Episode Summary: In this powerful episode, we sit down with Mark Cowan, a former inmate who spent 20 years in and out of prison due to his struggles with addiction. Today, Mark is on the other side of the prison walls as an addictions counsellor, using his personal experiences to help incarcerated individuals break the cycle of addiction and crime. Mark shares his journey from a life of crime to becoming a present father, a role model, and a community asset. He opens up about the turning points in his life, the impact of drug court, and his mission to give hope to those who feel trapped in the same cycle he once knew all too well.

In this episode, I speak with Rachel Stonehouse, an Investigative Reporter and documentary producer for BBC News and formerly for BBC NewsBeat. She recently produced and presented the documentary ‘Young and Addicted: Generation Ketamine” which took a graphic look at the impacts of recreational ketamine use.

In this interview, Rachel Stonehouse & James Dear were featured on BBC 5 Live with Stephen Nolan, following the release of the documentary 'Young & Addicted: Generation Ketamine. James was asked to share his experience as a ketamine addict as well as give some brief advice for anyone who may be addicted or considering using the drug for the first time.

The full documentary can be watched in the UK via the link below. A shorter version is due to be released to YouTube.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001yp76

In this episode, I speak with Joe Ramsden,

In this episode, I speak to a truly inspiring woman, Stephanie Crean.

You can watch the full movie about her father's story on YouTube by clicking the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSnU43PYYjE&t=1349s

Are you addicted to alcohol or substances and finally ready to do something about it but don't know where to start?   

Then this episode is for you.  I talk to Marek Hyde a recovering addict who has worked in the addiction field for 6 years. We are aware that the path to sobriety can be an overwhelming one. This is why we wanted to share with you some of the different options that you have in the United Kingdom whether you have access to money and other resources or not.   

Some of the different options that we discuss are,  

-The NHS route 

-Checking in with a GP 

-Local addiction services 

-The importance of finding an advocate 

-Alcoholic Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous 

-Seeing a counsellor  

Some of the services mentioned were,  

-Carpenters Arms 

-Loughborough https://www.carpenters-arms.org/  

-Betels https://www.betel.uk/  

-Jericho house https://www.jerichosociety.org.uk/location/derby/   

-Guide to free addiction helplines https://www.lifeworkscommunity.com/addiction-treatment/guide-to-uk-free-addiction-helplines  

Useful contacts 

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/recreational-drugs-alcohol-and-addiction/drug-and-alcohol-addiction-useful-contacts/

What does it mean to be a man? Where do we get ideas about what that means?   

In this episode, I was joined by retired muay Thai champion and mental health advocate Richie hardcore to explore this idea amongst some other topics such as mental health and addiction. Richie is also an educator and public speaker who works in family and sexual violence prevention, and fitness. He also spent 6 years working in drug harm prevention.  

Richie stated that he was a sensitive kid that liked reading books but fighting at school made him cool. Being masculine also made him feel strong and cool but he said that he was fortunate enough to be steered away from that path and didn't turn to gangs and violence like his friends. He credited a lot of this to his passion for martial arts and the sober culture of the straight-edge hardcore scene.  

Richie shares his life story then we dive deep into ideas surrounding masculinity from both a sociological and spiritual perspective. Finally, Richie tells us about his battle with depression and suicidal ideation and how he pulled himself out of that dark place.   

I really enjoyed this conversation. Richie does some fantastic work, please check him out.   

https://www.richiehardcore.com/podcast https://www.facebook.com/richie.hardcore 

https://www.instagram.com/richiehardcore/?fbclid=IwAR2RQyyoQsg7S96MDvqhmBmE0aDmgQzgOMctup7CY7xhK5t788RXyOMyZFc

In this episode, I talk to ex US marine and MMA fighter Tim Lodgen about his 27 year battle with alcoholism and other substances. Tim tells us that he doesn't remember his 20s and his drinking got really bad whilst during the Marine core. He suspects that it got worse due to trauma from the marines as well as his father leaving when he was 7. Tim tells us that he was drinking shots before work, being verbally abusive to his family, crashed a car and didn't remember, and was facing jail time due to his anger. Tim hit rock bottom when his wife told him that he couldn't be there anymore and shortly after his wife found him in the process of taking his own life.   

Tim got sober when his good friend and Jackass star Brandon Novak called him when he was at his lowest point offering him the opportunity of a lifetime. Brandon got him a plane ticket and booked him into rehab. After going through the 12 step rehabilitation process Tim has now been sober for 10 months and radiates nothing but gratitude. He is on a mission to change the world for the better.   

Tim said “Giving up is not an option, getting up is the only option”, “I didn’t realize I was in a cage and the one holding the key”  This is an inspiring story of hope that proves that it is possible to get sober even after 27 years.  

Please follow Tim's journey   

@Lodgen_tim on Instagram or Tim Lodgen on Facebook  

You can support the podcast and help us by making a donation to our Patreon. Break The Chain is not for profit and relies on your kindness and support to keep the show on the road.   

https://www.patreon.com/breakthechain   

:)

Here is the link to donate :) https://www.gofundme.com/f/tinman-triathlon-to-support-addiction

Callum Keen and I discuss what happened in the challenge, including the absolute disaster that I had, as well as talk about all the incredible prizes up for grabs in the raffle.

The prizes are:

- 3 x Break The Chain shirts

- Any pair of Vivo Barefoot shoes from their website

https://www.vivobarefoot.com/nz/collections/all?use=5662-

- Vivo Life plant-based supplements

- £50 Bam (bamboo clothing) voucher

- Vivo Life plant-based supplements from their website

- Vivo Life plant-based supplements

And if that's not enough if we raise over £1000 I reluctantly have to get a mullet!

Thank you to everyone who has donated so far.

- Vivo Life plant-based supplementsriathlon-to-support-addiction

In this episode, we talk to sex therapist and porn researcher Jo Robertson. 

We talk about navigating the new porn landscape and the effects that it is having on children, teenagers, and adults. We also talk about the dynamics between sex life and living a happy and fulfilling life.  

Some of the topics that we cover are  

-How the porn landscape has changed over the years 

-Should sex be positioned as the goal of life? 

-The effects of using porn 

-The age of children/teenagers when they first come into contact with porn and what parents should do about it 

-The subliminal messages that are found in porn 

-Healthy ways of learning about sex 

-Consent and sexual violence 

-Porn in relation to mental health and addiction 

-What age should we talk to children about porn  

Jo is a sex therapist and betrayal trauma specialist. She has a post-graduate diploma in counselling and a masters of science in medicine specialising in sexual health and psychosexual therapy. She also works as the Research and Training Lead for The Light Project, which is a charity equipping youth, their families, and professionals to navigate the new porn landscape.   

To find out more about the amazing work that Jo does please take a look at her website and the other work she is involved with.   

https://www.jorobertson.org/ 

https://thelightproject.co.nz/ 

Instagram @sextherapistjo

www.clue.com