Let The Journey Begin

This week, Bryanna Wallace joins Hilary and Jason on Let The Journey Begin. Like many individuals, Bryanna started down her path of addiction at a young age. An unfortunate cocktail of external factors including an emotionally absent parent, a torn ACL from soccer, as well as switching schools in the midst of high school resulted in a party lifestyle for Bryanna. From there, whether it be her use of crystal meth at the age of 17 or her drug of choice in alcohol, things went downhill quickly. Bryanna explains how toxic relationships also had a negative impact on her and was another large factor in her addictions. Her "moment of clarity" came in the form of her parents truly cutting her off and "ending the enabling," which finally led to her pursuing and obtaining sobriety at the age of 29. Today, Bryanna considers herself lucky to be alive and is always trying to be of service to others who are struggling in a similar manner. She currently works in the recovery/treatment field but explains that this particular profession isn't necessarily the best way to maintain sobriety for former addicts. Whether it be recovery groups (in person or virtual) or talking to her mentor on the regular, Bryanna believes the most important thing you can do on a daily basis is to be of service in any way that you can.

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This week, we go back in time a few months following the 4th of July as Gary Coffman, a man who watched Hilary get sober years ago, joins Let The Journey Begin to talk about his own unique journey. From an early age, Gary always wanted to be an entertainer. Whether it be an actor or a Jerry Lee Lewis impressionist, being in front of others was his calling. That is, until the entertainment lifestyle began to swallow Gary up. With alcoholism running in his family and being introduced to cocaine while performing, a bad cocktail of substances took Gary's life for a turn. He details his moment of clarity in a fun story in which he ended up naked underneath a fish tank, which turned out to be the first time he realized he needed help. Years later, he reflects on the things he needed to address in order to obtain sobriety. Whether it be untreated trauma or learning how to help others even when you don't always want to, Gary has a whole new life in which he is at peace. Gary stresses the importance of meditation and prayer in his daily life and explains why even something so small as calling somebody to see how they're doing is monumental in the path to recovery.

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Jaana Woodbury is the Vice President of Marketing for Safe Harbor Treatment Center for Women. Jaana can be noted for her philanthropy and advocacy toward addiction and mental health issues. In an effort to shed light on family systems and addiction, Jaana's family was featured on Sesame Street's, "Parental Addiction" series which recently won a Daytime Emmy for the short film. She has also been featured in several publications including Cosmopolitan for sharing her knowledge and work in the addiction field. Today, while serving as Vice President of Marketing for Safe Harbor, she hopes to expand business as well as relationships with like-minded individuals to bring the best care to her clients.

Jaana sits down with Hilary and Jason this week to discuss how she's gotten to the place she is today and what it's like to be an Emmy winner. After being active in school and sports as a child, Jaana experimented with marijuana in high school, which led to much more severe addictions later down the road. Although, these addictions took her to the lowest of lows, even to the point in which she was using hard drugs in front of her young children, she explains that when you strip everything away, her major issues with co-dependency were the root of her addictions. Both Jaana and her husband have obtained sobriety together over the years, and she discusses how she would not be in the place she is today without having experienced that journey. She now considers herself a student of sobriety and stresses how much power can be achieved from appreciation.

The Jaana Woodbury Award (Deadline September 15)

More information at the link below:

https://www.redsongbird.org/jaana-woodbury-award

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We have a special show this week, as Jason's lifelong friend, Adam Steindler, joins us to celebrate his eight-year birthday of sobriety. Adam grew up with a normal childhood in Orange County, but it wasn't until he got to college that he realized he might have a substance abuse problem. A girl he was dating at the time expressed her concern with his alcohol consumption and demanded he make a change. However, rather than cutting down on the drinking as she requested, he instead made the switch to pain medications in order to achieve the same effect and it all went downhill from there. Things finally took a turn at the age of 25 when he woke up handcuffed to a hospital bed after receiving his third DUI. Since then, Adam has restructured his whole life and has devoted himself to his own sobriety. Adam also explains how he is now able to help others who struggle with their own addictions and how big of an impact Jason's sobriety has been for him.

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This week, Cyndi M. joins Hilary and Jason to give us all a little hope and perspective. Cyndi was adopted into a tumultuous household at a young age. In order to cope with this rough upbringing she experienced on a regular basis, she turned to alcohol at merely nine years old. From then on, Cyndi explains how her life was taken over by the addiction of alcohol and it wasn't until she accrued her seventh felony charge at the age of 17 that there was finally a moment of clarity that motivated her to seek help and treatment. In Cyndi's case, however, alcohol addiction hasn't been her only obstacle. Cyndi details a motorcycle accident she had that left her in very bad shape, only to be followed up with her going broke, and later finding out she had cancer. Even through all the hardship Cyndi has experienced, she still stresses that "every trauma she's had has been a gift." Cyndi is the epitome of positive thinking and explains how perception makes all the difference in the world. You don't want to miss this one!

