Healing Choices: Conversations on Addiction and Recovery

In this episode of our newly reimagined podcast, Houston addiction recovery experts Mel Taylor and Lori Fiester discuss resolutions and what it takes to truly quit something, whether it's a bad habit or fully developed addiction.

The opioid epidemic is boiling over. Addiction, including alcoholism, is killing hundreds of thousands and destroying millions of lives. Especially tragic is addiction’s ravaging effects on teenagers and young adults. Their developing brains are being chemically altered by drugs and alcohol. That’s creating a whole new generation who will suffer from addiction. Many will die. Parents everywhere are looking for solutions to save their kids. They are desperately seeking an understanding of how and why addiction occurs. But more importantly, what can be done right now to save their children’s lives? We take you inside the problem and shine light on immediate and effective solutions. We talk with Lori Fiester, a highly-regarded clinical therapist and well-known mental health and addiction expert. She has helped thousands through her knowledge, compassion, and commitment in the field of recovery. By the end of this podcast, you will have the information, ideas, and inspiration you need to help save the lives of people you love….Or maybe your own.

Thirty percent of active and reserve duty military personnel deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan have a mental health condition. Less than half of these veterans will receive the help they need. Why do so many veterans struggle with substance use and other mental health conditions? Why do so few get treatment? In the newest episode of our official podcast, Healing Choices: Conversations on Addiction & Recovery, Lori Fiester meets virtually with David Sunday and Viola Chavez to discuss how we're addressing the mental health needs of the veteran community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This fall, The Council launched the Center for Co-Occurring Disorders, a groundbreaking initiative designed to address substance use and mental health issues together. Substance use and mental health disorders often go hand-in-hand, with the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimating that about half of those who experience a substance use disorder will experience a mental illness during their lives and vice versa. Despite the well-established link between these conditions, many treatment providers cannot or do not address substance use and mental health together, which leads to increased costs, duplication of services, and – most importantly – poorer outcomes overall. The Council launched our Center for Co-Occurring Disorders to respond to this critical challenge. In this episode of Healing Choices, we will explore the connection between substance use and mental health, as well as the challenges and benefits of treating these conditions together. Plus, we’ll explore this history of substance use and mental health treatment in Houston – and how for 75 years, The Council has played a role in advancing care, research, and training around these life-changing conditions.

Here at The Council on Recovery, we believe in the power of mindfulness to aide us in difficult times. Mindfulness is the act of developing awareness of how we think and process information. We do this through focusing on the moment at hand and letting stillness and silence guide our emotions.  If we’ve taught ourselves or been taught to numb our feelings in response to emotional situations, with substance abuse or other behaviors, we are not allowing ourselves the opportunity to understand our mind and body fully. We get to a potentially dangerous state in which we only know what we think and not what we feel. Just being still for a few minutes every day and getting into a mental headspace in which you allow yourself to process emotions you’ve been potentially withholding can be mentally rejuvenating for anyone in this chaotic world. Every day now we’re overwhelmed with potentially traumatizing information, and lots of it. If it’s not the barrage of information that’s getting to us, it’s social isolation, changing the way we do our work, and more. Taking a step back and processing this information without judgement gives us a better chance at inner peace when it would otherwise seem impossible. In this podcast episode, we discuss how to deal with negative emotions through mindfulness. At the time of this recording, COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus, had just reached the United States. Since then, the virus has become a global pandemic and shaken up daily life, causing uncertainty and anxiety for many people. People who already experience a mental health disorder, including many people in recovery can be especially affected. Caitlin Payne joins Mel Taylor and Lori Fiester to discuss in detail what mindfulness is and how it can improve your life during times of stress and uncertainty, whether or not you are impacted by addiction.