Recovering Relationships

About Recovering Relationships

Recovering Relationships is about what happens to relationships when addiction enters the picture, and what it takes to heal them in recovery. Hosted by Janice Johnson Dowd and Katie Dowd Walker, the podcast combines lived experience, honest conversation, and practical insight into the challenges families and loved ones face before, during, and after addiction. We explore relationships of all kinds, including partners and spouses, parents and children, siblings, friends, and extended family. Topics include rebuilding trust, setting and respecting boundaries, communication, relapse and the fear of relapse, grief and ambiguous loss, family roles, parenting in recovery, repairing damaged relationships, and learning how to reconnect after years of hurt. Recovery changes more than the person with a substance use disorder. It changes the entire relationship system. Getting sober may be the beginning, but rebuilding connection, safety, and trust takes time. Through personal stories and real conversations, Recovering Relationships looks at recovery from both sides: the person in recovery and the people who love them. Whether you are in recovery yourself, love someone who is, grew up in a family affected by addiction, or are trying to rebuild a relationship after addiction, this podcast is for you.

Publisher

Janice Johnson Dowd and Katie Dowd Walker

Category

health & fitness · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

25 Mar 2025

Latest episode

26 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

21 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   26 Oct 2026

   Complex Trauma: The Hidden Ways It Affects Your Life

   Janice Johnson Dowd explains what complex trauma is, how it develops through repeated adversity, and why it can shape relationships, emotions, and nervous system responses long after childhood. She also walks through practical steps for healing, including nervous system regulation, boundaries, and trauma-informed support. In this episode, Janice connects the science of complex trauma with everyday patterns like hypervigilance, people-pleasing, shame, and difficulty trusting others. She also distinguishes complex trauma from complex PTSD and emphasizes that healing is possible without denying what happened. Key topics What complex trauma is How trauma can become normalized in childhood Complex trauma vs. complex PTSD How childhood survival strategies show up later What happens in the brain under chronic stress Common adulthood patterns The trauma and addiction connection Why trauma-informed care matters Intergenerational effects Practical steps toward healing Timestamps (00:58) How repeated adversity differs from a single traumatic event (01:27) Growing up around instability, substance use, or conditional affection (02:25) Complex trauma vs. complex PTSD (03:22) When dysfunction starts to feel normal (04:18) Childhood hypervigilance and adult relationship triggers (05:11) What chronic stress does to the brain and nervous system (07:26) Hypervigilance, people pleasing, and emotional dysregulation (08:52) Trust issues, shame, and negative self-beliefs (10:18) The link between complex trauma and addiction (11:44) What trauma-informed care should actually look like (12:11) How trauma patterns can move across generations (13:35) What healing looks like in practice (15:00) Healthy boundaries and why they can feel scary (15:28) Why supportive relationships help rebuild trust Join the conversation What's one survival strategy you learned growing up that you've had to rethink as an adult? Tell me in the comments. If this topic resonates, follow my YouTube short series on complex trauma, where I briefly review many of these topics and a few more. Please share this video with someone who might find it useful, and like and comment. #complextrauma #innerhealing #generationaldysfunction #traumarecovery #addictionrecovery #generationaltrauma #sobermon #cptsd #ptsd This video is for educational purposes only and isn't a substitute for professional mental health care. Please like and subscribe, and check out my website for more resources, a blog, and links to free downloads at https://www.janicejohnsondowd.com/ (https://www.janicejohnsondowd.com/) If you are interested in learning more about or purchasing the book, Rebuilding Relationships in Recovery: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D11SD3PJ?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D11SD3PJ?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback) Social media accounts include Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parenting_in_recovery/ (https://www.instagram.com/parenting_in_recovery/) https://www.instagram.com/janicejohnsondowd/ (https://www.instagram.com/janicejohnsondowd/) https://www.instagram.com/recoveringrelationshipspodcast/ (https://www.instagram.com/recoveringrelationshipspodcast/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janice-dowd-b748b141/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/janice-dowd-b748b141/)

2. 

