On this episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane speaks with Tricia Parido, an international master addictions coach and a recovery lifestyle enthusiast. Passionate about helping people attain sober lifestyles so they can live free and fulfilled, Tricia established the Turning Leaves Recovery Life and Wellness Coaching.
Tricia has a 30-year story of addictions, negative attachments, and habits holding her hostage in life, and she also has a 25-year recovery journey because not everything was ready to recover at the same time. The last bit of her journey was getting rid of the alcohol and the benzodiazepines that really took her out.
Tricia started drinking at 12 and as she got older, she became an open daily drinker. She worked hard to be a high-functioning alcoholic so she could keep her daily drinking. In her early 30s, Tricia developed a generalized anxiety disorder. The doctor prescribed Xanax for her anxiety and it worked. But there’s that feedback loop in taking things like Xanax where you initially feel good immediately and then there’s that kickback effect that intensifies things and your anxiety gets worse. Sadly, that becomes so difficult to handle when you don’t have the skills to deal with it.
At 43, Tricia found herself stuck in psychological addictions, dealing with eating disorders, people-pleasing, shopping addiction, and codependence. Being the control freak she is, she no longer had any control. Driven by curiosity about why those things were happening to her at that age, she decided to seek help.
For the most part, education was a big part of her recovery. She got her psychology degree and went into an intensive coaching program accredited for addiction. She studied all things that were behavioral and chemical addiction in nature. Eventually, Tricia found coaching as a modality that fit her personality.
Tricia also leaves this conversation with her life mantra that she wants to share with everyone:
“This is your life too and you get to look, feel, and be however you want it to.”
In this episode, you will hear:
- Tricia’s addiction and recovery journey
- Finding a modality that fits your personality
- Creating and nurturing emotional intelligence
- The locus of control theory
- How a recovery lifestyle works
- The power of changing your perspective
- Manifestation through action
- What stops people from putting their skills into practical application
- Understanding post-acute withdrawal
- The role of nutrition in your recovery
Key Quotes:
[06:24] – “We weren’t taught emotional intelligence. We weren’t taught impulse control, distress, tolerance, and emotion regulation.”
[10:44] – “Anybody that’s aspiring to be a practitioner, find the modality that speaks your language because you’re going to help more people.”
[13:48] – “The substance isn’t really the problem. Sure, it exacerbates them. But there’s a reason it came about, to begin with. And it’s different for everybody.”
[14:46] – “The alcohol, the marijuana, whatever it is, it’s an external locus of control. You are relying on something outside of yourself to bring you peace, joy, comfort, relief, value, validity, and worthiness.”
[20:57] – “We have to learn how to live for ourselves first without feeling guilty, selfish, punished or restricted.”
[23:19] – “If you don’t like the way you’re perceiving your life, it’s up to you to change your perception.”
[26:39] – “Manifestation is an action word – it requires you to do something. You must get up off your couch to manifest anything.”
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