Better Life in Recovery

65: The Problem With Expectations

Sun, 07 Mar 2021 06:05:00 +0000

David and Josh talk about the difference between realistic and unrealistic expectations, looking at ways that unrealistic expectations can set people up for disappointment and how realistic expectations help us prepare for the reality of the real world.

64: Establishing Healthy Rhythms

Sun, 28 Feb 2021 06:05:00 +0000

What does your rhythm look like? Do you live your life reactively, or are you able to have a proactive approach? Establishing a healthy rhythm in your life will help create balance, structure and the ability to live life to the fullest.

63: 10 Questions with Adrienne Laswell

Sun, 31 Jan 2021 06:05:00 +0000

This week we sit down and have a conversation with Adrienne on a 10 Questions episode. Adrienne has been in a relationship for a year, has a 2 1/2 year old son and is the assistant manager of the recovery residence she lives in. She credits her recovery to her family, her boyfriend, support groups, living in a recovery residence and Vivitrol. Join us to hear a little bit of her story!

62: 10 Questions with Charles Romine

Sun, 24 Jan 2021 06:05:00 +0000

In this episode, we are doing 10 questions with Charles Romine. Charles has been in recovery for 3 years after using for 15 years. He started his recovery while in prison. Today, he is apprenticing to become a chaplain with Victory Mission's Restoration program, which is the same program he paroled out of prison to. His story is one of restoration with his kids and an amazing future he is building.

61: 10 Questions with Marlisha Jones

Sun, 17 Jan 2021 06:05:00 +0000

In this week’s podcast we are doing 10 Questions with Marlisha Jones. Marlisha is a person in long-term recovery. For her that means she has not used alcohol or other drugs since April 7th, 2009. She is currently working on getting her Certified Peer Specialist certification, works at the Springfield Recovery Community Center and has a local minister's license with the Church of the Nazarene working as the outreach minister for The Well Aurora.

60: 10 Questions with Mike Miller

Sun, 10 Jan 2021 06:05:00 +0000

On today's podcast we are doing 10 questions with Mike Miller. Mike is a person in long-term recovery. For him that means he has not used alcohol or other drugs since February 2nd, 2020 after using chaotically for 20 plus years. Today he is working as a Certified Peer Specialist for New Beginnings Sanctuary, which is an organization that provides recovery housing to almost 200 people around the state of Missouri!

59: 10 Questions with Wayne Pearman

Sun, 27 Dec 2020 06:05:00 +0000

Today we are doing a 10 questions episode with Wayne Pearmean, who after using chaotically for a decade now has 3 years in recovery. His pathway was using a 12 step program, and today he is attending Missouri State University majoring in Criminology and has gone through Basic

Training and Advanced Individual Training in the US Army, and is working to be a commissioned officer.

58: Drug Poisoning Task Force Part 1

Sun, 20 Dec 2020 06:05:00 +0000

Greene County, MO has seen a 120% increase in drug poisoning deaths when comparing January - June of 2020 to the same period in 2019. Something needs to be done, so we are building a task force to address the drug poisonings. We will have one podcast each month that outlines what we have done and are planning to do, in the hopes that if someone wants to build their own task force they can listen and see what we have done and learn from our successes and our mistakes.

57: 10 Questions with Jesse Heffernan

Sun, 13 Dec 2020 06:05:00 +0000

I am a Recovery Coach Professional & consultant in long-term substance use and mental health recovery. My early career consisted of coordinating substance use recovery support activities and events, statewide conventions, bringing recovery meetings into jails and institutions and creating / co-facilitate the first youth-specific recovery support group in WI. I attended the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR) Recovery Coach Academy in June 2014 and have trained hundreds of coaches throughout the United States.

