When Helping Hurts: Breaking the Cycle of Enabling

Apr 7, 2026

Why is it so hard to stop enabling, even when you know it’s not helping? In this episode of The Real Dope, my sister Beth and I dive into one of the most painful and confusing parts of loving someone with addiction: enabling, and why it feels almost impossible to stop. Enabling doesn’t come from weakness. It comes from love, fear, and the desperate need to make the pain stop.

The Ever Evolving World Of Rehab

Jan 19, 2026

If you’ve ever thought, “Rehab will fix this… and then everything will be normal again,” this episode is for you. In The Ever-Evolving World of Rehab, sisters Meridith Elliott Powell and Beth Brand walk through what rehab looked like across three very different eras—their father in the mid-1980s, their husbands in the late-1990s, and their brother in the 2000s and beyond—and what they wish every family knew before sending someone they love “to get help.” Because rehab can be a powerful first step… but it’s rarely the finish line.

Trust, Truth, and the Tug of War With Addiction

Jan 19, 2026

When you love an addict, trust doesn’t just break with them… it breaks with you. In this episode of The Real Dope, sisters Meridith Elliott Powell and Beth Brand dig into the real damage addiction causes beneath the surface: the slow erosion of trust and self-respect—and the quiet ways enablers start taking on the very behaviors they despise.

Denial (and Why It’s So Dangerous)

Dec. 18, 2025

In today’s conversation, sisters Meridith Elliott Powell and Beth Brand tackle one of the most misunderstood (and most dangerous) parts of addiction… denial. Not just the addict’s denial, but the enabler’s. Meridith and Beth share raw stories from their own lives—what denial looked like in their family system, how it kept them functioning, and how it quietly started destroying their health, relationships, and sense of reality.

When Your Addict Is Out of Control

Dec. 11, 2025

In this episode of The Real Dope, sisters Meridith Elliott Powell and Beth Brand get painfully practical about what to do when an addict starts targeting the most vulnerable person in the family—especially an elderly parent. Meridith and Beth share what they learned the hard way with their own family: boundaries matter, but there are moments when you must intervene—quietly, strategically, and with a paper trail.

Judgment

Dec. 4, 2025

In “Judgment,” sisters Meridith Elliott Powell and Beth Brand talk about one of the most painful parts of walking alongside addiction: the judgment that comes from everywhere: the judgment you feel from other people, the judgment you put on yourself, and yes… the judgment you sometimes aim at the addict (or at “other kinds” of addicts)

Trust, Truth, and the Tug of War With Addiction

Nov. 20, 2025

In this episode of The Real Dope, sisters Meridith Elliott Powell and Beth Brand dig into the real damage addiction causes beneath the surface: the slow erosion of trust and self-respect—and the quiet ways enablers start taking on the very behaviors they despise.

The Ever Evolving World Of Rehab

Nov. 13, 2025

In The Ever-Evolving World of Rehab, sisters Meridith Elliott Powell and Beth Brand walk through what rehab looked like across three very different eras—their father in the mid-1980s, their husbands in the late-1990s, and their brother in the 2000s and beyond—and what they wish every family knew before sending someone they love “to get help.”

What Addiction Has Given Us

Nov. 6, 2025

What if we flipped the script on addiction and talked about what it’s given us? In this week’s episode of The Real Dope Podcast, Beth and I open up about the unexpected gifts that come from loving someone struggling with addiction.

It's Not the Addiction—It's the Choices We Keep Making

OCT. 23, 2025

If you’ve ever loved, supported, or lived with someone battling addiction, you’ve probably asked yourself that question. “How did I get here?” In this week’s episode, we dive deep into that moment of realization — the slow drift that happens when you stop putting yourself first and start living to take care of everyone else.

What You Can Expect From The System

OCT. 16, 2025

The system isn’t designed to help you. And that’s what makes it so hard. In this week’s episode of The Real Dope, Beth and I talk about what families can really expect when they turn to “the system” for help — hospitals, courts, or even rehab programs.

Addiction's Impact On Generations

OCT. 10, 2025

In this week’s episode we unpack something that doesn’t get talked about enough: the generational toll of addiction. We share our own family story of how addiction and enabling patterns passed down through generations shaped who we became… until we decided to talk about it.

Why Your Recovery Matters

Sept. 25, 2025

Today we get real about a topic that doesn’t get talked about enough: Why your recovery matters when you’re walking alongside someone battling addiction. If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t truly help your loved one—or yourself. 

Trauma: The Impact of Addiction on Everyone

Sept. 18, 2025

Trauma doesn’t always come from a single moment. Sometimes it’s ongoing, unpredictable, and woven into daily life. That’s what my sister Beth and I unpack in this week’s episode of The Real Dope Podcast.

Recovery Done Differently

Sept. 11, 2025

This week, Beth and I sat down with Shirley Wantland, CEO of Recovery Consultants — and wow, did she drop some truth bombs.

The Power of Information

Aug 28, 2025

One of the most powerful things you can do when you love someone battling addiction is educate yourself.

Where Can I Get Help?

Aug 21, 2025

Loving someone battling addiction is overwhelming. And too often, the focus is only on “fixing” the addict.

The Addicted Child

Aug. 14, 2025

When your child is the addict, it’s one of the hardest realities a parent can face. Do you wait and hope it’s “just a phase”? Or do you step in, even if you’re not sure how?

How to Protect Yourself When You Love an Addict

Aug. 7, 2025

This week on The Real Dope, we’re getting real about something we don’t talk about enough: how to protect yourself—legally, emotionally, and physically—when you love someone battling addiction.

How to Start Believing in Yourself

July 31, 2025

When you love someone battling addiction, you slowly lose yourself. Your world becomes about keeping the peace, managing chaos, and holding it all together—until you forget what you even want anymore.

The Path Through Addiction

July 24, 2025

"They’re so unpredictable."
That’s what people say about addicts.

But the truth?
You can count on your addict.
You can count on them to lie. To blame. To disappear.

Are You an Enabler?

July 17, 2025

Hard truth: If you love an addict, you might be just as sick as they are and not even know it.

Understanding Detachment

July 10, 2025

When someone you love is battling addiction, detachment feels impossible.It feels cold. Cruel. Even shameful.

The Power of Setting Boundaries

July 3, 2025

In this week’s episode of The Real Dope, Beth and I are diving into one of the hardest—and most misunderstood—topics we’ve faced: boundaries.

How Did I Get Here?

June 26, 2025

“How did I get here?”
If you’ve ever asked yourself that question while loving someone battling addiction… this podcast is for you.