https://bit.ly/KarenBernetti-Links

Mindful Family Recovery, Southington, CT (2025)

12/24/2025

Day 12: The Gift of Serenity ....
We made it. 🎉 Twelve days. Twelve truths. Twelve gifts.

Here's your final truth:
Self-care isn't selfish - it's absolutely necessary.

When you prioritize YOUR health, you're modeling what recovery looks like. You're showing everyone around you that healing is possible.

💙 The ripple effect:
When YOU heal → others see they can too
When YOU set boundaries → others learn they can too
When YOU choose peace → others realize it's possible for them too
That's what we call .... LEADERSHIP.

Today's action: Join The Serenity Circle (it's free!) for:
💙 Live yoga & meditation
💙 Judgment-free support
💙 Evidence-based education
💙 A community that GETS IT

Want in? go here to claim all 12 gifts... https://mindfulfamilyrecovery.com/days-of-family-recovery...

You've spent 12 days learning and growing. Keep going. Keep choosing peace.

Every step you take to help yourself - helps your family, your community and the world. 💪

12/22/2025

Day 11: The Hard Truth About "Rock Bottom" Today I'm sharing something that might make you uncomfortable.... and it might also save your loved one's life.

Let's talk about Harm Reduction.

If you're anything like I once was, then I know what you're thinking:
👉 "If I help them use more safely, aren't I just enabling them?"
👉 "Shouldn't I let them hit rock bottom so they'll finally get help?"
👉 "Isn't this just giving up on recovery?"

Here's the truth: Harm reduction is NOT about giving up. It's about keeping your loved one alive long enough to get better.

Because you can't recover if you're dead.

What harm reduction actually means:
Instead of asking "How do I make them stop?" it asks:
"How can I help them stay safer TODAY, even if they're still using?"

This might look like:
💙 Keeping naloxone (Narcan) at home and knowing how to use it
💙 Talking about safer choices ("Please don't use alone or drive under the influence")
💙 Staying connected while holding boundaries
💙 Encouraging medications that reduce overdose risk

Here's what the research shows:
People connected to harm reduction services are MORE likely - not less - to eventually enter treatment and reduce their use.

Harm reduction saves lives.

It reduces overdoses.

It prevents disease.

It keeps people alive long enough for recovery to become possible.

The myth that's killing people: "They need to hit rock bottom."

Rock bottom is often a grave.

Many people don't change because life becomes unbearable - they change because they feel supported and see options.

Day 11 of the 12 Days of Family Recovery and Advocacy tackles this controversial topic head-on.

I know it's hard.

I know it challenges everything you've been told about "tough love."

But if keeping your loved one alive means learning a new approach. Isn't that worth exploring?

Today's gift? A Harm Reduction Fact Sheet that explains what it is (and isn't), addresses your fears, and shows you what it can look like for your family.

You don't have to agree with everything. Just be willing to learn.

Find the link to join the 12 Days of Family Recovery and Advocacy campaign in comments

Your loved one's life is worth protecting. Today. Exactly where they are.

12/22/2025

Day 10: The Gift of Wisdom
When everything feels out of control, when nothing makes sense, when you're drowning in confusion and fear... understanding can become your anchor.

💙 I'm not talking about Googling "how to help an alcoholic" and falling down a rabbit hole of conflicting advice.

I'm talking about real education. The kind that helps you understand:

→ What's actually happening in your loved one's brain
→ Why "tough love" doesn't work (and what does)
→ Why they can't "just stop"
→ What you can actually control (and what you can't)
→ How to support without enabling
→ How to set boundaries that work

Here's my truth:
When I've had loved ones who were struggling, I didn't just read a few articles. I became obsessed with understanding.

I got certified as a Recovery Support Specialist and Family Coach. I studied mindfulness, yoga, meditation...

I wanted to learn as much as I possibly could. I had to do whatever I could to make sense of the chaos.

And you know what I discovered?

Understanding brought me peace... even when circumstances didn't immediately change.

Knowledge didn't fix my loved ones. It fixed ME. It gave me clarity. It helped me stop taking things personally.

It showed me I wasn't alone - that millions of families were going through the exact same thing.

Day 10 of the 12 Days of Family Recovery and Advocacy is all about learning your way to peace.

Your challenge this week—pick one:
📚 Read a book about addiction and recovery (I'm sharing my list today)
🎥 Watch a YouTube video (anything by Dr. Gabor Maté is a great place to start)
📖 Take a course on evidence-based family approaches (coming to The Serenity Circle in 2026)
👥 Find a study buddy - learn alongside another family member
💬 Join or start a mental health, mindfulness, or Family Recovery book club

When you educate yourself, you're not just helping yourself, you're becoming a more informed advocate. Someone who can correct myths. Support others. Speak with authority when it matters most.

Today's gift is a curated reading list of books that transformed my understanding and brought me peace when I needed it most.

These aren't dry academic texts. They're compassionate, practical guides written by people who've overcome real challenges.

👉 Want the reading list? DM me and I'll send you the link to join the 12 Days of Family Recovery and Advocacy campaign.

Knowledge is power. And right now, you need all the power you can get.

12/21/2025

Day 9: Your Holiday Survival Guide The holidays are supposed to be joyful. But when your loved one is struggling with addiction, family gatherings can feel like walking through a minefield.

