Recovery Radio

Drug and alcohol addiction is a problem that affects individuals throughout the United States and the world. Unfortunately, treatment is not complete once you walk out the front doors of your rehabilitation center. Maintaining sobriety is a lifelong process. For some individuals, they only have days, hours, or even minutes before they immediately relapse following residential treatment. Today, we will be speaking to Mr. Rob Lohman about the immediate risks of relapse following treatment, and why these numbers are so high. Mr. Lohman has experience as an addiction coach and interventionist, as well as a published author. Mr. Lohman overcame his addiction in 2001 and has been helping individuals in need ever since. To learn more about Dr. Lohman's efforts, treatment methods, and personal growth through the world of recovery, tune in so we can grow in knowledge together.

Treatment for drug and alcohol addiction can be overwhelming. It can be tough navigating through the maze of treatment alone. Luckily, we have Dr. Cali Estes. She is a #1 best selling author, celebrity coach, counselor, life coach, recovery coach, and wellness guru. On today's show we will learn about her beliefs and treatment methods, the struggles individuals facing addiction have to overcome, and controversy surrounding our industry. Addiction can affect all individuals the same, regardless if they are celebrities or individuals like us. Dr. Cali Estes will explain what it means to be a celebrity addiction therapist, along with discussing her background and experiences that have led to her current successes. To learn more about Dr. Cali Estes and her triumphs and strides throughout the industry, tune in and let's grow in knowledge together.

How does an individual become addicted? How do couples become addicted, let alone pull their strength together to battle tough addictions? A couple's relationship is extremely intimate but can have an extremely different dynamic when drugs or alcohol are introduced. How does the addicted couple cope? Dr. Robert Navarra, a certified master Gottman therapist, is here to help answer these questions. Addiction is all-consuming. Drug/alcohol abuse eclipses your desires, priorities, and every waking moment of your life. When there are multiple parties involved, like a couple, the desires and cravings can be immensely stronger. By developing the Couple Recovery Development Approach (CRDA), Dr. Navarra has helped many individuals facing these issues. In this informative podcast, you will learn about his methods, advice and treatment options for the addicted couple. This discussion will give you insight into the addicted couple and the relationship. Tune in and let's grow in knowledge together.

Why are people addicts? Is it a moral weakness due to lack of willpower and motivation, or is addiction a result of chemical changes in the brain that cause users to want, crave, and even need their drugs of choice at a biological level? Dr. Paul Chung will be dispelling myths surrounding addiction causes so that you understand how people become addicts, and why people sometimes give up everything in order to keep abusing drugs or alcohol. Addiction is all-consuming. Drug abuse consumes your desires, priorities, and every waking moment of your life. In this informative podcast, you'll learn if some drugs are more harmful than others and forms of treatment that have a proven track record of success. This discussion will give you insight into how the addicted brain feels, thinks and works. Tune in and let's grow in knowledge together.

How do people navigate the healthcare system to obtain quality treatment for addictions? Dr. Joshua Farber will be speaking to us about how you can make the most out of hospital resources in order to beat addiction and reclaim your life! You need to tune into this informative podcast to learn about the evolution of telehealth and how technology is changing how doctors treat patients. Can virtual exams replace the standard hands on assessment that we are accustomed to? You'll also hear about the role of medications in the treatment of substance abuse disorders, dual-diagnosis and the prevalence of mental illness when addiction exists, and you will gain insight in how addiction impacts the brain to get someone hooked.

It's time to have a talk about you. Whether you're an addict or someone who loves one, this conversation will provide invaluable insights on how to take care of yourself during early and long-term recovery. Are you struggling to break through someone's denial? Are you hitting roadblocks trying to help someone understand that they're addicted to drugs or alcohol and concerned that they might overdose, even die? Dr. Laurence Westreich will be here to talk about an alternative to interventions and tough love that might be the solution your loved one needs to finally say: I have an addiction. I need help! Tune into this powerful and thought-provoking message from one of the country's pioneers regarding alternatives to tough love and interventions for the treatment of substance abuse.

We are welcoming back John Walsh in our Part 2 series titled “What's an intervention?” For those of you that listened to Part 1, you got to know John a little bit. He’s been an interventionist for four decades and has helped many people around the country understand the nature of what it means to be an addict. Only from that knowledge can we ever really grow in recovery. One of the fundamental parts of John's job as an interventionist is working with family members of addicts. This is where time caught up with us on the first podcast and why we are back today. We'll talk more about the role of family members who want to help a loved one with an addiction. How do you support your loved one who is addicted to drugs or alcohol without being an enabler? What if the intervention doesn't go well? What if your loved one storms out during the intervention? We will answer all of these questions and more during this informative discussion about interventions.

How do you treat the hurt that accompanies addiction? Many people turn to drugs or alcohol due to previous emotional or physical abuse experienced earlier in life. Booze and illicit drugs serve to numb psychological wounds temporarily, but when users realize that addiction is wreaking havoc on their lives, how can they work through previous traumas that they've buried and suppressed for years? In this episode you will hear from a psychotherapist and trauma expert who will talk about the isolation that accompanies addiction and why it's essential to address PTSD, depression and other mental health problems during treatment. You don't want to miss this seasoned addictions therapist discuss how Isolation is counter to survival.

Lost to addiction... By the time police officers interact with people addicted to drugs or alcohol, individuals are struggling with abuse to substances that has led to violence, crime, overdoses, homelessness, and isolation. Law enforcement agencies across the country are stepping up to provide more resources to individuals battling addiction to illicit drugs. Police departments have begun to initiate alliances with community rehab programs that offer immediate and long-term recovery resources. The Angel Initiative in Louisville, KY is a program that helps addicts find a rehab center immediately upon coming into the police department. Addicts don't have to look on the web for resources or call around to inquire about open beds. They just have to walk in and ask an officer for help. Listen to this engaging podcast with police sergeant Brittney Garrett and learn how more communities are stepping up to beat the drug epidemic!

John Walsh, co-founder and former CEO of the Morton Center, an alcohol treatment center in Louisville, KY, talks about being an interventionist and how interventions often convince addicts to acknowledge their addictions and go to rehab. We will talk about how addiction has changed over the past four decades and discuss the substances responsible for those changes. Not only have types of drugs changed, but the methods of addiction treatment is continually evolving. Sometimes family members are unsuccessful in helping loved ones understand the seriousness of addiction. John will talk about why people are often in denial of their addictions and when an intervention with a professional is warranted. We will also discuss the steps to a successful intervention and how to plan for unexpected outcomes such as: refusal to go to treatment, aggression, and running away.

Discussing challenges that accompany many young people in recovery, typically Failure to Launch syndrome, which is a term used by clinicians and professionals that describes someone unable to live independently from parents or caregivers. People in recovery are susceptible to low-self esteem and lack the emotional maturity to take charge of their own lives. Often failure to launch recovering addicts are full of promises, goals and dreams. It's the follow-through that they struggle with. They just can't seem to get things done. They are late, forgetful and it seems like they're always making excuses for not accomplishing tasks that to the average person seems simple and uncomplicated. These people grow into their 30's and 40's and still live with parents. They often take their recovery seriously and have learned how to live without their drug(s) of choice. However, they are dependent on others to carry them along in life and struggle to become assertive, confident and independent.