Breaking Down Addiction

Breaking Down Addiction is a podcast from National Addiction Specialists featuring real stories of recovery, resilience, and hope. Each episode dives deep into the lived experiences of people overcoming addiction—raw, unfiltered, and rooted in healing.

Breaking Down Addiction is a health podcast hosted by National Addiction Specialists, with 22 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

National Addiction Specialists hosts Breaking Down Addiction, a health show with 22 episodes published.

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  Episode #23

  #23 Aaron Hamm — Let Go of What You Think You Know: Surrender & a Life in Recovery

  Sep 30, 20261h 7mS1

  Aaron Hamm wanted to get sober long before he actually got sober. After 16 treatment stays, more than 30 arrests, periods of homelessness, and years of trying to manage recovery on his own terms, Aaron finally confronted a difficult truth: wanting help wasn’t enough if he still insisted on deciding what that help should look like. In this episode of Breaking Down Addiction, Aaron joins Jonny Philip to talk candidly about addiction, repeated attempts at treatment, surrender, faith, family, and what finally changed. For Aaron, surrender wasn’t about experiencing one more consequence. It was about letting go of his attitudes, opinions, and judgments about what was best for him—and becoming willing to follow direction even when he didn’t understand or agree with it. Aaron and Jonny explore the difference between wanting sobriety and being willing to change, how family members can unintentionally cushion the consequences of addiction, the role of ego in relapse, and why service to others has become central to Aaron’s life. Aaron also shares how sobriety transformed his relationships with his family, his faith, and the men he now sponsors. You’ll Hear: * Why Aaron says he wanted to be sober long before he actually got sober * What he learned from going to treatment 16 times * How more than 30 arrests still weren’t enough to make him surrender * Why Aaron spent years looking for shortcuts in recovery * The moment he realized, “I am these guys” * Why his father finally told him, “We’re done here” * How family members can unintentionally cushion the consequences of addiction * Why Aaron believed his life would never be good again * What finally changed after years of treatment, relapse, and consequences * The difference between experiencing consequences and truly surrendering * Why surrender meant letting go of his attitudes, opinions, and judgments * How ego can quietly return even after someone gets sober * Why Aaron believes recovery sometimes requires doing things you don’t understand or agree with * The role faith and God play in Aaron’s recovery * Why helping other people has changed Aaron’s own life * How sponsorship and service continue to keep him connected to recovery * Why family has become one of the greatest sources of joy in his life * Aaron’s advice to someone struggling today: reach out for help, let go of what you think you know, and be willing to follow direction Why Listen: * Hear an honest account of repeated treatment, relapse, and what finally made recovery different * Understand why consequences alone don’t necessarily produce lasting change * Explore the difference between wanting help and truly surrendering * Learn how ego and resistance can interfere with recovery even when someone desperately wants to get sober * Hear how faith, sponsorship, service, and community can support long-term sobriety * Understand the difficult role families can play when trying to help someone struggling with addiction * Hear what Aaron has learned from years of sponsoring and helping other men * Be reminded that recovery doesn’t require understanding everything first—it can begin with becoming willing to listen Watch the episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/bwU3dFG6gko If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, help is available. Visit NationalAddictionSpecialists.com to learn more about treatment and recovery resources. Breaking Down Addiction is brought to you by National Addiction Specialists.

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  Episode #22

  #22 Matt Culp — Do the Next Hardest Thing: Surrender, Service, & Long-Term Recovery

