What about Addiction-Fueled Abuse? [323]

Flying Free

Natalie Hoffman

Emotional, Narcissism, Christianity, Abuse, Religion & Spirituality, Spiritual, Christian, Self-improvement, Education, Divorce, Marriage

5 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 15 April 2025

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Go to flyingfreeworkshop.com to register for our $1 workshop: Is It Abuse? (or am I just being too sensitive?)

Is your husband’s addiction tearing your marriage—and your heart—apart?

In today’s powerful episode, I unpack the often-overlooked reality of addiction-fueled abuse. We’ll talk about how addictions—from porn and gambling to drugs and spending—impact the brain, hijack relationships, and leave women spiritually and emotionally devastated.

If you’ve ever tried harder, prayed longer, or changed yourself to fix what’s broken in your marriage, this episode is a healing balm and a wake-up call. I want to remind us that addiction is the problem—not you—and offer biblical, practical wisdom for reclaiming your power, peace, and dignity.

Key Takeaways:

Addiction ≠ love problem. You can’t love, pray, or submit your husband out of his addiction. Change only happens when he chooses it.
Addiction changes the brain. It affects dopamine systems, impulse control, and emotional regulation, making empathy and honesty difficult.
You are not crazy. Gaslighting, mood swings, and financial chaos are symptoms of a deeper issue—not proof you're “too sensitive.”
God does not call you to endure abuse. You are permitted to set boundaries, seek legal protection, and pursue peace—even if that means separation or divorce.
Healing begins when you turn inward. Like one brave woman in the Kaleidoscope said, "Help me get free from the constant pain"—and everything changed.

Read the show notes and/or ask Natalie a question here

Related Resources:

Some Flying Free Podcast episodes you might be interested in: “Can My Alcoholic Husband Change?” and “Am I the Problem in My Marriage?”

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Beautiful butterfly. I remember thinking this thought and tell me if you've ever thought it. Am I
0:08.1	living in a Twilight Zone episode or is this actually messed up? You know what I'm talking about.
0:15.2	That mental gymnastics routine where you flip between this is definitely not, and maybe I'm just being a drama queen.
0:24.8	Well, grab your emotional detective hat because on Wednesday, April 23rd at 7 o'clock p.m. Central Time,
0:32.0	I'm going to be hosting a live workshop called, Is it really abuse?
0:37.3	Or am I just being too sensitive? Let's be real,
0:41.2	Butterfly. If you're asking this question, there's probably a reason. And no, it's not because you've
0:47.4	suddenly developed an allergy to healthy relationships. In this one hour sanity restoring session, we're going to untangle the knot of the,
0:57.1	is it me? Confusion. You'll be able to trade in your, maybe I'm overreacting, T-shirt for some
1:03.7	actual clarity. And yes, we're going to look at what God actually says about all this. And I can
1:10.4	promise you it's not, just pray harder, honey.
1:13.9	If you're already part of the flying free kaleidoscope community, congratulations, you are
1:19.5	automatically registered, and you can attend the live workshop or watch the replay anytime in our
1:25.4	kaleidoscope. Be looking for the information about this in your
1:29.1	Monday Butterfly email. Are you not a member yet? No problem. For just one dollar, you heard that
1:37.6	correctly, one dollar, you can join live and access the replay for a full week. Because here's the truth. Your gut instinct
1:47.2	deserves better PR than the gaslighting it's been getting. So join me April 23rd at 7 o'clock
1:54.6	p.m. Central Time for what might just be the most validating hour of your month. You can register at flyingfreeworkshop.com.
2:04.3	Your future, clearer-headed self, is already thanking you. That's flyingfreeworkshop.com. Now, let's get into our episode.
2:36.1	Hi, this is Natalie Hoffman of Flying FreeNow.com, and you're listening to the Flying Free Podcast,
2:44.5	a support resource for women of faith looking for hope and healing from hidden emotional and spiritual abuse.
2:50.1	How do you handle your husband's addiction?
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Natalie Hoffman, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Natalie Hoffman and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.