You know what's coming....
"They just need to hit rock bottom."
"You're enabling them."
"Why don't they just get help?"

And every single comment cuts deeper because the people saying these things have no idea what you're going through.

Here's the truth:
You don't owe anyone an explanation. You don't have to educate Uncle Bob or defend yourself to Aunt Susan.

But if you choose to respond - you deserve language that protects your dignity and shifts the conversation.

Day 9 of the 12 Days of Family Recovery and Advocacy is your holiday survival guide.

Here's what to do BEFORE the gathering:
Think about the comment you dread most. Then practice one calm, clear response.

Not a lecture. Not a defense. Just one simple sentence.

Examples:
❌ "They just need willpower."
✓ "Addiction is a brain condition, not a choice."
❌ "You're enabling them."
✓ "Support and enabling aren't the same. Compassion and boundaries can coexist."
❌ "They won't change until they hit rock bottom."
✓ "Rock bottom often means death. We can't wait for that."

When you respond with facts instead of defensiveness, you do two things:
1. You protect your peace
2. You plant seeds that change how people think about addiction

💙 That's advocacy work. And it matters.

Today's gift? 12 Calm Responses for Awkward Holiday Moments - with pause-and-breathe reminders and affirmations to ground you.
Print them. Keep them in your pocket. Make them your own. Rehearse them.

Use them when you need them and walk into those rooms feeling more prepared and less alone.

👉 Want the response cards? Go here to join the campaign and claim all the gifts from the past 10 Days https://mindfulfamilyrecovery.com/days-of-family-recovery-registration-2025

You've got this.

12/20/2025

Day 8: The Gift of Connection. When a loved one is struggling with addiction, the instinct is often to hide. To pretend everything's fine. To handle it alone because it's too shameful to tell anyone what's really happening.

The healing families need most can't be found in isolation.
They need people who GET IT. Who won't judge. Who've been there and made it through.

When connecting with others:
-The shame starts to loosen
-The burden gets lighter
-You remember you're not alone
-You find hope again

Day 8 of the 12 Days of Family Recovery and Advocacy is all about breaking out of isolation.

If you've been hiding out, your challenge is to pick ONE:
💙 Attend a support meeting (Al-Anon, Nar-Anon, SMART Recovery, Celebrate Recovery, Families Anonymous, etc. there are so many to choose from!)
💙 Share the resources from this campaign with another family
💙 Volunteer somewhere that serves families like yours
💙 Reach out to another parent/partner/sibling and say "You're not alone"

I know it's scary. I know it feels vulnerable. But when you show up for others, you show up for yourself.

Today's gift? A 13-minute guided breathwork practice to calm your nervous system and give you courage before you connect.
Use it before that meeting. Before you send that text. Before you volunteer. Whenever you need to come back to yourself.

Want the breathwork practice (and all the other gifts)? Link in comments to join the 12 Days of Family Recovery campaign.

You don't have to do this alone anymore.

12/18/2025

Day 7: The Gift of Power You know what's more powerful than a degree in political science? Your story.

Your lived experience as a family member affected by addiction makes you one of the MOST powerful advocates for policy change.

Lawmakers don't just need to hear from researchers and treatment providers. They need to hear from YOU—the parent who hasn't slept through the night in months, the partner searching desperately for treatment options, the sibling watching someone they love disappear.

When families speak up:
💙 Policy shifts
💙 Funding gets redirected
💙 Lives are saved

You don't need any special credentials. You just need your voice and the willingness to use it.

Day 7 of the 12 Days of Family Recovery and Advocacy is all about turning families into advocates.

The Partnership to End Addiction makes it SO simple:
✓ Get policy updates so you know when to take action
✓ Learn how to write letters to your representatives (templates provided!)
✓ Join campaigns that actually change things

Today's gift? A comprehensive resource guide to EVERYTHING Partnership to End Addiction offers families—free coaching, support groups, a helpline, treatment finders, and so much more.

This is the resource every family affected by addiction needs.

💪 Want access to today's gift (and all the others)? DM me and I'll send you the link to join the campaign.

Your voice matters.

12/14/2025

Day 3: The Gift of LIFE - Cannabis-induced psychosis is tearing families apart—and most parents don't see it coming.

MYTH: "It's only w**d, it's not a big deal."
FACT: Today's ma*****na is NOTHING like the w**d of the 70s and
80s. High-potency THC products are triggering psychotic breaks and suicidality in young people at alarming rates.

Day 3 of the 12 Days of Family Recovery and Advocacy features a powerful 45-minute documentary by Johnny's Ambassadors - Youth THC Prevention that every parent, educator, and family member needs to watch.

The film is told through the voices of young people who lived through psychosis and the parents who fought to bring them back.

💔 It's FREE to watch and FREE to screen in your community.

Why this matters:
→ Early intervention saves lives
→ Prevention is more effective than crisis response
→ Families need to know the real risks

This crisis can no longer be ignored.

👉 Link in comments to join the 12 Days of Family Recovery & Advocacy campaign and receive today's free gift

Mindful Family Recovery

12/24/2025

12/22/2025

12/22/2025

12/21/2025

12/20/2025

12/18/2025

12/14/2025

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category