We Do Recover With Jared Miller

Lots of great treatment, recovery, & family advice in this mashup Q & A episode. Topics include accountability during active addiction, different types of treatment, Suboxone for pain management, Ketamine treatment (are you still concerned clean), & hosts' favorite memory together outside of the podcast. Also a baby announcement by counselor/host Jared Miller.

Host Jared Miller is joined by two dudes from his local community to talk about recovery. Chris & Layton both grew up in Saint George, Utah. They briefly reflect on the nightmare of active addiction, but mostly share about their four & a half years in recovery. Jared asked both guests to share a message of hope to individuals in early recovery who might be struggling or thinking "is life ever going to get better". Chris & Layton break down each year of their recovery sharing their experience, strength, & hope. In the last fifteen minutes of the episode, the discussion turns to the topic of DankSwank (Chris & Layton's clothing apparel company). Recently Chris & Layton started an LLC to create & sell some pretty sweet apparel. This is a great episode to motivate individuals in early recovery & show what is possible with years of clean time. Let's show Chris & Layton some love & check out dankswank.shop 

 

Guest Crystal Randall joins hosts, Dr. Terry Sellers & Counselor Jared Miller, to share the story she self-entitled "what a mess". Crystal shares about her childhood & what lead to her addiction. For many individuals, including Crystal, substances are introduced by older family members. She shares that part of her story is generational trauma. Crystal does a great job sharing about more than just the drugs! She shares about her battle with co-dependent relationships with men, losing physical custody of her children on multiple occasions, & her fight to get them back. It is pointed out that throughout all Crystal's story she may have had periods of abstinence from drugs, but within those periods she was not working a program of recovery. After a very personal spiritual experience, while incarcerated, Crystal found the motivation to "get her poop in a group". That motivation resulted in the seven years she has clean today! Today, Crystal is employed with a non-profit organization in Utah known as USARA. She uses her experience to help other mothers get clean & navigate the process of retaining or regaining their children from DCFS/CPS. This is a great episode to share with any mother who is currently going through this, help give them hope by sharing it with them. 

In episode 102, the hosts Dr. Terry Sellers & Jared Miller start off by checking in on what is new & good. Jared's wife, Mandy, joins the hosts to explain the stage of IVF they are currently in. Hosts then jump to the topic of reflecting on the original purpose of the podcast & if they hit the mark of "showing what successful recovery can look like". They discuss the staple of the podcast as having guests who have crossed over from active addiction to living a life of recovery. Dr. Sellers shifts from being a goofball during the into to a heartfelt message that the podcast is really about spreading a message of hope. Jared shares that he would like to see the podcast continue to evolve with topic episodes to educate the listeners & shed light on different recovery-related content. This episode finishes with both hosts discussing past episodes & the amazing stories of their guests. This episode is a disorganized masterpiece, we hope you enjoy it! 

Guest Brayden Dobson shares how his recreational substance use turned into physical dependency due to painful tumors in his legs. He was relieved to find out the tumors were not caused by Cancer but little did he know at the time his illness from substance abuse was just getting started. Brayden started to cross-addict during his college years at Dixie State University, he was prescribed Adderall for his ADHD but started taking three to four times the amount he was prescribed. Naturally, the progression of those two substances turned into heroin & methamphetamine abuse which led to Brayden becoming homeless three separate times in his early twenties. He shares that his pathway to recovery started with an intervention from the host Jared Miller who found him walking the streets on a hot summer day. Brayden was taken to the hospital & eventually, agreed to enter treatment. Eighteen months later Brayden Dobson has completed his episode of care & continues on his journey of recovery. This is a very inspiring story of one addict helping another & the power of a recovery community. We hope you enjoy it! 

Doctor Eric Evans joins the hosts to discuss how medication-assisted ketamine treatment can help with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance abuse. The hosts acknowledge that this is a progressive conversation about nontraditional forms of mental health treatment. Dr. Evans does a great job explaining the history of the use of ketamine, first being used in the military for anesthesia. Listen to the full episode to learn how it works differently than SSRIs in the brain. Hosts hope this content is helpful, please share with friends/family who struggle with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance abuse.

A friend and fellow Advanced Substance Use Disorder Counselor (ASUDC) Darrin Judd joins host Jared Miller (ASUDC) to discuss motivation and discipline in recovery. Darrin Judd (ASUDC) shares that he has been in recovery from alcohol since 2014, that he is a husband, father, and a productive member of his community today. Both Darrin & Jared address that motivation is great, but without combining it with discipline it can be fleeting. This episode has great advice for individuals in early recovery on how to avoid or overcome falling off the "pink cloud". Both Darrin & Jared use examples like nutrition & exercise to draw comparisons to working a solid program of recovery. Give this topic-based episode a listen & if you know someone who could benefit from its content please share it with them. 

Aaron Garcia (Pastor Garcia), shares how he struggled with wanting to be popular & accepted in his adolescence. This led to recreational drug use & drinking in high school. In his early adult life full addiction set in with the use of methamphetamines, which led to some dark experiences! Aaron shares how he reached out in prayer during his rock bottom, and days later God stepped in & started changing his life. Today, Aaron spreads the word of God at homeless shelters, community service centers, & to his flock of fellow Christians on Sundays. This is a spiritually powerful episode, Pastor Aaron closes with a prayer for those still struggling. We hope you enjoy it!

