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Fractured Resilience

Fractured Resilience

By Richard Hindmarsh, MD

Welcome to Fractured Resilience, a podcast by Addiction Medicine specialist Richard Hindmarsh, MD, on building your resilience and developing grit. The focus for upcoming podcasts will be the growth and development of Godly grit. Godly grit is necessary to find and fulfill your God-given purpose with passion and perseverance. The topics to be covered will be: How to find your voice, how to tear down strongholds that hold you back, and how to build a storehouse of character qualities to see you through difficult times.
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CREATIVE POWER

Fractured Resilience Jan 05, 2020

00:00
30:26
Living in a World of Fractured Image-bearers

Living in a World of Fractured Image-bearers

The first man was created complete and placed in God’s perfectly designed world. God created man to experience fulfillment in a quality relationship with Him, aware of his value and purpose, active and creative with power, with an eternal spirit. We were made to be both physically alive and spiritually alive. God created humanity with all that was needed to be completely content. With disobedience came a fracture in our God-image. Now there was a problem. We still have God’s image, but its expression and experience have become severely distorted.

Jun 08, 202243:47
Your Eternal Spirit

Your Eternal Spirit

God has been and forever will be, humanity, on the other hand, is confined by time. Our only experience involves time. We have a birth date; we have a death date; we are defined and restricted by time. It is almost too much for our little brains to grasp the concept of eternity.

Jun 01, 202224:22
Spiritual Emptiness

Spiritual Emptiness

Are you exhausted and worn out? Has your life turned out differently than you expected? Have you run out of answers? Do you feel isolated? Has life lost its meaning? Are you confused? The chances are if you think this way, you are spiritually empty.

May 25, 202219:59
The Burden of Mortality

The Burden of Mortality

Our eventual death is an issue faced by all human beings. For many, the subconscious anxiety caused by a fear of death is behind a lot of their daily anguish. This burden affects us all; we are all going to die.

May 18, 202221:28
Made to be Creative

Made to be Creative

With the first breath from God, a man received a portion of God’s creativity and power. Humanity is not content being passive. Our God-given nature is to be creative as we interact with the rest of God’s creation

May 11, 202231:37
The Burden of Being Responsible

The Burden of Being Responsible

Our life is filled with daily choices – too numerous to count. We choose a path, and the path leads to a result. The result is the consequence of the decision we have made. It is our choice – select the road leading to life or the road leading to death. The decision is your responsibility.

May 04, 202222:25
Your Value

Your Value

What is the meaning of life? Why am I here? What is the purpose of my existence? We all struggle with the burden of meaninglessness. The struggle with meaning is a cry about our perceived value. The battle to find meaning is the battle to find worth.

Apr 27, 202233:53
The Burden of Meaninglessness

The Burden of Meaninglessness

Hour after hour, day after day, we work our fingers to the bone to feed our hunger. A hunger that never seems to be satisfied. We end up exhausted and unfulfilled. We struggle to find meaning in who we are and what we do. We strive to find meaning, and in the process, lose contact with our value.

Apr 20, 202225:29
Made for Relationship

Made for Relationship

God’s completed creation was “very good.” Isolation is a heavy weight, and God did not create humans with the intent of carrying that weight. The experience of separation from God and our fellow man was not part of God's creation plan for humans.

Apr 13, 202230:20
The Burden of Isolation

The Burden of Isolation

Do you feel like you are living in a shadow and lack substance?  Do you think no one cares about you? So, what is this burden of isolation? How do we recognize it? How do we accept it, and how do we live, so we are not consumed by it?

Apr 06, 202223:53
No Contentment without the Cross

No Contentment without the Cross

Life is hard, confusing, troubling, and at times, feels impossible. We all struggle with the burden and pain of isolation, meaninglessness, responsibility, mortality, and spiritual emptiness. Our goal during these times of difficulty is not complacency or comfort; our goal is contentment.

Mar 30, 202218:32
Humanities Burdens

Humanities Burdens

We have this overbearing weight in our chest, that communicates that something fundamental is not right. This weight has the power to hobble us and prevent personal growth. This weight is experienced as intense boredom, the awful pain of loss or failure, the tension of irresolvable conflict, the anguish of inadequacy, the oppressive darkness of aloneness, the despair of hopelessness, the restlessness of meaninglessness, and the angst of perpetual uncertainty. The source of this angst is the existential burdens.