As a coach, consultant, and partner with Helios Recovery, I have facilitated numerous recovery capital development planning sessions and helped coach individuals and families in creating recovery plans and linkages to services. I served as an appointed member of the WI Governors State Opiate/Heroin Task Force, co-developed programming and facilitated training for coaches for Wisconsin’s first Recovery Coach AmeriCorps program call Recovery Corps. I received his Recovery Coach Professional Designation from the Center for Addiction Recovery Training (CART) in April of 2019 and is a core curriculum trainer. I live in WI with his wife and 4 children, enjoying all things in geek culture, disc golf, and coffee. I believe that Recovery is a process of moving from surviving to thriving as a whole person.

56: COVID

Sun, 06 Dec 2020 06:05:00 +0000

David and Josh have both had COVID, and on this podcast they share a little about their experience as well as the experiences of the loved ones they know who have been diagnosed with it. COVID is now one more thing they are both in recovery from, but that doesn't mean they are not experiencing lingering effects.

55: Conversation with Wayne Nale Part 2

Sun, 29 Nov 2020 06:05:00 +0000

David and Wayne pick up where they left off last week, discussing recovery, concerts, multiple pathways to recovery and a whole lot more!

54: Conversation with Wayne Nale Part 1

Sun, 22 Nov 2020 06:05:00 +0000

Today David sits down with Wayne Nale and talks about recovery, growing up in the underground music scene in California in the 70's and how that led to him creating the Chains Unchained Music Festival, why the festival has continued to grow and where it is headed in the very near future with Wreck the Halls coming in December.

53: We Have to Do Better

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 06:05:00 +0000

Last year we saw a huge spike in overdoses locally in Springfield/Greene County. The city brought people together, everyone talked about the amazing work they were doing (which is why we had a huge spike in overdoses, obviously) and all of the amazing things they were going to be doing. The city said they would continue working on it, and in the first 6 months of this year compared to last year we have seen a 120% increase in opioid overdose deaths locally. I am so tired of hearing people talk about what they are doing and getting millions of dollars to do stuff, then deciding how it will be done using mostly bureaucrats and business men. We have to get better at two things, demanding nothing about us without us and staying out of our silos and working together. Be warned, this is a full podcast rant!!

52: We Need to Work Together

Sun, 08 Nov 2020 06:05:00 +0000

David and Josh talk about their frustrations when so many organizations don’t cooperate together and stay siloed in doing their own thing. We’ve got to get better at working together or we will continue to see increases in deaths of despair.

51: Multiple Pathways and Pro-Social Events

Sun, 19 Jul 2020 05:05:00 +0000

In this podcast David sits down with Josh Lien and Alon Fisch to talk about multiple pathways of recovery. May see recovery as their pathway only and marginalize people who have taken different paths. Recovery occurs across and through many pathways, which is talked about then a focus is put on the power of pro-social events as an amazing pathway of recovery.

50: Recovery Housing

Sun, 12 Jul 2020 05:05:00 +0000

Today David Stoecker is joined by Alon Fisch. the founder of New Beginnings Sanctuary and one of the people who helped draft the Missouri NARR (National Association of Recovery Residences) housing committee when it started in Missouri.We discuss some of the ins and outs of recovery residences.

49: Don’t Take Anything Personal

Sun, 21 Jun 2020 12:00:00 +0000

This week Josh and David talk about the second of the 4 Agreements, don’t take anything personally. A lot of time we blame others for our own behaviors when really we are the only ones that control what we say and do. A lot of times how others react towards you is not a reflection of you but more about them and what they are going through. Take a listen as they explain what it means to not take anything personal.

48: Advocate for Change

Sun, 07 Jun 2020 12:00:00 +0000

David and Marlisha talk about the events that have been happening around the country, and Marlisha shares her personal experiences and how she is impacted. As a recovery advocate we must be willing to talk about difficult subjects. We must stand with those who are advocating for change, especially if we expect others to stand with us as we advocate for change.

