ATE #2.5: Welcome to the our second "After the Episode" follow up! In this episode, we dive into some deep-seated topics covered in Episode 2.

Join Host Ashley and Producer Christiana again as they discuss Bahan's interview and talk about the thoughts and feelings behind being a domestic violence survivor, the dangers and pitfalls of gaslighting and how alcohol is societally accepted as a "norm."

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Lionrock Recovery (http://www.lionrockrecovery.com)

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Questions, comments or feedback? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

#2: Welcome to the Courage to Change – A Recovery Podcast! For our second episode, Ashley is going to be interviewing Bahan McDermott. Bahan is the Director of Admissions at Lionrock Recovery. She is originally from the East Coast, and now lives in Southern California with her fiance, stepsons, and golden retriever Ghillie. She is celebrating 6 years clean and sober TODAY...and what better way to reflect on her time being sober than to share her story with us. Bahan is going to walk us through her journey with domestic violence and alcohol, which resulted in her abuser going to prison. You are going to be moved by this story of strength, perseverance, and the courage to change. We recommend bringing tissues!

Our Sponsor:
Lionrock Recovery (http://www.lionrockrecovery.com)

Follow us here:
Podcast Website: (http://www.lionrockrecovery.com/podcast)Facebook: (https://www.facebook.com/LionrockRecovery/)Twitter: (https://twitter.com/lionrockrecovry)Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/lionrockrecovery/)

Questions, comments or feedback? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

0:00 – Introduction

2:34 - Launching into Bahan’s story

4:22 - High school - Ecstacy during the week, alcohol on the weekends

6:31 - A supportive, loving family

8:31 - Getting sent off to a wilderness program and a therapeutic boarding school

11:52 - Moving back to the east coast and going to college; trying “this not drinking thing” (which lasted a week and a half)

15:06 - “It always began and ended with alcohol”

17:30 - Finding herself in an abusive relationship & falling into heavier drinking

24:14 - The escalation of abuse

27:36 - The first time he hit her, a panic attack, and the introduction to Klonopin

30:52 - Realizing that if she didn’t leave she was going to die. “I was terrified to leave, and I was terrified to stay.”

35:44 - Finally getting out, & the evidence that sent him to prison

45:35 - Owning her part in her addiction: “My problems didn’t go to prison with him.”

48:59 - “Alcohol was the answer to all of my problems, & the only coping mechanism I knew that worked.”

51:21 - The Intervention

58:04 - Treatment & the beginning of sobriety

1:02:29 - Life in recovery: “I couldn’t have planned my life better than the way it turned out.”

1:07:25 - Words of advice for someone in early recovery who has been through domestic violence

ATE #1.5: Welcome to our very first “After the Episode” for The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast! We are blown away by the positive response we have received, and so glad that it has touched and encouraged many of you. We wanted to touch on a few key points we were reminded of in the messages we got from many of you. Hence, this brief “follow-up” episode! Please keep your feedback coming--we take absolutely all of it to heart.

Our Sponsor:
Lionrock Recovery (http://www.lionrockrecovery.com)

Follow us here:
Podcast Website: (http://www.lionrockrecovery.com/podcast)Facebook: (https://www.facebook.com/LionrockRecovery/)Twitter: (https://twitter.com/lionrockrecovry)Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/lionrockrecovery/)

Questions, comments or feedback? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

1:28 - Ashley talks about how scary it was to share her story in such detail...because stigma.

3:00 - Recovering people are all around us.

5:15 - Courage doesn’t mean you’re not afraid. It really means you are afraid, and you’re doing it anyway.

6:05 - Recovery is recovering from so many different things. (Not just substance abuse). And it’s available to anyone who wants it.

7:20 - When people share their story, it paves the way for other people in recovery to speak up.

7:54 - Being in recovery is like peeling an onion: it happens layer by layer. It takes time. “It’s only through years of recovery that each piece reveals itself.”

10:44 - Ashley talks about “The Void”. “The opposite of addiction is connection.”

15:28 - Ashley talks about putting her recovery first. “If I don’t maintain my recovery, that void comes back.” It’s full as long as we maintain it.

17:29 - “Recovery is a new life.” Everything has to change.

19:11 - “You can’t fix your broken brain with your broken brain.” Ashley talks about the importance of getting help, because we just can’t do it on our own.

20:39 - Give us feedback! Email us at [email protected] if you have questions, feedback, suggestions, or ideas for topics or guests. We take all of it to heart!

21:24 - Our sponsor, Lionrock Recovery, offers free 12-step meetings led as well as free workshops, led by volunteers in the community. All of you are welcome to join a meeting or workshop anytime! It’s all online so you can join while you’re commuting, while you’re cooking dinner, or even while you’re working. Go to www.lionrockrecovery.com and click on Support Groups.

Welcome to the Courage to Change – A Recovery Podcast! For our inaugural episode, we have our host, Ashley Loeb-Blassingame, in the hotseat as our producer interviews her. We figured it would be fun for you to get to know her before we kick off all the amazing guests we have planned. Ashley got sober in January of 2006 and just celebrated 13 years of recovery. She graduated from UCLA in sobriety. She is the director of HealthTech Women OC, the co-founder of Lionrock Recovery, she is happily married to a sober husband, and is a sober mom of 2-year-old twin boys. And you won't want to miss a second of this episode because Ashley's story will have you on the edge of your seat!

Ashley's experience with substance abuse started from a very young age, and took her to the brink of death. From drinking in her closet at age 7, to using cocaine in middle school, to being kidnapped, to hiding vodka in her water bottle at her first NA meeting, to going through multiple treatment centers and almost dying in an overdose...she is living proof that recovery is possible for anyone, no matter how bad their situation is. Tune in to listen to her journey from the depths of addiction to the life of sobriety and recovery that she enjoys today.

Our Sponsor:

Follow us here:

Questions, comments or feedback? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

0:00 – Introduction

3:31 – Diving into Ashley's story

4:02 – The beginning: “I was born with the disease of 'more'”

10:26 – Cocaine in middle school

12:22 – High school: “a disaster waiting to happen”

18:17 – The Alternative school: “Pulling myself out of mainstream, more and more”

19:37 – The older guy, and being introduced to heroin at 15 years old

22:54 – The “exponential downward spiral”

24:28 – Crossing the invisible line

27:30 – “I have locks on my doors to keep people like you out”

36:54 – Broken resolutions, being kidnapped, and getting kicked out of alternative school

41:36 – The private lockdown facility & the overdose

47:56 – Treatment centers & struggling to stay sober: “Wherever you go, there you are.”

50:40 – The first real turning point: “I had rendered myself incapable of giving myself more substances”

56:25 – Getting sober & starting the journey into recovery

1:00:02 – Sleeping with water bottles filled with vodka hiding in the sheets

1:07:08 – How will I ever have fun again?

1:10:00 – Being a sober mom: “Everything you put in front of your recovery you will lose.”

1:14:11 – Wisdom for listeners who are struggling

1:18:04 – Sponsor: Lionrock Recovery (link to: http://www.lionrockrecovery.com)