Welcome back to another exciting season of The ClearlyWell Podcast! After an incredible first season filled with candid conversations, expert insights, and real stories about mental health and substance use recovery, we’re thrilled to kick off Season 2 with even more powerful content. Whether you’re tuning in as a returning listener or joining us for the first time, we’re so glad you’re here.

What’s New This Season? Season 2 promises to dive deeper into the pressing topics that matter most in mental health and recovery. This season, we’ll explore groundbreaking research, practical tools for wellness, and inspiring stories that highlight resilience and hope. Here’s a taste of what’s ahead:

Thank you for being part of The ClearlyWell community. Your support fuels this mission, and we can’t wait to share this journey with you. Here’s to another season of growth, understanding, and hope! Hit us up on Social Media, give a like and a follow! Email us at [email protected]

In this episode of the The ClearlyWell Podcast, Paramedic Brett gives a firsthand perspective on 911 calls in rural Georgia and North Carolina, providing insights into the unique challenges faced by emergency medical services in these areas. The conversation also explores the emerging threat of Xylazine, a powerful veterinary tranquilizer that is increasingly being mixed with opioids, worsening the opioid crisis in these communities.

The episode also highlights the critical role of therapy in addressing mental health issues like depression and anxiety, which are often at the root of substance use. By providing appropriate mental health support, particularly through therapy, the underlying reasons for addiction can be addressed and potentially prevented, an aspect often overlooked in discussions surrounding substance abuse.

Additionally, the conversation delves into findings from the Chapel Hill Street Drug Lab in North Carolina, where researchers are working to understand the contamination of street drugs. This lab is focused on identifying the harmful substances and adulterants that are increasingly present in drugs, helping to shed light on what’s polluting the drug supply and putting users at even greater risk. Their work provides crucial data for addressing the evolving drug crisis.

Thank you for tuning in,

Elizabeth McKeon

*Lastly, credit is given to the Stevens Amendment, as funds from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) have supported this podcast episode. The Stevens Amendment requires acknowledgment of federal funding contributions in programs and projects that are financed by federal agencies like HRSA, ensuring transparency in the use of public funds.

Reference,https://www.streetsafe.supply

Part 2 of Avery's story on the Clearlywell Podcast serves as a testament to the potential for redemption and renewal in the face of addiction. It inspires listeners to believe in the possibility of recovery and to support those struggling with substance use disorder on their journey towards healing and wholeness.

Part 1 of Avery's story on the Clearlywell Podcast delves into his journey from a seemingly typical youth to a harrowing experience with addiction. Despite his professional demeanor and promising future, Avery's life took a dark turn as he found himself battling heroin addiction.

Listeners are drawn into Avery's personal testimony, witnessing the challenges he faced and the choices he made that led to a near-death experience from a heroin overdose. His story serves as a poignant reminder that addiction knows no boundaries and can affect individuals from all walks of life.

Through Avery's narrative, the podcast sheds light on the harsh realities of addiction and the devastating consequences it can have on individuals and their loved ones. It emphasizes the importance of understanding and empathy in addressing substance abuse disorders and highlights the need for support and resources for those struggling with addiction.

Part 1 of Avery's story on the Clearlywell Podcast sets the stage for a deeper exploration of his journey towards recovery and serves as a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

Before we start today, I want you to pause for a moment—and set aside everything you think you know about addiction.”

“Today’s story challenges power, privilege, stigma, and the long-held belief that substance use disorder is a moral failure.”

“Our guest is Jeff Breedlove—a former Speaker of the House, a man who once stood at the center of political leadership, influence, and public trust.”

“Years ago, his life made headlines—not for policy or politics—but for an arrest involving crack cocaine.”

“For many, that would have been the end of the story.”

“But for Jeff, it was the beginning.”

“Today, he is nine years in recovery—and his journey helps us understand something the science has been telling us for decades: substance use disorder is a disease of the brain, not a failure of character.”

“Addiction changes neural pathways related to reward, motivation, memory, and impulse control. It does not discriminate by title, education, income, or influence.”

“And recovery—real recovery—is not about punishment. It’s about treatment, connection, accountability, and access to care.”

“In Season 3 of The ClearlyWell Podcast, we are moving past stigma and into science. Past judgment and into truth.”

“This season is about what happens when we stop asking ‘what’s wrong with you?’ and start asking ‘what happened—and how do we heal?’”

“This is The ClearlyWell Podcast. And this… is Jeff's recovery, clearly.”