47: How to Identify an Effective Treatment Center

Sun, 31 May 2020 12:00:00 +0000

In this week’s podcast Josh and David (okay, mainly David because he basically goes on an hour long rant this week because body brokers and bad treatment centers are killing people and he is tired of going to funerals for his friend’s kids) talk about some signs to look for to identify if a treatment center may provide good or not so good services. Oh yeah, he just told me this is also about body brokers and why they suck.

46: Be Impeccable with Your Word

Sun, 17 May 2020 12:00:05 +0000

This week Josh and David talk about the first of the 4 Agreements, beimpeccable with your word. It is the most important agreement, yet the hardest to do.

45: Introduction to the 4 Assumptions

Sun, 10 May 2020 12:00:03 +0000

Today Josh and David begin discussing the best selling book, "The 4 Agreements," and how it applies to living your life better, happier and more fulfilled. This is part one of their discussion of the book.

44: 10 Questions with Lawren Cramer

Sun, 03 May 2020 12:00:13 +0000

Lawren Cramer is a person in long-term recovery who has successful sustained sobriety for the last 20 months.

She remains active in the recovery community by giving her best to New Beginnings Sanctuary, the program that helps her continue to build her foundation, as a House Manager, and working with adolescents struggling with substance use as a CPS (Certified Peer Specialist) for Burrell Behavioral Health.

Lawren loves working with her church family at The Well Aurora and strives to be better than the person she was yesterday, every day... focusing on always doing the next right thing.

43: Nichols 4th Law

Sun, 26 Apr 2020 12:00:18 +0000

Today David and Josh talk about Nichols 4th Law and how it applies to recovery. They also talk a little about how we can use 3 questions and the platinum rule to not only attain our recovery, but maintain our recovery because recovery is amazing!!

42: Imposter Syndrome

Sun, 19 Apr 2020 12:00:05 +0000

Today David and Josh talk about something that a lot of people are impacted by, Imposter Syndrome. Imposter Syndrome makes us feel like we do not belong and are less then. Josh and David want you to know you are kind, smart, intelligent and have earned your place at any table you choose to sit at...……...and gosh darn it, people like you!!

41: Navigating Shelter in Place Orders

Sun, 12 Apr 2020 12:00:15 +0000

In this podcast David and Josh talk about things that a lot of people they know are going through during the Corona Virus/COVID 19 pandemic. Josh and David want you to know that they are lay people, not experts but today they want to address multiple sides of the shelter in place/quarantine orders many people are trying to make sense of and survive through.

40: Passion vs Commitment

Sun, 29 Mar 2020 12:00:14 +0000

A review of Michael King's article on medium.com entitled, "Passion vs. Commitment: Which is the key ingredient to successful organizing?" David and Josh talk about how commitment is much harder to find than passion within the recovery space!

39: Self-Care in Times of Crisis

Sun, 22 Mar 2020 12:00:12 +0000

A lot of people are feeling depressed, anxious, maybe even hopeless because of the current pandemic the world is dealing with. Today David and Josh talk about the importance of self-care, especially in times of crisis!

38: How to Share Your Story

Sun, 15 Mar 2020 12:00:02 +0000

In this episode David and Josh look at how to share your story in the community effectively. They discuss using it to talk about your recovery, wellness and sharing hope instead of focusing on the illness and negative aspects of your journey.

37: 10 Questions with Kate Schumer

Sun, 08 Mar 2020 12:00:18 +0000

Kate Schumer manages a NARR accredited Recovery Residence and is a Certified Peer Specialist. In this episode David and Kate sit down and discuss her recovery journey.

36: Stigma

Sun, 01 Mar 2020 13:00:14 +0000

In this episode David and Josh talk about stigma; what stigma is, how it impacts addiction/recovery and ways we can reduce it instead of adding to the stigma that already exists

35: 10 Questions with Randy Anderson

Sun, 23 Feb 2020 13:00:18 +0000

In this episode we ask Randy Anderson 10 Questions about his recovery. Randy Anderson is the Region 5 Leader for the Recovery Advocacy Project, co-founder at MinnesotaRecovers, a recovery coach at Bold North Recovery and Consulting as well as a person in long-term recovery!

