Learn from experts and hear real stories of recovery on the Journals of a Love Addict Podcast
Do you…
Continually find yourself in dysfunctional relationships?
Undervalue yourself while putting others on a pedestal?
Have a pattern of dating emotionally unavailable partners?
Yes? I can totally relate.
On my podcast, Journals of a Love Addict, I share my personal story of love addiction recovery, and my experience as a therapist who works with love addiction.
I also talk with others who have struggled, as well as experts in trauma, addiction, and other areas of mental health.
My hope is to help listeners feel less alone as I spread awareness of what love addiction is really all about.
Music by JD Pendley
Episode 75: An Epilogue: Saying Goodbye (But Just Getting Started)
After six years of Journals of a Love Addict, Jodi says goodbye. In this episode, she shares the reasons behind her decision to end the show and what this milestone has to do with recovery.
Episode 74: Loving Hard with Symphonie Smith, PhD
What do you want to stop doing? When Jodi asked her newsletter subscribers this question, she received a lot of responses—one of them was from a fellow therapist in recovery, Dr. Symphonie Smith, LIMFT.
Episode 71: Singlehood with Chanté Joseph
Is having a boyfriend embarrassing now? That's a good question! It's also the title of the Vogue piece by journalist Chanté Joseph, and in this episode Jodi sits down with Chanté to discuss why singlehood is having a cultural moment.
Episode 70: Attachment + ChatGPT: How AI Is Changing the Way We Relate with Billie Dunlevy
More and more people are turning to ChatGPT for coaching, relationship advice, and even companionship. But how are these interactions shaping the way we relate to ourselves and others?
Episode 69: There Will Be Grief
Have you ever felt down, but believed you shouldn't be—so you pushed through pretending everything was fine? In this episode, Jodi gets honest about her own experience with this pattern, tracing it back to undiagnosed ADHD, perimenopause, burnout, and a divorce that sent her love addiction into overdrive for the next 15 years.
Bonus Episode: Thank You Pia Mellody
This is a special tribute episode to the work of Pia Mellody who passed away May 7th at the age of 82. Pia was a pioneer in the field of trauma and addiction recovery; she developed a groundbreaking model of treatment, and authored several books including Facing Love Addiction and Facing Codependence.
Episode 44: Most Codependable
Love addiction comes with a set of symptoms leading to a pattern of dysfunctional relationships. Then, after each relationship we say "I'll never do that again", fully intending to make some changes, but... In this episode, I discuss these cultural beliefs--how they fuel love addiction and how they can meddle with life in recovery, too.
Episode 35: When He's Married To Mom with Dr. Kenneth Adams
When we're enmeshed with a parent we might feel responsible for taking care of them emotionally, and guilty if we don't do what they expect of us. And while enmeshment is often uncomfortable, it may also come with feeling special and can be very challenging to recognize and overcome.
Episode 34: All About the Scapegoat with Mary Toolan
Are you familiar with the concept of assigned family roles; roles assigned in childhood that are either falsely empowering or disempowering? Maybe you've heard of The Hero, The Lost Child, or The Scapegoat? But what does all of this mean?
Episode 30: Like a Tornado of Sticks & Poo
Love addiction gets messy. It's full of intensity, shame, and regression that leads us to behave regretfully, or as I say, 'like a tornado of sticks and poo'.
Episode 24: Functional Adulting with Daniel Gowan
In this episode, I invite Daniel Gowan back to discuss Pia Mellody's concept of the Functional Adult. We also cover Pia's five core symptoms of codependence (aka the five 'buckets'), reparenting, and how to live in action vs. reaction.
Episode 11: Best Girlfriend Ever
Love addiction is rooted in codependence; it comes with boundary issues, dependency issues, and self-esteem issues, which leads us to look externally (often to our partners) for a sense of worthiness.
Episode 10: An Interview with Daniel Gowan
What’s it like to grow up as The Hero of the family? Hint: It’s not as awesome as it sounds.
Episode 9: Just So
Do you struggle with consistency? Does your desire to do All The Things - and do them perfectly - get in the way of actually DOING anything at all?
Episode 8: An Interview with Sarah Bridge: Part 2
What do seduction, fantasy, obsession, self-medicating and withdrawal have in common? They're all parts of the cycle of love addiction.
Episode 7: An Interview with Sarah Bridge: Part 1
In this episode (part one of a two part series), I talk with Sarah Bridge, LCSW, about the core symptoms of codependence, assigned family roles and post-induction therapy.