Ep. 61 - Josh McBride - His Legitimate Need for Pain Management Led to His Addiction

Josh McBride now works at Coastal Detox after his own experience with recovery. Josh’s journey is different from many people’s. He was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease at an early age, and eventually his pain management led him to addiction and moving to street drugs. Passing out in his car, led him to a 75-day stay in jail without any drugs or medication.

Josh shares his journey with Tom and Ben. He talks about how he didn’t have a lot of resources and had to turn to county and free resources. He also talks about the mind shift he had that convinced him to finally take recovery seriously. His story is unique and his perspective is inspirational. This is a wonderful conversation about how to think about recovery and how to find a way to accomplish it.

Show Notes

• [02:49] Josh is originally from Orlando.
• [03:00] At a young age, Josh was diagnosed with crohn's disease. He began using pain meds to control the symptoms of his disease.
• [03:44] Eventually, he became chemically dependent and struggled with addiction for at least 10 years.
• [04:45] In his early twenties, he accepted that he wasn't going to live long and just wanted to stay comfortable with this medication.
• [05:01] Unfortunately, the pain pills led to heroin and in 2011, a police officer found him hunched over in his car.
• [06:17] He went to pill mills and got pills.
• [08:53] He ended up selling his prescription drugs and buying street drugs. He overdosed, convinced the doctor in the hospital to give him oxy, and when he was released he shot up in his car.
• [11:42] People who overdose are medically discharged within an hour. There are gaps. People need to get into treatment after overdosing.
• [14:08] Josh's experience getting clean is different from the average person's.
• [14:55] In 2011, when Josh was arrested, he was put in a county jail that had a lot of different rules. He began a cold turkey detox. He was there 75 days. His mom asked the jail to keep him for two more days until a Monday, so he could go straight into a Faith Farm work program.
• [19:21] He was released on the Saturday, and he walked five miles to a county detox program. They kept him safe for two days, and then his mom took him to Faith Farm.
• [21:17] He was at Faith Farm for almost two years.
• [24:18] He had to put in a lot of work with his Christian based recovery. He took feedback even when he didn't believe in it.
• [27:35] Josh works at Coastal Detox, and it's a great facility.
• [28:02] People need to be under supervision when they are coming off of drugs. There is also a psychological factor. Coastal offers an interdisciplinary approach, plus all of the client's needs are taken care of.
• [30:03] Couples need to be split up to be treated in a healthy way.
• [30:23] There are resources out there for people who don't have good insurance coverage.
• [33:58] There are many ways for people to get clean. There are different paths. Pay attention to what is available to you. You just need a little motivation and be willing to ask for help when you feel discouraged.

Links and Resources:

• Faith Farm
• Coastal Detox