February 12, 2025 • 36 mins
Mitch stops by the studio to chat with Corey about getting 4 years and what he’s learned about how family members heal.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the two seventeen Recovery podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
If you don't make mistakes, you won't learn.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
With your host, Corey Winfield, you know how you know
fish is bad if you can't put it on pizza.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
It's a special guest, Mitchell O'Brien.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
I really hate to do listen to you guys, but
I really have to go to the ab somewhere that
I just like, can't hold it anymore. Got your ass?
Speaker 3 (00:29):
It is the two seventeen Recovery podcasts. It is the
twelfth of February twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
My name is Corey Winfield.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
I am Mitchell O'Brien, the only man.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
To leave our podcast because you had to use the restroom.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
I was going to say it more explicitly, but it
was only a matter of time until you got that drop.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Really really was and the drop is now forever. Yeah,
and it's an intro, So thank you for that.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Mitchell.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
It's been a minute since we've done a podcast as
to seventeen Recovery, it's been a minute since you and
I have done a podcast in general. You know you
last podcast was Halloween.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
I think so.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Yeah, because you have your redacted podcast which you put
on hold for a minute.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Yeah, yeah, we were going to start something new, but
I just don't know where that direction is going.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
So and then our Recovery Dads podcast we've been done
in eighteen months or something. Dads are busy, oh yeah,
and we're super busy here at two seventeen recovery and
you're driving now and you're on the road, and it's
just you know, Tuesdays was our day for Recovery Dads,
but now Tuesdays I actually have to go be a
dad because Marnie wants to work and stuff.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Now do short rides on Tuesdays.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Yeah, yeah, So it's just like, when can we get
all of this together again? And maybe when the sun
comes out at six am, it'll be a little easier
to get up, But sometimes it's hard. Man, it's dark,
dark until eight o'clock. Sometimes it's like, man, before we
would like before the day started. So we get here
at AID to a pocket. Now get here AID, it's
(02:03):
like still dark, and you're like, I don't really want
to do.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
None of that. I don't know. I kind of like that.
I don't like waking up in the morning, but I
don't mind the darkness of the morning.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
I don't know. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Yesterday I started the day in the dark in the
company vehicle and I ended the day in the dark
in the company vehicle.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
That's crazy. We can't out of you guys now.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
It was a good ride.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Twelve hour day. Shit, why aren't you working fourteen? You know?
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Leaving early today?
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Nah, But that's that's It's kind of cool though, that
you knew like you had to take a break from
your podcast to just like hold on, like let me
revamp this, let me figure it out, and that'll be
the time my choosing.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
You know, there's no pressure on you, and.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
You use it to kind of help you through, kind
of help you get something off your chest, to be creative,
to to create something. And the podcasting is fun that
way too. And people at early recovery, I'll tell you
that the podcast helped me. You know, some people are like, oh,
there's there's different pathways and da dah da da da
(03:11):
what pathways you choose? And I'm like, podcasting, like what
that's not We're good for me, man. You know, I
had to stay sober because we started out we were
doing them four days a week. I was in a
sober living home. So my requirement a was to stay
sober already, but to do them at night. I had
to stay sober all day to do them four times
(03:32):
a week, and it really did help me, and it
helped me, event helped me get stuff off my chest.
And you can go back and listen to the early
episodes that are on our app. You know, you can
get the app. It's free, but it's it's laid out
pretty easily there for you can go back through the
years twenty nineteen, twenty twenty twenty one two are doing it.
Four Yeah, to go through the archives and listen. It's
(03:56):
I tell people it's like a soap opera almost it.
I mean, if you go back, you can, like you
hear the stuff that I was talking about, like, hey,
we want to do this, we want to do that,
and it's pretty cool that some of the stuff has
kind of made it and we've accomplished some goals and
you know, to make a movie part I still want to.
I hope to be shooting next month, so I have
to put the finishing touches on the script of it.
(04:17):
But you know, and you're gonna help me with that,
you at least agree to it at one point. Yeah,
you know, but that'll be it'll be fun.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
I think it'll be mostly improv but.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Like, let's not following the storyboard, Joe, You're like, why
are we doing this different than what we normally do?
Then we just grab it and shoot it because I
paid money to take this film class and they tell
me how to do it like this, Yeah, that's how
you make the movie now.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
But and in January, you snuck it by us.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
You weren't like walking around like talking about how many
years you got, you just got them. And then I'm like,
wait a minute, because Justin got his five years and
he was upset I didn't get.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Him a coin, so yeah, we all heard about it.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Yeah, so and then I was like, wait, Mitch's was
in January, and I was like, Mitch, i'd say a message.
I didn't get you a coin or anything, but congratulations
on your four years.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Thank you. I don't necessarily track it like some people do,
you know, and I don't know the exact day either,
which is I think kind of rare in recovery. I've
met a couple other people that are like that, but
most people know the exact day or time, you know,
where it was I just know it was in January.
(05:33):
I'm pretty sure it was in early January, around the
third or the fourth of twenty twenty one. So I
have this weird and people tell me I overthink it,
and I probably do.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
But.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
I don't track it because that wasn't attached to like
a good thing, you know, the addiction part of it,
and I know the sobriety part of it is is
the good thing. But I'm living a life of recovery.
But I'm above that I'm living. I want to live
a life of wellness, which is kind of how I
organize it in my mind. And it's like I don't
(06:10):
want to just stay sober today. I want to be
progressing in all of the aspects of life, you know,
all of them. So recovery is like a very important
part of that puzzle, to the point to where like
my whole life bottlenecked until I found recovery. So it's
very important, but it's like it's not the only thing.
(06:31):
I want to make sure And these could all be
argued as part of recovery, but I don't want to
make sure my mental health is tiptop, my physical health
is tip top, and just all these different things, and
just so I look at it more almost like recovery
is under the umbrella of a life of wellness. And
I kind of blog about that a little bit. Which
(06:51):
part would you say, is the heart is so far
to tackle? Oh, and maybe it's not the hardest, Maybe
it's the one the most uncomfortable or when you don't like,
I'm gonna say mental health, but it's the really really
(07:12):
really bad avoidance habits and behaviors. And I'm still like
battling those. But like after I got sober and I
was dealing with mental health stuff, depression, anxiety, working on
trauma with my therapist, those, one of the things that
came up is I was always just trying to avoid
(07:33):
everything in the moment, you know, to get it. And
that's what drove me to drinking too, because that's what
I was doing. I was avoiding the depression and the
anxiety that I was having. You know, I could grab
a bottle and that feeling would go away almost immediately,
but then it would be back the next day, so
then I'd have to do it again. And we all
know that snowball, you know. So being able to actually
(07:56):
stay disciplined in not having avoidance.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Behaviors is that I guess how I'm gonna say.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
It is probably the most difficult part because I would
have and I think you've been here for at least
one of them, like panic attacks, full panic attacks when
I had to make a call that I didn't want
to make. You know, we're talking about like you know,
financial debt stuff, and it's like my whole body would
(08:26):
like lock up, it'd be hard to breathe, and I'd
be having an actual panic attack. And it's like, but
I've been living a life of avoidance behavior since I
was a kid because of trauma and stuff like that.
