When we see our kids sinking into anxiety, depression, or even addiction, our first instinct is: “How do I fix them?” We scramble for therapists, schools, treatments, and programs, anything that might help our child get better.

But here’s the hard truth: in many cases, it’s not only your child who needs help, you do too.

Addiction and mental health struggles rarely live in isolation. They ripple through the entire family system, quietly shaping how we respond, cope, and even enable. 

Parents often carry just as much wounding, fear, shame, and unprocessed trauma as the kids they’re trying to rescue. And until we confront our own patterns, we risk perpetuating the cycle.

In this episode, I sit down with entrepreneur, bestselling author, and founder of Genius Network^® and Genius Recovery, Joe Polish. 

Joe’s worked through the pain of childhood trauma and years of drug addiction. Now he’s building one of the most respected recovery movements in the world.

Together, we explore why parents must be part of the recovery process, why control often makes things worse, and how connection, community, and unlearning our own patterns open the path to healing.