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.

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• 🎯 This episode will help you:

  • Identify the role you played in your family—and how it’s still shaping you
  • Determine 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

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  📘 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
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      How to identify if you’re a cyclebreaker