So it's like that's probably one of the biggest ones.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
And I think that's a normal one too, and that
was a big one for me. I didn't and I
still have problems with it, man, Like I don't want
to hear the answer that I've already created in my mind,
Like I already haven't figured out my mind how it's
going to go. And it's always bad for me, you know,
(09:01):
I always and maybe this is something that people do,
addicts do. I don't know, but I always think the
worst outcome, like oh, they're going to say no, and
then this before I even ask them. I'm already like
defensive and ready to defend my position of why they
shouldn't say no or whatever it is. And bills were tough,
you know, to open a bill, Oh my god, Like
(09:22):
I couldn't even do it.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
One time.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
I had to bring my mouth to my mother. It
was like, Mom, I can't even open this. As she
opened it, and she's like, oh, it's a hundred and seventeen dollars,
that's not bad. Okay, well I have eight. It's pretty bad.
I can't even go drink this problem away, you know. Yeah,
And she I remember when she opened and then she
called them for me because I'm like, I can't pay that.
(09:45):
I don't know what to do. And she did something
and got something figured out, and she's like, that's all
you had to do for someone who's sober. Sure, I'm
sure that would be easy to do, but for me
and the anxiety from not drinking, you know, like just oh,
I just remember feeling that whole ball of.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Just and just I don't Oh, I'm so glad I
don't have to do it.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Anymore, angsty and stuff, and I still kind of have
to do that. I haven't you know, gotten myself out
of all the debt and everything and medical stuff. But
it's a little bit easier and.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
As a and at first maybe I started trying. I
remember people tell me, oh, call two one one, they'll
help you. That's funny because I called them and they
wouldn't help me. And they told me, oh, well, you're
a male with no kids, so.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
I have phone.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Good luck, Maybe go to a church or something. Yeah,
but my electrics getting shut off, and like you said,
I needed a bill.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
I have.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
I have the shut off notice right here. Okay, well
maybe if you bring that to a church or something.
What church do you belong to? I'm like none, Like
damn it, you know. And so that would send me
in another spiral. So one I would see that, like
I just knew there was no help out there for me.
So then that added to the anxiety. And if I
just left that over there, don't know how much it is.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Yeah, if you don't look at it, it's got a problem.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
Or I just don't know how much it is, don't
really know when it's getting shut off. And sometimes I
would look to see when it was getting shut off,
just so I would have a little heads up. But yeah,
then it was off to liquor store with whatever little
money I did have to drink that away, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Because then you know, in twenty minutes, you're not gonna
have to feel it anymore. Yeah until tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Yeah, and the next thing week it's even worse. It's
like you're going down the stairs or up the stairs.
Either way, you're going this direction that you don't want
to go, and it's just like, but the only way
to forget it is to go get some more m
Then when you run out of money there, then you're
really scrounging because you don't have power anymore. And now
you don't have money the liquor and you know, thank
(11:42):
God that I did have family. There's some people and
you've met them too, who are an early recovery or
trying to be in early recovery, and they have nobody, Yeah,
like family like mom, dad passed away, don't have brothers
or maybe brothers and sisters have died or moved away
or want nothing to do with them, like they have nobody.
And I feel for those people, I really do. And
(12:04):
that would be hard to lose a parent and then
to have to go through all of this alone, like
that would be that'd be tough. I mean, ultimately we
have to go through it alone, you know, like our
parents are family whoever, They're not doing it for us.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
But you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
It's yeah, well, And I think that was what my
last blog I wrote was kind of about, too, was
your family's not always gonna understand where you are. And
because I was talking with a client and they're talking
about how their their mother is still very critical of them,
and I just got a chance to share some of
(12:41):
my story and I was like, well, my mom was
there for all sixteen years of my heavy alcoholism. So
when Mitchell pulled out another six months of sobriety, because
I'd only got six months, three months a nine month
out of sobriety before this time, like that was just
(13:02):
Mitchell's next time being sober for a while. But it
wasn't until I proved and got more long term and
got into the therapy, got into healthier mental health practices
and behaviors to where and then that time under your
belt too, you know, the longer you go. And then
I got a little bit. I had to kind of
do it for myself because people are being critical. But
(13:23):
I got off the vivitroal shots by myself, and I
got a certain amount of Like I waited six months
to tell anybody, so I'm a year and a half
sober now, that's twice as much as the longest I've
ever had in my adult life at that time. And
then people start to go, oh, okay, this is different,
but I had to. What I shared with the client
(13:44):
was they're not healing at the same pace you are.
They're not getting the therapy you are. They're not connected
to the recovery community you are. Probably they're not going
to the meetings you are. They're not in this like
you are. So they're healing at just a little bit
of interaction that they get from you. So it's gonna
(14:07):
take more. So you have to have as much grace
with your loved ones or friends then, you know, as
as they do for you. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
So it's tough and sometimes you'll still get it. And
that's that's a good way to put it, you know,
like with their each interaction with you, you know they're okay,
that's how they're they're healing, and that's how they're growing.
Because sometimes you know, my mom was still throw it
out there.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Oh yeah, just.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
No I still want to talk right now, or I'm
just busy right now, or you know, like my life
is is pretty crazy in and it's it's a it's
a good crazy. But she doesn't see all that stuff,
you know, she just knows. Well, I never got a
text or a picture with Parker's that he's teething now,
like I had to. I had to find out the
long way or the last one or whatever. It's like, okay, well, sorry,
(14:55):
you know, I didn't didn't write that one down. But
I send pictures all the time, you know, Like but
sometimes you know, or I have an attitude about something
and who knows what I'm really mad about or what
I'm dealing with, you know. But she'll take it the
wrong way, and then it's like, well' see, Corey, you
just you're still not used to being sober. And it's like, no, no,
I don't understand what I'm going through right now, you know.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
And you don't just get sober and then have all
of life figured out, you know.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Yeah, and there's a part of that you mentioned.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
What was it?
Speaker 1 (15:25):
I lost it?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
But yeah, it's really similar to that. Oh it's the
what I was gonna say, is the avoidance behaviors, not
opening the the the bill, the mail, so whatever that is,
you get that same. You don't just get good at
(15:48):
it one day. You don't talk to your therapist about Okay,
you have to have discipline actually do this stuff and
then get good at it. You're still gonna have that
panic attack. Yeah, but the more times that comes up,
they eat year it gets and it's the same thing
as you know, your loved one healing at different paces.
You you know, the longer they see you, the more
(16:09):
healthy you are around them. Eventually it kind of kicks in.
It's really similar.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
And speaking of families, yes, is a good good segue here.
We are going to include families at our next Recovery
Stories event.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
I saw something but I haven't been able to talk
to you about it. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Recovery Stories five. It's happening in Traverse City, Michigan. Where's
it happening at the Grand Travers Event Center on the
twenty seventh of March and our Message of Hope speaker
is very excited about Jay Burton, Oh yes, and Paul Back. Yes,
they're going to do the it's more of an in depth,
(16:53):
you know, twenty five minute long kind of thing and.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Then recovery stories.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
We have one lock, then Adam nuth okay, and we're
still looking for one more, still waiting to hear yes
or no on that. And then we're going to include
two families.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
I have a really good one that I'm trying to
talk into doing it nice. He's very scared, so I
shouldn't have said scared, but he's avoidance. Yeah, there we go.
Well that conversation.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Yeah, get your gass up there.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
I was like three minutes, man, like.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
Yeah, if you missed, if you missed the last one,
you can watch them online.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
All the videos are up there.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
Kim Russ, Me Jesse, and Marnie and Chris Goss. You know,
they were the message. Marnie and Chris Goss were the
message of hopes because Marney had to cut her short
because their belts ran long.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
I did like ten minutes.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Well, and the MC wasn't very timely.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Yeah, And speaking of the MC, it was you, Mitchell.
You were the MC.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
You were gonna come back from a break and then
take another break and I was like, no, just get
it going now. But I just so happened to have
some audio from the event, and you know, the audio
is so much better than the other ones because we
actually ran the mic to our board and so the
audio was just amazing, and we got some drops here
and I was hoping maybe you could explain them. So
(18:21):
let's let's go ahead and play the first one here.