Mar 23, 202214:42
Common Temptation

Common Temptation

We are all enticed by the same temptation, especially at times of discomfort. The temptation is to turn our backs on God and pursue self-attainable comfort. Unfortunately, contentment pursued is never satisfied; it results in intensified efforts to achieve satisfaction at any cost.

Mar 16, 202212:07
Our Fractured Image - Introduction

Our Fractured Image - Introduction

We live in an age of abundance. We have a wealth of food, distractions, entertainment, possessions, and an overabundance of information. We have all we could need, but we still want more. With all we have, you would think we would also have an abundance of contentment. Instead, we have a wealth of discontentment. It does not matter if you have a lot or have just enough to survive; we all struggle with the same significant issues.

Mar 09, 202205:06
Deadly Roots - Epilogue

Deadly Roots - Epilogue

I almost drowned in a sea of bitterness, but for the grace of God!

Mar 02, 202203:37
Living in a Bitter World

Living in a Bitter World

We live in a world awash with bitterness and misery. How do we survive? How do we keep it together? How do we protect ourselves against bitterness?

Feb 23, 202235:05
Spiritual Emptiness

Spiritual Emptiness

Are you living in misery? Are you exhausted and worn out? Has your life turned out differently than expected? Have you run out of answers? Do you feel isolated? Has life lost its meaning? Are you confused? If you think this way, you are spiritually empty.

Feb 16, 202219:52
Greed

Greed

The power behind all of the roots of bitterness is greed and emptiness. Greed is the passionate pursuit of more, just for the sake of having more. It is an insatiable longing that cannot be satisfied. It is a loud, demanding hunger. A hunger that does not go away.

Feb 09, 202209:49
Obvious Roots of Bitterness

Obvious Roots of Bitterness

In this category of bitterness, there is no subtleness. These roots of bitterness are seen by all to be expressions of active bitterness.

Feb 02, 202209:10
Not-So-Subtle Roots of Bitterness

Not-So-Subtle Roots of Bitterness

The Not-So-Subtle Roots of Bitterness are more evident than the subtle roots, but they are still subtle in their presentation. With this category of roots, you can start to taste the bitterness.

Jan 26, 202205:01
Subtle Roots of Bitterness

Subtle Roots of Bitterness

The Subtle Roots of Bitterness are the most difficult to associate with bitterness. These roots are often not associated with a specific agent of offense or injustice, but they are still early roots of potential bitterness, so we need to be aware of them.

Jan 19, 202215:21
Roots of Bitterness

Roots of Bitterness

If we would like to have any hope in stopping bitterness, we need to recognize it in its more subtle forms. By the time bitterness has fully developed, it has become a giant, well-established tree, impossible to bring down. At this point, you are no longer living your life with freedom and enthusiasm; you are living your life, negotiating your path, and conducting your relationships as a victim.

Jan 12, 202206:42
Bitterness

Bitterness

Bitterness will steal your health, energy, and emotional stability. It will destroy your relationships, and rob your joy, peace, and contentment. It will kill your potential, purpose, plans, relationships, aspirations, and dreams. If this interaction between bitterness and injustice were a loaded gun, the injustice would be the gunpowder, and the bitterness would be the armor-piercing bullet. The gunpowder makes all the noise, demands all the attention, it fills the room with confusion, and smoke. Amid the noise, smoke, and fire, the projectile silently sales through the air and into your heart.  Bitterness can and will kill you!

Jan 05, 202206:41
Deadly Roots - Introduction

Deadly Roots - Introduction

Bitterness is the internalization and personalization of a real or perceived injustice with a persistent and intense rumination about the injustice or the agent of the injustice, resulting in more damage caused by the bitterness than could ever be caused by the injustice.

Dec 29, 202104:44
Stress Undressed - Conclusion

Stress Undressed - Conclusion

In conclusion, take hold of stress, or it will take hold of you. Categorize your stressors. Is your stress caused by the fear or threat of imminent danger, or perhaps a threat to your sense of self, is it stress from ongoing uncertainty or confusion or are you in the position of caring for someone unable or unwilling to care for themselves, or lastly is the stress because of an offense you have committed towards someone else?

