For Love of Recovery

Dominique Dajer
  • 5.0 (3)
  • MENTAL HEALTH
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

A monthly dose of hope designed to help siblings and their families better navigate their loved one’s substance use. Each episode features either real-life stories from siblings who share their experiences and strength, or advocates and professionals who lend their unique perspectives from a mental health, substance use or community lens. Host and founder, Dominique Dajer, shares experiences and sibling resources that have helped her navigate her younger brother's addiction and family experiences, as she continues her journey in self-healing.

  1. FEB 1

    Why am I still waiting for the other shoe to drop? Anxiety after a sibling gets sober

    If your sibling is sober, or you’ve finally put those boundaries up, but you still feel on edge, you’re not alone. Many siblings experience lingering anxiety after addiction—even when life finally feels calm. The chaos may be gone, but your body hasn’t caught up. In this episode, Shahem McLaurin digs into what happens after the crisis phase ends: why your nervous system stays on high alert, how years of unpredictability create hypervigilance, and why “nothing happening” can feel unsafe. We also explore boundaries, trust, and learning to feel safe again in recovery—at your own pace. This conversation is for siblings who are tired of waiting for the other shoe to drop and want language for what they’re feeling. 📘Download our FREE, sibling e-book: 6 actions to help navigate a sibling’s substance use journey 🤝Join our FREE and PRIVATE sibling-focused community: Siblings For Love of Recovery 📲Connect with FLOR: Instagram and TikTok 🎙Guest speaker: Shahem Mclaurin Related content: Book: “It Didn’t Start With You” by Mark Wolynn

    59 min

  2. JAN 1

    Grieving the mother I never had: Alcohol, abuse, and recovery (with Marci Hopkins)

    What does it mean to grieve a parent who is still alive—but was never able to show up the way you needed? In this episode, Marci Hopkins shares how childhood abuse, emotional neglect, and a parent’s addiction quietly shaped her relationship with alcohol—and how drinking became a way to survive grief she didn’t yet have language for. For years, Marci’s drinking didn’t look extreme or chaotic. It looked normal. It looked functional. It looked like coping. As many people enter Dry January questioning their own relationship with alcohol, this conversation offers a deeper lens—one that moves beyond willpower or labels and into the emotional roots of why we drink. We talk about: How alcohol can become a socially acceptable way to numb unresolved traumaGrieving the parent you needed, not just the one you hadWhy addiction often masks deeper grief and unmet childhood needsLetting go of the hope that someone will one day become who you needed them to beFinding peace and sobriety without the closure you thought you’d need This episode is for anyone who has loved someone struggling with addiction, questioned their own drinking, or felt the quiet, complicated grief of losing someone—while they’re still alive. 📘Download our FREE, sibling e-book: 6 actions to help navigate a sibling’s substance use journey 🤝Join our FREE and PRIVATE sibling-focused community: Siblings For Love of Recovery 📲Connect with FLOR: Instagram and TikTok 🎙Guest speaker: Marci Hopkins Related content: Marci’s book: “Chaos to Clarity: Seeing the Signs and Breaking the Cycles”Family resources: Shatterproof Find a family group: Al-Anon Family Groups

    54 min

  3. 12/01/2025

    “Is MAT swapping one drug for another?” How the right medication can make or break the recovery process

    What if everything you’ve been taught about recovery is wrong? What if the thing your family fears —medication—might actually be the one thing that could help save your loved one’s life? You might recognize names like methadone, suboxone, sublocade, buprenorphine, and others. In this episode, we strip away the sugarcoating and talk honestly about how these work, and what exactly medically assisted treatment (MAT) is: what it does, why it works, and why so many families still judge it. We dig into the hard truths—how detox alone sets people up to fail, how shame keeps loved ones stuck, and how MAT creates the chemical stability that recovery literally cannot happen without. We confront the biggest stigma head-on: “Isn’t this just swapping one drug for another?” And we break down, in real language, why that belief is not only outdated—but dangerous. If you’re a sibling or family member watching someone you love fight addiction, this episode gives you the clarity you’ve been craving and the honesty you deserve. You’ll walk away with: The real science behind MAT and why it stabilizes the brain when nothing else doesA breakdown of the biggest stigmas, including why the “one drug for another” myth does more harm than goodWhat recovery actually requires beyond detox, tough love, or willpowerClear ways to support your loved one without shame, judgment, or outdated beliefs 📘Download our FREE, sibling e-book: 6 actions to help navigate a sibling’s substance use journey 🤝Join our FREE and PRIVATE sibling-focused community: Siblings For Love of Recovery 📲Connect with FLOR: Instagram and TikTok 🎙Guest speaker: Dr. Sarah Nasir, DO Related content: Watch Dr. Nasir break down “Opioid Addiction & 3 Phases of Treatment”Download her Opioid Recovery Guide