This is one of my favorites.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
Actually, all right, everybody, we're not about to start yet,
So if anybody needs to hit their vapor real quick
or smoke a cigarette, this is the time to do it.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Will be starting shortly. This would be a good one
for the beginning of the podcast. I almost put it
on there, so I'm fat. Did you know that?
Speaker 1 (18:50):
I didn't know. That's not how you identify.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
You, don't. You don't see people as their stereotypes. I
understand that, all right, everybody, And so that's only like
four or five stairs, but.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
For a big fella's three, I don't even know.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
I'm exaggerating this thing where it feels like five or
six could be seven. Okay, So I would get to
the top of the stairs and have to speak, and
I would immediately be out of breath.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
Hey, t.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
I should have sayen the national anthem right there. We're
not about to start yet, So if everybody needs to
hit their vapor real quick or smoke a cigarette. This
is the time to do it will be starting shortly.
You can hear those I'm trying to get oxygen.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
All right, maybe okay, maybe this one. You can explain
this one then.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
So I want to thank them for letting us be
able to do things like this, to have awesome.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Yeah, they have awesome.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
But people started clapping, so I was trying to go
with the clapping. And you have.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
NMRI who actually were funding the event.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
And then whatever I called Steve's smoking barbecue, which I
can say now, but I couldn't know the smoking Steve's
smoking that's a recovery event.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Uh, that's where we're at in life.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
You know.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
I do have a couple more yep.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
I was. I was excited to hear that. You said that.
Justin was. I'm seeing this year's or this this the
next one. The girls from Phoenix Hall over here, Yeah awesome.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
Phoenix Hall is is a treatment center from it's it's
Diction Treatment Services, but they call it Phoenix Hall and
that's where the women go.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
But listen, listen to the excitement of Mitch's voice.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Here the girls from Phoenix Hall over here.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
Yeah, awesome, awesome, you're here.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
The same thing for Dakowski.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
I sound very flamboyant.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
And then there's Harbor Hall is here too. Let's listen
how you welcome them.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
But first I wanted to give a shout out to
the boys at Dakaski Hall that are here. Everybody give
them around the hall.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
The hall. Yeah, so yeah, it wasn't Harbor Hall. It
was Dakaski Hall.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
First I wanted to give a shout out to the
boys at Dakowski Hall that are here. Everybody give them
around the hall. The The thing that's really happening is
I'm having a good time. You are in my brain.
Obviously doesn't work. You said that to somebody today and
(21:44):
they're like winfle just screaming. Obviously donks a little mitch.
All right, everybody, nobody, I need a handicap ramp or
I'm going to roll up there like like what's her name? Dead?
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Mary? Did?
Speaker 3 (22:00):
He didn't even use the steps And the first one
she just like went to the complete different side of
the stage. Air that just flaps up there, and I'm like,
what she got done? She just jumps down like Rambow.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
And like, what do you do?
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Breaks I was thinking about going full Chris Farley, if
you have me do it this time. I was just
like going and doing the same thing, but like running
and just being very animated.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
Right, Glad you made it out to Durn.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
We're selling shirts out of the van down by the sidewalk.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
If you don't live a life of recovery, you'll be
living in a van down by the river.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
Seriously, there's the boardman piffers over there and that's where
people live and you'll be down there by them. Pull
your head out of your ass and what do they say,
pull your big boy pants up or I don't even know, they.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
Pull yourself up by the boots track.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
There you go.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
That's what I was looking for. Yeah, you know, recovery
doesn't work that way. There was a dinner we went
to yesterday for before during after incarceration, and Marnie was
there with the move Rock Parker and she was talking
about the recovery friendly workplace thing that we do, which
(23:21):
more details on that at two seventeen recovery dot com.
But there was a gentleman there that.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
He was like, oh man, you guys do such great stuff.
Blah blah blah.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
He wants to help us and we'll see if that's
going to be a thing. But if you do want
to help us or support us, we would appreciate it.
Kind of in a vulnerable time right now, so very
much appreciate it. But to seventeen recovery dot com, there's
a link where you can support us and the things
that we do. We're really looking into maybe opening a
(23:53):
recovery cafe, and Marnie's kind of working on that. We're
just trying to see you know about funding. And I
think it would be a beautiful place though, I really do,
and I think that the recovery community needs it. I
know there's like an NA bar or something around here
where they serve mocktails, which being a person in recovery
(24:17):
and alcohol being in my drug of choice, not really
offended by it, but it does do something to my
soul where I go, wait a minute, So if we're
in here doing fake cocaine like we're using, you know,
fake needles like what, they would throw me in jail.
They would put a red X on me, and they
(24:37):
would what do they call it, blacklist, ban you or
cancel you or something like. They would have so many
people pissed off. If I made a flyer. Hey, we're
gonna have fake heroin night at the recovery, so people
would be pissed, you know. And I'm saying it's the
same thing, you know, but because someone didn't have a
problem with alcohol that they think it's cool. I don't know,
(25:00):
you know, but to me it I'm not going to
try to drink a fake beer. I'm not going to
try to drink a fake martini, you know. So I
kind of look at it the same, like, why would
they think that that that's okay?
Speaker 1 (25:14):
I guess.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
I mean, and people can do whatever the hell they want, really,
but I'm just saying, like.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
It's a slippery slope, you know what, You're you're drinking
fake something one day, but you're gonna have a shit
day and doing stuff like a like a dry bar
where there's mocktails. To me just feels like the concept
of being a dry drunk you're not changing the problem,
(25:43):
You're masking it, removing an ingredient.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
I'm gonna go drink fake stuff at the places I
used to go and drink real stuff and try to
meet somebody or I mean, I'm doing the same things.
It's just I'm missing one ingredient, and then you go
home and you strike out. You know, I didn't meet
anybody I was trying to, you know, pick up a
date or something.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
Well, and there's a liquor store on your way home.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
Yeah, and guess what.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
You know the reason why I didn't I didn't pick
up homegirls because I wasn't drunk. You know, I need
to take the edge off of was too nervous social lubrican.
So next time, I'm just gonna drink a little before
I go. I mean, dude, there's so many excuses, and
it's playing with fire for people, and this for me anyway,
it would be playing with fire if I was faking
like I'm drinking.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
I really like the cafe like coffee shop feel idea
because it'll be a place for people to hang out,
a place for people to have meetings.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
No fake drinks, no fake cocaine, no fake heroin, no
a real heroin, no real cocaine, no real alcohol.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Only drugger dealing is caffeine.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
That's a big in.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Yeah, But it'll be a place where you know, organizations
can come and have like board meetings and and won't
have sport watch parties and we can.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Do the podcast there and record it.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Yeah, we'll have our own corner of the building that's
our podcasts.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
That'd be sweet. People can come watch it in person. Yeah,
watch the hilarity ensue. But there's a lot of great
things that we have planned for, so hopefully that that
does manifest itself. And I know there's a lot of
people in the community that are just like wow, like
that's great. If you guys can do that, that'd be awesome.
(27:26):
We're on board, we will support you. This is the
community for it too, you know, it's big enough. There's
definitely it. There's a good recovery community.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
There's enough of the people that want that, you know,
and you're gonna get people outside of.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
That community too, which I think is good.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
And I want to help people with eating disorders, people
with gambling disorder, you know, like sex. There's there's so
many things that that people need help with and a
lot of them are afraid to reach out, you know,
Like we held some gambling meetings here at first, and
then we find out that people with gambling disorder don't
(28:05):
want to be known as also a person with a
drug substance use disorder.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
And a lot of that is they say that.