  Aug 27, 20261h 6mS1

  Matt Culp knows what it means to keep coming back. After multiple treatment centers, overdoses, jail, and years of running—from consequences, from himself, and from recovery—Matt reached a point where he realized he simply couldn’t trust himself anymore. In this episode of Breaking Down Addiction, Matt joins Jonny Philip to talk candidly about the choices that finally changed the trajectory of his life. For Matt, recovery began with surrender and a simple principle: move your feet and do the next hardest thing. That approach eventually took him from treatment and 12-step recovery into a life built around service to others. Today, Matt is the founder of Threshold Recovery, where he helps men navigate the critical gap between treatment and independent life. Matt and Jonny explore sober living, sponsorship, faith, ego, accountability, codependency, fatherhood, and why staying actively involved in recovery matters even after years of sobriety. You’ll Hear: * Why Matt says he once believed he was “worth death” * How repeated overdoses changed his relationship with life, death, and God * The decision to turn himself in after years of running * Why making the harder choice became a foundation of his recovery * How Matt found a home in 12-step recovery * Why sober living can fill the critical “gap” after treatment * What Matt learned from helping other men build successful lives in recovery * Why he stopped chasing people who weren’t ready and started investing in those doing the work * The unique pressures men often face when leaving treatment * Why money, work, relationships, cars, and success can actually interfere with early recovery * The difference between accountability and taking advantage of someone who is vulnerable * How sponsorship and service have shaped Matt’s recovery * Why Matt says helping others hasn’t just helped his recovery—it has saved him * The role ego and surrender play in long-term sobriety * Why recovery may need to change over time without disappearing from your life * Matt’s struggle with codependency and continuing to do personal work years into recovery * His greatest fear: losing his connection with God * Matt’s advice to anyone struggling today: “Move your feet and do the next hardest thing.” Why Listen: * Hear an honest account of what long-term recovery actually looks like * Understand why treatment is often only the beginning * Learn how sober living, community, and accountability can support lasting change * Explore the connection between surrender, service, faith, and recovery * Hear practical wisdom for navigating the difficult transition back into everyday life * Learn why success in recovery isn’t simply about abstinence * Be reminded that you don’t have to solve your entire life today—you can start by taking the next right step Learn more about Matt Culp and Threshold Recovery at threshold-recovery.com. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, help is available. Visit NationalAddictionSpecialists.com to learn more about treatment and recovery resources. Breaking Down Addiction is brought to you by National Addiction Specialists.

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  Episode #21

  #21 Kristian Moore — Recovery Beyond Abstinence and Learning to Truly Heal

  Aug 10, 202657 minS1

  Kristian Moore’s recovery story challenges the idea that sobriety is the finish line. For Kristian, putting down drugs and alcohol saved her life—but lasting recovery meant confronting anxiety, depression, perfectionism, shame, and the deeply rooted belief that she was never enough. Raised in Nashville in a religious environment, Kristian struggled with anxiety and depression from an early age. After first using marijuana as a teenager, she believed she had finally found the answer to years of emotional pain. That search for relief quickly escalated into cocaine, MDMA, methamphetamine, heroin, and eventually severe alcohol dependence, leading to multiple psychiatric hospitalizations, treatment centers, and years of trying to get sober. Everything changed on December 31, 2019. Entering recovery just before the COVID-19 pandemic, Kristian found hope through connection, community, and a willingness to keep showing up—even before she fully believed recovery could work. Today, with nearly six years of sobriety, she openly discusses an often-overlooked reality: that recovery continues to evolve long after substances are removed. In this vulnerable conversation, Kristian and Jonny explore mental health, suicide, spirituality, trauma, perfectionism, boundaries, Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), and why recovery isn’t about following someone else’s formula—it’s about building a life worth living. You’ll Hear: * Why Kristian says she wasn’t trying to die—she was desperately searching for relief * How anxiety and depression shaped her life long before addiction * Why marijuana felt like the answer to years of emotional pain * How her addiction progressed from marijuana to cocaine, MDMA, methamphetamine, heroin, and alcohol * What it was like getting sober during the COVID-19 lockdown * Why connection became the foundation of her recovery * How AA meetings helped her long before she fully embraced the program * The role of sponsors, treatment, and community in building lasting sobriety * Why she believes recovery continues to change after years of sobriety * How perfectionism and black-and-white thinking became obstacles in long-term recovery * Why she began questioning whether recovery has to look the same for everyone * An honest discussion about Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), harm reduction, and reducing stigma * How setting difficult family boundaries became essential to protecting her recovery * The difference between self-destruction and self-improvement—and choosing one decision at a time * Why hope sometimes begins by borrowing someone else’s belief until you can believe in yourself Why Listen: * To better understand the connection between addiction, mental health, and emotional pain * To hear an honest conversation about depression, suicidal thinking, and finding hope * To learn why recovery is about much more than simply stopping drugs or alcohol * To understand how recovery evolves over time and why different people heal in different ways * To gain insight into harm reduction and Medication-Assisted Treatment from someone working in the field * To hear why community, vulnerability, and authentic connection remain essential long after sobriety begins * To be reminded that healing isn’t about doing recovery perfectly—it’s about continuing to grow If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, help is available. To learn more about National Addiction Specialists and the Breaking Down Addiction podcast, visit nationaladdictionspecialists.com.

