The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast

Latest Episodes:

169: Ryan Dusick - Maroon 5 Drummer On Alcoholism And Finding A New Purpose Nov 29, 2022

Show notes

Ryan Dusick is best known as the founding drummer of the band Maroon 5. As a boy, he dreamt of pitching for the Dodgers and writing adventure novels. Arm injuries sidelined his baseball career, just as rock music became his new passion and purpose.

In 1994 he founded the band Kara’s Flowers with fellow Brentwood High School students Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden, and Adam Levine. Ryan spent the next 7 years honing his craft and in 2001 the band found success after changing its name to Maroon 5 and releasing their first album, Songs About Jane.

Multiple hit songs, two Grammy Awards, and 20 million albums sold later, Ryan found himself suffering with mental health issues that affected his ability to play. He worked tirelessly to overcome the physical and mental hurdles that kept him from doing the thing he loved, but eventually was forced to leave the band. His career as a performer came to an end, just as it was taking off.

Ryan’s depression and grief around the loss of his identity brought about years of alcoholism and mental health struggles. He finally found sobriety in 2016, and began a new life path full of meaning, purpose, and fulfillment.

Today Ryan works as a mental health professional at The Missing Peace Center for Anxiety in Agoura Hills, CA, and is spreading the message that recovery is possible.

Ryan’s debut memoir, Harder to Breathe, was published on November 15th, 2022 which tells his incredible story.

Episode Resources

Harder to Breathe | Harder to Breathe

Connect with Ryan

Instagram | @ryan_michael_dusick

Connect with The Courage to Change

Podcast Website | lionrock.life/couragetochangepodcast
Podcast Instagram | @couragetochange_podcast
YouTube | The Courage to Change Podcast
TikTok | @ashleyloebblassingame
Podcast Email | podcast@lionrock.life
Podcast Facebook | @thecouragetochangepodcast

Lionrock Resources

Lionrock Life Mobile App | lionrock.life/mobile-app
Support Group Meeting Schedule | lionrock.life/meetings

168: Amy LeClair: Gymnast Overcomes Abuse, Addiction and OCD Nov 22, 2022

Show notes

Amy LeClair grew up as a Junior Olympic Gymnast. At 11 she had her first interaction with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder while on a trip with her class. Suddenly she was bombarded by intrusive thoughts that made her wonder if she would hurt them even though she had no desire to do so.

She was able to find tools to help with her OCD until Amy went to college. As a Division 1 gymnast at San Jose State, she experienced extreme verbal and emotional abuse from her coaches and was sexually assaulted by her head trainer. The trauma from that was buried, but came out in the form of anxiety which she treated with copious amounts of Ativan, eventually becoming addicted while pregnant with her daughter.

Amy experienced a severe depressive episode just before giving birth and delivered her child while hospitalized on a psych hold. Things had hit a complete bottom and she eventually sought help in the form of an Intensive Outpatient Program that led to an OCD recovery program that changed her life.

After finally finding help that worked, she went on to participate in an FBI investigation of San Jose State and entered into litigation against the Cal State University system eventually reaching a settlement agreement this past July.

Amy now publicly advocates for athlete safety while focusing on the adverse effects of verbal abuse and sexual assault on mental health. Currently, she works with a nonprofit advocacy association who has assisted over a dozen states in adopting laws to protect the basic freedoms and protections of NCAA athletes.

Episode Resources

NOCD | treatmyocd.com

Connect with Amy

Instagram | @amyleclair_

Connect with The Courage to Change

Podcast Website | lionrock.life/couragetochangepodcast
Podcast Instagram | @couragetochange_podcast
YouTube | The Courage to Change Podcast
TikTok | @ashleyloebblassingame
Podcast Email | podcast@lionrock.life
Podcast Facebook | @thecouragetochangepodcast

Lionrock Resources

Lionrock Life Mobile App | lionrock.life/mobile-app
Support Group Meeting Schedule | lionrock.life/meetings

Q+A Will My Kid End Up An Alcoholic? Nov 18, 2022

Show notes

In this Q and A episode Ashley helps a listener with their question "Will My Kid End Up An Alcoholic?". The listener is wondering about how likely it is the alcoholism will be passed along genetically to her children.

Ashley Loeb Blassingame has been clean and sober for 16 years, she's a drug and alcohol counselor, interventionist, and the co-founder of a telehealth company called Lionrock Recovery that provides substance use disorder treatment.

Episode Resources

Connect with Ashley Loeb Blassingame

TikTok | @ashleyloebblassingame
Instagram | @ashleyloebblassingame

Connect with The Courage to Change

Podcast Website | lionrock.life/couragetochangepodcast
Podcast Instagram | @couragetochange_podcast
Podcast Facebook | @thecouragetochangepodcast
Podcast Email | podcast@lionrock.life
YouTube | The Courage to Change Playlist

167: Jessica: Creating Community For Domestic Violence Survivors Nov 15, 2022

Show notes

Jessica’s story started in high school with a boyfriend who seemed amazing. He was the class clown, a football player and very into her. In the early years she was able to explain his problematic behavior as expressions of his love for her.