34: Fear

Sun, 16 Feb 2020 13:00:06 +0000

In this podcast Josh and David talk about Fear and how it is a liar. We talk about how fear stops us from making the changes we need to make an order to live our very best lives in recovery.

33: Relationships

Sun, 26 Jan 2020 13:00:13 +0000

David and Josh are both people in long term-recovery and they both know a thing about relationships. David has been married for almost 10 years and Josh has been in a relationship for almost 10 minutes (Just kidding, but it is a new relationship and one he has waited to get into). We talk about relationships and recovery, myths and truths and many other things as attempt to stay on topic and we fail miserably at it.

32 - 10 Questions with Chris Robbins

Sun, 19 Jan 2020 13:00:13 +0000

On this episode we have 10 Questions with Chris Robbins. Chris is a professional peer support specialist II at the community counseling center in SE Missouri. He is also a father, husband, advocate and person in long term recovery.

31 - #HopeDealer

Sun, 12 Jan 2020 13:00:14 +0000

In this podcast, Josh Lien joins David to talk about the term Hope Dealer and what it means, that you are an overcomer who shares their strength, experience and hope with others. This is the first topic podcast Josh is joining David on, so please let us know what you think of this format; two people who are all over the place discussing a topic instead of one person who is all over the place doing it.

30 - 10 Questions with Josh Lein

Sun, 05 Jan 2020 13:00:12 +0000

In this podcast we talk to Josh Lien, a former personal trainer who is now the Peer Engagement Specialist at the Springfield Recovery Community Center. His story is one of early substance use, building an amazing life and then losing it later in life when it all spiraled out of control. He will also be sitting in with me on future topic podcasts, so here’s Josh!

29 - Interview with Chad Sabora

Sun, 29 Dec 2019 13:00:03 +0000

Chad Sabora is one of the countries leading experts on harm reduction, while I am not so, we sat down for a discussion about harm reduction. I struggle with some of the concepts, and felt that Chad was a great person to help me get some clarity and better insight on harm reduction. I hope this gives some of you a better understanding of what harm reduction is, because in the end, dead people never find recovery and harm reduction keeps many people alive and healthy long enough to find recovery.

28: 10 Questions with Kristi Booth

Sun, 22 Dec 2019 13:00:06 +0000

Kristi Booth is a person in long-term recovery who was recently introduced to harm reduction at the International Drug Policy Reform Conference in St Louis. Since then, she has been on fire, starting a harm reduction meeting in her community and so much more. Hear her describe her journey of substance use into recovery.

27: Interview with Kristi Booth on Harm Reduction

Sun, 15 Dec 2019 13:00:06 +0000

Kristi Booth is a person in long-term recovery who was recently introduced to harm reduction at the International Drug Policy Reform Conference in St Louis. Since then, she has been on fire, starting a harm reduction meeting in her community and so much more. I am, as I like to say, too recovery for the harm reduction people and too harm reduction for the recovery people. This is our conversation.

26: 10 Questions with Robert and Cynthia

Mon, 04 Nov 2019 13:00:14 +0000

After many years of active substance use, Robert and Cynthia share what has helped them attain and maintain their recovery while building an amazing life together.

25: Harm Reduction

Sun, 27 Oct 2019 12:00:10 +0000

David discusses a dramatic spike in overdoses locally in Springfield, MO over the past few days and his frustration of the attitudes and responses to the recent media coverage of the spike in overdoses. David also gives his harm reduction tips and discusses why harm reduction is compassionate and humane!

24: 10 Questions with Ryan Hampton

Sun, 20 Oct 2019 12:00:05 +0000

Ryan Hampton is a nationally recognized activist, author of American Fix, founder of the Voices Project, & person in recovery from opioid addiction. In this episode, David asks him the ten questions he poses to all those in long-term recovery about their early substance use and path to recovery.