Hosts Dr. Terry Sellers & Jared Miller (CASUDC), discuss a news article published on tabletmag.com on August 30th, 2022 titled "How Weed Became the New Oxycotin". This article addresses the similarities between the fairly new movement of "Medical marijuana" to the past booms of big tobacco & big pharma. Similarly to how big tobacco was marketed to teens & young adults, as well as how Purdue Pharma marketed Oxycotin as "non-addictive", we see the current boom of the marijuana industry using the term "medical" to market to consumers (there is no distinction inside cannabis dispensaries). Host Jared Miller acknowledges that more research needs to be done & points out the undeniable benefits of CBD properties vs the psychoactive effects of THC properties. The hosts are aware this is a heavily debated/controversial topic & do their best to approach it from the context of the news article. Regardless of where you stand on the use of marijuana, this is a very informational podcast episode, we hope you enjoy it! 

Shan Blake joins Dr. Sellers & Jared Miller (CASUDC), to share her comeback story from alcohol, marijuana, methamphetamine, & opiates (polysubstance abuse). Shan starts by sharing that today she is a mother of seven children, a wife to a supportive husband, a sponsored athlete, & a small business owner (Blakes Cakes). Shan gets vulnerable & shares how a sexual assault was the activating event that led to a desire to escape through substance abuse. She shared how abusing a wide range of different substances only compounded her problems & ultimately led to her giving birth to a beautiful but opiate-addicted daughter. It was the legal system that eventually intervened in her life, after getting arrested for possession of a controlled substance Shan was ordered to attend outpatient treatment & provide weekly UAs while on informal probation. Shan shared how she was actually relieved & thankful that she had some kind of structure & accountability to help her get clean. Shan admits that she has cross-addicted to working out & the whole fitness lifestyle, she competes in fitness competitions within the state of Utah. She is two weeks out from competition & grateful she is a person in long-term recovery today. 

Portia Wilcox Louder shares her AMAZING story of recovery from alcohol, opiates, meth, & unhealthy men. She found true freedom in federal prison when she began taking accountability for her mistakes. She has been out of federal prison for over three years now & speaks across the United States about her journey. She also authored & self-published the book Living Louder “A Compassionate Journey Through Federal Prison”. 

We Do Recover with Jared Miller - EP 094 - Adolescence and Addiction Hollie Henderson, Josh Brazier

Jenann & Al Richards come on the podcast to share how alcohol almost ruined their marriage. Jenann shares how she grew up socially drinking from an early age, after she & Al were married they both fell on hard times which resulted in Jenann becoming an everyday drinker. Al shares how difficult it was to watch the woman he fell in love with struggle daily, he describes trying everything he could think of in hopes of getting through to her, but none of it worked. Jenann is now twenty months sober & looking to find a job working as a peer support specialist, she wants to be able to assist others who feel hopeless as she once felt. 

Hosts Jared Miller & Dr. Terry Sellers discuss topics in the news related to addiction in part one. Melody Sellers shares how her husband Terry Sellers addiction impacted their lives as they reflect back on being married for the past forty years in part two. Happy 40th anniversary Mr. & Mrs. Sellers! 

Host Jared Miller invites a co-worker & a friend who work in the treatment field to discuss how the treatment process works. They also discuss helpful information for family members regarding having their loved ones in treatment. This is a very fun & educational episode, especially for someone who is considering seeking out treatment for their addiction. 

Melissa & Aaron Vaught celebrate 14 years of being married. This adorable couple shares how they met in the rooms of recovery & how Melissa’s sisters in recovery put Aaron through the stress test. This is an amazing story that shows finding love again & recovery are both very possible.

Aaron Wallis grew up fending for himself. He shared that he felt like his parents were good people, but not good at parenting. He started using substances at the age of 13, which led to a downward spiral resulting in polyaddiction & being arrested between 40-50 times. For years Aaron wanted to quit, he shared that when he would get arrested he would be relieved because he could not stop using on his own. Once Aaron found recovery, he experienced multiple deaths including two close friends and his son. Aaron shares how he stayed clean through the tragedy and how recovery has blessed his life today. He recently got accepted into barber school & has plans to move to Salt Lake City, Utah to pursue that career with his girlfriend. There is excellent advice on this episode for anyone in recovery that is experiencing grief/loss in their life. 

Dr. Terry Sellers interviews Jared Miller after hitting 8 years clean and sober. Jared reviews his personal story, explaining what led to his addiction and what his addiction cost him. In part 2, Jared shares how he got and stayed clean, and what he has gained in recovery. 

EP 087 - Conflict Resolution with Becky Sampson

Michael Keenan went through treatment several times before looking inward & making long-term changes. He has been clean for 14 years and is the owner/executive director of the Access Foundation & High Desert Counseling. He shares how that journey started for him & his views/opinions of why some people relapse after treatment. He shares how he did a lot of research into what was missing in the recovery process & started setting up sober living houses where individuals could transition back into life with a higher success rate. Michael shares his outlook on relapse & the best way from a treater standpoint to handle it. This episode has a lot of great content about real-world recovery concepts.