Addiction has been a part of my life from the age of seventeen. It was at that time that I went to an inpatient rehab for depression and alcohol and drug abuse.  Receiving intensive help at this young age was a key moment in my life.  As I gained support, developed new skills and changed my thinking, my depression began to lift, drugs and alcohol became less important in my life, and I moved on. It’s not the normal story you hear about addiction, but having that experience has had a profound effect on my life and the work I do today.

I went on to work in the film industry as a camera person. I enjoyed that for a while, but it soon lost its allure. After about ten years of working, I decided to look elsewhere. I came across a psychology class and thought it looked very interesting, so I signed up.  I enjoyed it a great deal, so I continued on in more classes. I began to realize I wanted to work in the field of psychology.  I enjoyed helping people. I understood what they were going through since I had experienced much of it in my own life.

It was about this time that I met my wonderful wife, Danielle. Within a few years, we got married and soon decided to start a family. This is when tragedy struck and we lost our first child. Audrey was born prematurely, ten weeks early, and there were complications. She had a brain bleed and after about a week we had to make the difficult decision to take her off life support.

The immense pain of losing my daughter was more than I would ever wish upon anyone. The loss was so great that we almost felt we could not live. Thankfully, we eventually realized we needed help and found the strength to reach out.  We found the amazing support of others who were experiencing similar situations and began work on our healing journey together.

Now, almost 15 years later, we have survived, re-found happiness, and continue to heal. I made a promise to Audrey before she died. It was to live a good life, worthy of the one she did not get.  With that loss, that love and that promise, my passion for helping others out of their suffering grew. It took on even greater meaning and purpose.

The struggle of addiction comes with so much grief and loss. My early experience in rehab and the loss of my daughter has informed much of the work I do. I have worked in the addiction field now for over a decade. Helping people out of addiction has been how I give back.

My hope is that The Addicted Mind podcast can become a part of that. I want people to find reliable information about addiction treatment and research. I want people to know that it gets better with the right support and knowledge.

I want to share how others have found recovery and created happiness in their lives.

I hope The Addicted Mind Podcast helps you.