23: A Conversation with Ryan Hampton

Sun, 13 Oct 2019 12:00:13 +0000

Ryan Hampton is a nationally recognized activist, author of American Fix, founder of the Voices Project, & person in recovery from opioid addiction. In this episode we talk about the current crisis and his thoughts on combating the problem.

22: A Conversation with Michael King

Sun, 06 Oct 2019 12:00:10 +0000

Michael King, Director of the Communities Project, Works with communities across the country to align their voices and combat addiction through community organizing. Michael is a leader in the national recovery movement. In this episode we talk about the history and future of recovery in our country.

21: Ten Questions with Carla Perry

Sun, 22 Sep 2019 12:00:11 +0000

We continue our series of ten questions with people in long-term recovery with this week’s installment with Carla Perry. Carla was nominated as a Missouri Mental Health Champion this year. She works selflessly to help those in our community that struggle with mental illness and substance use.

20: The Locker Room - Moving From Relapse Prevention to Recovery Enhancement

Sun, 15 Sep 2019 12:00:15 +0000

A simple, easy to use outline of supports and tools to help people sustain their personal recovery while giving them a framework they can use with their peers enabling them to build a solid foundation for their recovery. This episode will help those stuck in a rut shift from survivor to thriver in their daily life by providing a way for them to build on the successes they already have while rejoining the communities they live in by becoming vital and necessary.

19: Being a community organizer

Sun, 08 Sep 2019 12:00:06 +0000

What does it take to be a great community organizer? After attending 2 community leadership trainings Michael King facilitates, I share what I learned. Just know all the brilliant ideas are his, and the bad ideas are 100% mine.

18: The Importance of Prosocial Activities

Sun, 18 Aug 2019 12:00:15 +0000

In today’s podcast we will explore an often overlooked but vitally important piece of a recovery program, pro-social activities. SAMHSA says purpose and health are two of the 4 dimensions of recovery, and both are gained through pro-social activities.

17: 10 Questions with Al Vineyard

Sun, 04 Aug 2019 12:00:19 +0000

Al is celebrating 5 years in long-term recovery now but lost everything all at once due to her substance use. Today we ask her about her journey from before use, use and now her life today in recovery. We touch on multiple paths to recovery, the ways that we enter use and the gifts of recovery.

16: Supporting an Active User and Self-Care

Sun, 28 Jul 2019 12:00:13 +0000

This episode was attempting to give some guidance to a friend who is married to someone with an active substance use disorder and also dips into the importance of self-care.

15: Defining Terms Hard to Understand

Sun, 21 Jul 2019 12:00:11 +0000

An introduction to several terms in the addiction/recovery space some people are either not understanding or misusing, such as the difference between addiction and dependence or why we are currently experiencing a syndemic not an Opioid Epidemic.

14: Reflections on Long-Term Recovery

Sun, 14 Jul 2019 12:00:17 +0000

A discussion about a blog post written by Bill White and Galen Tinder that explored the unique characteristics displayed by those who are in long-term recovery.

13: Ten Questions with Brent Swanson

Sun, 07 Jul 2019 12:00:02 +0000

In this episode we talk to a father, Brent Swanson, who watched his daughter struggle with heroin and supported his daughter until she finally came out on the other side not only alive but thriving. He shares some insight I think we can all benefit from hearing and answers questions only a parent can.

12: Early Recovery Tips

Sun, 23 Jun 2019 12:00:24 +0000

In this episode we will discuss an article that listed 10 key skills and goals for your first year of recovery. So if you are looking for tips to use that will supercharge your recovery, look no further. The funny thing is that these tips can help improve anyone’s life!

11: Why Opioids Get All the Attention

Sun, 16 Jun 2019 12:00:14 +0000

It isn’t just opioids that are killing people at record levels, and opioid deaths may be taking the focus from other drugs and we can’t allow that to happen. Alcohol is increasing at a scary pace, especially among women. We have people dying from what they call despair deaths, which contain substance use and suicide. We are not going through an opioid epidemic, we are going through a syndemic (thanks for introducing me to that word, Brent Canode).

