TAM+ EP73 From Stuck to Free: How Radical Acceptance Breaks the Addiction Cycle
The Addicted Mind Podcast
Duane Osterlind, LMFT
4.8 • 621 Ratings
🗓️ 12 June 2025
⏱️ 19 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Are you tired of being stuck in the same painful cycle?
You know the one – where you can't deal with what's happening, you're angry at the world, and you keep hoping things will magically change. Maybe you're fighting with your spouse, holding grudges, or just feeling completely overwhelmed by life.
Here's the truth: all that fighting against reality is actually making your addiction, anxiety, and depression worse. But there's a way out, and it starts with something called radical acceptance.
In this episode, Duane and Eric break down this powerful tool from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) that's been helping people escape the addiction cycle. You'll discover why accepting painful situations doesn't mean giving up – it's actually the first step toward real change.
They'll walk you through exactly what radical acceptance looks like, share simple statements you can use when emotions feel overwhelming, and give you a clear three-step process to start practicing today. You'll learn why the creator of DBT said "the path out of hell is through misery" and how this counterintuitive approach can finally give you the peace you've been searching for.
Whether you're dealing with addiction, anxiety, depression, or just feeling stuck in life, this episode offers hope and practical tools you can start using immediately. Don't miss the free worksheet that goes with this episode to help you put these concepts into action.
Key Topics
• What radical acceptance really means and why it's not giving up
• The difference between pain and suffering – and why fighting reality increases both
• Three simple steps to start practicing radical acceptance today
• When radical acceptance isn't appropriate (like abusive situations)
• Powerful statements to use when emotions feel overwhelming
• How this Buddhist-inspired therapy tool breaks the addiction cycle
• Why accepting grief and loss is essential for healing
If you live in California, Idaho, Virginia, or Florida and are looking for counseling or therapy, please visit Novus Mindful Life Counseling and Recovery Center.
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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. I think we have a |
| 0:55.7 | great episode today. We're going to talk about radical acceptance and how it'll help you with |
| 1:01.4 | avoidance and escape responses and get out of that addiction cycle. So let me ask you a few |
| 1:08.5 | questions before we start. Do you have a lot of thought patterns like this? |
| 1:12.4 | Like, I can't deal with this. |
| 1:14.8 | This is not fair. |
| 1:16.3 | I can't believe this is happening to me. |
| 1:19.0 | Things should be different. |
| 1:20.3 | You feel stuck. |
| 1:21.3 | You're angry at the world. |
| 1:23.0 | Or even if you're in a relationship and there's just constant nagging with your spouse, hoping that they will change, or you're disappointed by the choices that others make. |
| 1:34.6 | And you feel resentful of things that have happened in the past and you maybe hold grudges too long. |
| 1:41.3 | So you have to ask yourself, how much time have you wasted stuck on these intense |
| 1:47.3 | emotions that cause you to feel depressed and anxious and stuck in that addiction cycle? |
... |
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