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  Episode #20

  #20 Dacey Fenton —Trauma, Faith, & Finding Freedom Beyond Sobriety

  Jul 29, 20261h 8mS1

  Dacey Fenton’s recovery story is about far more than overcoming addiction. It’s about discovering that getting sober was only the beginning of a much deeper journey toward healing shame, processing trauma, rebuilding identity, and learning what it truly means to feel safe. Growing up in what she describes as a loving home, Dacey’s life changed dramatically after her parents divorced when she was 12. As her sense of safety unraveled, alcohol quickly became more than just a way to have fun with friends—it became an escape from grief she didn’t yet know she was carrying. What began with drinking at 12 eventually progressed to prescription stimulants, marijuana, multiple DUIs, legal trouble, and a life that felt increasingly out of control. After a second DUI, house arrest, and her father taking her to her first AA meeting, Dacey committed fully to recovery at 22 years old. Yet years into sobriety, she experienced what she describes as a second rock bottom—not because of substances, but because unresolved trauma, codependency, and grief finally demanded attention. In this deeply honest conversation, Dacey shares how motherhood unexpectedly triggered buried trauma, how learning to regulate her nervous system transformed her recovery, why community with other women became essential to her healing, and how her relationship with Jesus reshaped her identity. Together, Dacey and Jonny explore shame versus guilt, attachment styles, trauma responses, codependency, parenting, faith, and why recovery is ultimately about becoming whole—not simply abstaining from substances. You’ll Hear : * How Dacey’s parents’ divorce at age 12 shaped her identity and relationship with addiction * Why addiction often begins as an attempt to cope with pain we don’t yet understand * The difference between guilt and shame—and why shame keeps people isolated * How prescription stimulants became part of her early addiction story * Why getting sober did not immediately heal the trauma underneath her addiction * What Dacey means when she says she experienced a “second rock bottom” years into recovery * How becoming a mother unexpectedly triggered PTSD and unresolved trauma * Why learning to regulate her nervous system became a turning point in healing * The role of trauma therapy, breathwork, yoga, and other holistic approaches in her recovery * How codependency became her next addiction after substances * Why finding community with other women transformed her recovery * How faith and an intimate relationship with Jesus became central to her healing * Why recovery often requires embracing discomfort instead of avoiding it * The importance of secure attachment, healthy relationships, and emotional awareness * How Dacey and her son’s father built a healthy co-parenting relationship through recovery * Why she believes healing happens one “yes” at a time Why Listen: * To understand why addiction is often rooted in grief, shame, and unresolved trauma—not simply substance use * To learn how recovery continues long after someone stops drinking or using drugs * To hear practical insights on healing trauma, codependency, and emotional wounds * To better understand the connection between attachment, nervous system regulation, and recovery * To discover why vulnerability and authentic community are essential for lasting healing * To hear an encouraging conversation about faith, hope, and rebuilding identity after addiction * To be reminded that recovery isn’t about becoming a different person—it’s about becoming the person you were always created to be If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, help is available. To learn more about National Addiction Specialists and the Breaking Down Addiction podcast, visit nationaladdictionspecialists.com.

