Pivot Points - Recovery Is For Those Who Do It, with Matt Nannis
When young people in recovery return to use, we often hear phrases like “failure to launch”, “regression”, or the suggestion that “recovery is only for those who want it.” Today’s guest, Matt Nannis, says it’s time to move beyond these concepts altogether. Matt says the problem with concepts like “failure to launch” is they imply some fixed destination along a set path. And while he found great value in the rubric of AA, he now believes the all-or-nothing mindset implied by “regression” is just not anchored in reality.
Learn From My Mistakes If Your Child Is Struggling With Substance Use, with Julie Merberg
When Julie Merberg returned home from a work trip to find a scale and a pile of baggies on the living room table, she knew her son's involvement with substances was getting out of control. Foreshadowing her current work with Hopestream, Julie had already formed her own neighborhood support group of parents after her 16-year-old son began abusing Xanax and marijuana. As with so many of us, Julie and her husband were trying to change their son’s behavior with punishment and control, but found that it only made him more oppositional and defiant.
Filling The Sober, Fun And Social Gap In Early Recovery, with Eve Goldberg
The time period of early recovery - between a treatment program and responsible, independent living - is an incredibly tricky one to navigate. My guest today says this is especially true in a city like New York, where marijuana smoke drifts down streets lined with thousands of alluring bars.
After her son’s overdose death in 2014, Eve Goldberg founded BigVision, a recovery peer community in NYC that provides a social club of sober young people looking to separate themselves from temptations that permeate every corner of the city.
Ten Recovery Eye-Openers For Parenting a Child Through Substance Misuse or Addiction, with Brenda Zane
Recovery can sometimes feel like an elusive dream for parents who are on a roller coaster ride with their kids who misuse drugs and alcohol and struggle with mental health. So, after 187 episodes where I've talked with experts, people in recovery, parents, siblings, and my son who's in recovery, I wanted to distill down 10 of the top eye-opening insights about recovery I've gathered on this journey.
recovery story: from drug-induced psychosis and homelessness to a stable life at age 22
I’m always happy to share testimony from individuals in recovery. Their stories give hope and perspective to families of young people currently working through substance misuse and treatment. The stories I’ve previously shared have almost always been from people in recovery for a decade or more, so today, you’ll hear from a young man who is 22, celebrating one-year substance-free and living a healthy, stable life.
the annual golden nuggets episode; 2022 edition
It’s the annual year-end Golden Nuggets Hopestream episode with 12 memorable guest excerpts you won’t want to miss.
long term recovery requires discipline to focus on the present and appreciation for the blessings it brings, with Jeremy Melloul
In this special episode, I’ve invited Jeremy Melloul, owner of Molt Clothing company back on the show.
We covered so much ground in episode 90 that t I thought it would be great to check-in with Jeremy and see how things are going. We talk about what recovery looks like on a daily basis, how he has to fight to overcome his desire to isolate, and the wisdom he’s gained along the road.
her lived experience with addiction helped create an urban model for holistic, community-based young adult treatment, with the Dorm’s Amanda Fialk
One of the biggest challenges young people who are misusing drugs and alcohol face is identifying the plan for transitioning back to the “real world” post-treatment. Young people can become vulnerable because they feel they don’t belong anywhere as they start to rebuild a new and different life that doesn’t involve substances. If they aren’t ready to hold down a job or enroll in college, where do they go? How do they spend their time without getting into trouble?
In this episode, I’m joined by Amanda Fialk, the Chief Clinical Officer of the Dorm, a safe place for young adults to find community and gain skills and tools to become independent as they seek to find their place in the world after treatment for substance use and mental health challenges.
clinging to hope: an epic saga of addiction, medical innovation, loss, recovery, hope and unconditional love, with Pattie Vargas and Rebekah Mutch
Sometimes there's a story so unbelievable it's hard to know where to start when telling it. This is one of those. My guests are mother and daughter and they trusted me with sharing their family's journey to hell plus the miraculous twist that no one saw coming. It's a binge-worthy episode that merits its own NETFLIX series. You'll come away awestruck by the determination of a Scottish surgeon, the power of a mother's fierce love, and the realization that parents should never, ever stop clinging to hope.
9 dangerous and negative thought patterns, and what to do instead, for parents with kids misusing drugs or alcohol, with Brenda Zane
In this episode I cover nine of the most common unhelpful and unhealthy thinking patterns parents fall into and talk about ways to shift those to a more productive place. If you tend to catastrophize, judge, doubt, criticize or ruminate about your life or your child's life, this is your episode. You'll walk away being more aware of how to recognize these unhealthy patterns and learn ways to change your thinking.
