199 - How to stay sober during the holidays
Real Recovery Talk
The holiday season is here upon us. This can be tough for those who are in early recovery, especially being with family. Along with family comes a lot of emotions. You may have indulged in drugs and alcohol to get through previous holidays to get yourself through this time. Now, however; you are sober and you’ll need to put new tools in your toolbox to move through the holidays sober. The big question I’m going to discuss today: How can we go into the holiday season and be sure we will be OK when we get out the other side? Don’t go into the holiday season with the idea that this will be...
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198 - Addicted to Meth - Devin shares his story
Real Recovery Talk
“Addiction is so big in our society right now that it’s best that you let loved ones know that they can have help. They can receive help, and they can do this. It doesn’t have to kill them.” -Devin Today, Ben and I chatted with Devin, who’s an example of getting back on track. He began drug usage during childhood, and found himself in prison later. Devin gathered the strength to face himself and the beast within. He doesn’t do it alone, but with the help of the people around him. Listen in as he talks about using drugs to feel a void, getting back on track after a relapse, and how...
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197 - Getting Hooked On (and Off) Drugs and Drink
Real Recovery Talk
“I have a purpose today, and I feel God steps in my life a lot and he was telling me to have courage and be fearless.” -Ira Today, Ben and I chatted with Ira, who’s a real deal addict. He’s had a ton of health issues like cancer, diabetes, and even facing death as a result of his drug and alcohol addiction. But he managed to turn his life around and now he’s going on two years sober! Listen in as he talks about getting addicted, how he overcame it, and all the people who helped save his life along the way. Struggling to Find His Place Growing up in the 70s as half Irish and half...
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196 - Starting an Addiction During College
Real Recovery Talk
“I have a place that I was comfortable with that I was already a part of for my recovery.” -Reed Today, Ben and I chatted with Reed, who tells his story about how his addiction started in college. Raised locally in Palm Beach Gardens, Reed had a good life growing up with loving parents who gave him many opportunities in life. However, with his parents being conservative regarding drinking, Reed didn’t get drugs and alcohol from his parents. Experimenting with Drugs While in high school, Reed did drink and smoke weed, but drugs and alcohol weren’t a big problem at this point in...
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195 - Healing Trauma to Break Free From Addiction
Real Recovery Talk
“Life continues to show up, whether you want to be a part of it or not.” -Natalie Today, Ben and I chatted with Natalie, who endured horrible abuse as a small girl that gave her immense amounts of childhood trauma that ended up turning into a drug and alcohol addiction as a teen. Listen in to discover how Natalie overcame her addiction by healing her emotional wounds as an adult. Her Early Years Traumatized as a Child At the age of eight, Natalie was sexually molested and started drinking at the age of 14. As her disease progressed, she started using Zanax and was arrested at 17 and put on...
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194 - Sher Canada Gets Her Life Back at Age 58
Real Recovery Talk
“You’ve got to surrender - I came here and gave it all up to you.” -Sher Today, Ben and I chatted with Sher Canada, a former client at Rock Recovery Center. We could tell that she was someone special shortly after she arrived at Rock Recovery. In our interview with Sher, you’ll find out how addicts can recover into an exciting life with a purpose and not have to live their sober days bored and complacent. Early Life with an Alcoholic Mother When she was young, Sher discovered the slew of alcohol bottles her mom hid in their bathroom. She remembers almost being killed in car...
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193 - Vince has been to 10+ treatment centers - What will be different this time?
Real Recovery Talk
In today's episode, Ben and I talk with Vince, a 25-year-old recovering addict from Philadelphia. He stole a bottle of vodka and drank the entire bottle in sixth grade. In the summer of his freshman year of high school, Vince started smoking pot. Cocaine became a weekend sports celebration during his junior year of high school. Vince became an addict after his team coach gave him a prescription narcotic drug in his second college year. Vince was involved in sports as early as he could remember. His family consisted of three sisters, one of the older and two of them younger than him. Both of...
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192 - Growing up in Manhattan- Selling drugs and living a lifestyle of destruction- Tom Fabricitore shares his story
Real Recovery Talk
“What alcohol was doing for me outlaid what it was doing to me.” --Tom Today, Ben and I are talking to Tom, who works in the recovery field. Born and raised in downtown Manhattan, he became a drug dealer and eventually became sober from drugs and alcohol. He has been on the road to recovery for the past seven years. Starting the Drinking Habit at Age 10 Born and raised in New York City, Tom grew up in abusive family life, reflected in his poor behavior at school. Feeling like something was missing in his life, he discovered that alcohol filled that void at 10. From the beginning, Tom drank...
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191 - Al Dutzik- The Real Deal Alcoholic- The importance of community and benefits of Sober Living
Real Recovery Talk
“’Alcohol was the substance I just could not go without - I felt safe with alcohol.” -Al Today, Ben and I are talking to Al, a native of Pittsburgh, who is sharing with us today his journey and what he did to become sober. He talks with us about Foundations - a program that provides housing for men moving through their journey of sobriety. His First Experiences with Alcohol At the age of 16, Al found a bottle of homemade wine in the basement of his home and decided to try it. When he drank, Al noticed that he didn’t feel embarrassment, a common emotion he would have in public. “It...
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190 - The First 30 Days of Treatment
Real Recovery Talk
Here we are with Real Recovery Talk! Do you know someone who is considering going to a treatment facility for up to 30 days? Today, I’m going to talk about how you most likely won’t be cured by going to treatment for 30 days. There are a few people who have been successful after just 30 days; however, they are few and far between. The first day of treatment consists of detox, which generally ranges from day one to day seven. Detox can vary from one to fourteen days, depending on the individual and specific variables. Variables that can affect the length of detox are the types of drugs you...
info_outline“Life continues to show up, whether you want to be a part of it or not.” -Natalie
Today, Ben and I chatted with Natalie, who endured horrible abuse as a small girl that gave her immense amounts of childhood trauma that ended up turning into a drug and alcohol addiction as a teen. Listen in to discover how Natalie overcame her addiction by healing her emotional wounds as an adult.
Her Early Years Traumatized as a Child
At the age of eight, Natalie was sexually molested and started drinking at the age of 14. As her disease progressed, she started using Zanax and was arrested at 17 and put on probation.
She couldn’t trust anyone by the age of 10 and didn’t know who she was or what to do in her daily life. Natalie felt a constant challenge of wanting to be the best and fitting in with other kids her age.
In college, Natalie became addicted to oxycontin, robbed her neighbor’s home, and was picked up and put in jail for 14 days. Her father wouldn’t bail her out, and she was considered the black sheep of her family. Shortly after her jail sentence, Natalie moved to Canada and started selling herself for sex to keep up with her drug addiction.
Learning to Utilize Her AA Tools to Heal
Surrendering is Natalie’s lifeline to healing. “Everyday you need to surrender yourself.” Natalie understands the importance of having a good, reliable support group, such as the people she’s found at Rock Recovery Center.
Check out our website, where you can download episodes with helpful information for those in recovery and their families. Share this podcast with a friend and leave us a review!
Show Highlights
[02:32] Natalie talks about her past history growing up in a family of six children.
[07:22] Using the white chip to surrender yourself so you can heal.
[12:53] How surrendering leads to recovery for addicts.
[17:48] Utilizing sobriety in the form of having clean people around you to help you change your lifestyle.
[22:49] Moving from one addiction to another because you need the high to survive.
[33:07] How Natalie’s life has changed since she started her recovery.
[45:00] What she is doing to continue her recovery into sobriety.
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