Sep 17, 2026 · 1 hr · 13 segments
Your loved one is sober. They’re getting help. They’re doing better. So why is it still so hard to trust them? In this episode, Dr. Kibby McMahon explains why trust doesn’t automatically return when…
Kibby McMahonHostAnyway.
The reason why I'm talking about trust today is trust is always a really interesting topic to me because sometimes in relationships, trust really matters, right? We say that a good relationship is built on trust, whether it's romantic, whether it's a family relationship.
And sometimes I feel like we talk about it in this way that is so important, but like, what is it, right? Is it just a feeling? Is it a feeling of comfort? Is it a feeling of lack of anxiety? It's so important yet we don't know what it is.
And I wanted to talk about it specifically in the case of relationships that are navigating substance use and addiction because there's a
lot of broken
trust when it comes to dealing with someone that you love with addiction there are secrets there are moments that have hurt you there are lies sometimes there is a lot of uncertainty and I think that as I talked about in, I think my last episode, my last solo episode, when someone gets sober or gets treatment of any kind of mental illness, there is a hope that loved ones feel like, oh, phew, the problem's over.
It was horrible and scary for a while, but now we can really get back to the type of relationship we want, or I could finally relax.
I know that we're talking about all sorts of relationship betrayal too, right? Like if someone cheats on you or if someone has lashed out at you or someone has hurt themselves and then they might be in recovery or doing better, but you were still left with the wounds of that betrayal trauma, right? You're still finding it hard to trust.
And in the study, as I'm working with these wonderful people who love someone or are close to someone who are taking steps to cut down on their drug addiction, that was a theme that came up.
Anyway.
The reason why I'm talking about trust today is trust is always a really interesting topic to me because sometimes in relationships, trust really matters, right? We say that a good relationship is built on trust, whether it's romantic, whether it's a family relationship.
And sometimes I feel like we talk about it in this way that is so important, but like, what is it, right? Is it just a feeling? Is it a feeling of comfort? Is it a feeling of lack of anxiety? It's so important yet we don't know what it is.
And I wanted to talk about it specifically in the case of relationships that are navigating substance use and addiction because there's a
lot of broken
trust when it comes to dealing with someone that you love with addiction there are secrets there are moments that have hurt you there are lies sometimes there is a lot of uncertainty and I think that as I talked about in, I think my last episode, my last solo episode, when someone gets sober or gets treatment of any kind of mental illness, there is a hope that loved ones feel like, oh, phew, the problem's over.
It was horrible and scary for a while, but now we can really get back to the type of relationship we want, or I could finally relax.
I know that we're talking about all sorts of relationship betrayal too, right? Like if someone cheats on you or if someone has lashed out at you or someone has hurt themselves and then they might be in recovery or doing better, but you were still left with the wounds of that betrayal trauma, right? You're still finding it hard to trust.
And in the study, as I'm working with these wonderful people who love someone or are close to someone who are taking steps to cut down on their drug addiction, that was a theme that came up.
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