The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast

Welcome to a special series dedicated to the unsung heroes of our healthcare system: nurses. Through my journey, I've encountered numerous nurses, each grappling with their own set of unique challenges when it comes to seeking sobriety. From demanding schedules to the weight of societal stigma, the path to recovery for nurses is often filled with hurdles. And yet, their significance in the healthcare landscape is undeniable. They a...

Jay Jay French is an American guitarist, manager and producer. French is most famous for his role as the founding member and one of the guitarists of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. As a guitar player, manager, producer and executive producer, French has sold over 20 million albums, performed in 34 countries and performed live over 9,000 times.

His life was incredibly large and glamorous, but for years he struggled with drugs a...

Nora Bontrager was born in an Amish community in Indiana where her life revolved around hard work. Each day she would bookend school with 2 hours of chores in the morning and evening. Her life was closed off from a lot of the world and she had the feeling that “these people just don’t get it.” 

In a life that revolved around hard work, school felt like her only respite. The place that she felt like she could be a truer version of he...

In this Q and A episode, we dive deep into the intricate world of recovery, focusing on a crucial distinction: not everything that hurts is harmful. Join us as we explore the delicate balance between facing discomfort and avoiding lasting damage, all while learning the art of delivering potentially hurtful information with empathy and care.

Tune in to learn about:

Understanding the Difference: We unravel the nuances between hurt and ...

Joann Kenyon grew up an Army brat to a family she thought gave her everything she ever wanted. It wasn’t until later that she realized that wasn’t true. She started drinking at 12 and found Meth at 14. That first night she used, she stayed up all night playing video games and felt the best she’d ever felt. 

Things escalated quickly and suddenly she was a 70lb raver, selling drugs and peeing on everyone’s couch. She was a convicted f...

As an award-winning stuntwoman, Kimberly Shannon Murphy was intimate with pain. For years, she propelled her body through dangerous spaces—medicating the trauma of her childhood sexual abuse with the adrenaline rush that came from pushing herself to the absolute limit. But as Kimberly learned, no matter how much you suppress your past, it always catches up with you.

In May, Kimberly released Glimmer, which details her remarkable jou...

In this compelling episode, we dive deep into the intricate and often challenging world of dealing with addicts who attempt to normalize their addiction. Whether it's a family member, friend, or colleague, understanding how to approach these situations with empathy and effectiveness is crucial. Join us as we unravel the complexities of handling such delicate conversations.

Tune in to learn about:

How to Talk to Someone in Denial: Exp...

Lynn Rothenberg is a former social worker, writer and photographer whose son struggled with addiction from a young age. Lynn and her husband split up when her son was only 3 years old and she noticed the effects of the loss early on. 

Her son’s addiction began with Marijuana then progressed and at each phase she just wanted the drugs to stop. Words like addiction began to surface from professionals but she knew her son, that wasn’t ...

Dr. Evelyn Higgins is the founder of Wired For Addiction®, which specializes in the biological component of mental health and addiction recovery. Dr. Higgins is a recognized international expert in the science of addiction recovery.  As a Certified Addictionologist, Diplomate of the American Board of Disability Analysts specializing in pain management, and Diplomate of the American College of Addictionology and Compulsive Disorders...

Join us for an insightful Q&A episode as we delve into the intriguing topic of how addiction creeps into our lives unnoticed and the crucial steps to overcome its grip. In this episode, we'll shed light on the cunning ways addiction takes hold, and how to protect yourself from its snares.

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Ignoring Your Initial Impressions: Explore the deceptive nature of addiction as we unravel why it often starts subtly, maki...

Dr. Alexander Elswick grew up with privilege and seemingly all the protective factors that might keep him out of the way of addiction. It was then that anxiety disorders began showing up for him. He began getting in trouble in college. He was prescribed opiates and quickly became addicted.

He went to jail on drug trafficking charges and was kicked off his college baseball team. What followed was a cycle of arrests, homelessness and ...

David Procyshyn grew up in the suburbs of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In his late teens he started feeling chronically tired. He experienced near constant pain in his gut and chronic tension around his head. He eventually came to realize they were all symptoms of significant depression and anxiety.  

He’d tried to hide his feelings from everyone and the hiding caused him to dissociate and be plagued with social anxiety. He began to sea...

Join us in the latest Q and A episode of The Courage to Change as we delve into the crucial topic of recognizing the signs that it might be time to re-evaluate your addiction recovery journey. Navigating the path to recovery can be a challenging and transformative experience, but it's essential to recognize when it's time to pause, reflect, and adjust our approach. In this episode, we'll explore the five key indicators that signal ...

Quinn felt her addictive personality early. As a child growing up in New York, her first addictions were sports and dance. Anxiety and depression came along early as well and when she first started drinking and smoking weed, she could tell her relationship was different to her friends around her. They immediately filled a void that nothing else could.

In middle school she also started a relationship that was co-dependent in nature a...

Nancy Zimble is a pediatrician in Los Angeles California with over 40 years of clinical experience. Over the course of her career during routine check ups she has helped thousands of families navigate the typical developmental challenges of childhood. She has also advocated for her patients with more complicated medical issues.

Dr. Zimble is a graduate of Vassar College and Tufts University School of Medicine, and moved west to do h...

Travis Bornstein is the father of Tyler who died at age 23 of a Fentanyl overdose. Tyler had been successful in school and sports, but injury and the subsequent surgeries brought on an addiction to opioids which eventually moved to heroin. 

This began 6 years of addiction and relapse. The family did everything it could to provide a path to recovery, but eventually Tyler ended up with Heroin laced with Fentanyl. The person he was usi...

Dr. Heidi Brocke spent 14 years in an extremely emotionally and narcissistically abusive relationship. Her ex-husband had his fingers in so many aspects of her life. They owned a chiropractic center together. They owned a ranch. They had two children together. All things he used to torment and control.

The home was filled with fits of anger, extreme punishments and constant fear for her and her two daughters. And somehow even after ...

Jeannine Coulter's story is a powerful and inspiring journey of transformation and redemption. For fifteen years, Jeannine battled with addiction, leading to multiple arrests, homelessness, finally spending her last days of shooting meth and heroin in a literal doghouse before getting sober in January of 2015. 

Less than three weeks after getting sober, she started teaching at a fitness studio that would transform her life and event...

In this Q and A episode Ashley talks about the importance of black and white thinking especially in early recovery. But then talks about what experiences and conversations that she's had that have shaped her belief system around grey area topics. This episode is a helpful tool in navigating your own belief systems as you get sober and as your recovery evolves over time. 

Ashley Loeb Blassingame has been clean and sober for 17 years,...