   19 Oct 2026

   5 Signs Your Emotionally Immature Parent Is Actually Changing

   Have you spent years hoping your parent would change, only to find yourself having the same painful conversations over and over? How can you tell the difference between genuine change and another empty promise? In this episode of Recovering Relationships, we explore five signs that an emotionally immature parent may be making real progress—and why lasting change is measured by consistent behavior, not just words. In this episode, we discuss: How emotional immaturity shows up in families through defensiveness, excuses, and difficulty respecting boundaries. The difference between saying "I'm sorry" and actually repairing a relationship. Why rebuilding trust takes time, consistency, and accountability. How to recognize when someone is listening to understand rather than simply defending themselves. What genuine emotional growth looks like in everyday interactions. But what happens when a parent doesn't change? We also discuss the difficult reality that you cannot do someone else's emotional work for them. Sometimes healing means adjusting expectations, setting boundaries, or accepting that the relationship may never become what you hoped. For parents who genuinely want to change, we offer practical guidance on listening without becoming defensive, taking responsibility, respecting boundaries, and rebuilding trust through actions. For adult children, this episode offers a reminder: You don't have to keep searching for proof that someone has changed. Pay attention to their patterns. Whether you're working to repair a parent-child relationship or deciding what a healthier relationship might look like, this conversation offers perspective, encouragement, and practical guidance. Because real change isn't about what someone promises. It's about what they consistently do. Recovering Relationships Podcast #EmotionallyImmatureParents #ParentChildRelationships #FamilyHealing #EmotionalMaturity #HealthyBoundaries #RecoveringRelationships Please like and subscribe, and check out my website for more resources, a blog, and links to free downloads at https://www.janicejohnsondowd.com/ (https://www.janicejohnsondowd.com/) If you are interested in learning more about or purchasing the book, Rebuilding Relationships in Recovery: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D11SD3PJ?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D11SD3PJ?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback) Social media accounts include Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parenting_in_recovery/ (https://www.instagram.com/parenting_in_recovery/) https://www.instagram.com/janicejohnsondowd/ (https://www.instagram.com/janicejohnsondowd/) https://www.instagram.com/recoveringrelationshipspodcast/ (https://www.instagram.com/recoveringrelationshipspodcast/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janice-dowd-b748b141/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/janice-dowd-b748b141/)

3. 

   5 Oct 2026

   The Dopamine Trap: Why You Can't Stop Scrolling

   Is your phone just a tool, or is it training your brain to keep reaching for the next scroll, notification, like, or hit of novelty? In this episode of Recovering Relationships, Janice Johnson Dowd explores Digital Dopamine and the psychology behind problematic technology use, compulsive phone checking, social media habits, and excessive screen time. She breaks down how dopamine, anticipation, and unpredictable rewards can create powerful habit loops that keep adults, teenagers, and children coming back to their screens. Drawing from her own experience with social media and her background in addiction and recovery, Janice looks at something deeper than screen time: Why do we reach for our phones when we’re bored, lonely, anxious, uncomfortable, or frustrated? In this episode, you’ll learn: 3:01 - Why dopamine is about motivation, learning, and anticipation - not simply pleasure 5:50 - The Emotional Connection to Technology 8:56 - The Impact on Children 11:50 - Shifting the Conversation around Technology 14:45 - Practical tips for managing Technology 18:06 – Reflections on technology This conversation isn’t about declaring technology bad or telling everyone to throw away their phones. It’s about becoming more intentional about how technology affects our brains, emotions, relationships, and ability to tolerate discomfort. Essential listening for parents, educators, behavioral health professionals, people in recovery, and anyone who wants a healthier relationship with technology. Please like and subscribe, and check out my website for more resources, a blog, and links to free downloads at https://www.janicejohnsondowd.com/ (https://www.janicejohnsondowd.com/) If you are interested in learning more about or purchasing the book, Rebuilding Relationships in Recovery: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D11SD3PJ?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D11SD3PJ?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback) Social media accounts include Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parenting_in_recovery/ (https://www.instagram.com/parenting_in_recovery/) https://www.instagram.com/janicejohnsondowd/ (https://www.instagram.com/janicejohnsondowd/) https://www.instagram.com/recoveringrelationshipspodcast/ (https://www.instagram.com/recoveringrelationshipspodcast/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janice-dowd-b748b141/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/janice-dowd-b748b141/) #DigitalDopamine #PhoneAddiction #SocialMediaAddiction #ScreenTime #DigitalWellbeing #TeenMentalHealth #ProblematicTechnologyUse

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 11 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

9

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32