💊 Rethinking Help
(Because This Isn’t Your Typical Anti-Drug Message)
This isn’t about shame. It’s about survival.
Harm reduction is a bridge — not a loophole.
And you don’t have to be “all better” to be worthy of care.
Maybe you’re experimenting.
Maybe someone you love is struggling.
Maybe you’re done with shame and want one damn resource that meets you in the middle.
This vault is a soft landing.
A bundle of smart, heart-forward takes on how we can stop punishing pain
— and start meeting it with presence.
Before we dive into these curated gems, here's a short invitation from Diane — a trauma therapist and lifelong student of compassionate recovery — about why harm reduction isn't just a model, but a love letter.
It’s about presence over punishment. Curiosity over control.
And it’s personal.
👉 Watch the 6-minute welcome below if you want to understand the deeper why behind this vault.
🎙️ Why Harm Reduction? A Personal Story
📚 Two Animated Takes on One Truth:
“Addiction isn’t about the drug — it’s about the cage.”
These two short films are inspired by Johann Hari’s Chasing the Scream —
a deep dive into the real causes of addiction, and the systems that keep us
hurting.
They carry the same message in different voices:
Connection heals. Punishment isolates. And we can do better.
You don’t need to watch both — together, they offer a richer view of
how much more human this story becomes when we stop asking, “What’s
wrong with you?” and start asking, “What happened to you?”
📚 Featured Resources
A curated handful of high-impact videos — short, rich, and rewatchable. These aren’t “lessons.” They’re invitations. Each one offers a different path into understanding suffering, healing, and how we meet ourselves (and each other) with less shame and more presence.
🎥 What Causes Addiction
by Stuart McMillen | 5 min.
A slow, hand-drawn unfolding of the famous Rat Park experiment — showing how environment, connection, and context shape behavior more than chemistry ever could. A quiet, powerful counterpoint to the old “just say no” script.
🎥 Addiction Is Not What You Think
by Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell | 5 min.
A bright, science-backed animated reframe of Johann Hari’s message: connection heals more than control. Quick. Insightful. Surprisingly human.
🎥 The Real Causes of Addiction
by Johann Hari | TED Talk | 14 min.
Hari’s full dive into the roots of addiction — where neuroscience meets narrative. He tells the truth plainly and with heart.
🎥 The Mind Isn’t the Enemy — It’s Just Unquestioned
Byron Katie & Jay Shetty | 42 min.
A slow, potent look at what happens when we examine the beliefs that hurt us — and what’s waiting when we stop believing everything we think.
🎥 How to Stay Sane When the World’s on Fire
Byron Katie & “The Man in Gray” | 49 min.
What starts as an argument becomes a homecoming. This one is for anyone who’s ever felt trapped by their thoughts — or the state of the world.
🎨What Causes Addiction
By Stuart McMillen (5 min.) - Hand-drawn, slowburn animation
For visual thinkers and metaphor-lovers
💡What to Notice:
Rat Park vs. Rat Cage
How environment shapes behavior more than substance
A quiet rebellion against “just say no”
The way connection literally reduces addictive behavior
No preaching. Just curiosity.
🧪Addiction - Kurzgesagt Style
By Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell (5 min.) Bright, science-based animation
For big-picture minds and data lovers
💡What to Notice
The neurology behind addiction - it’s not about willpower
Why isolation-based recovery often fails
Connection as prevention
Animation meets compassion + chef’s kiss
“The opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety — it’s connection.”
- Johann Hari
🎥 The Real Causes of Addiction
By Johann Hari—TED Talk — 14 min.
Hari’s full story — raw, human, and backed by science.
A wide-lens look at the social, emotional, and systemic roots of addiction.
Not about blame. Not about willpower. Just truth.
🛠️Inner Inquiry Tools
🎥The Mind Isn’t the Enemy - It’s Just Unquestioned
Byron Katie & Jay Shetty — 42 min.
Tone: Clear-eyed, bone-deep calm with just enough mischief to wake the mind.
No drama, no guru voice — just pure presence, gentle inquiry, and a truth so quiet it sneaks up and hugs your spirit.
That’s Byron Katie.
Not flashy. Not fixing. Just freeing.
Best paired with: Quiet hours, a long exhale, a soft place to land
💌 What This Is
This isn’t a masterclass.
This isn’t therapy.
This isn’t about getting over it.
It’s about gently questioning the stories we’ve believed our whole lives — and what happens when we stop arguing with reality.
🎯What to Listen For:
The Work: Katie’s 4 questions — simple, disarming
Pain ≠ Proof
Truth vs. Habit
Language softening when stories loosen
Presence over performance
“How to Stay Sane When the World’s on Fire 🔥🧘♀️”
Byron Katie & The Man in Gray — 49 min.
Ever catch yourself spiraling about politics, people, or problems you can’t control?
A conversation that catches a mind mid-spiral and walks it gently home.
Katie doesn’t fix. She invites.
And somehow, a single question unspools the entire knot.
Peace doesn’t come from agreeing with the world - it
comes from not believing everything you think.