Speaker 3 (28:12):
I want to say, it's like eighty percent people who
have gambling disorder have a substant use disorder. And when
your mom or family members whoever came at you with
mitch you and your drinking, didn't you go into denial
mode too, you know, So like it's kind of like
for over a decade, Yeah, I know people who flat
out have a problem and they're just like nope, and
(28:34):
until they can at least say yeah, I have a problem,
you know, there's nothing I can do for them, you know,
And so I just sit back and watch them like, well,
I'm here if you need me, you know, But that
first step is for real, and they have to admit
that that they have a problem that they want to change.
Otherwise it's you might as well talk to a wall.
But imagine having both of those, and I'm sure we
(28:55):
have if you want to really break it down, like
you could say, sugar for me, you know, is still
another vice of mine, you know, or an addiction.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
Well, and sugar can be actually addictive, but there's like
for me, it's not just sugar. It's as soon as
I quit drinking, I started emotional eating. And I did
that when I was younger too, So it's like it's
something that I deal with as well. You gotta be
I gotta be doing something if I'm If I'm stressed
out or depressed or anxious, it's just like I'll start
(29:29):
vaping way too much or eating weighting. I guess gott
to be self aware of that now. But that's all
part of living a life for recovery is having that
self awareness, you know, staying sober so you can see
and feel what your body is going through, to get
to yourself, to get to yourself, to get yourself to
(29:50):
the life of wellness that I was talking about before.
You know that self awareness is a huge part of that.
And I just don't think that anybody who's going out
on the weekend having mocktails. I don't really want to
upset anybody, but I just don't feel like that's coming
from a place of self awareness. I really don't.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
Yeah, I'm not. It's playing with fire for me. It
would be like I'm like, I'm not going to pretend
that I'm drinking something, and we're not going to have
that at our place, like I said, Yeah, But and
and other people want to go out and pretend they're drinking.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
They if they, Oh, I don't have a problem a little.
It's fun. Do what you need to.
Speaker 3 (30:30):
I'm saying for me, you won't find me around there.
And I think more people are like me in that
case than not. And so I think opening this place
will be really, really nice.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
You know, I might have a diet coke. Man, there's
run in there.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Yeah, a lot of opportunity there.
Speaker 3 (30:49):
There really is. Pour a little glass with some ice
in it. No, no, this is just a big old
glass and you got a big old diet coke. Enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Give me a diet coke on the rocks.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Yeah, yeah, they put them my little red straws in there.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
And an umbrella.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Now did you hear that they are putting a new
label on liquor bottles? No?
Speaker 2 (31:11):
What is this nonsense?
Speaker 1 (31:14):
Do you hear?
Speaker 3 (31:14):
No, surgeon, I'm supposed to do an interview some news
stations sometime. They wanted to talk to me about it,
and I said, okay, No.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
I guess send down on twelve hour rides and don't
ever speak to anybody.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Yes, yes, twelve. I thought they were supposed to be
fourteen slacking That was my own fault.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
No, actually, I scheduled that one from start to finish.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
No, they put a new label on liquor, and I'm
assuming beer too, But to let our body know it
caused cancer.
Speaker 2 (31:50):
Oh, I thought you were gonna say it, because don't
they say something about how it's dangerous for pregnant women
might be. I thought they're going to say they're adding
trans men or something. No, no, transcend be careful if
you're pregnant.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
No, it's that it causes cancer. And I'm like, oh,
that's weird. As I'm like getting my pincers checked out
and convinced that I have pincer had a cancer, I'm
like twive where we're acknowledging this, Lee just put it
causes death, you know, like real early too, Like if
you want, I almost didn't even make to my forties.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
Mites, that's sad.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
I almost didn't make it to my thirties.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
And to think that we were at like nope, don't
got a problem. I mean at that point I kind
of knew something.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
When my heart stopped on the tape on the stretchery
at the hospital. I was in my late twenties, Like
that was pretty close to the finish line for me.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
They only had that cancer label sooner. Yeah, right, that's funny.
But what's not funny is like if you walk into
and this is Michigan, so I don't know how it
is in other states, but you walk up to a
counter at a convenience store, I guess what You're not
getting cigarettes?
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Bape.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
You will not even be able to touch it. It's
behind it as glass. It's just you can't access it.
Right next to the mentos, though you can look up
and oh, there's some shooters just right there, one hundred
of them right there on displayed.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
Just put them in your pocket.
Speaker 3 (33:20):
And I was at this thing yesterday that I was
talking about and they were talking about vaping and how
this school was so bad that kids don't even go
to the bathroom because the bathrooms just wreak a vape.
And I'm like, what happened with a bathroom monitor? I mean,
people used to smoke cigarettes back in my day, you know,
like they would just go outside.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
Is it easier? Why does this bathroom sound like mango?
I'm not coming back.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
Like, why wouldn't they put someone in the bathroom? Then?
Speaker 3 (33:47):
I don't know even understand like that's a big deal.
But people act like oh, vaping is taking over. And okay,
there's kids that aren't vaping, but they're not buying it
at the store, right, you know, they're sure there's like
a guy so somewhere who doesn't care. But ninety nine
percent of vape shops are not going to sell to
a minor. They're gonna tell them to leave, you know.
But here it is they can walk up and get
(34:09):
some cancer from alcohol well free. Yeah, and they can
steal it, you know. They can open up the the cooler,
you know, open up the door of the cooler. Nope,
not going for that, going for one of these magical
looking drinks that are awesome looking.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
Let's get one of these.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Back in back in my day of the vape shop,
usually if you suspected somebody being too young, you just
asked further ID, and every single one of them left
it in their car. Oh yeah, and they'd say I'd
be right back. This happens so so many times.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
Real bro Okay, yeah, oh I.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Left in the car and then they forgot that they
wanted a vape or something.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
After that, it's like, okay, get out of here. Man.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
I never got to take anybody's ID because we had
a stack because we would keep fake id's we had
a way to scan them. I never got to do
that because everybody would, Oh, I'd loft it in the car. Oh,
how many have you gotten taken?
Speaker 1 (35:13):
That's crazy. Yeah, well that stuff. Yeah, that's how it
happens here in Michigan.
Speaker 3 (35:17):
But anyway, the recovery story is Mester of Whope, part
five happening. Like I said the twenty seventh of March,
if you're interested and want to be sponsor of some
sort of the media, feel free to reach out to
us and we'll give you a sheet and.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
I'll say your name properly.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
Yeah, or maybe he won't, you know, but you'll have
that forever. N it'll be funny.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
And congratulations again Mitch on your four years and thanks
for popping in to do an episode with me today.
It's been way too long and I feel like I
had to get one out and just kind of get
some off my chest. And you know, there was some
other stuff that happened that we can get into later
in a different podcast, but you know, that kind of
put me in a downer mood. But you know, everything
happens for a reason, and things aren't going to go
(36:03):
your way. One hundred percent of the time, it's impossible,
and it's how you bounce back from situations that build character.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
God's got you covered, yep, he does, and.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
It'll get down to the end. Sometimes you'll be worrying
and wondering. But at the end, Man, God does have you,
and I know he has us, you know for sure,
So we appreciate, appreciate the work you do.
Speaker 1 (36:28):
Jesus, Yes, and your Daddy too. Thanks for listening.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
Check out to seventeen recovery dot com for more and
we'll talk to you later.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
Bye.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
Thanks for listening to the two seventeen Recovery podcast.
Speaker 3 (36:41):
Listen to over nine hundred episodes on the two seventeen
Recovery app that's free in your app store or online
at two seventeen recovery dot com.
