Patrick Custer | Alcoholism, Delirium Tremens & Facing a Brain Tumor
Recoverycast: Mental Health & Addiction Recovery Stories
Release Date: 03/18/2026
Reno | From Rave Influencer to Sober Movement Advocate: Overcoming Trauma & Bipolar
Recoverycast: Mental Health & Addiction Recovery Stories
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Recoverycast: Mental Health & Addiction Recovery Stories
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Recoverycast: Mental Health & Addiction Recovery Stories
Singer-songwriter Samuel Harness, known for his breakout performance on Season 21 of The Voice, joins Recoverycast to share the raw reality of his journey through addiction recovery and childhood trauma. In this vulnerable episode, Samuel discusses the long-term impact of sexual assault, the complexities of being an adoptee, and the intense pressure of the music industry. From navigating anxiety and depression to his experiences with Adderall, alcohol, and psychedelics, Samuel illustrates how...
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David Manheim | Heroin Recovery, Grief, & Building the Dopey Nation
Recoverycast: Mental Health & Addiction Recovery Stories
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Recoverycast: Mental Health & Addiction Recovery Stories
Can you still be funny—or even be yourself—without the substance? Gabe Pietrafesa, longtime guitarist for Young Culture and host of the Trapped on the Internet podcast, joins Recoverycast to share his vulnerable journey through the high-pressure world of the music industry and the internal battle for self-worth.. Gabe opens up about growing up as a "chameleon" and a people-pleaser, navigating a childhood shaped by divorce and a complicated relationship with his father's drinking.. What starte...
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Lucas Curtin | Grief & Loss, Alcohol Addiction, & The Power of Friendship
Recoverycast: Mental Health & Addiction Recovery Stories
How do you keep going when the person you love most suddenly disappears? Lucas Curtin (known online as Fitzgerald Checksworth) opens up about the intersection of cyclical alcohol struggle, sudden grief, and the "snap" in the brain that changed everything. In this vulnerable episode, Lucas shares his journey from being the high school "class clown" to using alcohol to "shut up the voices" of deep-seated anxiety and depression. He recounts the heartbreaking loss of his girlfriend, Marissa, who ...
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Ryan Hampton | OxyContin & Heroin Addiction to Mobilize Recovery Founder
Recoverycast: Mental Health & Addiction Recovery Stories
From walking the halls of the White House to facing homelessness due to a severe OxyContin and heroin addiction, Ryan Hampton’s story is unforgettable. Ryan Hampton was a rising political organizer and White House staffer when a hiking injury introduced him to highly addictive prescription opioids like Dilaudid and OxyContin. What started as a doctor-prescribed treatment quickly spiraled into a decade-long struggle with opioid use disorder, leading him to the streets and eventually to heroin...
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Patrick Custer | Alcoholism, Delirium Tremens & Facing a Brain Tumor
Recoverycast: Mental Health & Addiction Recovery Stories
What do you do when the very thing you have feared since you were three years old actually happens—and you have to face it while five years sober? In this episode of RecoveryCast, Brittany Barnard talks with recovery advocate and media personality Patrick Custer about his intense journey through alcohol addiction and a life-altering medical crisis. Patrick opens up about a childhood shaped by hypervigilance and a "fear of God" that led to chronic anxiety. He describes how his first drink didn...
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Recoverycast: Mental Health & Addiction Recovery Stories
Tiffany Jenkins, the New York Times bestselling author and voice behind "Juggling the Jenkins," joins Recoverycast to share her raw journey from facing 20 felony charges to 13 years of sobriety. Tiffany opens up about her childhood struggles with undiagnosed OCD and how a single sip of alcohol in high school led to a decade-long spiral into alcohol, weed, and eventually a devastating opiate addiction. She reveals the harrowing details of staging a burglary in her own home to fund her habit an...
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Jaimie Alexander | Bourbon Addiction, Near-Death Awakening, & Spiritual Recovery
Recoverycast: Mental Health & Addiction Recovery Stories
From Marvel’s Lady Sif to a hospital bed fighting for her life, actress Jaimie Alexander shares the raw truth about her battle with bourbon and burnout. Jaimie, the celebrated lead of Blindspot, opens up about the "lone wolf" mentality that nearly cost her everything. Despite a thriving career, she used alcohol to medicate social anxiety and the extreme physical toll of performing her own high-octane stunts. She recounts the terrifying moment her appendix ruptured, leading to sepsis and a pr...
info_outlineWhat do you do when the very thing you have feared since you were three years old actually happens—and you have to face it while five years sober? In this episode of RecoveryCast, Brittany Barnard talks with recovery advocate and media personality Patrick Custer about his intense journey through alcohol addiction and a life-altering medical crisis. Patrick opens up about a childhood shaped by hypervigilance and a "fear of God" that led to chronic anxiety. He describes how his first drink didn't feel like euphoria, but like finally reaching a "baseline" of peace.
The conversation dives deep into the physical toll of alcoholism, including the terrifying experience of Delirium Tremens (DTs), which Patrick describes as "electrocution of the brain." From being dropped from a prestigious nursing program to a high-stakes family intervention involving a warrant for his arrest, Patrick shares the moments that led to his radical acceptance. Most importantly, he explains how he navigated a brain tumor diagnosis in sobriety by "leaning in" to connection rather than isolating.
Find mental health and addiction treatment near you: https://recovery.com/
If Patrick’s story of resilience and finding joy beyond "not being sad" inspired you, please subscribe and share this episode with someone who needs to hear that hope is always available.
⏱️ Chapters:
- 00:00 – Intro: Becoming a Conduit for Hope
- 02:31 – The First Drink: Reaching "Baseline"
- 06:45 – Religious Trauma & Chronic Hypervigilance
- 11:38 – The Horror of DTs & Brain Electrocution
- 14:33 – "It Isolates Me From Me": Losing Identity
- 16:28 – The Unraveling: Dropped from Nursing School
- 19:04 – The Wrong Way: A Family Intervention
- 22:30 – Arrest Warrants & Radical Acceptance
- 27:12 – Facing the Nightmare: A Brain Tumor in Sobriety
- 38:15 – Why Leaning In Is Always Better
❓ Questions the Video Answers:
- How does alcohol act as a "baseline" for chronic anxiety?
- What does "electrocution of the brain" feel like during alcohol withdrawal?
- How can a hypervigilant childhood lead to later substance abuse?
- What are the consequences of being a "functional" alcoholic in nursing school?
- How do you handle a family intervention when you are in denial?
- What is the "forever concept" and why is it overwhelming?
- How does addiction cause you to "stop developing identity"?
- What is the impact of "fear of God" versus a spiritual life of your own?
- How can you stay sober while taking narcotics for a medical emergency?
- Why do people with addiction often feel "behind" in life?
- What does it mean to be a "bad apple" in a treatment program?
- How does a brain tumor affect motor function and speech?
- Is isolation always the "lesser result" in recovery?
- How can curiosity replace the shame of not knowing the answers?
- Why is "not being sad" different from having true joy?
#AddictionRecovery #BrainTumorSurvivor #AnxietyAwareness