Dec 22, 202104:06
Stress of Transgressions

Stress of Transgressions

As people, we will do almost anything to hide our transgressions, yet, it is the hiding of them that makes them so damaging. We have all done wrong. We have all deeply wounded the people who love us. We all carry the scars of hurting others. To live your life carrying these injuries is stressful.

Dec 15, 202107:48
Stress of Covering Responsibility

Stress of Covering Responsibility

It is hard enough to be responsible for yourself in this ever-changing, confusing world, let alone to have to be responsible for another who is unable or unwilling to be responsible for themselves.  This type of stress is part of several different life situations.

Dec 08, 202111:44
Stress of Uncertainty

Stress of Uncertainty

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to live a completely worry-free life, with no uncertainty or confusion? Unfortunately, life is not that easy to navigate. Life is filled with times of confusion and uncertainty.

So, let’s take a look at this category of the stress of uncertainty.

Dec 01, 202112:02
Stress of Altered-Self

Stress of Altered-Self

To function in life as a human being, with some sense of meaning, purpose, and direction, we all operate from a platform of self-definition. This platform is a form of ego-intactness; it is how we see and define ourselves and how we think others see us. If our self-definition becomes unfamiliar or not authentic, there will be stress.

Nov 24, 202116:50
Stress of Imminent Danger

Stress of Imminent Danger

We are human beings devoid of reason and directed by emotion. So now, when you take a concept of threat and danger and a mix of emotion and fear, you have the ingredients for a toxic soup. Our emotional memory is more robust than our rational memory, and we are governed by a deep-rooted fear much of the time.

Nov 17, 202114:05
Stress Undressed - Major Categories of Stress

Stress Undressed - Major Categories of Stress

To get a handle on stress, we must understand what it is and then what strategies are adequate to deal with it.  The approaches to control stress differ based on the cause of the stress.  The stresses I have observed in the lives of my patients in four decades of medical practice fall in one of five categories.

Nov 10, 202108:09
Stress Undressed - Introduction

Stress Undressed - Introduction

To get a handle on stress, we must understand what it is and then what strategies are adequate to deal with it.  Practical approaches to control stress differ based on the cause of the stress.  In this book, I explore what I have observed in the lives of thousands of patients to be the five primary sources of stress and some valuable stress management strategies.

Nov 03, 202107:07
Now I've Gotcha! - Conclusion

Now I've Gotcha! - Conclusion

All these chemicals produce a form of immediate pleasure. This pleasure sensation is a fleeting chemical reaction. With repeated use, there is diminishing immediate pleasure, and now the chemical is needed to maintain a new equilibrium.

Oct 29, 202102:47
Methamphetamine

Methamphetamine

Amphetamines cause their overwhelming effect through their action on dopamine. Amphetamines cause a dopamine flood, and that is what makes them so highly addictive. Methamphetamine can increase the level and activity of dopamine by every known mechanism.

Oct 29, 202102:01
Kratom

Kratom

Kratom comes from the tropical evergreen tree Mitragyna speciose. Mitragyna speciose is from the coffee family and is native to Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.

Oct 29, 202101:36
Ecstasy

Ecstasy

Ecstasy (MDMA) is the synthetic drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine that acts as both a stimulant and a hallucinogen similar to both amphetamines and LSD.

Oct 29, 202102:46
Cocaine

Cocaine

Cocaine works by blocking the channels that typically remove the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, with the result being an amplified effect of all of these neurotransmitters.

Oct 29, 202101:48
Opioids

Opioids

Narcotics mimic the action of the body's naturally occurring opiate-like substances called endorphins, enkephalins, and dynorphin. There are three types of opioid receptors present throughout the brain: mu receptors, delta receptors, and kappa receptors. Narcotics have most of their effect on the mu receptors, of which there are seven subtypes. The body's natural opioids attach to one or more of these receptor types to regulate hunger, thirst, mood, immune response, and awareness of painful stimuli. In the brain stem, the opioid receptors are active in regulating blood pressure, alertness, and breathing.

Oct 29, 202103:31
Marijuana

Marijuana

The active ingredient in marijuana is delta-0-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC mimics the action of the natural neurotransmitter N-arachidonoyl ethanolamide (anandamide).  Anandamide binds to CB1 cannabinoid receptors throughout the brain and CB2 receptors in the body. CB2 receptors have a role in regulating immune function. CB1 receptors impacts mood, memory, appetite, pain, and cognition.