Welcome to the two seventeen Recovery podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
If you don't make mistakes, you won't learn.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
With your host, Corey Winfield, you know how you know
fish is bad if you can't put it on pizza.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
It's a special guest, Mitchell O'Brien.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
I really hate to do listen to you guys, but
I really have to go to the ab somewhere that
I just like, can't hold it anymore. Got your ass?
Speaker 3 (00:29):
It is the two seventeen Recovery podcasts. It is the
twelfth of February twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
My name is Corey Winfield.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
I am Mitchell O'Brien, the only man.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
To leave our podcast because you had to use the restroom.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
I was going to say it more explicitly, but it
was only a matter of time until you got that drop.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Really really was and the drop is now forever. Yeah,
and it's an intro, So thank you for that.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Mitchell.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
It's been a minute since we've done a podcast as
to seventeen Recovery, it's been a minute since you and
I have done a podcast in general. You know you
last podcast was Halloween.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
I think so.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Yeah, because you have your redacted podcast which you put
on hold for a minute.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Yeah, yeah, we were going to start something new, but
I just don't know where that direction is going.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
So and then our Recovery Dads podcast we've been done
in eighteen months or something. Dads are busy, oh yeah,
and we're super busy here at two seventeen recovery and
you're driving now and you're on the road, and it's
just you know, Tuesdays was our day for Recovery Dads,
but now Tuesdays I actually have to go be a
dad because Marnie wants to work and stuff.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Now do short rides on Tuesdays.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Yeah, yeah, So it's just like, when can we get
all of this together again? And maybe when the sun
comes out at six am, it'll be a little easier
to get up, But sometimes it's hard. Man, it's dark,
dark until eight o'clock. Sometimes it's like, man, before we
would like before the day started. So we get here
at AID to a pocket. Now get here AID, it's
(02:03):
like still dark, and you're like, I don't really want
to do.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
None of that. I don't know. I kind of like that.
I don't like waking up in the morning, but I
don't mind the darkness of the morning.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
I don't know. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Yesterday I started the day in the dark in the
company vehicle and I ended the day in the dark
in the company vehicle.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
That's crazy. We can't out of you guys now.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
It was a good ride.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Twelve hour day. Shit, why aren't you working fourteen? You know?
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Leaving early today?
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Nah, But that's that's It's kind of cool though, that
you knew like you had to take a break from
your podcast to just like hold on, like let me
revamp this, let me figure it out, and that'll be
the time my choosing.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
You know, there's no pressure on you, and.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
You use it to kind of help you through, kind
of help you get something off your chest, to be creative,
to to create something. And the podcasting is fun that
way too. And people at early recovery, I'll tell you
that the podcast helped me. You know, some people are like, oh,
there's there's different pathways and da dah da da da
(03:11):
what pathways you choose? And I'm like, podcasting, like what
that's not We're good for me, man. You know, I
had to stay sober because we started out we were
doing them four days a week. I was in a
sober living home. So my requirement a was to stay
sober already, but to do them at night. I had
to stay sober all day to do them four times
(03:32):
a week, and it really did help me, and it
helped me, event helped me get stuff off my chest.
And you can go back and listen to the early
episodes that are on our app. You know, you can
get the app. It's free, but it's it's laid out
pretty easily there for you can go back through the
years twenty nineteen, twenty twenty twenty one two are doing it.
Four Yeah, to go through the archives and listen. It's
(03:56):
I tell people it's like a soap opera almost it.
I mean, if you go back, you can, like you
hear the stuff that I was talking about, like, hey,
we want to do this, we want to do that,
and it's pretty cool that some of the stuff has
kind of made it and we've accomplished some goals and
you know, to make a movie part I still want to.
I hope to be shooting next month, so I have
to put the finishing touches on the script of it.
(04:17):
But you know, and you're gonna help me with that,
you at least agree to it at one point. Yeah,
you know, but that'll be it'll be fun.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
I think it'll be mostly improv but.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Like, let's not following the storyboard, Joe, You're like, why
are we doing this different than what we normally do?
Then we just grab it and shoot it because I
paid money to take this film class and they tell
me how to do it like this, Yeah, that's how
you make the movie now.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
But and in January, you snuck it by us.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
You weren't like walking around like talking about how many
years you got, you just got them. And then I'm like,
wait a minute, because Justin got his five years and
he was upset I didn't get.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Him a coin, so yeah, we all heard about it.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Yeah, so and then I was like, wait, Mitch's was
in January, and I was like, Mitch, i'd say a message.
I didn't get you a coin or anything, but congratulations
on your four years.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Thank you. I don't necessarily track it like some people do,
you know, and I don't know the exact day either,
which is I think kind of rare in recovery. I've
met a couple other people that are like that, but
most people know the exact day or time, you know,
where it was I just know it was in January.
(05:33):
I'm pretty sure it was in early January, around the
third or the fourth of twenty twenty one. So I
have this weird and people tell me I overthink it,
and I probably do.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
But.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
I don't track it because that wasn't attached to like
a good thing, you know, the addiction part of it,
and I know the sobriety part of it is is
the good thing. But I'm living a life of recovery.
But I'm above that I'm living. I want to live
a life of wellness, which is kind of how I
organize it in my mind. And it's like I don't
(06:10):
want to just stay sober today. I want to be
progressing in all of the aspects of life, you know,
all of them. So recovery is like a very important
part of that puzzle, to the point to where like
my whole life bottlenecked until I found recovery. So it's
very important, but it's like it's not the only thing.
(06:31):
I want to make sure And these could all be
argued as part of recovery, but I don't want to
make sure my mental health is tiptop, my physical health
is tip top, and just all these different things, and
just so I look at it more almost like recovery
is under the umbrella of a life of wellness. And
I kind of blog about that a little bit. Which
(06:51):
part would you say, is the heart is so far
to tackle? Oh, and maybe it's not the hardest, Maybe
it's the one the most uncomfortable or when you don't like,
I'm gonna say mental health, but it's the really really
(07:12):
really bad avoidance habits and behaviors. And I'm still like
battling those. But like after I got sober and I
was dealing with mental health stuff, depression, anxiety, working on
trauma with my therapist, those, one of the things that
came up is I was always just trying to avoid
(07:33):
everything in the moment, you know, to get it. And
that's what drove me to drinking too, because that's what
I was doing. I was avoiding the depression and the
anxiety that I was having. You know, I could grab
a bottle and that feeling would go away almost immediately,
but then it would be back the next day, so
then I'd have to do it again. And we all
know that snowball, you know. So being able to actually
(07:56):
stay disciplined in not having avoidance.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Behaviors is that I guess how I'm gonna say.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
It is probably the most difficult part because I would
have and I think you've been here for at least
one of them, like panic attacks, full panic attacks when
I had to make a call that I didn't want
to make. You know, we're talking about like you know,
financial debt stuff, and it's like my whole body would
(08:26):
like lock up, it'd be hard to breathe, and I'd
be having an actual panic attack. And it's like, but
I've been living a life of avoidance behavior since I
was a kid because of trauma and stuff like that.
So it's like that's probably one of the biggest ones.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
And I think that's a normal one too, and that
was a big one for me. I didn't and I
still have problems with it, man, Like I don't want
to hear the answer that I've already created in my mind,
Like I already haven't figured out my mind how it's
going to go. And it's always bad for me, you know,
(09:01):
I always and maybe this is something that people do,
addicts do. I don't know, but I always think the
worst outcome, like oh, they're going to say no, and
then this before I even ask them. I'm already like
defensive and ready to defend my position of why they
shouldn't say no or whatever it is. And bills were tough,
you know, to open a bill, Oh my god, Like
(09:22):
I couldn't even do it.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
One time.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
I had to bring my mouth to my mother. It
was like, Mom, I can't even open this. As she
opened it, and she's like, oh, it's a hundred and seventeen dollars,
that's not bad. Okay, well I have eight. It's pretty bad.
