About this episode

Dr. Dean and HollyKem Sunseri discuss emotional sobriety and the healing of underlying pain in addiction recovery.

What happens when you stop the addiction, but the pain underneath it is still running your life? Dr. Dean Sunseri, licensed professional counselor, and HollyKem Sunseri, certified life coach with more than four decades in recovery, explore the work they call emotional sobriety: healing the emotional wounds and protective patterns that can remain long after the substance or destructive behavior is gone. In this conversation, we go beyond abstinence and into what Dean and HollyKem call Stage Two recovery. We talk about why unresolved pain can “seep out” through substitute addictions, anger, isolation, control, relationship conflict, or other coping behaviors, and why simply stopping a behavior doesn’t necessarily heal what created it. They walk us through their framework of the Protector, Wounded Child, and True Self, including how learning to recognize which part of us is speaking can restore choice instead of leaving us controlled by old survival responses. We also explore relationships, why one person changing can change the entire “dance,” and why reconnecting may need to happen before a couple can actually solve the problem they’re fighting about. In this episode: Emotional…

People in this episode

Guests: Dr. Dean Sunseri, HollyKem Sunseri

Topics covered

• emotional sobriety
• addiction recovery
• healing
• substitute addictions
• relationships
• trauma

Keywords

• emotional sobriety
• addiction recovery
• substitute addictions
• Wounded Child
• True Self
• trauma
• coping behaviors

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Gamut Podcast Network

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