TAM+ EP 78 Beyond Overwhelm: Staying Within Your Window of Tolerance
The Addicted Mind Podcast
Duane Osterlind, LMFT
4.8 • 621 Ratings
🗓️ 24 July 2025
⏱️ 19 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ever feel like your emotions are on a wild rollercoaster, swinging between overwhelming highs and numbing lows? If so, you’re not alone. In this episode of The Addiction Mind Plus, hosts Eric and Duane Osterlind dive into a crucial concept for anyone in addiction recovery: the Window of Tolerance.
The Window of Tolerance refers to the emotional sweet spot where you can handle life's challenges without being overwhelmed or shutting down. Outside of this window, you might feel intense anxiety or emotional numbness—both of which can drive addictive behaviors. But don’t worry, understanding and managing this window can help you stay balanced.
Join Eric and Duane as they explore:
- What the Window of Tolerance is and why it matters
- How to recognize when you’re inside or outside of this window
- Practical strategies to expand your Window of Tolerance and maintain emotional balance
If you've ever struggled with feeling too much or too little, this episode offers valuable insights and actionable tips to help you find your emotional equilibrium.
Download: Window of Tolerance Worksheet
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Transcript
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| 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. |
| 0:14.8 | 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. So whether you're on a |
| 0:39.3 | break, on a walk, or just taking a moment for yourself, join us as we explore the many |
| 0:44.1 | facets of recovery and mental health, one small step at a time. This is The Addicted Mind Plus, |
| 0:50.3 | where your journey to wellness gets an extra boost. So let's get started. All right, everyone, |
| 0:55.2 | welcome to the Addicted Mind. Plus, we have another great episode today. Eric, I like this topic. |
| 1:01.2 | This topic is fun. I enjoyed learning about it. I enjoyed researching it. And I love talking about it. |
| 1:07.0 | So I'm excited for this topic. Today, we're going to talk about the window of tolerance |
| 1:11.9 | in addiction recovery. So let me ask you these questions. Have you ever felt completely overwhelmed |
| 1:17.5 | by your emotions? Maybe wrapped in a wave of anxiety, anger, shame that feels impossible to control, |
| 1:26.9 | or maybe you found yourself feeling completely numb, disconnected from everything around you. |
| 1:33.5 | Your mind and body almost in a state of shutdown. |
| 1:36.9 | Well, first off, I have to say you're not alone. |
| 1:39.0 | What you're probably experiencing right there is going in and out of the window of tolerance. |
| 1:47.0 | Many people in addiction struggle with facing the daily battle of either feeling too much with their emotions or feeling nothing at all, |
| 1:52.9 | but you can find balance and space to function without being hijacked by your intense emotions or going numb and shutting down. |
| 2:03.4 | So today we're going to talk about that balance, and it's called the window of tolerance. |
| 2:09.5 | And understanding the window of tolerance is essential in recovery from addiction. |
... |
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