Oct 29, 202102:40
Alcohol

Alcohol

Alcohol absorbs very rapidly and enters the bloodstream quickly, reaching all parts of the body. In the brain, alcohol binds to receptors for acetylcholine, serotonin, GABA, and the NMDA glutamate receptors.

This binding to multiple receptors has a profound effect on mood, memory, personality, alertness, and physical coordination. The most significant impact of alcohol in the brain is on the GABA receptors and the NMDA glutamate receptors. Glutamate is the most prevalent excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain.

Oct 29, 202102:49
Nicotine

Nicotine

Nicotine imitates the naturally occurring neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. It binds to acetylcholine receptors throughout the body. The three significant activation areas are in the adrenal gland, where it causes an increased release of adrenaline, the cerebral cortex where it mimics acetylcholine, and in the ventral tegmental area where it causes a release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens shell.

Oct 29, 202104:15
Caffeine

Caffeine

Caffeine acts as a stimulant in the nervous system, and it does this by the way it works on adenosine receptors. Adenosine's action on the surface of the nerve causes the nerve activity to slow down; this causes drowsiness, dilates the blood vessels, and aids in falling asleep

Oct 29, 202102:18
Sugar

Sugar

Once our taste buds have experienced the taste of sugar, we are trapped. From that time on, all it takes is thinking about the taste and dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens rise. The brain uses 50% of the body's available sugar energy. This sugar energy is taken directly from the blood because the brain has no effective way to store sugar. The proper balance of sugar is necessary for the manufacture of neurotransmitters and brain functions like attention, cognition, and mood stability. If there is too much sugar in the brain it ages more quickly, accelerating memory loss and dementia.

Oct 29, 202104:02
Addiction

Addiction

An addictive substance is a non-essential element, meaning it is not necessary to maintain or sustain life. These chemicals can impact the nervous system by producing a sensation of satisfaction as it creates the desire (craving) and need (physiological dependency) for more of the element. Using the element repeatedly will result in a changed nervous system that now defines the element as being necessary for life, as essential as oxygen, food, water, shelter, and relationships. Eventually, the value of this element surpasses all the other ingredients, and the addicted individual will be willing to sacrifice any of the other elements to get more of the addictive substance.

Oct 29, 202115:39
Now I've Gotcha! - Introduction

Now I've Gotcha! - Introduction

Addiction is enslaving and killing our young people, devastating families, overstressing first responders and emergency room staff, and financially draining limited healthcare dollars.

Addiction is a monster that needs to be understood and contained.

Oct 29, 202102:18
Ponder about Passion

Ponder about Passion

Ponder about what matters to you. What matters to you? Are the things that occupy your time and thoughts important, or are they trivial and meaningless? About what are you passionate? Do you wake up each day with excitement because you have a passion?

Oct 27, 202104:26
Ponder about being Thankful

Ponder about being Thankful

Being thankful is a superpower. Ponder about the many things in your life for which you are grateful. Thankfulness and gratitude will see you through a lot of life's significant difficulties. Difficulties will occur, and many of them are not preventable. Still, your attitude and the degree of impact of those times will be significantly affected by your ability to remain deliberately thankful. Are you thankful? List five things for which you are grateful. Make time to ponder about the many things you have to be grateful for every day.

Oct 20, 202102:32
Ponder about Weaknesses

Ponder about Weaknesses

Ponder about human weakness and frailty. How we love to hide and deny our weaknesses. To admit to weakness we falsely assume is a statement of incompetence or powerlessness. What are your weaknesses? How can you turn your weaknesses into a strength? You can turn your weaknesses into strengths, but it will take some thought.

Oct 13, 202104:37
Ponder about Thoughts

Ponder about Thoughts

What occupies your thoughts? Do you spend endless hours being consumed by worry? Where is the best place for you to separate yourself and spend time pondering in solitude? When did you pause to ponder last? Will you stop and ponder today?

Oct 06, 202102:47
Ponder about Stuff

Ponder about Stuff

Ponder about things that affect all of us. Does your stuff own you? What does your stuff say about you? Do you have issues getting rid of stuff? Are you generous with your things, or are you hanging on with all your might? What do you value?

Sep 29, 202105:09