Journey 2 Solutions Podcast

In this episode of Journey 2 Solutions Podcast, we sit down with Phil Andrade, also known as Wild Card, a hip-hop artist, recovery advocate, and treatment professional who shares a powerful story about addiction, relapse, mental health, and refusing to give up.

Phil once had nearly 10 years of sobriety before slowly disconnecting from meetings, recovery, and his spiritual foundation. In 2015, he picked up a drink—and what he thought might be a temporary relapse turned into a devastating three-year battle with alcohol, drugs, meth psychosis, homelessness, and losing nearly everything he had built.

But Phil kept fighting.

Today, he has rebuilt his life and celebrates eight years of sobriety, using his music, testimony, and work in recovery to show others that relapse does not have to be the end of your story.

🎙️ We uncover:

Relapsing after nearly 10 years sober

The warning signs that appeared before the relapse

Addiction, meth psychosis, and mental health

The shame of returning to addiction after years in recovery

Why asking for help and speaking up can save your life

Using music and his testimony to recover out loud

Why Phil’s message to anyone struggling is simple: keep trying

Phil’s story is a reminder that your recovery time is never wasted—even if you fall. Get back up, surround yourself with people who have what you want, and keep fighting for your life.

If you’re feeling lost, overwhelmed, or battling addiction or mental health challenges—you’re not alone. 🧠💔 There’s hope and help available.

📞 Call 877-587-1558 today—someone is ready to listen, walk with you, and help you start your journey to healing. Don’t wait. Your life matters. 💪✨

n this episode of Journey 2 Solutions Podcast, we sit down with Pastor Derek Dunn for a powerful conversation about faith, recovery, identity, mental health, church culture, and what it really means to love people where they are.

Pastor Derek challenges the idea that your struggle has to become your identity. Whether someone battles addiction, alcohol, anger, lust, trauma, or another issue, he believes those struggles may be part of your story—but they are not all of who you are. In Christ, your identity is deeper than your past or your problems.

He also speaks openly about the importance of being honest about our weaknesses. Faith does not mean pretending temptation, pain, or personal struggles suddenly disappear. Growth requires humility, boundaries, accountability, and continuing to do the work.

🎙️ We uncover:

Why your struggle should not become your entire identity

The difference between performing for God and living as a son or daughter

Why churches should be safe places for broken people

Loving people where they are without expecting instant transformation

Why faith and therapy can work together

The danger of pretending Christians never struggle

How authenticity creates deeper connection and healing

Pastor Derek’s message is simple: come as you are, keep growing, and don’t confuse struggling with failing.

Faith is a journey. Healing is a process. And sometimes God works through prayer, community, therapy, medicine, boundaries, and the people He places around us.

If you’re feeling lost, overwhelmed, or battling addiction or mental health challenges—you’re not alone. 🧠💔 There’s hope and help available.

📞 Call 877-587-1558 today—someone is ready to listen, walk with you, and help you start your journey to healing. Don’t wait. Your life matters. 💪✨

In this episode of Journey 2 Solutions Podcast, we sit down with Wendy Grijalva, whose story is a powerful journey through childhood trauma, sexual assault, self-harm, codependency, alcoholism, weight struggles, and devastating loss.

Wendy became a mother at 15, later struggled with eating disorders and reached approximately 350 pounds before undergoing gastric bypass surgery. After losing significant weight, her addiction shifted more heavily toward alcohol.

She eventually found recovery alongside her husband, George, but after years of sobriety and relapse, Wendy experienced one of the greatest losses of her life when George died by suicide.

Today, Wendy has seven-plus years of sobriety and continues healing through faith, therapy, recovery, service, and vulnerability. Her story is about learning that loving others does not mean losing yourself—and that you are not responsible for fixing everyone around you.

🎙️ We uncover:

Childhood trauma and sexual assault

Codependency, self-harm, and body-image struggles

Alcoholism, relapse, and recovery

Losing her husband to suicide

Learning boundaries, forgiveness, and self-worth

How faith and sharing her story became part of her healing

Wendy’s journey is a reminder that even after trauma, addiction, grief, and unimaginable loss, healing is still possible—and your story can become hope for someone else.

