The Two Forms of Resistance: A Conversation with Stephen Pfleiderer
Recovering from substance addiction is never a walk in the park. Some difficulties that come from quitting vices like alcohol include dealing with peer pressure, facing your demons and struggling to communicate with members of your family or partners. Turning around and going back to the vice that masked these afflictions seem easier, but it isn’t, in the long run.
In this episode, Stephen Pfleiderer, a clinical interventionist and addictions specialist, walks us through these obstacles and how to get past them, based on his own experiences. He discusses his insights on dealing with both the internal and external factors that might hinder our path to recovery. He also shares some important takeaways for people who have loved ones with alcohol addiction.
Tune in to be enlightened and inspired by Stephen’s vast knowledge and experience in recovery and intervention.
Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode
1.
LEARN about Stephen’s journey towards recovery and how you too can turn things around.
2.
FIND OUT about the difficulties that come with recovery and how to face them.
3.
UNDERSTAND the effects of substance dependency on your family and loved ones and how to work through breakdowns in the relationship.
Episode Highlights
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"Human beings are kind of on a spectrum. Not everybody drinks the same drinks; not everybody drinks for the same amount of time and also to the severity or has the same amount of consequences. So every person is a very different individual".
"I like to give you tools and things to make it so you have joy, happiness in your life. The problem is, it doesn’t work immediately".
"Can I control another human being and do something against their will? No. I’m not a police officer. What I can do is give people tools to influence the likelihood that that person gets help".
"‘I don’t believe there are any strict rules that people must do x or y, but what’s great about recovery for all people who get into it is learning skills and tools to navigate that in a skilful way. I’m all about responding effectively. So if a loved one or someone does something that I find off-putting in my life, it’s not about pointing it out and attacking them. It's about responding to them in a skilful way to let them know how I'm being affected. And that's empowering".
"Part of recovery is learning how I can be okay with myself so that I can, when someone is mistreating me, let them know. And then it’s up to them if they want to continue mistreating me, or continue abusing drinks or whatever. Then I’d have more information to make decisions with my life".
Learn More About This Exciting Episode
To learn more on the two forms of resistance, please sign-up to receive the show notes for this episode designed to accentuate your learning on this topic.
About the Guest
Stephen Pfleiderer received his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University and a graduate degree from the University of Cincinnati. He originally wanted to pursue music. However, he realised he needed to put a stop to his dependency on alcohol and drugs. When he was in recovery and going through therapy, he realised he wanted to help people going through similar situations.
Under the mentorship of Dr David Burns, he studied Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and received his Level 3 certification in TEAM Therapy, an advanced form of CBT. He is also the first to receive this certification.
He firmly believes in getting help as soon as possible to live a better life. Now a member of the Network of Independent Interventionists and the Association of Intervention Specialists, Stephen has a passion for sharing his experiences and skills with others to help them achieve that better, more productive life.
You can learn more about Stephen and his work on his website.
