From Addiction to Everyday Life: The Freedom Model in ActionFrom Addiction to Everyday Life: The Freedom Model in Action
Audio/Video – The Freedom Model For Addictions
Mark Sheeran and Michelle Dunbar discuss how the Freedom Model’s focus on choice, happiness and the positive drive can be applied to addiction, habits and relationships. They share personal and practical examples to show how dropping labels and examining perceived benefits may open up new options for change.
37:16•11 Sept 2026
From Addiction Labels to Real Choices: The Freedom Model at Work
Episode Overview
- Freedom Model ideas apply to everyday habits and life problems, not just substance use or fetishes.
- Perceived benefits of using versus not using often sit very close together, and questioning those perceptions can shift choices.
- The positive drive principle, free will and personal autonomy are seen as inborn traits that can be used to change any situation.
- Labels like “addict” or “procrastinator” are described as unhelpful; owning choices without guilt or self‑hate is encouraged instead.
- Relationship examples show that focusing on what would truly make you happier can change how you view staying, leaving or renegotiating a partnership.
“Procrastination is quite literally a bullshit term. Nobody procrastinates. People just make decisions in moments in time on what they value.”
What drives someone to seek a life that feels genuinely free, not just from substances but from stressful habits and stuck relationships too? This episode of The Freedom Model For Addictions takes that question head‑on by showing how the same ideas used to move past heavy drinking or drug use can also reshape day‑to‑day life.
You’ll hear Mark Sheeran and Michelle Dunbar talk through a coaching question they get often: can the Freedom Model be used for things like procrastination, phone scrolling, late‑night Netflix binges, or messy marriage problems? Their answer is a clear yes, grounded in three core human traits they keep coming back to: free will, personal autonomy and what they call the positive drive principle.
Rather than labelling people as addicts, procrastinators or victims, they argue that “procrastination is quite literally a bullshit term. Nobody procrastinates. People just make decisions in moments in time on what they value.” From that angle, a habit is simply a repeated choice that once seemed useful, and can be changed when you start asking what would make you happier right now and in the future.
Mark shares how understanding the positive drive helped him stay in his marriage and shift from resentment and guilt to asking, "Would I be happier leaving, or happier staying?" Michelle adds long‑term relationship examples and everyday choices like bedtime routines, showing how small shifts in thinking can snowball into big changes. The style is conversational, occasionally blunt, and sprinkled with humour, making big ideas like free will and happiness feel practical rather than abstract.
It’s geared towards people who feel trapped by addiction language or endless recovery, but it also speaks to anyone who’s tired of feeling stuck in habits, careers or relationships. If you’re curious about a recovery approach that treats you as capable and inherently driven towards happiness, this episode might prompt you to rethink how you see your own choices and where your freedom actually starts.
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