I can't even go drink this problem away, you know. Yeah,
And she I remember when she opened and then she
called them for me because I'm like, I can't pay that.
(09:45):
I don't know what to do. And she did something
and got something figured out, and she's like, that's all
you had to do for someone who's sober. Sure, I'm
sure that would be easy to do, but for me
and the anxiety from not drinking, you know, like just oh,
I just remember feeling that whole ball of.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Just and just I don't Oh, I'm so glad I
don't have to do it.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Anymore, angsty and stuff, and I still kind of have
to do that. I haven't you know, gotten myself out
of all the debt and everything and medical stuff. But
it's a little bit easier and.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
As a and at first maybe I started trying. I
remember people tell me, oh, call two one one, they'll
help you. That's funny because I called them and they
wouldn't help me. And they told me, oh, well, you're
a male with no kids, so.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
I have phone.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Good luck, Maybe go to a church or something. Yeah,
but my electrics getting shut off, and like you said,
I needed a bill.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
I have.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
I have the shut off notice right here. Okay, well
maybe if you bring that to a church or something.
What church do you belong to? I'm like none, Like
damn it, you know. And so that would send me
in another spiral. So one I would see that, like
I just knew there was no help out there for me.
So then that added to the anxiety. And if I
just left that over there, don't know how much it is.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Yeah, if you don't look at it, it's got a problem.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
Or I just don't know how much it is, don't
really know when it's getting shut off. And sometimes I
would look to see when it was getting shut off,
just so I would have a little heads up. But yeah,
then it was off to liquor store with whatever little
money I did have to drink that away, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Because then you know, in twenty minutes, you're not gonna
have to feel it anymore. Yeah until tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Yeah, and the next thing week it's even worse. It's
like you're going down the stairs or up the stairs.
Either way, you're going this direction that you don't want
to go, and it's just like, but the only way
to forget it is to go get some more m
Then when you run out of money there, then you're
really scrounging because you don't have power anymore. And now
you don't have money the liquor and you know, thank
(11:42):
God that I did have family. There's some people and
you've met them too, who are an early recovery or
trying to be in early recovery, and they have nobody, Yeah,
like family like mom, dad passed away, don't have brothers
or maybe brothers and sisters have died or moved away
or want nothing to do with them, like they have nobody.
And I feel for those people, I really do. And
(12:04):
that would be hard to lose a parent and then
to have to go through all of this alone, like
that would be that'd be tough. I mean, ultimately we
have to go through it alone, you know, like our
parents are family whoever, They're not doing it for us.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
But you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
It's yeah, well, And I think that was what my
last blog I wrote was kind of about, too, was
your family's not always gonna understand where you are. And
because I was talking with a client and they're talking
about how their their mother is still very critical of them,
and I just got a chance to share some of
(12:41):
my story and I was like, well, my mom was
there for all sixteen years of my heavy alcoholism. So
when Mitchell pulled out another six months of sobriety, because
I'd only got six months, three months a nine month
out of sobriety before this time, like that was just
(13:02):
Mitchell's next time being sober for a while. But it
wasn't until I proved and got more long term and
got into the therapy, got into healthier mental health practices
and behaviors to where and then that time under your
belt too, you know, the longer you go. And then
I got a little bit. I had to kind of
do it for myself because people are being critical. But
(13:23):
I got off the vivitroal shots by myself, and I
got a certain amount of Like I waited six months
to tell anybody, so I'm a year and a half
sober now, that's twice as much as the longest I've
ever had in my adult life at that time. And
then people start to go, oh, okay, this is different,
but I had to. What I shared with the client
(13:44):
was they're not healing at the same pace you are.
They're not getting the therapy you are. They're not connected
to the recovery community you are. Probably they're not going
to the meetings you are. They're not in this like
you are. So they're healing at just a little bit
of interaction that they get from you. So it's gonna
(14:07):
take more. So you have to have as much grace
with your loved ones or friends then, you know, as
as they do for you. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
So it's tough and sometimes you'll still get it. And
that's that's a good way to put it, you know,
like with their each interaction with you, you know they're okay,
that's how they're they're healing, and that's how they're growing.
Because sometimes you know, my mom was still throw it
out there.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Oh yeah, just.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
No I still want to talk right now, or I'm
just busy right now, or you know, like my life
is is pretty crazy in and it's it's a it's
a good crazy. But she doesn't see all that stuff,
you know, she just knows. Well, I never got a
text or a picture with Parker's that he's teething now,
like I had to. I had to find out the
long way or the last one or whatever. It's like, okay, well, sorry,
(14:55):
you know, I didn't didn't write that one down. But
I send pictures all the time, you know, Like but
sometimes you know, or I have an attitude about something
and who knows what I'm really mad about or what
I'm dealing with, you know. But she'll take it the
wrong way, and then it's like, well' see, Corey, you
just you're still not used to being sober. And it's like, no, no,
I don't understand what I'm going through right now, you know.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
And you don't just get sober and then have all
of life figured out, you know.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Yeah, and there's a part of that you mentioned.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
What was it?
Speaker 1 (15:25):
I lost it?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
But yeah, it's really similar to that. Oh it's the
what I was gonna say, is the avoidance behaviors, not
opening the the the bill, the mail, so whatever that is,
you get that same. You don't just get good at
(15:48):
it one day. You don't talk to your therapist about Okay,
you have to have discipline actually do this stuff and
then get good at it. You're still gonna have that
panic attack. Yeah, but the more times that comes up,
they eat year it gets and it's the same thing
as you know, your loved one healing at different paces.
You you know, the longer they see you, the more
(16:09):
healthy you are around them. Eventually it kind of kicks in.
It's really similar.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
And speaking of families, yes, is a good good segue here.
We are going to include families at our next Recovery
Stories event.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
I saw something but I haven't been able to talk
to you about it. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Recovery Stories five. It's happening in Traverse City, Michigan. Where's
it happening at the Grand Travers Event Center on the
twenty seventh of March and our Message of Hope speaker
is very excited about Jay Burton, Oh yes, and Paul Back. Yes,
they're going to do the it's more of an in depth,
(16:53):
you know, twenty five minute long kind of thing and.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Then recovery stories.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
We have one lock, then Adam nuth okay, and we're
still looking for one more, still waiting to hear yes
or no on that. And then we're going to include
two families.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
I have a really good one that I'm trying to
talk into doing it nice. He's very scared, so I
shouldn't have said scared, but he's avoidance. Yeah, there we go.
Well that conversation.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Yeah, get your gass up there.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
I was like three minutes, man, like.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
Yeah, if you missed, if you missed the last one,
you can watch them online.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
All the videos are up there.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
Kim Russ, Me Jesse, and Marnie and Chris Goss. You know,
they were the message. Marnie and Chris Goss were the
message of hopes because Marney had to cut her short
because their belts ran long.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
I did like ten minutes.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Well, and the MC wasn't very timely.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Yeah, And speaking of the MC, it was you, Mitchell.
You were the MC.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
You were gonna come back from a break and then
take another break and I was like, no, just get
it going now. But I just so happened to have
some audio from the event, and you know, the audio
is so much better than the other ones because we
actually ran the mic to our board and so the
audio was just amazing, and we got some drops here
and I was hoping maybe you could explain them. So
(18:21):
let's let's go ahead and play the first one here.
