Episode 275: Clinician's Corner | Recovery in Unsettled Times

Life doesn't pause for recovery — and right now, life is a lot. In this Clinician's Corner episode, co-hosts Molly Painschab and Clarissa Kennedy sit down for an honest, grounded conversation about what it looks like to stay connected to your recovery when the world feels like it's on fire and your personal life is a lot at the same time. This isn't a pep talk. These are two clinicians talking real about the neuroscience of stress and cravings, the shame spiral that follows a slip, and what "minimum viable recovery" can look like when you're just trying to make it to tomorrow. If you've been asking yourself why this is suddenly so hard? This episode is for you. In This Episode, We Cover: 🧠 Why your brain is working against you right now The neuroscience behind chronic stress and cravings — and why a recovering brain is already running harder than average before you add the weight of the world on top. 🌍 The macro AND the micro From political instability and financial stress to grief, caregiving, and personal loss — we name what's happening and why pretending otherwise is doing you a disservice. 📱 Setting boundaries with the news cycle How to stop the doom scroll from hijacking your nervous system — without swinging to total avoidance. Finding the middle path that keeps you informed without dysregulated. 😔 The shame spiral that turns slips into recurrences It's not always the slip itself that does the damage. Molly breaks down why the judgment after the slip often has far longer-lasting consequences — and how to interrupt that cycle. 🛟 Minimum viable recovery What's the smallest version of recovery you can do today to make it to tomorrow? Clarissa introduces this framework and it will change how you think about hard seasons. ⚓ Recovery anchors and non-negotiables The value of identifying a few tethering behaviors before you're in crisis — and why protecting those anchors can keep you from unraveling. 💙 Co-regulation and connection We are not wired to regulate alone. From turning on your camera in group to body doubling with an emotional support human — why connection isn't optional when things get hard. 🌿 Meaning-making, spiritual practice, and nature Reconnecting with your why — the deep one, not the diet-culture one — and how spiritual practice and time in nature can restore a felt sense of control when everything else feels uncertain. Resources & Links Mentioned ▶YouTube: Food Junkies Podcast - YouTube 🌐 Sweet Sobriety membership & groups: https://sweetsobriety.newzenler.com/courses/group-coaching-2025 📧 Email us with topic requests or questions: foodjunkiespodcast@gmail.com If this episode reso