Introducing the Serenity Circle: A New Kind of Recovery Community for Families

September marks National Recovery Month—a time to celebrate those in recovery, honor treatment providers, and most importantly, raise awareness that addiction recovery IS possible. This year, I'm thrilled to announce the launch of something I've been dreaming of for years: The Serenity Circle, an online community specifically designed for families impacted by a loved one's addiction.

Recovery Month has always held special significance for me, but this September feels different. After years of personal healing, professional training, and working with many families, I'm finally ready to share the comprehensive support system I wish had existed years ago when I needed it most.

The Missing Piece in Addiction Recovery Support

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), over 48 million Americans struggle with substance use disorders. Behind each one of those statistics stands a family - parents, spouses, siblings, children and friends - who are often overlooked in traditional addiction treatment approaches.

While research consistently shows that family involvement significantly improves recovery outcomes, there's been a glaring gap in support for the people who love people struggling with addiction,

A 2019 study published in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment found that family-inclusive approaches increased treatment retention rates by 40% and improved long-term sobriety outcomes. Yet most families receive little more than the advice to "detach", stop "enabling", or practice "tough love". These approaches often leave families feeling confused, helpless, and alone.

The Serenity Circle was created to fill this void, providing families with the evidence-based tools, mindful self-care practices, and supportive community they need to not just survive, but thrive.

From Chaos to Calling

Growing up in a family shaped by alcoholism, and later facing it in my marriage - addiction has woven itself through every chapter of my life story.

I spent most of my marriage believing I could somehow fix, manage, or cure my husband. The irony wasn't lost on me when I was served with divorce papers - not because he had a drinking prbolem - but because my relentless attempts to "help" drove him away.

I was what recovery circles often call "codependent" though I didn't understand what that meant at the time. I just knew I was exhausted, angry, and felt like I was failing at the most important job of my life: wife and mother.

My introduction to Al-Anon came at one of my lowest points, sitting in a church basement surrounded by strangers who somehow understood my experience better than my closest friends and family. That's where I first learned the revolutionary concept of "self-care" and the need to focus on my own recovery. The idea seemed selfish, and to be honest, utterly ridiculous to me at first ... until it began to work.

Traditional support groups, while invaluable, could only take me so far. When a custody dispute left me fighting to protect my children while navigating a complex family court system ill-equipped to handle addiction issues, I found myself in complete emotional collapse.

That Breakdown Became My Breakthrough

Desperate for anything that might help me feel better, I discovered yoga. What started as a physical, athletic practice quickly became something much deeper - a way to reconnect with my body, calm my emotions, and find the peace I'd been seeking everywhere except within myself. I soon fell in love with the beautiful yogic philosophy, and have been studying it ever since.

The transformation that I experienced was so profound, I knew I had to share it others. I became a certified yoga instructor so that I could be one of Nikki Myer's Yoga of 12-Step Recovery leaders. I became a Recovery Support Specialist and trained in evidence-based approaches like, The Invitation to Change®.

Each new certification added another tool to what would eventually become the comprehensive approach I use today.

Where Mindfulness Meets Recovery

The Serenity Circle represents a revolutionary approach to family support that integrates ancient wisdom, modern science, and kindness. Unlike traditional approaches that focus solely on detachment (i.e. kick 'em, out, cut them off, and wait for them to hit "rock bottom") our community recognizes that families can actually be a powerful influence - when given the right tools. And they need comprehensive support addressing their emotional, mental, physical, spiritual, and even financial wellbeing.

Research in neuroscience and psychology has validated what contemplative traditions have known for millennia: consistent mindfulness practices literally rewire the brain for resilience, emotional regulation, and stress reduction. A groundbreaking 2020 study in the journal Addiction found that mindfulness-based interventions reduced family stress and improved communication patterns in households affected by substance use.

Our approach combines:

Evidence-Based Communication Skills: Through the Invitation to Change® model, families learn that

there ARE things they can do to support their loved one's recovery. This science-backed approach teaches boundaries, communication techniques that open doors rather than create walls, and helps families understand that their loved one's aren't crazy or bad people - they just need help.

Mindfulness and Nervous System Regulation: When families are constantly in fight-or-flight mode, they can't access the parts of their brain responsible for logical reasoning and good decision-making. Our yoga, meditation, and breathwork practices help families move from reactive chaos to responsive calm.

Holistic Wellness Support: The Happy for No Reason® methodology teaches families to build an "unshakeable inner home for happiness" that doesn't depend on outisde circumstances (like their loved one's recovery status). This isn't about toxic positivity, it's about creating sustainable wellbeing from the inside out.

Community Connection: Research consistently shows that social isolation worsens both addiction and its impact on families. The opposite of addiction isn't sobriety - it's connection. Our community provides the understanding and support that families desperately need.

