S8E11 Finding Stillness in the StormS8E11 Finding Stillness in the Storm
Red Roof Recovery show
Mindfulness mentor Tanya MacIntyre shares her Formula for Freedom, a four-pillar practice to quiet negative thoughts, ease suffering, and support addiction recovery. Through her own story and a client’s crisis, she offers gentle, practical tools for finding calm in the middle of life’s storms.
7:39•11 May 2026
Finding Stillness in the Storm: Tanya MacIntyre’s Formula for Freedom
Episode Overview
- Mindfulness can shift your relationship to suffering, even when circumstances stay hard.
- The Formula for Freedom rests on awareness, avoidance, attention, and acceptance.
- Labelling thoughts as ANTS (automatic negative thoughts) helps reduce their power.
- Healthy boundaries or “mutual respect lines” are vital for protecting your mental health.
- Taking life one day, or even one breath at a time, can make recovery feel more manageable.
“We don’t necessarily stop the waves of life from coming. We do become more skilled at surfing them.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This short Red Roof Recovery episode of *The Harmonious Mind* offers a calm, honest pause for anyone feeling overwhelmed by addiction, mental health struggles, or just the chaos of daily life. Host and mindfulness mentor Tanya MacIntyre shares why her path into mindfulness was “forged in the fire” of her own survival.
She talks openly about living with mental health and addiction challenges, time in residential facilities, the fog of prescriptions, and years of suicidal thoughts. Her story sits alongside that of a former real estate investor now facing homelessness, bankruptcy, and serious health issues, showing how quickly life circumstances can change – and how heavy that can feel.
From that lived experience, Tanya introduces her “Formula for Freedom” – four practical pillars for calming a frazzled mind without relying solely on alcohol, drugs, or medication. You’ll hear how **awareness** helps you notice that most thoughts are unhelpful “ANTS” (automatic negative thoughts), **avoidance** means setting healthy “mutual respect lines” with people and environments, **attention** keeps you focused on what you can control right now, and **acceptance** becomes a daily bridge from resistance to peace.
She also shares her favourite motto – “What can I do from where I am with what I have today?” – and the classic one-day-at-a-time approach, breaking it down further to one breath at a time for the really tough moments. This is a gentle but direct listen for anyone in recovery or supporting others, with simple, repeatable tools you can start using straight away.
If you’ve been stuck in your own “itty-bitty shitty committee”, could Tanya’s Formula for Freedom be the calmer rhythm you’ve been looking for?
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