    43 min

  4. 11/02/2025

    Top 5 questions I get asked about my brother’s addiction & recovery (and what I wish I was asked instead)

    “How’s your brother? How are your parents?” Sound familiar? If you’ve ever felt like people are quick to ask about the loved one struggling with substance use—but rarely ask how you’re doing—you’re not alone. Or maybe they jump straight into offering advice. I know that feeling well. In this episode, I’m answering the questions I get asked most about my brother’s addiction—and the ones I wish people asked instead. The ones I hear all the time sound like: “Do you think he’s ready for treatment this time?” “What caused him to use?” “Is your family doing better now?” But those aren’t the questions I wish people asked. Because it’s not about blame—it’s about being seen. This episode is for every sibling who’s tired of being the messenger, the fixer, or the spokesperson. It’s for the ones who want to talk about their relationship with their sibling as they see it—not through the lens of addiction, but through love, boundaries, and truth. 📘Download our FREE, sibling e-book: 6 actions to help navigate a sibling’s substance use journey 🤝Join our FREE and PRIVATE sibling-focused community: Siblings For Love of Recovery 📲Connect with FLOR: Instagram and TikTok

    22 min

  5. 10/01/2025

    Is rehab and "tough love" the best way to help them through addiction? (with Joanna Rudnick)

    What does it really mean to love someone through addiction — and how do we move beyond the idea that rehab is the only way forward? The answer is rarely simple. We want to show up, to help, to protect — but sometimes our love feels heavy, confusing, or not enough. Joanna and I talk about the complicated love of siblings — the guilt, the hope, the heartbreak — and how stories like hers and mine can remind us that none of us are alone in this. In The Opioid Trilogy, Joanna brings these stories to life with unflinching honesty: Brother captures her intimate phone calls with her brother as he navigates the fragile cycle of recovery; Do No Harm follows Raina McMahan’s 17-year struggle with heroin and the healing power of connection over punishment; and Coming Home traces Tahira Malik’s journey of rebuilding after addiction and incarceration, and her creation of a safe space for women reentering society. Together we dig into: The complicated love of siblings — the guilt, the hope, the heartbreak Paths to recovery beyond rehab The failures of the rehab industry How to help and support a loved one in early recovery, or sober curious And what it means to love someone through addiction, even when you don’t have the answers If you’ve ever wrestled with the idea of tough love, or questioned, “Am I loving them the right way?” this conversation is for you. 📘Download our FREE, sibling e-book: 6 actions to help navigate a sibling’s substance use journey 🤝Join our FREE and PRIVATE sibling-focused community: Siblings For Love of Recovery 📲Connect with FLOR: Instagram and TikTok 🎙Guest speaker: Joanna Rudnick Watch The Opioid Trilogy’s short films: Ep 1: Brother Ep 2:  Do No Harm Ep 3: Coming Home “Rat Park,” explained: TED Talk: “Everything you know about addiction is wrong” by Johann Hari

    1h 1m

  6. 09/01/2025

    The glass child: Learning to live for you (with Alicia Meneses Maples)

    What happens to the child who’s always told to “be good” while all the attention goes to their sibling? They grow up invisible. They become the Glass Child. In the third and final episode of our Parentification Series, I talk with TEDx speaker Alicia Meneses Maples, who coined the term glass child, about what it’s really like to be the sibling who carries the burden quietly. We go deep into: The crushing pressure of being “the good kid” Parents leaning on you like their therapist The silence and shame of having no space for your own emotions How it all shows up later in toxic relationships and burnout And what healing, boundaries, and acceptance actually look like If you’ve ever felt unseen in your own family, this one will hit home. 📘Download our FREE, sibling e-book: 6 actions to help navigate a sibling’s substance use journey 🤝Join our FREE and PRIVATE sibling-focused community: Siblings For Love of Recovery 📲Connect with FLOR: Instagram and TikTok 🎙Guest speaker: Alicia Meneses Maples Related content: Alicia’s TEDx on recognizing the “Glass Child” “The parentified child: Why they’re often the eldest daughter”

