Better Life in Recovery

An introduction to several terms in the addiction/recovery space some people are either not understanding or misusing, such as the difference between addiction and dependence or why we are currently experiencing a syndemic not an Opioid Epidemic.

A discussion about a blog post written by Bill White and Galen Tinder that explored the unique characteristics displayed by those who are in long-term recovery.

In this episode we talk to a father, Brent Swanson, who watched his daughter struggle with heroin and supported his daughter until she finally came out on the other side not only alive but thriving. He shares some insight I think we can all benefit from hearing and answers questions only a parent can.

In this episode we will discuss an article that listed 10 key skills and goals for your first year of recovery. So if you are looking for tips to use that will supercharge your recovery, look no further. The funny thing is that these tips can help improve anyone’s life!

It isn’t just opioids that are killing people at record levels, and opioid deaths may be taking the focus from other drugs and we can’t allow that to happen. Alcohol is increasing at a scary pace, especially among women. We have people dying from what they call despair deaths, which contain substance use and suicide. We are not going through an opioid epidemic, we are going through a syndemic (thanks for introducing me to that word, Brent Canode).

A brief discussion about Ben is Back and Beautiful Boy, why everyone has worth and why we must meet people where they are at with compassion and respect! Then a rant about multiple pathways, and why recovery is recovery is recovery and why we need to avoid becoming dogmatic about our recovery path.

In this episode we will talk about a Japanese concept, ikigai. Ikigai looks at 4 areas in our life: What we are good at, what we love, what the world needs and what you can get paid for and the amazing life people live when they can combine all 4 of these things. To begin with, we are going to look at 3 of these areas because those 3 combine to create your why. Finding your why is vitally important. Once you know your why, then you can find your way through life and nothing will stop you.

In this podcast, we discuss the power of gratitude, what a gratitude list is and how a daily gratitude list improves our attitude and quality of life.

Today we will be talking about grief and loss for a couple of reasons. I know that there are a lot of people who are losing loved ones, and they are understandably struggling with that loss. Also, I have found that sadly many people are not well informed about grief and loss. In fact, I would argue they are misinformed. So we are going to better equip people not only who are dealing with grief and loss, but also those who are supporting or love someone who is dealing with grief and loss.

Tim Kavanagh is a person in long-term recovery. He is the founder of ARCH (Addiction Recovery Community Health), a recovery community center in St Charles, MO. He is the manager of Sober House, Inc and was a former counselor at Bridgeway Behavioral Health. Today, he answers 10 questions about his recovery journey.