TAM+ EP 31: Thinking in Gray: Transforming All-or-Nothing Mindsets in Addiction
The Addicted Mind Podcast
Duane Osterlind, LMFT
4.8 • 621 Ratings
🗓️ 8 August 2024
⏱️ 17 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Welcome to the Addicted Mind podcast! Have you ever caught yourself thinking, "I'm either a success or a complete failure"? This episode is for you.
In this episode, we dive deep into the pervasive issue of black-and-white thinking, also known as dichotomous thinking and its impact on addiction recovery. Join Duane Osterlind and Eric Osterlind as they explore how this rigid mindset can create emotional instability and hinder progress. Drawing on principles from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), they discuss practical steps to move from extreme thinking to a more balanced, nuanced approach. You'll learn mindfulness techniques, how to challenge your thoughts, and the importance of embracing the gray areas in life. By the end of this episode, you'll have valuable tools to help you think more dialectically and support your journey to recovery. Plus, don't miss the downloadable worksheet in the show notes to further your practice!
Download: OVERCOMING BLACK OR WHITE THINKING WORKSHEET
Join Our Deep Dive, where we discuss this episode in depth.
Register Here: https://theaddictedmind.com/deepdive
Click Here to Join the TAM + Community Waitlist. Get the support you need.
Key Topics- Understanding black-and-white thinking and its impact on recovery
- Introduction to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Practical steps to shift towards dialectical thinking
- Importance of mindfulness and self-compassion
- Challenging extreme thoughts and seeking clarification
- The role of language in shaping our perceptions
Follow and Review: We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.
Supporting Resources:
If you live in California and are looking for counseling or therapy please check out Novus Mindful Life Counseling and Recovery Center
We want to hear from you. Leave us a message or ask us a question: https://www.speakpipe.com/addictedmind
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Addicted Mind Plus, the podcast where recovery, mental health, and wellness take the front seat. |
| 0:07.3 | I'm Dwayne Austerland, and joining me is my co-host, Eric Osterland, known for his insightful work on the Stuck Brain podcast. |
| 0:14.3 | In each episode, we'll dive into actionable, small steps to help those in recovery journey further along the path to wellness. |
| 0:22.3 | Our conversations are designed to be concise, typically around 15 minutes, though we may |
| 0:27.0 | occasionally delve deeper when the topic demands it. Our goal to provide you with practical |
| 0:32.0 | advice grounded in real experiences and expert insights to empower your recovery journey. |
| 0:38.6 | So whether you're on a break, on a walk, or just taking a moment for yourself, |
| 0:42.3 | join us as we explore the many facets of recovery and mental health, |
| 0:46.4 | one small step at a time. |
| 0:48.4 | This is The Addicted Mind Plus, |
| 0:50.4 | where your journey to wellness gets an extra boost. |
| 0:53.2 | So let's get started. |
| 0:57.0 | So, Eric, have you ever found yourself thinking, I'm the best or I'm the worst? No middle ground? Sometimes I have. Absolutely. |
| 1:04.1 | Well, I think all of us can relate to this on some level. Because what we're going to talk about today |
| 1:10.0 | is black and white thinking. |
| 1:13.3 | And this ties into an episode we did earlier about cognitive distortions. |
| 1:20.0 | But as we were talking about what episodes to do, this is something that came up to us again and again. It's this one particular cognitive |
| 1:31.3 | distortion that I see over and over, not only in myself, but in a lot of my clients, and that's this |
| 1:39.5 | tendency to talk or think in black and white terms. |
| 1:45.0 | Yeah, I know it's so prevalent this black or white thinking that we do it all the time and we don't even know that we're doing it. |
| 1:52.0 | That's why I'm excited to talk about this episode. Also, if you want to dive into this episode, we do a deep dive on Friday. |
| 2:00.0 | This is where we're going to go into the details |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Duane Osterlind, LMFT, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Duane Osterlind, LMFT and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.