Such a special episode we thought you should hear it again

Brittany’s story doesn’t start the way most people expect an addiction story to begin.

It starts when she was 14 years old, sitting across from a provider and receiving her first mental health diagnosis—long before she had the language to understand what that diagnosis meant, or the support to know how to live with it.

By the time she was 15, Brittany was living two very different realities. On the outside, she was a cheerleader at a prominent high school—visible, accomplished, and seemingly thriving. On the inside, she was struggling to manage emotions she didn’t yet know how to regulate, pain she didn’t know how to name, and a system that didn’t know how to hold her.

Substance use entered her life early—not as a choice, but as a coping mechanism. It became a way to quiet the noise, numb the anxiety, and feel something that resembled control. What followed were early encounters with law enforcement—moments that would begin to define her in the eyes of others, even as she was still trying to understand herself.

Over the next decade, Brittany’s life unfolded at the intersection of untreated mental health needs, substance use, and stigma. Each label she was given made it harder to be seen as a whole person. Each consequence came faster than the support ever did.

What makes Brittany’s story so important is not just where she struggled—but how early it all began, and how easily those early warning signs were overlooked. Her experience challenges the idea that addiction has a single look, a single background, or a single starting point.

This is not a story about failure.

It’s a story about survival.

About resilience.

About what happens when young people are expected to carry adult-sized pain without adult-sized support.

And it’s a reminder that recovery doesn’t begin when someone “hits bottom.”

Sometimes, it begins when someone is finally heard.

Such a special episode we thought you should hear it again

Brittany’s story doesn’t start the way most people expect an addiction story to begin.

It starts when she was 14 years old, sitting across from a provider and receiving her first mental health diagnosis—long before she had the language to understand what that diagnosis meant, or the support to know how to live with it.

By the time she was 15, Brittany was living two very different realities. On the outside, she was a cheerleader at a prominent high school—visible, accomplished, and seemingly thriving. On the inside, she was struggling to manage emotions she didn’t yet know how to regulate, pain she didn’t know how to name, and a system that didn’t know how to hold her.

Substance use entered her life early—not as a choice, but as a coping mechanism. It became a way to quiet the noise, numb the anxiety, and feel something that resembled control. What followed were early encounters with law enforcement—moments that would begin to define her in the eyes of others, even as she was still trying to understand herself.

Over the next decade, Brittany’s life unfolded at the intersection of untreated mental health needs, substance use, and stigma. Each label she was given made it harder to be seen as a whole person. Each consequence came faster than the support ever did.

What makes Brittany’s story so important is not just where she struggled—but how early it all began, and how easily those early warning signs were overlooked. Her experience challenges the idea that addiction has a single look, a single background, or a single starting point.

This is not a story about failure.

It’s a story about survival.

About resilience.

About what happens when young people are expected to carry adult-sized pain without adult-sized support.

And it’s a reminder that recovery doesn’t begin when someone “hits bottom.”

Sometimes, it begins when someone is finally heard.

Due to record-breaking streams and listener requests, we’re re-releasing one of the most talked-about episodes in ClearlyWell history — the powerful sit-down with Avery N.

This episode struck a chord with listeners across Georgia and beyond — for its raw honesty, its insight into recovery, growth and success. Avery’s fearless perspective on hope, accountability, and growth.

Whether you’ve heard it before or are tuning in for the first time, this conversation reminds us why stories like Avery’s continue to shape the heart of the recovery movement.

Thank you to our ClearlyWell community for pushing this episode to the top of our all-time plays. Your shares, comments, and messages made this re-release happen.

🎧 Stream “Avery N: The Encore Episode” now — and keep the conversation going by tagging @TheClearlyWellPodcast with your favorite takeaway.

Due to record-breaking streams and listener requests, we’re re-releasing one of the most talked-about episodes in ClearlyWell history — the powerful sit-down with Avery N.

This episode struck a chord with listeners across Georgia and beyond — for its raw honesty, its insight into recovery and his growth and success. Avery’s fearless perspective on hope, accountability, and growth.

Whether you’ve heard it before or are tuning in for the first time, this conversation reminds us why stories like Avery’s continue to shape the heart of the recovery movement.

Thank you to our ClearlyWell community for pushing this episode to the top of our all-time plays. Your shares, comments, and messages made this re-release happen.

🎧 Stream “Avery N: The Encore Episode” now — and keep the conversation going by tagging @TheClearlyWellPodcast with your favorite takeaway.