The Addicted Mind Podcast · Duane Osterlind, LMFT

Episode 353: Art Dielhenn's Journey: From TV Director to Author and Coach, Finding Humor and Healing in Recovery

·42 min·4 clips

Art Dielhenn battled his internal negative voice throughout his 30-year directing career, exhausting himself in a war with his own mind.

Host Dwayne Osterlund interviews Art Dielhenn, a former TV director turned author and recovery coach. Dielhenn brings a humorous and human perspective to recovery, drawing from his long-term personal journey and career coaching experience. The conversation centers on Dielhenn's two illustrated books, "Get Out of Your Head, It's a Mess in There" and "Addiction is a Family Disease." Dielhenn compiled over a hundred pages of aphorisms—pithy, condensed truths—from recovery programs and coaching over a decade. He structured his first book around themes like thinking, talking, listening, action, and achievement, featuring 101 aphorisms with cartoons by artist Clemmy Labuse. He describes addiction as a "family disease," comparing it to a virus that affects every family member, often leading to enabling behaviors. Dielhenn shared that he wrote his first book during the pandemic, a period when he also experienced the loss of a child to addiction. A key insight is Dielhenn's belief that recovery is more effective when it includes laughter and is not a somber process. He explains that his internal "war" with a negative voice subsided through coaching, therapy, and recovery, leading to a reconciled, centered self. The aphorism "don't think less of yourself, just think of yourself less" illustrates a method to combat self-obsessed rumination. Dielhenn argues that the truth, even when difficult, sets a person free from the weight of secrets. He emphasizes that recovery programs often involve significant humor and camaraderie among people who share similar struggles. The creative process of writing and illustrating the books served as a lifeline for Dielhenn during intense personal grief. His core advice for anyone struggling is to reach out for support and not try to heal in isolation, contrary to the instinct to hide when wounded. The tone is conversational, hopeful, and lightly humorous, blending personal storytelling with educational insights. The style is accessible, using simple language and visual cartoons to discuss heavy topics. Listeners interested in recovery, mental health, or personal growth from a perspective that values humor and creativity would appreciate this episode. Those seeking a strictly clinical or solemn discussion of addiction might find the approach too informal.

As heard by us

A humane recovery conversation that treats shame as something to work with, not hide.

Art Dealhand's conversation takes recovery, shame, and reconciliation seriously without losing its human scale. Dwayne keeps circling back to a plain but hard truth: insight by itself does not do much when shame is steering the wheel.

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Why you'd press play

Press play if you want a recovery conversation with wit, honesty, and a useful way into shame.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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