Dan Harris
Ten Percent Happier
A Controversial New Way To Think About Addiction | Carrie Wilkens
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A Controversial New Way To Think About Addiction | Carrie Wilkens

Wilkens talks about the stigma around substance abuse, potential alternatives to abstinence, and the role of meditation in recovery.  

Carrie Wilkens, PhD, is the Co-founder, Co-president and CEO of the Center for Motivation and Change: Foundation for Change, a nonprofit organization with the mission of improving the dissemination of evidence-based ideas and strategies to professionals and loved ones of persons struggling with substance use through the Invitation to Change approach. She is co-author of the book, The Beyond Addiction Workbook for Family and Friends: Evidence-Based Skills to Help a Loved One Make Positive Change and Beyond Addiction: How Science and Kindness Help People Change.

In this episode we talk about:

  • The stigma around substance abuse

  • Defining terms: addiction vs. substance use disorder and why it matters

  • How substance use disorder affects our brain

  • How to diagnose a substance abuse disorder

  • Whether there is an alternative to abstinence

  • How we all need to be thoughtful about the relationship we want with substances

  • How and why a substantial percentage of people naturally recover without going to treatment

  •  The strategies to use if you have someone in your life who you think is on a destructive path

  •  What positive communication is and how to practice it

  • How we live in a quick fix society and recovery from substance abuse disorder is a slow process

  • What actually makes people change

  • The role of meditation in recovery—for the patient and the family

  • And the importance of taking care of yourself so you can take care of others

Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/carrie-wilkens

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Discussion about this podcast

Dan Harris
Ten Percent Happier
Dan Harris is a fidgety, skeptical journalist who had a panic attack on live national television, which led him to try something he otherwise never would have considered: meditation. He went on to write the bestselling book 10% Happier. On this show, Dan talks with eminent meditation teachers, top scientists, and even the odd celebrity.