If you’re feeling lost, overwhelmed, or battling addiction or mental health challenges—you’re not alone. 🧠💔 There’s hope and help available.

📞 Call 877-587-1558 today—someone is ready to listen, walk with you, and help you start your journey to healing. Don’t wait. Your life matters. 💪✨

In this episode of Journey 2 Solutions Podcast, we sit down with legendary tattoo artist Tim Hendricks, whose story is a raw journey through success, addiction, repeated relapse, overdose, sobriety, mental health, marriage, fatherhood, and finally learning to be grateful for the life recovery gave him.

As Tim’s career exploded and his name became known throughout the tattoo world, so did the partying. Money, recognition, drugs, and alcohol became intertwined with his lifestyle. He estimates spending hundreds of thousands of dollars partying, and even after overdosing and realizing how serious his addiction had become, getting sober was anything but easy.

For nearly a decade, Tim repeatedly tried to stop. He would get sober, relapse, start again, and eventually reached a point where he believed it might simply be easier to remain loaded and die that way than continue fighting.

Then his life changed.

Meeting the woman who would become his wife gave Tim something he no longer wanted to lose. After another relapse, he committed himself to recovery, went to meetings day after day, and kept showing up. Eventually, sobriety stopped feeling like a punishment and became something completely different: the foundation for everything good in his life.

Today, Tim has 17 years of sobriety, a wife and children he deeply loves, a successful career, and a completely different relationship with himself. Recovery also opened the door for him to confront childhood trauma, grief, anxiety, and mental health struggles that he had spent years carrying without truly addressing.

🎙️ We uncover:

How success and recognition in the tattoo world fueled Tim’s addiction

The enormous amount of money he spent on drugs, alcohol, and partying

The overdose that forced him to acknowledge he was an addict

Why repeated relapse eventually made him want to give up on sobriety altogether

How meeting his wife changed his desire to live

Why consistently going to meetings finally helped recovery stick

How sobriety went from something Tim resented to something he became deeply grateful for

The childhood trauma and grief he later realized he had never fully processed

Why therapy became an important part of his mental health journey

How becoming a husband, father, and business owner gave his life deeper meaning

Why people struggling with addiction should stop focusing on how they are different and start recognizing how much they have in common

Tim’s story is especially powerful because recovery wasn’t instant. He tried, failed, relapsed, became discouraged, and at one point completely accepted the idea that addiction might eventually kill him.

But he kept going.

Today, after 17 years sober, Tim says sobriety has given him the balanced, meaningful, happy life he once thought he had lost forever.

If you’ve tried to get sober before and it didn’t work, that doesn’t mean recovery isn’t possible. Keep going. Your next attempt could be the one that changes everything.

If you’re feeling lost, overwhelmed, or battling addiction or mental health challenges—you’re not alone. 🧠💔 There’s hope and help available.

📞 Call 877-587-1558 today—someone is ready to listen, walk with you, and help you start your journey to healing. Don’t wait. Your life matters. 💪✨

In this episode of Journey 2 Solutions Podcast, we sit down with Jen Seko, whose story is a powerful testimony of addiction, consequences, resilience, faith, motherhood, and discovering that your worst chapter does not have to become your final chapter.

Jen was introduced to meth at a young age and quickly found herself surrounded by a lifestyle where drug use, trouble, and destructive choices became normal. Eventually, she stepped away from meth for nearly a decade, became a mother, built a business, bought a home, and created a life that looked successful from the outside.

But underneath the accomplishments, unresolved trauma was still there.

After her marriage ended, Jen found herself overwhelmed as a single mother running a business and carrying more than she knew how to handle. During a trip to Las Vegas, she returned to meth after approximately 10 years away from it. What initially felt like a way to gain energy and keep functioning quickly pulled her back into the cycle she thought she had escaped. Looking back, Jen realized that staying away from drugs was not the same thing as actually healing the trauma underneath the addiction.

Eventually, Jen became involved in a federal case that changed the course of her life. After fighting the case for roughly two years, she was ultimately sentenced to prison. She spent five years incarcerated, separated from her children and forced to confront herself in an entirely new way.