There was no physical abuse at first. If she just tried harder his behavior would stop. Then when the violence came it was only when drinking. The alcohol was the problem. If he could only eliminate that, those things wouldn’t happen anymore.

Then just as her father died, she found out she was pregnant. The physical abuse stopped and the behavior that remained could be explained away with the stresses of having a baby. They got married shortly after and life felt somewhat manageable until the physical abuse began again and brought new levels of daily torment. He monitored her every move. He installed cameras in the house. He had eclipsed every good thing in her life.

It wasn’t until her 3rd attempt at leaving that she finally got away, but real freedom didn’t come until her husband was sent to prison. With him gone she felt things should be better, but the hole inside her remained and with it came a string of destructive relationships until she finally did the internal work necessary to find a stable and healthy relationship.

Today, Jessica is an internationally-recognized healthy relationships expert, speaker, trainer, and Certified Professional Coach with more than 2 decades of experience. She is also the Co-founder and President of the nationally-recognized non-profit, No Silence, No Violence, and former President of The San Diego Domestic Violence Council.

If you or someone you know needs help, the National Domestic Violence Hotline Phone Number is 800-799-7233. You can also text the National Domestic Violence Hotline by texting "start" to 88788

Episode Resources

No Silence No Violence | speakingoutnsnv.org
National Domestic Violence Hotline| thehotline.org

Connect with The Courage to Change

Podcast Website | lionrock.life/couragetochangepodcast
Podcast Instagram | @couragetochange_podcast
YouTube | The Courage to Change Podcast
TikTok | @ashleyloebblassingame
Podcast Email | podcast@lionrock.life
Podcast Facebook | @thecouragetochangepodcast

Lionrock Resources

Lionrock Life Mobile App | lionrock.life/mobile-app
Support Group Meeting Schedule | lionrock.life/meetings

166: Ask The Expert: Lee Shuer - Hoarding Disorder Recovery Nov 08, 2022

Show notes

Lee Shuer is a Certified Peer Specialist and internationally recognized expert in Hoarding Disorder and has been at the forefront of developing self-help groups for people with HD.

Lee’s own complicated relationship with things started at age 3 years old when he began asking people the question “Do you have anything that you don’t need?”.

The first object he acquired was a lawnmower that finally gave away at age 43. Throughout his life he considered himself a collector and archivist, but as time went on he found that he was holding on to more and more objects, specifically those with sad memories attached.

Soon his house was filled with World Trade Center memorabilia, Newspaper clippings from The Challenger Disaster and letters he’d failed to send to loved ones who passed away.

Lee eventually sought the help he needed and went on to develop The Buried in Treasures Workshop Facilitator’s Guide with Dr. Randy Frost, and co-authored WRAP® for Reducing Clutter with Dr. Mary Ellen Copeland.

He’s delivered his message about hoarding behaviors on CBS Sunday Morning, Scientific American, and The Chicago Tribune. As well as partnered with Stanford University, Columbia University, Smith College, and UCSF.

Today he works with those who struggle with their relationship with things and tries to get people to stop using the word hoarder.

Episode Resources

Mutual Support Consulting | mutual-support.com
Buried in Treasures Book | Buried-Treasures-Compulsive-Acquiring-Treatments
The Clutter Movement | facebook.com/groups/TheClutterMovementIndividualSupport
The Copeland Center | copelandcenter.com

Connect with Lee

Mutual Support Consulting | mutual-support.com

Connect with The Courage to Change

Podcast Website | lionrock.life/couragetochangepodcast
Podcast Instagram | @couragetochange_podcast
YouTube | The Courage to Change Podcast
TikTok | @ashleyloebblassingame
Podcast Email | podcast@lionrock.life
Podcast Facebook | @thecouragetochangepodcast

Lionrock Resources

Lionrock Life Mobile App | lionrock.life/mobile-app
Support Group Meeting Schedule | lionrock.life/meetings

Q+A My Partner Is Scared To Go To Detox Nov 04, 2022

Show notes

In this Q and A episode Ashley helps a listener with their question "My Partner Is Scared To Go To Detox". She really wants them to go and they know they need to, but they're scared. Ashley shares her own stories of trying to get sober without help, what to expect during a medical detox and why it's better than the alternative.

Episode Resources

Connect with Ashley Loeb Blassingame

TikTok | @ashleyloebblassingame
Instagram | @ashleyloebblassingame

Connect with The Courage to Change

Podcast Website | lionrock.life/couragetochangepodcast
Podcast Instagram | @couragetochange_podcast
Podcast Facebook | @thecouragetochangepodcast
Podcast Email | podcast@lionrock.life
YouTube | The Courage to Change Playlist

165: Ask the Expert: Michelle Farris - Codependency Recovery Nov 01, 2022

Show notes

Michelle Farris is a Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in codependent relationship patterns. She helps people to avoid the people pleasing behaviors and issues with boundary setting that can often become stumbling blocks for many in recovery.

