Molly and Clarissa get real about the spoken and unspoken “rules” we inherit—from family, culture, religion, peers, and recovery spaces—and how those rules can quietly run our lives. They explore when structure is protective (especially early recovery) and when rigidity shrinks our world. The invitation: notice the rule, name whose voice it is, examine its intention, and rewrite it as a flexible, values-aligned boundary (a loving guardrail) that serves your recovery today.
What We Cover
Invisible operating systems: How covert rules (“Don’t cry in public,” “Finish your plate,” “Don’t upset Dad,” “Work before rest”) get encoded as truth and shape choices, identity, and self-worth.
Where rules come from: Family modeling, culture/diet/purity narratives, religion & tradition, media comparison loops, and past painful moments that birthed survival strategies.
When rules help vs. harm: The cast-to-brace metaphor—early structure can be lifesaving; never taking the brace off becomes its own injury.
Food-recovery example: “The kitchen is closed after dinner.” Helpful as temporary scaffolding; harmful if it overrides true hunger, fuels all-or-nothing thinking, or becomes punishment.
Language that frees: Swap “I can’t” for “I choose not to (right now).” Replace rules with loving guardrails anchored in values, not fear.
Meeting the Rebel: How the inner rebel shows up when we feel controlled, and how flexibility + permission reduces backlash and binge risk.
Compassion over condemnation: Seeing the origin story of a rule reveals it was protective, not defective—which softens shame and opens space to change.
Support matters: Borrowing a “prosthetic prefrontal cortex” from trusted people (group, therapist, friend) to reality-check and practice flexibility safely.