Instead of allowing prison to destroy her, Jen made a decision to use the time to grow. She stayed productive, studied, took college courses, focused heavily on fitness, read constantly, and worked on becoming a different person. Even during the isolation of COVID—when prison visits disappeared for nearly two years—her relationship with her children, family support, and faith helped carry her forward.

Faith also became an anchor. Jen describes moments before and during prison when she believes the grace of God protected her and reminded her that she was never completely alone.

🎙️ We uncover:

How childhood trauma contributed to Jen’s early drug use

Becoming addicted to meth at a young age

Building a successful life, family, and business while unresolved trauma remained underneath

Why nearly 10 years without meth didn’t necessarily mean the deeper wounds had healed

The relapse that changed the direction of her life

Facing a federal case and eventually serving five years in prison

The pain of being separated from her children, especially during COVID

How education, fitness, reading, and personal development helped transform her prison experience

The role faith played during some of the darkest moments of her life

Why forgiveness, letting go, and self-growth became essential to her freedom

Discovering that sobriety gave her more confidence and authenticity than drugs or alcohol ever could

Jen’s story is proof that recovery is about much more than simply stopping the substance. If we never address the trauma underneath the addiction, the pain can remain dormant until life becomes difficult again.

Today, Jen is learning to share the parts of her story she once kept hidden. By opening up about her trauma, addiction, incarceration, and transformation, she hopes someone else will realize that their story matters too—and that there is life after the consequences of your past.

You can lose years, make devastating mistakes, and experience consequences you never imagined—and still choose to rebuild. Your past does not have to have the final word.

If you’re feeling lost, overwhelmed, or battling addiction or mental health challenges—you’re not alone. 🧠💔 There’s hope and help available.

📞 Call 877-587-1558 today—someone is ready to listen, walk with you, and help you start your journey to healing. Don’t wait. Your life matters. 💪✨

In this episode of Journey 2 Solutions Podcast, we sit down with JD Denham, whose story is a powerful journey from addiction, self-destruction, and losing nearly everything to sobriety, faith, family, entrepreneurship, and becoming a man of integrity.

JD’s addiction escalated from pills to OxyContin, heroin, and methamphetamine. As the mortgage industry crashed, his finances disappeared, his marriage fell apart, and he became separated from his daughter. What followed was a life of survival, chaos, and drug addiction that continued pulling him deeper into darkness.

Then came January 18, 2011.

After using what would become his final shot of heroin, JD woke up with only a few dollars, nowhere to go, and the realization that he could no longer continue living the way he had been. He called his father—whom he hadn’t spoken to in a long time—and finally admitted that he needed help. That moment became the beginning of a completely different life.

Through Alcoholics Anonymous, the 12 Steps, sponsorship, faith, and learning to take responsibility for the wreckage of his past, JD began rebuilding himself from the inside out. One of his greatest influences was his first sponsor, who challenged him to stop running from consequences and become a man who faced life with honesty and integrity.

Today, JD’s life looks completely different. He has built businesses, restored relationships, created a family, and uses his platform to speak openly about addiction, trauma, faith, masculinity, and what it means to become a strong man of character.

🎙️ We uncover:

How prescription pills eventually led JD to OxyContin, heroin, and meth

Losing money, relationships, and connection with his daughter during addiction

The final day of using that became the beginning of his sobriety

Why asking his father for help changed everything

How sponsorship and the 12 Steps taught him accountability and integrity

Why facing consequences instead of running from them became essential to his recovery

The importance of healing yourself before trying to build healthy relationships

How faith, family, business, and service became foundations of his new life

Why JD starts his mornings by giving his first hour to himself and God

His mission to encourage men to become stronger, more honorable, and more intentional in how they treat others

JD’s story proves that sobriety is about much more than putting down drugs. It’s about changing the person you are when nobody is watching.

He went from running from consequences to facing them, from destroying relationships to honoring them, and from living in survival mode to building a life centered around faith, family, responsibility, and purpose.

Your past may explain where you’ve been, but it doesn’t have to determine the man or woman you become.