Michelle began her own recovery at 21. She began attending Overeaters Anonymous and Al-Anon Meetings. She found the Al-Anon meetings much more difficult than she anticipated. She found herself being forced to face a difficult reality, the deep co-dependence she experienced in her relationship with her alcoholic partner.

It was through that work that she began to realize how deeply her addiction to relationships and codependency affected her life. The roots of it had traveled beyond the bounds of her romantic relationships and began showing up in her friendships as well.

Michelle was able to find healing and turned her new found knowledge into a career helping people who find themselves in the same situation.

Today she works with people to ensure they can lead healthy relationships with the ability to communicate their needs, set healthy boundaries and create new patterns for how they interact with the people they love.

Episode Resources

Counseling Recovery | counselingrecovery.com

Connect with Michelle

Instagram | @counseling_recovery
Facebook | @counselingrecovery

Connect with The Courage to Change

Podcast Website | lionrock.life/couragetochangepodcast
Podcast Instagram | @couragetochange_podcast
YouTube | The Courage to Change Podcast
TikTok | @ashleyloebblassingame
Podcast Email | podcast@lionrock.life
Podcast Facebook | @thecouragetochangepodcast

Lionrock Resources

Lionrock Life Mobile App | lionrock.life/mobile-app
Support Group Meeting Schedule | lionrock.life/meetings

164: Amy Farnan: Getting Sober With Lionrock After Losing Custody Oct 25, 2022

Show notes

Amy Farnan grew up in a loving home with three siblings and lots of laughter. Even with all the good she found at her core, the inability to feel like she had worth or a voice.

In middle school she found alcohol and immediately felt powerful and pretty. She began saying the things she’d always wanted to say and the feeling hooked her.

She had some level of management of her drinking through high school and college and upon graduation began a spiritual journey with her brother, a professional rock climber and someone who sought the spiritual in the same way she did.

The trip was incredible and opened her eyes to what other people were doing in the world, but 6 months later, her brother died in an avalanche while climbing.

As the search for his body began, she was put in the strange position of communication liaison with the search efforts and caretaker to her parents. In that place, she was unable to grieve in the way she needed to and instead placated herself and those around her with “He died doing what he loved.”

And thus kicked off her destructive relationship with alcohol that caused her to lose her child, her romantic relationship, and her life. Finally with the help of AA and Lionrock Recovery, she was able to find sobriety that has remained.

Episode Resources

Connect with Amy

Instagram | @afarnan1
Facebook | @afarnan1

Connect with The Courage to Change

Podcast Website | lionrock.life/couragetochangepodcast
Podcast Instagram | @couragetochange_podcast
YouTube | The Courage to Change Podcast
TikTok | @ashleyloebblassingame
Podcast Email | podcast@lionrock.life
Podcast Facebook | @thecouragetochangepodcast

Lionrock Resources

Lionrock Life Mobile App | lionrock.life/mobile-app
Support Group Meeting Schedule | lionrock.life/meetings

Q+A How Can I Undo The Things I've Done? Oct 21, 2022

Show notes

In this Q and A episode Ashley answers the listener question "How Can I Undo The Things I've Done?" It can feel like it's impossible to put the genie back in the bottle. That the mistakes made are impossible to come back from, but there is reason to hope. Ashley shares stories of how she was able to fix things that she thought were damaged beyond repair.

Episode Resources

Connect with Ashley Loeb Blassingame

TikTok | @ashleyloebblassingame
Instagram | @ashleyloebblassingame

Connect with The Courage to Change

Podcast Website | lionrock.life/couragetochangepodcast
Podcast Instagram | @couragetochange_podcast
Podcast Facebook | @thecouragetochangepodcast
Podcast Email | podcast@lionrock.life
YouTube | The Courage to Change Playlist

163: Dane Ensley: Three Generations Of Addiction And Recovery Oct 18, 2022

Show notes

Dane Ensley grew up in an AA home. His mother and grandmother were sober and among a long line of family members who struggled with alcoholism and addiction. He grew up feeling destined to be an addict and also in recovery.

After his parents split up at age 7, he found himself looking for male role models who had the strength, bravado and macho energy that he felt drawn to. He found them, but they also brought drugs and crime into his life.

At 18, he was hanging out with this group of these men when things turned violent, leading to a stabbing and Dane going to jail. He was eventually set free, and had the opportunity to run from that lifestyle, but instead, doubled down on his drinking and using. By 22 he was nearly dead.

He eventually found sobriety after going to a detox center, but immediately found himself unemployable. It was after he’d exhausted every idea that he walked into a treatment center and asked if they needed anyone to clean the floors. They offered him something much more than that, they paid for him to become a counselor instead.

That moment launched what would become his life’s work, helping people find recovery through becoming a counselor, interventionist and eventually founding Reconstruction Unlimited. The organization has allowed him to work as a coach with the world’s leading interventionists and travel the world working with a broad spectrum of clients.

Episode Resources