This is one of my favorites.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
Actually, all right, everybody, we're not about to start yet,
So if anybody needs to hit their vapor real quick
or smoke a cigarette, this is the time to do it.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Will be starting shortly. This would be a good one
for the beginning of the podcast. I almost put it
on there, so I'm fat. Did you know that?
Speaker 1 (18:50):
I didn't know. That's not how you identify.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
You, don't. You don't see people as their stereotypes. I
understand that, all right, everybody, And so that's only like
four or five stairs, but.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
For a big fella's three, I don't even know.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
I'm exaggerating this thing where it feels like five or
six could be seven. Okay, So I would get to
the top of the stairs and have to speak, and
I would immediately be out of breath.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
Hey, t.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
I should have sayen the national anthem right there. We're
not about to start yet, So if everybody needs to
hit their vapor real quick or smoke a cigarette. This
is the time to do it will be starting shortly.
You can hear those I'm trying to get oxygen.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
All right, maybe okay, maybe this one. You can explain
this one then.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
So I want to thank them for letting us be
able to do things like this, to have awesome.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Yeah, they have awesome.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
But people started clapping, so I was trying to go
with the clapping. And you have.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
NMRI who actually were funding the event.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
And then whatever I called Steve's smoking barbecue, which I
can say now, but I couldn't know the smoking Steve's
smoking that's a recovery event.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Uh, that's where we're at in life.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
You know.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
I do have a couple more yep.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
I was. I was excited to hear that. You said that.
Justin was. I'm seeing this year's or this this the
next one. The girls from Phoenix Hall over here, Yeah awesome.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
Phoenix Hall is is a treatment center from it's it's
Diction Treatment Services, but they call it Phoenix Hall and
that's where the women go.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
But listen, listen to the excitement of Mitch's voice.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Here the girls from Phoenix Hall over here.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
Yeah, awesome, awesome, you're here.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
The same thing for Dakowski.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
I sound very flamboyant.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
And then there's Harbor Hall is here too. Let's listen
how you welcome them.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
But first I wanted to give a shout out to
the boys at Dakaski Hall that are here. Everybody give
them around the hall.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
The hall. Yeah, so yeah, it wasn't Harbor Hall. It
was Dakaski Hall.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
First I wanted to give a shout out to the
boys at Dakowski Hall that are here. Everybody give them
around the hall. The The thing that's really happening is
I'm having a good time. You are in my brain.
Obviously doesn't work. You said that to somebody today and
(21:44):
they're like winfle just screaming. Obviously donks a little mitch.
All right, everybody, nobody, I need a handicap ramp or
I'm going to roll up there like like what's her name? Dead?
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Mary? Did?
Speaker 3 (22:00):
He didn't even use the steps And the first one
she just like went to the complete different side of
the stage. Air that just flaps up there, and I'm like,
what she got done? She just jumps down like Rambow.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
And like, what do you do?
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Breaks I was thinking about going full Chris Farley, if
you have me do it this time. I was just
like going and doing the same thing, but like running
and just being very animated.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
Right, Glad you made it out to Durn.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
We're selling shirts out of the van down by the sidewalk.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
If you don't live a life of recovery, you'll be
living in a van down by the river.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
Seriously, there's the boardman piffers over there and that's where
people live and you'll be down there by them. Pull
your head out of your ass and what do they say,
pull your big boy pants up or I don't even know, they.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
Pull yourself up by the boots track.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
There you go.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
That's what I was looking for. Yeah, you know, recovery
doesn't work that way. There was a dinner we went
to yesterday for before during after incarceration, and Marnie was
there with the move Rock Parker and she was talking
about the recovery friendly workplace thing that we do, which
(23:21):
more details on that at two seventeen recovery dot com.
But there was a gentleman there that.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
He was like, oh man, you guys do such great stuff.
Blah blah blah.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
He wants to help us and we'll see if that's
going to be a thing. But if you do want
to help us or support us, we would appreciate it.
Kind of in a vulnerable time right now, so very
much appreciate it. But to seventeen recovery dot com, there's
a link where you can support us and the things
that we do. We're really looking into maybe opening a
(23:53):
recovery cafe, and Marnie's kind of working on that. We're
just trying to see you know about funding. And I
think it would be a beautiful place though, I really do,
and I think that the recovery community needs it. I
know there's like an NA bar or something around here
where they serve mocktails, which being a person in recovery
(24:17):
and alcohol being in my drug of choice, not really
offended by it, but it does do something to my
soul where I go, wait a minute, So if we're
in here doing fake cocaine like we're using, you know,
fake needles like what, they would throw me in jail.
They would put a red X on me, and they
(24:37):
would what do they call it, blacklist, ban you or
cancel you or something like. They would have so many
people pissed off. If I made a flyer. Hey, we're
gonna have fake heroin night at the recovery, so people
would be pissed, you know. And I'm saying it's the
same thing, you know, but because someone didn't have a
problem with alcohol that they think it's cool. I don't know,
(25:00):
you know, but to me it I'm not going to
try to drink a fake beer. I'm not going to
try to drink a fake martini, you know. So I
kind of look at it the same, like, why would
they think that that that's okay?
Speaker 1 (25:14):
I guess.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
I mean, and people can do whatever the hell they want, really,
but I'm just saying, like.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
It's a slippery slope, you know what, You're you're drinking
fake something one day, but you're gonna have a shit
day and doing stuff like a like a dry bar
where there's mocktails. To me just feels like the concept
of being a dry drunk you're not changing the problem,
(25:43):
You're masking it, removing an ingredient.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
I'm gonna go drink fake stuff at the places I
used to go and drink real stuff and try to
meet somebody or I mean, I'm doing the same things.
It's just I'm missing one ingredient, and then you go
home and you strike out. You know, I didn't meet
anybody I was trying to, you know, pick up a
date or something.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
Well, and there's a liquor store on your way home.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
Yeah, and guess what.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
You know the reason why I didn't I didn't pick
up homegirls because I wasn't drunk. You know, I need
to take the edge off of was too nervous social lubrican.
So next time, I'm just gonna drink a little before
I go. I mean, dude, there's so many excuses, and
it's playing with fire for people, and this for me anyway,
it would be playing with fire if I was faking
like I'm drinking.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
I really like the cafe like coffee shop feel idea
because it'll be a place for people to hang out,
a place for people to have meetings.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
No fake drinks, no fake cocaine, no fake heroin, no
a real heroin, no real cocaine, no real alcohol.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Only drugger dealing is caffeine.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
That's a big in.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Yeah, But it'll be a place where you know, organizations
can come and have like board meetings and and won't
have sport watch parties and we can.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Do the podcast there and record it.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Yeah, we'll have our own corner of the building that's
our podcasts.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
That'd be sweet. People can come watch it in person. Yeah,
watch the hilarity ensue. But there's a lot of great
things that we have planned for, so hopefully that that
does manifest itself. And I know there's a lot of
people in the community that are just like wow, like
that's great. If you guys can do that, that'd be awesome.
(27:26):
We're on board, we will support you. This is the
community for it too, you know, it's big enough. There's
definitely it. There's a good recovery community.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
There's enough of the people that want that, you know,
and you're gonna get people outside of.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
That community too, which I think is good.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
And I want to help people with eating disorders, people
with gambling disorder, you know, like sex. There's there's so
many things that that people need help with and a
lot of them are afraid to reach out, you know,
Like we held some gambling meetings here at first, and
then we find out that people with gambling disorder don't
(28:05):
want to be known as also a person with a
drug substance use disorder.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
And a lot of that is they say that.
