What if your suffering isn’t coming from what’s happening to you… but from how you’re relating to it?

In this episode, Chris introduces a powerful workshop-style practice to help you see the root of your suffering in real time. Through a simple visual exercise, you’ll begin to understand how both grasping and resisting quietly shape your experience.

In this episode of the Spiritual Sobriety Podcast, Chris explores:

• The two primary causes of suffering: attachment and aversion
• How “grabbing” and “pushing away” create internal tension
• The connection between Buddhist teachings and the 12 Steps
• How mindfulness helps interrupt automatic reactions

This episode is for you if:

• You feel stuck in patterns you can’t seem to break
• You notice yourself clinging to or avoiding certain people, places, or behaviors
• You’re ready to understand your suffering at a deeper level

The Invitation

Suffering doesn’t just come from what we experience.
It often comes from how tightly we hold on or how strongly we push away.

As Chris shares, “attachments and aversions are the two key sources of suffering.”

In this episode, you’re invited to slow down and notice where this is happening in your own life, not with judgment, but with awareness.

Featured Practice

Take 5 minutes today to try this:

1. Draw a simple half-circle with two arrows: one labeled “attachments” and one labeled “aversions.”
2. Write down examples of where you are grabbing onto something or pushing something away.
3. Pause and ask yourself: “What am I wanting right now? What am I not wanting?”

Begin to notice the moment before the reaction.

Journal Prompt

“Where in my life am I creating suffering by holding on or pushing away?”

Write freely. Let patterns reveal themselves.

Key Reflection

“The grabbing and the pushing away are what generate our suffering.”

If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone walking their own sobriety path.

Chris McDuffie is a licensed psychotherapist, mindfulness teacher and sober coach in private practice. He is the CEO and lead therapist for Chris McDuffie Counseling, a leading concierge practice caring for mental and behavioral health needs. He lives in Carlsbad, California, and holds a Master of Social Work from Fordham University. He teaches recovery from addiction and co-occurring disorders through the spiritual practices of Buddhism and the 12 Steps.

If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone walking their own sobriety path.

Follow Chris for reflections and meditations:
Website: https://www.chrismcduffietherapy.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris__mcduffie/

Insight Timer: https://insighttimer.com/buddhanature

You don’t have to walk this path alone.