Breaking the Cycle of Shame, Blame, and Stigma

The Serenity Circle's mission is to eliminate the shame, blame, and stigma surrounding mental health and addiction. According to the SAMHSA, fewer than 10% of people struggling with addiction seek help, largely due to stigma, and shame.

This stigma doesn't just affect individuals with addiction - it isolates their families too. I've witnessed countless parents who won't tell their closest friends about their child's struggle, spouses who suffer in silence, and siblings who carry guilt and confusion alone. It's in the darkness of silence and secrecy that addiction THRIVES.

The Serenity Circle is a judgment-free space where families can share openly, learn from each other's experiences, and discover that they're not alone in this struggle. We separate the addiction from the person, demonizing the disease rather than the individual trapped in it.

We understand that addiction is cunning, baffling, and powerful - and to face this formidable challenge, we must become our healthiest, strongest, smartest, and most centered selves.

We can't fight darkness with more darkness; we combat it by becoming models of recovery and sources of stability and hope. As I often tell families: Our loved ones may not be ready to change just yet - but we can. Those who can, must.

A Comprehensive Approach to Family Wellness

Recovery Month's emphasis on comprehensive, evidence-based approaches aligns perfectly with the Serenity Circle's mission. Our community addresses family wellness across multiple dimensions:

Emotional: Through mindfulness and self-compassion practices that help families process grief, anger, fear, and shame in healthy ways.

Intellectual: By providing addiction education, teaching strategies for managing difficult thoughts, and offering perspectives that shift families from hopeless victims to empowered responders.

Physical: With gentle yoga practices designed for real people with real stress. We understand that the "issues live in our tissues" and offer practices to release the emotions that get trapped in the body. No flexibility or prior yoga experience required

Spiritual: Through meditation practices, connection to purpose and meaning, and recognition that recovery is ultimately about spiritual transformation - not just behavioral change.

Financially: This dimension often gets overlooked, but addiction's financial impact on families is devastating. Our affiliate program ensures that community members who help spread our message can also prosper, creating a sustainable model where everyone prospers while supporting the healing of families.

What Makes the Serenity Circle Different

The Serenity Circle isn't just another support group. It's a comprehensive wellness community that recognizes families as the key to successful recovery outcomes. According to research from Hazelden Betty Ford's Butler Center for Research, family involvement is effective for more positive recovery outcomes, yet most families lack the skills and support to be effective recovery allies.

Our community provides:

• Yoga and meditation sessions designed specifically for families dealing with addiction stress

• Family Recovery Roundtables where evidence-based strategies are shared and practiced

• Guest expert interviews and educational content from leading voices in addiction and mental health recovery

  Invitation to Change® workshops teaching proven communication and behavior change techniques

• 24/7 peer support from others who truly understand the complexities of loving someone with addiction

• Practical resources including crisis management guides, milestone celebration tools, courses, and comprehensive wellness assessments

Building a Movement of Mutual Prosperity

The Serenity Circle operates on the principle that when we help others heal, we create abundance for everyone involved. Our affiliate program reflects this philosophy—offering 40% recurring commissions to community members who help spread our message and resources to other families in need.

This isn't just about generating income; it's about creating a sustainable model where those who have found healing can be compensated for sharing hope with others. Research shows that helping others is one of the most powerful tools for maintaining one's own recovery and wellbeing.

When families prosper—emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually, and financially—they become beacons of hope for others who are still struggling. This creates a positive cycle where healing spreads organically through authentic relationships and shared experiences.

Your Recovery Matters Too

As we celebrate National Recovery Month, it's crucial to remember that recovery isn't just for individuals struggling with mental health and addiction - it's for entire family systems. The Serenity Circle recognizes that when family members focus on their own healing first, they become powerful catalysts for positive change throughout their family.

You didn't cause your loved one's addiction. You can't control it. And you can't cure it. But you can heal yourself, build unshakeable peace regardless of external circumstances, and become the living example of recovery that your loved one needs to see.

The Serenity Circle is more than a community—it's a movement. A revolution of the heart that recognizes families as the unsung heroes of the recovery process. It's a place where peace begins with us, where healing happens in community, and where recovery IS possible.

This Recovery Month, I invite you to join us. Not because you need to be fixed, but because you deserve support. Not because you're powerless, but because you have more influence than you realize. And not because recovery is easy, because it's not. And no one should have to do it alone.

Welcome to the Serenity Circle. Your community. Your support system. Your path to peace.

Go here to read the Serenity Circle Manifesto

Ready to reclaim your peace while supporting your loved one's recovery? Go here to join the Serenity Circle today and discover that you're not powerless, not helpless, and definitely not alone. Because your recovery matters too.