Speaker 3 (28:12):
I want to say, it's like eighty percent people who
have gambling disorder have a substant use disorder. And when
your mom or family members whoever came at you with
mitch you and your drinking, didn't you go into denial
mode too, you know, So like it's kind of like
for over a decade, Yeah, I know people who flat
out have a problem and they're just like nope, and
(28:34):
until they can at least say yeah, I have a problem,
you know, there's nothing I can do for them, you know,
And so I just sit back and watch them like, well,
I'm here if you need me, you know, But that
first step is for real, and they have to admit
that that they have a problem that they want to change.
Otherwise it's you might as well talk to a wall.
But imagine having both of those, and I'm sure we
(28:55):
have if you want to really break it down, like
you could say, sugar for me, you know, is still
another vice of mine, you know, or an addiction.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
Well, and sugar can be actually addictive, but there's like
for me, it's not just sugar. It's as soon as
I quit drinking, I started emotional eating. And I did
that when I was younger too, So it's like it's
something that I deal with as well. You gotta be
I gotta be doing something if I'm If I'm stressed
out or depressed or anxious, it's just like I'll start
(29:29):
vaping way too much or eating weighting. I guess gott
to be self aware of that now. But that's all
part of living a life for recovery is having that
self awareness, you know, staying sober so you can see
and feel what your body is going through, to get
to yourself, to get to yourself, to get yourself to
(29:50):
the life of wellness that I was talking about before.
You know that self awareness is a huge part of that.
And I just don't think that anybody who's going out
on the weekend having mocktails. I don't really want to
upset anybody, but I just don't feel like that's coming
from a place of self awareness. I really don't.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
Yeah, I'm not. It's playing with fire for me. It
would be like I'm like, I'm not going to pretend
that I'm drinking something, and we're not going to have
that at our place, like I said, Yeah, But and
and other people want to go out and pretend they're drinking.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
They if they, Oh, I don't have a problem a little.
It's fun. Do what you need to.
Speaker 3 (30:30):
I'm saying for me, you won't find me around there.
And I think more people are like me in that
case than not. And so I think opening this place
will be really, really nice.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
You know, I might have a diet coke. Man, there's
run in there.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Yeah, a lot of opportunity there.
Speaker 3 (30:49):
There really is. Pour a little glass with some ice
in it. No, no, this is just a big old
glass and you got a big old diet coke. Enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Give me a diet coke on the rocks.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Yeah, yeah, they put them my little red straws in there.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
And an umbrella.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Now did you hear that they are putting a new
label on liquor bottles? No?
Speaker 2 (31:11):
What is this nonsense?
Speaker 1 (31:14):
Do you hear?
Speaker 3 (31:14):
No, surgeon, I'm supposed to do an interview some news
stations sometime. They wanted to talk to me about it,
and I said, okay, No.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
I guess send down on twelve hour rides and don't
ever speak to anybody.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Yes, yes, twelve. I thought they were supposed to be
fourteen slacking That was my own fault.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
No, actually, I scheduled that one from start to finish.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
No, they put a new label on liquor, and I'm
assuming beer too, But to let our body know it
caused cancer.
Speaker 2 (31:50):
Oh, I thought you were gonna say it, because don't
they say something about how it's dangerous for pregnant women
might be. I thought they're going to say they're adding
trans men or something. No, no, transcend be careful if
you're pregnant.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
No, it's that it causes cancer. And I'm like, oh,
that's weird. As I'm like getting my pincers checked out
and convinced that I have pincer had a cancer, I'm
like twive where we're acknowledging this, Lee just put it
causes death, you know, like real early too, Like if
you want, I almost didn't even make to my forties.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
Mites, that's sad.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
I almost didn't make it to my thirties.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
And to think that we were at like nope, don't
got a problem. I mean at that point I kind
of knew something.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
When my heart stopped on the tape on the stretchery
at the hospital. I was in my late twenties, Like
that was pretty close to the finish line for me.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
They only had that cancer label sooner. Yeah, right, that's funny.
But what's not funny is like if you walk into
and this is Michigan, so I don't know how it
is in other states, but you walk up to a
counter at a convenience store, I guess what You're not
getting cigarettes?
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Bape.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
You will not even be able to touch it. It's
behind it as glass. It's just you can't access it.
Right next to the mentos, though you can look up
and oh, there's some shooters just right there, one hundred
of them right there on displayed.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
Just put them in your pocket.
Speaker 3 (33:20):
And I was at this thing yesterday that I was
talking about and they were talking about vaping and how
this school was so bad that kids don't even go
to the bathroom because the bathrooms just wreak a vape.
And I'm like, what happened with a bathroom monitor? I mean,
people used to smoke cigarettes back in my day, you know,
like they would just go outside.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
Is it easier? Why does this bathroom sound like mango?
I'm not coming back.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
Like, why wouldn't they put someone in the bathroom? Then?
Speaker 3 (33:47):
I don't know even understand like that's a big deal.
But people act like oh, vaping is taking over. And okay,
there's kids that aren't vaping, but they're not buying it
at the store, right, you know, they're sure there's like
a guy so somewhere who doesn't care. But ninety nine
percent of vape shops are not going to sell to
a minor. They're gonna tell them to leave, you know.
But here it is they can walk up and get
(34:09):
some cancer from alcohol well free. Yeah, and they can
steal it, you know. They can open up the the cooler,
you know, open up the door of the cooler. Nope,
not going for that, going for one of these magical
looking drinks that are awesome looking.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
Let's get one of these.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Back in back in my day of the vape shop,
usually if you suspected somebody being too young, you just
asked further ID, and every single one of them left
it in their car. Oh yeah, and they'd say I'd
be right back. This happens so so many times.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
Real bro Okay, yeah, oh I.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Left in the car and then they forgot that they
wanted a vape or something.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
After that, it's like, okay, get out of here. Man.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
I never got to take anybody's ID because we had
a stack because we would keep fake id's we had
a way to scan them. I never got to do
that because everybody would, Oh, I'd loft it in the car. Oh,
how many have you gotten taken?
Speaker 1 (35:13):
That's crazy. Yeah, well that stuff. Yeah, that's how it
happens here in Michigan.
Speaker 3 (35:17):
But anyway, the recovery story is Mester of Whope, part
five happening. Like I said the twenty seventh of March,
if you're interested and want to be sponsor of some
sort of the media, feel free to reach out to
us and we'll give you a sheet and.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
I'll say your name properly.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
Yeah, or maybe he won't, you know, but you'll have
that forever. N it'll be funny.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
And congratulations again Mitch on your four years and thanks
for popping in to do an episode with me today.
It's been way too long and I feel like I
had to get one out and just kind of get
some off my chest. And you know, there was some
other stuff that happened that we can get into later
in a different podcast, but you know, that kind of
put me in a downer mood. But you know, everything
happens for a reason, and things aren't going to go
(36:03):
your way. One hundred percent of the time, it's impossible,
and it's how you bounce back from situations that build character.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
God's got you covered, yep, he does, and.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
It'll get down to the end. Sometimes you'll be worrying
and wondering. But at the end, Man, God does have you,
and I know he has us, you know for sure,
So we appreciate, appreciate the work you do.
Speaker 1 (36:28):
Jesus, Yes, and your Daddy too. Thanks for listening.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
Check out to seventeen recovery dot com for more and
we'll talk to you later.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
Bye.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
Thanks for listening to the two seventeen Recovery podcast.
Speaker 3 (36:41):
Listen to over nine hundred episodes on the two seventeen
Recovery app that's free in your app store or online
at two seventeen recovery dot com.
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.