Ryan Hampton reveals the truth from inside the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy in his newest book, Unsettled
In this episode, I sat down with Ryan Hampton, author and activist, to talk about his newest book, Unsettled: How the Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Failed the Victims of the American Overdose Crisis and how his experience of being involved in the trial impacted him personally.
from heroin needle to sewing needle, giving back through recovery with Jeremy Melloul, MOLT Clothing
If you've ever wondered if recovery is a real thing, you will absolutely want to hear Jeremy Melloul's incredible story of recovery and giving back. You'll hear how a young man from an ambitious immigrant family found the relief of alcohol at age 11 before traveling a long and painful journey of addiction, eventually living off of Twizzlers, peanut butter cups, and heroin. But the story doesn’t even come close to ending there.
coaching episode #1: navigating the transition to home life after treatment
In this episode, I have the honor of coaching Casie around the various challenges she and her husband face now that their 19-year-old son is home from treatment and living with them. It's a tricky time of transition with a young adult who has been away at wilderness therapy, residential treatment, transitional living, and sober living...whew!
Owen Fielding of NET Recovery: the drug-free, non-traditional treatment that bypasses withdrawal torture and restores choice to those trapped in addiction
For anyone trapped in the cycle of addiction and withdrawals hearing there's a way to remove cravings without having to suffer the agony of withdrawal would almost be too good to be true. That's why Owen Fielding and the team at NET Recovery are kicking off FDA trials (Nov. 2021) for their health-tech device that has been working since the 1970s in an attempt to curb the astounding numbers of people living in addiction and dying from overdoses.
The Final Fix: an unflinching documentary investigating a radical, 49-year old technology that could change everything we know about addiction and recovery, with Director Norman Stone
If your son graduated from high school, was a nationally ranked tennis player, went to West Point, became an Army Ranger, served in Afghanistan, and went to law school, you might think all was good. But for Tripp Johnson, who achieved all of these markers of external success, life wasn't all good.
Tripp’s story takes us from sourcing drugs off the Dark Web to law school, a yoga mat, and ultimately, creating a whole-person focused treatment program for guys struggling with substance use.
things to do while your child is in treatment, for the first or 20th time, with Brenda Zane
It's a really common question parents have, "my son/daughter just went to treatment...now what?"If this is a place you find yourself, this episode will give you some assurance, guidance, and thoughts about what to do during this time of change. There can be so many mixed emotions from relief to sadness and even guilt...whether it's the first time your child is in treatment, or even if you've been down the treatment road many times.
human flourishing & unconventional recovery; finding personal fulfillment & challenging the status quo in addiction treatment, with Tripp Johnson
If your son graduated from high school, was a nationally ranked tennis player, went to West Point, became an Army Ranger, served in Afghanistan, and went to law school, you might think all was good. But for Tripp Johnson, who achieved all of these markers of external success, life wasn't all good.
Tripp’s story takes us from sourcing drugs off the Dark Web to law school, a yoga mat, and ultimately, creating a whole-person focused treatment program for guys struggling with substance use.
what does it mean to be “in recovery?” why it's confusing for parents and what we should focus on to help our kids make positive change, with Brenda Zane
In honor of September being National Recovery Month, I'm sharing an episode all about the confusing topic of "recovery." Does it mean total abstinence from all drugs and alcohol, forever? Are there “flavors” of recovery? If you're a parent or love someone who's working on overcoming addiction and you're confused about what recovery actually is or isn't - this is your episode.
hope for weary parents; from living in a park to helping re-build lives, with Mark Pepper
Parents of adult children who are living in active addiction are true warriors and if this describes you, this episode will give you hope and knowledge that people can and do recover - even if they're 39 years old, living in a park and eating from garbage cans. For parents of younger teens and adults, you will definitely want to hear what my guest, Mark Pepper, has to say about things his parents and family did that moved him toward recovery. They're things you can do no matter the age of your son or daughter or how long they've been using substances.
rethinking drinking when our kids struggle with substances; why and how you might consider a change, with Casey Davidson
This episode explores that sometimes uncomfortable topic of parents' drinking when they have a son or daughter struggling with substances, and provides non-judgemental information and ideas on how to make a change if you decide it’s right for you. It'll help you completely reframe how you think about alcohol's role in your life, and how this important change might be a big step in role-modeling healthy behavior and coping skills for your children.