10: Rant on Stigma and Pathways

Sun, 09 Jun 2019 12:00:23 +0000

A brief discussion about Ben is Back and Beautiful Boy, why everyone has worth and why we must meet people where they are at with compassion and respect! Then a rant about multiple pathways, and why recovery is recovery is recovery and why we need to avoid becoming dogmatic about our recovery path.

9: Ikigai and Your Reason Why

Sun, 02 Jun 2019 12:00:03 +0000

In this episode we will talk about a Japanese concept, ikigai. Ikigai looks at 4 areas in our life: What we are good at, what we love, what the world needs and what you can get paid for and the amazing life people live when they can combine all 4 of these things. To begin with, we are going to look at 3 of these areas because those 3 combine to create your why. Finding your why is vitally important. Once you know your why, then you can find your way through life and nothing will stop you.

8: Gratitude

Sun, 26 May 2019 12:00:08 +0000

In this podcast, we discuss the power of gratitude, what a gratitude list is and how a daily gratitude list improves our attitude and quality of life.

7: Grief

Sun, 19 May 2019 12:00:11 +0000

Today we will be talking about grief and loss for a couple of reasons. I know that there are a lot of people who are losing loved ones, and they are understandably struggling with that loss. Also, I have found that sadly many people are not well informed about grief and loss. In fact, I would argue they are misinformed. So we are going to better equip people not only who are dealing with grief and loss, but also those who are supporting or love someone who is dealing with grief and loss.

6: Ten Questions with Tim Kavanagh

Sun, 12 May 2019 12:00:06 +0000

Tim Kavanagh is a person in long-term recovery. He is the founder of ARCH (Addiction Recovery Community Health), a recovery community center in St Charles, MO. He is the manager of Sober House, Inc and was a former counselor at Bridgeway Behavioral Health. Today, he answers 10 questions about his recovery journey.

5: Medication and Recovery

Sun, 05 May 2019 12:00:19 +0000

Medication is often maligned by people who are unable or unwilling to educate themselves. In this episode, we will explore medication as a lifesaving tool and one of the pathways to recovery used by people.

4: Forgiving Yourself

Sun, 28 Apr 2019 12:00:17 +0000

Many people find it difficult to forgive others for what they have done. For those of us in recovery, it is often much easier for us to forgive others than it is to forgive ourselves. Today we are going to look at why that is, and then explore ways to work on forgiving ourselves and continue moving forward in our recovery.

3: Powerless

Sun, 21 Apr 2019 12:00:18 +0000

The word powerless can be extremely hard to understand, especially in early recovery. In this episode we will take an acrostic used by Celebrate Recovery to explore what powerlessness really means and where it comes from; trying to do things that are outside of our ability to control which leads to us losing our serenity.

2: Tom Hill

Sun, 14 Apr 2019 12:00:19 +0000

Today we have an amazing interview focusing on recovery advocacy and a whole lot more with Tom Hill. Tom is the Vice President of Practice Improvement for the National Council for Behavioral Health and previously served as a Presidential Appointee in the position of Senior Advisor on Addiction and Recovery to the SAMHSA Administrator. More importantly, he is a person in long-term recovery who is changing the way we talk about substance use disorders and recovery!

1: Testimony

Sun, 07 Apr 2019 12:00:08 +0000

In this episode I share a little bit about me and my recovery, from my earliest memory of being abused to the things that have helped me get into recovery and build the amazing life I have today.

0: HopeDealer

Fri, 29 Mar 2019 14:22:42 +0000

In this very first episode, you will learn all about how Better Life in Recovery was started, as well as what it means to be a HopeDealer. Most of you may be surprised to learn that you are already living the life of a HopeDealer.