Today I will talk about the process and path of a person moving from being a "normie" to using drugs and alcohol and becoming an addict.

In this episode, I talk with Brad Jensen, the founder of Key Nutrition, and is in recovery. He comes to us today to talk about how fitness and health have positively impacted his sobriety. Brad also talks about his struggles with sobriety. He'll talk about his experience, his awareness of the three pillars to life, and how he can assist clients with his coaching to be more successful on the path of sobriety.

Struggling with anxiety and ADD from age 12, he tried alcohol as a release and found drinking worked to relieve his stress. Additionally, he was overweight and was picked on by friends. By age 14, Brad jumped into reading books on health and fitness and was hooked on his health class at school. He remembers wanting to look like a bodybuilder on the cover of a magazine, then realizing that alcohol would not let him achieve his goal and quit drinking. At the end of his sophomore year, he was fit, but still had anxiety and was presented with opiates at a party.

Even with a stable family situation and a good life, Brad fell into drugs and alcohol. "This wasn't supposed to happen to a guy like me," he says, recalling his stable family life. Brad continued bodybuilding, along with his heroin addiction, until he finally ended up in prison for an extended period.

Listen in to find out how Brad denied his addiction for years, how he recovered from his long-term addiction in November of 2012, and the best thing his parents did for him during recovery. Brad also talks about how the loss of his grandfather affected his recovery from addiction.

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Show Notes:

• [03:59] Brad’s journey through addiction and his background with drugs and alcohol.
• [06:01] Brad tells his story of how he was introduced to and hooked on opiates.
• [08:45] His experience of trying to take more pain pills and how to get a hold of more. 
• [10:56] Building his identity through distributing opiates, the significant power this gave him and his first experience with heroin.
• [14:52] His senior year of high school his mom found a briefcase full of drugs.
• [22:56] Brad’s first experience with a long-term prison sentence.
• [26:18] How Brad’s parents stopped enabling him and how this helped him to stop using drugs.
• [28:06] What happened when Brad asked his mom for drugs.
• [30:00] Brad’s first steps to recovery after he was released from 30 days in prison.
• [36:54] How materialistic items can keep people sober.
• [46:30] How fitness and health has impacted Brad’s sobriety.
• [51:54] Get your anger, anxiety and issues out of your head with a good workout in the gym.
• [54:54] It’s not how long you’ve been sober, it’s what you’ve done during and after your recovery time.

Links and Resources:

• Real Recovery Live Chat
• Real Recovery Talk on the Web
• Real Recovery Talk on YouTube
• Leave Real Recovery Talk a review on iTunes
• Rock Recovery Center
• Ideas for a show? Email us [email protected] and [email protected]
• Brad Jensen | Key Nutrition Coach