If you’re feeling lost, overwhelmed, or battling addiction or mental health challenges—you’re not alone. 🧠💔 There’s hope and help available.

📞 Call 877-587-1558 today—someone is ready to listen, walk with you, and help you start your journey to healing. Don’t wait. Your life matters. 💪✨

Elisa Saunders: From Nearly 30 Years of Alcoholism, DUIs & Shame to Recovery, Faith, and Purpose

In this episode of Journey 2 Solutions Podcast, we sit down with Elisa Saunders, whose story is a powerful journey through childhood trauma, shame, alcoholism, destructive choices, mental health struggles, and ultimately recovery, healing, and purpose.

From a young age, Elisa carried deep feelings of loneliness, humiliation, and shame. As she got older, alcohol became something she could rely on to escape those feelings. What began as drinking and partying eventually became a lifestyle that followed her for nearly 30 years.

Even while building a successful career as a teacher and cheerleading coach, Elisa was struggling behind the scenes. Alcohol led to multiple DUIs, damaged relationships, and one terrifying incident in which she caused a 10-car pileup while driving intoxicated. Despite serious consequences, she still struggled to fully accept that she needed help.

After her second DUI, a breakup, and reaching a point where she was suicidal, Elisa entered treatment. But even treatment alone wasn’t enough. Her journey required deeper recovery, honesty, therapy, spiritual growth, and learning to confront the pain and shame she had carried for decades.

Today, Elisa has transformed those experiences into a message of hope. After losing her mother, she prayed to God to make her useful—and doors began opening for her to share her story publicly. Her vulnerability has since reached people struggling with alcoholism and families desperately searching for hope.

🎙️ We uncover:

How childhood shame and feeling alone shaped Elisa’s identity

Elisa’s journey is a reminder that addiction doesn’t always look the way we expect it to. Someone can have a career, education, friends, and outward success while privately falling apart.

Recovery began when Elisa became willing to face what alcohol had been helping her avoid.

Today, she shares her story for one reason: if even one person hears themselves in her experience and realizes there is a way out, then everything she went through can be used for something greater.

Your story may look different from Elisa’s, but the message remains the same: someone else has been where you are, found a way out, and can help show you the way forward.

If you’re feeling lost, overwhelmed, or battling addiction or mental health challenges—you’re not alone. 🧠💔 There’s hope and help available.

📞 Call 877-587-1558 today—someone is ready to listen, walk with you, and help you start your journey to healing. Don’t wait. Your life matters. 💪✨

Multifaceted Monster: Addiction, Trauma Bonds, Identity & Rebuilding Life Through Recovery

In this episode of Journey 2 Solutions Podcast, we sit down with Multifaceted Monster, an artist and creator whose story is a raw look at addiction, codependency, identity, relationships, and what it really takes to rebuild your life.

Growing up, he learned how to become a “chameleon”—adapting to the people around him, people-pleasing, and becoming whatever he thought others needed him to be. Over time, those patterns affected his identity, relationships, and ability to understand who he really was underneath everything.

His journey eventually led into addiction, psychiatric hospitalization, detox, rehab, and relationships built around unresolved trauma. While in treatment, he entered a fast-moving relationship that became deeply trauma-bonded and intertwined with addiction. What felt like love and connection ultimately became another part of the cycle he needed to escape.

After relapse and another painful rock bottom, he found his way back into recovery and got sober again in 2023. Along the way, creativity became an outlet for processing the parts of himself he had spent years hiding. Multifaceted Monster became more than a name—it became an artistic identity that allowed him to explore addiction, emotional honesty, trauma, relationships, and recovery through music and self-expression.

🎙️ We uncover:

How codependency and people-pleasing can shape your identity from childhood

This episode is for anyone who has ever lost themselves inside addiction, relationships, trauma, or the need for other people’s approval.

Multifaceted Monster’s story reminds us that recovery doesn’t always happen in a straight line. Sometimes healing means confronting the parts of yourself you’ve spent years hiding, learning who you are without substances or unhealthy relationships, and finally giving yourself permission to become someone new.

Your past doesn’t have to become your identity. Give yourself a chance to heal, rebuild, and discover who you were created to be.