    1h 1m

  7. 08/01/2025

    The cyclebreaker: Breaking out of family dysfunction (with Kate Nichols)

    What if the version of you that kept your family functioning isn’t the version you want to be anymore? You might have heard the term, “cyclebreaking” or “breaking generational trauma,” but what exactly does that mean and how do you know if you’re ready to change and challenge how you’ve done things before? Growing up in a family shaped by addiction, people-pleasing, and the urge to “fix,” I knew it was time to break patterns. In this raw and honest conversation, I sit down with Kate Nichols, a LCSW who focuses on cyclebreaking to talk about what that really means, and what happens to us—and our families—when we decide that the dysfunction ends with us.  We place a special emphasis on the role of siblings, their dynamics and how they’re impacted when a parent or other sibling struggle with addiction. Together we unpack the guilt, the grief, and the slow, steady work of building a life that’s yours—not one you inherited out of obligation. 🎯 This episode will help you: Identify the role you played in your family—and how it’s still shaping youDetermine whether you’re ready to get comfortable with making uncomfortable changes Practical ways to start tuning into what you want and need (instead of what others expect)Discover what free or low-cost mental health tools are available to you 📘 Download our FREE, sibling e-book: 6 actions to help navigate a sibling’s substance use journey 🤝 Join our FREE and PRIVATE sibling-focused community: Siblings For Love of Recovery 📲 Connect with FLOR: Instagram and TikTok 🎙 Guest speaker: Kate Nichols, LCSW Related content: “Beyond Blame: Family dynamics 101” “The parentified child: Why they’re often the eldest daughter” Find affordable therapy through OpenPath Collective How to identify if you’re a cyclebreaker

    53 min

  8. 07/01/2025

    The parentified child: Why they're often the eldest daughter (with Whitney Goodman)

    If you were the kid who held it all together—the one who comforted your parent, kept your sibling safe, made things feel normal when they absolutely weren’t—this episode is for you. In the first episode of our Parentification 101 mini-series, I sit down with therapist and author Whitney Goodman to talk about what it really means to be a parentified child—and why it so often falls on the eldest daughter. We talk about the invisible labor kids take on in families affected by addiction and dysfunction. The emotional weight. The unspoken expectations. The way that "being the responsible one" can follow us into adulthood—shaping our relationships, our sense of self, and our deepest fears. I share what it felt like to be the second mom in my family: the pressure to fix, to manage, to make everything okay—even when I was barely holding it together myself. This conversation might stir up things you’ve kept buried for a long time. But naming it is how we start to loosen its grip. Because once we see the role we were never meant to play, we can finally choose a different one. 🎯 This episode will help you understand: What parentification actually is—and how to spot it in your story The difference between emotional and logistical parentification Why eldest daughters so often carry this invisible burdenHow it shows up in adulthood as perfectionism, anxiety, people-pleasingAnd how to begin setting boundaries, letting go of guilt, and honoring the child in you who never got to just be a kid 📘 Free sibling e-book: 6 actions to help you navigate a sibling’s substance use journey. Download here: https://www.forloveofrecovery.com/e-book 🤝 Join our sibling support community: A private group for siblings navigating a loved one’s addiction. Join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1001711494318102⁠ Share your story Connect with siblings who get it Access tools, support, and ongoing conversation Follow us on social for more sibling stories and tools: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forloveofrecovery/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@forloveofrecoveryFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561542956095 🎙 More from this episode Listen to our Family Dynamics 101 episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5dVDA080Dx8SjrDR0Wx5GK Download Whitney’s parentification workbook: https://callinghome.co/topics/the-parentified-child-workbook  More from Whitney's work: Calling Home podcast: https://callinghome.co/blog/listen-to-the-calling-home-podcast About Whitney: https://sitwithwhit.com

    36 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

A monthly dose of hope designed to help siblings and their families better navigate their loved one’s substance use. Each episode features either real-life stories from siblings who share their experiences and strength, or advocates and professionals who lend their unique perspectives from a mental health, substance use or community lens. Host and founder, Dominique Dajer, shares experiences and sibling resources that have helped her navigate her younger brother's addiction and family experiences, as she continues her journey in self-healing.

Information

  • Creator
    Dominique Dajer
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    21
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Dominique Dajer
  • Show Website
    For Love of Recovery