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This week, Hilary and Jason go back in time to the George Floyd protests going on across the country and sit down with musician Julian Ness. Julian discusses how butting heads with his father created a good deal of teenage angst within himself, to the point where whatever his father would tell him to do, he would try to do the opposite. This conflict came to a boiling point when Julian was kicked out of the house at age 16 and began moving from one friend's house to another. However, as he became more immersed in drugs and alcohol, these same friends wanted nothing to do with him and Julian explained that "even the drug addicts wanted nothing to do with me." After spending a year in jail at the age of 18, Julian describes how his moment of clarity came in an overdose experience that was different than the rest. Rather than wanting to continue drinking and drugging, this particular time was different; he wanted to get help. Today, Julian has completely restructured his life to aid his sobriety. He stresses how important it was for him to change the people he surrounded himself with and also, discusses how the search for spirituality has helped his journey. Finally, Julian expresses how gratitude is key in maintaining sobriety on a daily basis and his continual quest in helping others with their struggles has made his life more meaningful.

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Daniel Headrick, MD, is the medical director and owner of Tres Vistas Recovery in San Juan Capistrano, California. Before opening Tres Vistas Recovery, Dr. Headrick served for eight years as the medical director at Mission Hospital in Laguna Beach, California, and eleven years as the Medical Director of Hoag Hospital's Chemical Dependency Center in Newport Beach, California.

Dr. Headrick – known by his patients as Dr. Dan - joins Hilary and Jason this week on Let The Journey Begin to discuss his own personal experiences with recovery. Dr. Headrick knew from an early age that he wanted to be a doctor and later achieved that very goal. While working in the medical field, things were going very well. Sports cars, a boat, beautiful women, you name it, Dr. Headrick had it. But little did people realize, Dr. Headrick had a whole separate life outside of his practice that involved drinking and drug use due to his own feelings of unworthiness. His usage even took him to the point of overdosing, ending up in his own emergency room, and later contemplating suicide, which ultimately was the determining factor in his seeking treatment. Today, after 35 years of sobriety, Dr. Headrick uses his own experiences as an addict to help thousands of individuals achieve their own sobriety. In talking with Hilary and Jason, Dr. Headrick gives insight as to why nutrition is so important in the quest for sobriety as well as picturing oneself sober by setting a target, whatever that picture of sobriety looks like to you.

You can find Dr. Dan Headrick and his work at:

tresvistasrecovery.com

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This week, on Let The Journey Begin, Hilary and Jason are joined by Pete Boyer. For 45 years, Pete viewed his drinking as more of a habit rather than a problem. However, things changed the moment he suffered a mild heart attack, in addition to a few other health issues, at which point his two daughters suggested he quit drinking and seek help. Now, after going through treatment and almost a year of sobriety, Pete explains how he manages to stay on the path. Hilary, Jason, and Pete also go over the idea of being just a "social drinker" and what that means in the grand scale of things when trying to figure out whether or not you have a problem. For some people, maintaining sobriety can be more difficult than it is for others, but Pete explains that being "one and done" with treatment is what truly motivates him. Finally, our guest leaves Hilary and Jason with a very simple and straight-forward Action For The Day: "Just don't take a drink!"

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This week, Hilary and Jason have the pleasure of speaking with licensed mental health counselor and psychotherapist, Dr. Sarah Williams, to discuss her journey as well as the current state of mental health care. Growing up, Dr. Williams' father always wanted her to be a doctor, but that path was derailed when her father passed away in the midst of pursuing her degree. Her father's passing unfortunately put her family in a difficult financial situation, so she knew that if she wanted to become a doctor one day, she would have to go about it a different way. In the midst of all that, she describes how she experienced racism while pursuing higher education in the rural South as well as many naysayers, who she credits as individuals that provided extra motivation. Finally, through her resiliency and what she calls "her own stubbornness," she was able to make her late father's wish a reality.

As a licensed mental health professional, Dr. Williams explains how her life and education journey would have been a lot easier if cheap healthcare and mental healthcare would have been available to her. Starting her own practice and working with other organizations came about because certain services were not available during her time of need and she hopes to change that for individuals with similar needs today.

You can find Dr. Williams on her website:

iamdrsarahwilliams.com

or

Covenant Way Wellness

covenantwaywellness.org

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This week, teacher, mentor, and psychotherapist Dr. Sharon Burnett joins Hilary and Jason to discuss the understanding and processing of trauma. Dr. Burnett believes that everyone has experienced some form of trauma within their life, minor or major, with her being no exception. She recounts how the loss of her young brother due to a drunk driver had a big impact on her emotions, only to be followed up a few years later with the loss of her mother. She explains how individuals will use substances as a way to run from trauma and although substances may be a quick solution, true recovery cannot happen until the trauma has been dealt with head on. In Dr. Burnett's case, she discovered that finding ways of dealing with her own trauma ultimately helped her become a better therapist. Dr. Burnett also puts forth the idea that "trauma is the gift that keeps on giving" and explains why there are both positives and negatives that can come from it. In her work, Dr. Burnett believes every person she works with is a gift and she credits practicing what she preaches as a way to aid in her own trauma recovery.

You can find Dr. Burnett at:

westvalleycounseling.org

New episode every Thursday!

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