |
| 1:26.6 | i'm duane ostraland and joining me is my co-hoste eric osterland known for his where recovery, mental health, and wellness take the front seat. I'm Dwayne Austerland, |
| 1:28.0 | and joining me is my co-host, Eric Osterland, known for his insightful work on the Stuck Brain podcast. |
| 1:34.4 | In each episode, we'll dive into actionable, small steps to help those in recovery journey |
| 1:39.7 | further along the path to wellness. Our conversations are designed to be concise, typically around 15 minutes, though we may occasionally delve deeper when the topic demands it. |
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