If you’re feeling lost, overwhelmed, or battling addiction or mental health challenges—you’re not alone. 🧠💔 There’s hope and help available.

📞 Call 877-587-1558 today—someone is ready to listen, walk with you, and help you start your journey to healing. Don’t wait. Your life matters. 💪✨

Pat Parker: 37 Years Sober — Faith, Recovery, and Meeting People Where They Are

In this episode of Journey 2 Solutions Podcast, we sit down with Pastor Pat Parker, a woman whose life represents 37 years of sobriety, spiritual growth, service, and an unwavering commitment to helping people heal.

Pat has spent decades working with people impacted by addiction, trauma, and mental health challenges. From serving as a counselor to helping run treatment programs and ultimately stepping into pastoral leadership, she has developed a deep understanding of what it means to walk alongside people through some of the hardest seasons of their lives.

At the center of Pat’s philosophy is a simple but powerful belief: every human being has value because we are all image bearers of God. Rather than judging people by where they are today, Pat challenges us to learn their story, understand what they have survived, and recognize how far they have already come.

Her faith isn’t about creating barriers—it’s about building bridges. Pat believes people should be able to come exactly as they are without being stripped of their humanity, dignity, or story. Her ministry is rooted in expanding the circle of belonging and showing people the unconditional love of God.

🎙️ We uncover:

What Pat has learned through 37 years of continuous sobriety

This conversation goes beyond simply getting sober. It’s about learning how to love people, serve people, understand people, and create communities where those who feel rejected or forgotten know that they still belong.

Pat’s story reminds us that recovery isn’t one-size-fits-all. Every person carries a different history, different wounds, and a different journey—and sometimes the greatest thing we can do is put down the measuring stick, listen to their story, and love them where they are.

No matter your past, your trauma, your addiction, or how far outside the circle you may feel—you still have value. You still belong. And God’s love is available to you.

If you’re feeling lost, overwhelmed, or battling addiction or mental health challenges—you’re not alone. 🧠💔 There’s hope and help available.

📞 Call 877-587-1558 today—someone is ready to listen, walk with you, and help you start your journey to healing. Don’t wait. Your life matters. 💪✨

In this episode of Journey 2 Solutions Podcast, we sit down with Shane Kelley, a retired firefighter, entrepreneur, recovery coach, and co-owner of Self Made Training Facility, who shares a powerful story about alcoholism, identity, honesty, and rebuilding his life through recovery and faith.

For years, Shane’s identity was deeply connected to the fire service. But behind the uniform, he was struggling with alcohol. What started as drinking eventually became a cycle that affected his career, relationships, and sense of self. After receiving a DUI while serving as a firefighter and later being demoted, Shane watched the career he had built begin to unravel. At the time, it felt devastating—but looking back, he believes those consequences helped save his life.

Shane spent nearly seven years with one foot in recovery and one foot out, repeatedly going in and out of AA. Everything changed on December 31, 2015, when he finally became completely honest with himself and decided he could no longer drink under any circumstance. That honesty became a turning point, and today Shane celebrates 10 years of sobriety.

But recovery didn’t stop with alcohol. Years later, an injury and the mental toll of his career led Shane to leave the fire service and enter PTSD therapy. Through that process, faith, patience, fitness, nutrition, and recovery coaching became new foundations for his life. Today, he helps others improve their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being while navigating their own recovery journeys.

🎙️ We uncover:

The hidden addiction and alcoholism that can exist within first-responder culture

Shane’s story is for anyone who has built their entire identity around a career, title, or image while silently struggling underneath it. His journey reminds us that asking for help is not weakness, honesty can be the beginning of freedom, and sometimes the thing that feels like it destroyed your life becomes the very thing God uses to redirect it.

You don’t have to have everything figured out today. Stay honest, stay connected, keep doing the work, and take recovery one day at a time.

If you’re feeling lost, overwhelmed, or battling addiction or mental health challenges—you’re not alone. 🧠💔 There’s hope and help available.

📞 Call 877-587-1558 today—someone is ready to listen, walk with you, and help you start your journey to healing. Don’t wait. Your life matters. 💪✨