Michelle Hillier was well into her Forties when she realized that she was running away. Not facing up to her fears and traumas, she was drinking heavily to numb and suppress unwanted feelings. She eventually hit a wall, hiding booze from friends and family and hitting rock bottom. She had an epiphany, and realized she last felt like her real self over twenty years ago, and so embarked on a journey to rediscover her authenticity. Our co-host Luke Colson has been on a similar path and we discuss the reasons why people self medicate, and how we can find the strength to get back to basics, face out fears, and start to feel alive again.
Links From Michelle:
Site: www.breathandfire.com 
IG: https://www.instagram.com/breathandfire

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S2 EP51: Michelle's Story - Quitting Alcohol, And Finding The Real Me

BITE-SIZE PERSONAL STORIES OF SURVIVING LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCES: Hosted by Luke Colson and Kyle Wise, we feature weekly guests and explore extreme personal life changing experiences and the journey emotional and physical recovery. Each guest discusses their story of how their lives were turned upside down, by unexpected events. Stories like surviving a car crash, surviving abuse, being paralyzed in an accident, witnessing a crime.. and many more! Luke and Kyle will take an honest, raw, yet positive and hopeful approach, to really find out how these sudden events have effected our guests, and hear about the tools they use to overcome the subsequent struggle and adversity. We will focus on the journey to success and recovery, and hear stories of how our guests overcame trauma, and mental health challenges like ptsd, anxiety depression and phobias that have often lead to addiction, alcoholism, and disorders. While we will focus on the events themselves, and the lasting effects of these moments, our goal in this podcast is to concentrate on the positive journeys of resilience, recovery and hope that comes from these extraordinary stories. Join us for the ride of your life, and other peoples too! Why listen? We hope that our listeners will feel comfort, empowerment, strength and hope through this community of people and the stories we share. Everyone’s experiences are unique, but the circumstances around recovery and healing can be a shared and comforting journey. EMAIL: wtfmupodcast@gmail.com MUSIC by DeVyruss from Pixabay SPOTIFY: For reasons that no one at Spotify knows, our podcast does NOT play on the Spotify App from IOS devices. It works on every other platform, and even works on Spotify App from Android and works just fine on Spotify for Desktop. Spotify tell us they don' t know how to fix it. We love our listeners and encourage you to find another way, and another platform, and we apologize, this one is out of our hands.

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After 20 years, Ann finally found the strength to escape an abusive, emotionally crippling, and desperate marriage.  Just as her life was beginning to blossom, disaster struck. After coming down with the Flu one day, Ann's health started to deteriorate,  and the next day, she awoke with no feeling in her legs. After emergency, life saving surgery to remove hundreds of blood clots throughout Ann's lower body, she was told that her leg needed to be amputated. Tune in to hear how focus, faith, strength, and sheer determination would give Ann a chance to keep her legs and walk again!
Website: anncknickell.com
FB Page: facebook.com/anncknickell
Instagram: instagram.com/anncknickell Support the show

S4 E15: Ann's Story - We Need To Amputate Your Leg

A few years ago, Anastasia Zadiek, left her house after an argument with her husband with the sole intention of ending her life. Decades of childhood trauma had led to suicidal thoughts, and that night, everything just boiled over. As she walked down to her regular hiking spot towards the cliffs, she started to think about her kids, and what her decision would do to them. Listen into this incredible episode to hear what happened to allow Anastasia to face her demons and finally ask for help. 
Anastasia is a writer, editor, and narrative nonfiction performer. She lives in San Diego, CA, where she serves as Director of Communications for the San Diego Writers Festival, as a mentor for the literary nonprofit So Say We All, and as a board member for the International Memoir Writers Association. Her first novel, Blurred Fates, won both the 2023 Sarton Award and the 2023 National Indie Excellence Award in Contemporary Fiction. Find her online at
Site: anastasiazadeik.com
FB: facebook.com/anastasiazadeik/
X: twitter.com/anastasiazadeik
IG: instagram.com/anastasiazadeik Support the show

S4 EP14: Anastasia's Story: It's OK To Not Be OK

Kendall Patterson joins us this week, for a simply wonderful episode. Kendall has experienced abuse (of all the kinds), poverty, traumatic events, two traumatic brain injury parents (on separate occasions!) and most of her immediate family are or were addicts. Thats just the start, in 2021, the gloves really came off, with a new baby, her immediate family would deal with covid, leukemia, alcoholism, and multiple deaths, and Kendall herself changed career, got divorced, and lost her father in a matter of weeks. This is when she made her agreement to change her life, forever!
She is a hopeful Ted talker and podcast lover, and guested on a number of amazing podcasts. Kendall uses her experiences to help others live an abundant and grateful life. Never settle for less than you deserve, this episode channels positivity and awesomeness! Thank you Kendall!
IG: https://www.instagram.com/kendallpattersonre/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kendallpatterson_re 

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S4 EP13: Kendall's Story - Overcoming Relentless Adversity!

David was a young, successful, high-flying executive, making his way to the top! First working for a record label in LA, he then fell into the business and marketing side of the  adult film industry! By his twenties, he had 'the cars, the girls, the houses, and the expensive watches', and he felt he had the world at his feet. Then came Heroin. David's story plays out like a real life Hollywood Movie, and as heroin addiction took hold, he would lose everything. His battle against the addiction, the desperate friends and family that tried to help, and the eventual jail time, all make for a survival story like nothing you have heard before.
CONTENT / TRIGGER WARNING: Heroin use and addiction.
Helpful Links from David:
Drug Abuse Helplines https://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/contact-us
Substance Abuse Helpline: https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline
AA: https://aa.org/ Support the show

S4: EP12: David's Story - Heroin Took Everything!

During his 35+ year career, Professor Pete Alexander had the privilege to work in a variety of positions including Sales, Marketing, College Professor and Small Business Owner. Each role had one thing in common - high stress - to the point he was diagnosed with stress-related diabetes and ended up in the hospital with a severe case of diabetic ketoacidosis, a few hours away from falling into a coma!
It was a reality check! When you don’t have your health, not much else matters. Prof. Pete knew it was time for me to walk away even though I had a great job, secure income, and good benefits. Interestingly, his coworkers and peers were very supportive and most of them told him they admired his decision to put health first before career, because they were contemplating the same thing. He realized then that it wasn’t just him, and set out to help other hard-driving leaders avoid the same mistakes and immensely benefit from the wonderful tools and techniques he has learned and experienced first-hand. In addition to a video series, Professor Pete has launched a book on Amazon, which became an international bestseller. 
He was selected as a TEDx speaker and best of all,  he is a certified Laughter Yoga teacher and improv comedy cast member! Thank You Pete for sharing your inspiring story!
LINK HERE:
Site: https://petealexander.com Support the show

S2 EP51: Michelle's Story - Quitting Alcohol, And Finding The Real Me

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