We are so honored you are here! At Life N Flow we are dedicated to normalizing the conversations around addiction, breaking down stigmas, and supporting you towards healing. This is a space for you to understand addiction...so you can stop taking things so personally and heal YOU.
Understand how to heal YOU while loving those suffering from addiction.
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Introduction Time!
A new look and feel to the old "Flow Note."
If you're new, yayyyyy and welcome! And if you've been with us for a while, thank you for evolving and growing alongside us! Today we are sooooooo excited to share our revamped newsletter that will dive deep into the world of loving those struggling with addiction. We share this information because the journey can feel so lonely, frustrating and hopeless at times. AND we want to remind you that you are not alone and support is nearby.
Here's what you can expect in our upcoming bi-weekly newsletters:
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FEEL: Explore the vast array of feelings that arise while loving those struggling with addictions.
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UNDERSTAND: Get the facts about addiction, so you can stop taking it so personally.
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PRACTICE: Experience simple, on-the-go skills that support regulation and build resilience within your nervous system.
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MOCKTAIL: A refreshing way to come together, foster inclusivity, and nurture meaningful connections in community— without the alcohol.
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CONNECT: Build a supportive community when navigating addiction— resources to help you get started.
Watching your loved ones struggle with addiction is hard. The endless hours and energy spent working to care for, support, encourage, hold things together, keep the peace, manage all the THINGS, pick up the pieces ......it can be ....... to say it simply......it can be really, really, really hard.
Often, during this process it's easy to loose yourself and can feel impossible to break free from the destructives cycles that result from addiction.
It's hard to separate yourself from the emotional, physical and situational chaos, even if you're not the one struggling with the addiction. Here we focus on the hard reality that you play a role in the cycles too.
And then examine what you can do to HEAL YOU, and find healing even when the addiction around you remains constant.
Have you ever hear the saying "knowledge is power." Well, we completely agree. When living around addiction, clarity, understanding, those black-and-white answers vanish. Psychoeducation equips you to cope with clarity while living around addiction.
When you expand your understanding and awareness around the struggles that people in addiction go through, you can start to find solutions and take actions for your own healing. Here we will share researched based information, and insights, that will support your understanding so you can find clarity and compassion for those you love that are struggling with addiction.
We love all things healing! So this is where we will share our vast array of practices, skills and tools to support you on your journey. Most often we will share Somatic QUICKSHIFTS and Dialectic Behavioral Therapy Techniques (DBT), here's a small introduction to each:
DBT shares a set of psychotherapy skills that help people learn to accept experiences and behaviors, while making positive/affective changes. These will range from day-to-day activities to "in-the-moment" techniques that are helpful with regulation during stress.
Somatic QUICKSHIFTS are short practices to help hold space for the vast array of emotions that arise while living around addiction. They tap into the mind-body connection to help you shift your energy around emotions you are experiencing.
QUICKSHIFTS don’t banish or mask our emotions. What they do is allow us to use our mind-body connection to work with and alongside those emotions.
You may think of it this way: You know when a little kid is trying to get their mom’s attention? It starts with a “mom” every few seconds. Then– if they still don’t have her attention– it becomes “Mom… Mom… Mom…Mom…”. And if that still doesn’t get the result that they are looking for? It goes to “MOM.MOM.MOM.MOM.MOM.MOM.MOM.”
Until eventually the mom, the kid, everyone just loses it!
Yeah. That’s how our emotions are if they are trying to get our attention, but we keep shushing them and ignoring them. It may work for a bit. But emotions are as persistent as a toddler that desperately wants a fruit snack. One way or another they are going to get your attention.
So, rather than pushing them down and biding our time until the eventual Emotion Explosion (Em-plosion?), we do a QUICKSHIFT. Learn more about somatic healing and consistent daily practices to support your healing in our Somatic Daily Practice Library!
We have found it necessary to find fun ways to support ourselves and loved ones while on their journey towards healing. Mocktails can help!
Love Potion (because it's Februrary afterall)
This is definitely a zippy little sipper, try it warm or cold! The Maca is great for immune support and also works as a mood booster!
1. Make Cinnamon Simple Syrup. Pour the boiling water over the sugar and allow to dissolve, add the cinnamon sticks and steep for at least 1 hour (longer for more potent syrup).
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1 cup sugar
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1 cup boiling water
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4 whole cinnamon sticks.
2. Add following ingredients to shaker or mason jar with lid and shake hard for several seconds. Serve into small glasses for a little zippy sipper or larger glass with sparkling water to dilute potency! Enjoy!
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1 oz chilled hibiscus tea
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1/2 oz Cinnamon Simple Syrup
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10 drops Maca extract
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Sparkling water (optional)
Online:
1) The Healing Circle -
Free online monthly somatic healing session (led by Heidi, founder of Life N Flow). Mondays @ 6am MST. Learn more and sign up here.
2) The Heart of Recovery -
A weekly meeting that joins Buddhist meditation and spiritual step work, in order to connect to and engage in a commitment to recovery from addiction, and the everyday addictive behaviors and patterns in our lives. Anyone is invited to participate. Learn more here.
3) Al-Anon Meetings -
Al-Anon is a mutual support group for those that live around addiction. Anyone who's lives have been affected by another person’s addiction is welcome. Online electronic meeting information found here.
Local Laramie Events:
1) Holistic Healing Fair -
The Collective will be hosting a Holistic Healing Fair on February 15th & 16th! Several practitioners will be offering mini-sessions, informational sessions and more! Event is from 10am -4pm both days.
I'll be here SUNDAY!!! Come enjoy a free elixir and check out all the events!
2) Al-Anon Meetings -
This link has all recovery meetings for the area, scroll down to see the Al-Anon meeting times and locations. Click here.
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