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  Episode #19

  #19 Lee Pepper — Breaking Stigma, Ethical Marketing, & Lessons from 10,000 Recovery Calls

  Jul 13, 20261h 8mS1

  Lee Pepper has spent nearly two decades helping behavioral health organizations reach more people, grow responsibly, and better understand what individuals and families experience when they make the difficult first call for help. A military veteran, author, marketing strategist, four-time Ironman, and longtime friend of the recovery community, Lee brings a unique perspective shaped by leadership, service, data, and thousands of conversations about addiction and treatment. After joining Foundations Recovery Network as its first Chief Information Officer in 2008, Lee helped the organization achieve extraordinary growth while building a marketing approach rooted in ethics, transparency, and measurable impact. Along the way, he listened to more than 10,000 calls from people seeking treatment—and discovered that many organizations don’t have a marketing problem. They have a listening problem. Lee explains why the first question a caller asks—“How much does treatment cost?” or “Where are you located?”—is rarely the question they truly need answered. Behind that question may be years of pain, fear, uncertainty, and the courage required to finally pick up the phone. In this wide-ranging conversation, Lee and Jonny explore the stigma surrounding addiction, the importance of approaching recovery without judgment, ethical storytelling, the hidden practices that can mislead families searching online for treatment, and why helping someone find the right care matters—even when it is not your organization. Lee also shares lessons from serving in the military, working for Ross Perot, completing four Ironman triathlons, mentoring veterans, and writing his book, Never Outmatched: Using Military Tactics to Master the Art of Business and Marketing. You’ll Hear: What Lee learned about addiction by attending open recovery meetings Why people outside the recovery community can mistakenly view addiction as simply a series of bad decisions How listening to more than 10,000 treatment calls changed Lee’s understanding of the first call for help Why asking “How much does treatment cost?” may be a caller’s way of saying, “I don’t know what else to ask” Why Lee says, “If you’re talking, you’re selling. If you’re listening, you’re caring.” The common training mistakes treatment centers make when answering calls from patients and families Why many perceived marketing problems are actually problems with how calls are handled How Foundations Recovery Network grew while using data to make smarter marketing decisions Why helping someone find appropriate treatment is a win—even when they are not admitted to your program How unethical online advertising can mislead families searching for trusted treatment providers Why Lee believes “anonymity is not secrecy” How Betty Ford inspired the creation of Heroes in Recovery and helped change the public conversation around addiction Why ethical standards are essential when marketing addiction treatment How military concepts such as force multiplication and commander’s intent can strengthen organizations What Lee learned about leadership while working with Ross Perot How Veterans Treatment Court helps veterans access treatment, purpose, community, and support Why completing four Ironman triathlons reinforced Lee’s belief in discipline and incremental growth What recovery and endurance training have in common Why meaningful change can begin with something as small as reaching the next mailbox How the principles in Never Outmatched apply beyond marketing and military service Why Listen: To better understand the courage it can take to make the first call for addiction treatment To learn why listening without judgment is essential when supporting people affected by addiction To discover what treatment providers often misunderstand about patients and families seeking help To understand how ethical marketing can connect people with care without exploiting their vulnerability To learn why growth and business success should never come at the expense of patient care To hear practical leadership lessons from Lee’s experiences in the military, behavioral healthcare, and working with Ross Perot To understand how small, consistent actions can create lasting change in recovery, health, leadership, and life To be reminded that treatment is not a quick fix—recovery is a lifelong process of building a stronger foundation To learn more about Lee Pepper and his book, Never Outmatched: Using Military Tactics to Master the Art of Business and Marketing , visit leepepper.com. If you or someone you love is struggling, help is available. To learn more about National Addiction Specialists and the Breaking Down Addiction podcast, visit nationaladdictionspecialists.com.

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