The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast

Latest Episodes:

249. Five More Minutes: Kaela Demerjian on Why Recovery Sometimes Means Just Staying Mar 09, 2026

Show notes

Summary:

Kaela Demerjian’s story begins with chaos. Growing up in Orange County, she never felt like she belonged anywhere. By middle school she was struggling with self harm, depression, and drugs, eventually landing in psych wards and even being tased by police during a suicide crisis. She got sober young, but sobriety alone didn’t fix the pain. For years she searched for belonging everywhere: punk houses in Oakland, activism, yoga, marriage, and even a new life in France. But the emptiness followed her until she finally discovered the one thing she had been missing all along.

In this conversation, Kaela shares how real recovery began when she stopped trying to do it alone and found community in AA and Al-Anon. Through guidance, spirituality, and the support of people who understood her struggle, she slowly learned that recovery isn’t about fixing everything overnight. Sometimes it’s about staying when you want to run. Sometimes it’s about surviving the next five minutes. Today, 14 years sober, Kaela reflects on the long road from self destruction to self acceptance and the power of community, humility, and faith in building a life she never thought was possible.

What listeners will learn:

Why sobriety alone doesn’t always solve the deeper pain behind addiction
The difference between abstinence and real recovery
How community and guidance can change the trajectory of recovery
Why many people feel lost even after they stop drinking or using
How codependency and the need to belong can shape addiction and relationships
The role AA and Al-Anon can play in building healthy support systems
How to survive overwhelming emotional pain one small step at a time
Why recovery sometimes means simply staying for the next five minutes
How spiritual growth and humility can become powerful tools for healing
What it looks like to build a meaningful life after years of chaos

Kaela's Instagram: @KaelaDemerjian

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaelasaez/

248. Postpartum OCD and Growing Up With Alcohol Use Disorder: Intrusive Thoughts, Anxiety, and Recovery Dec 19, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of The Courage to Change, Ashley Loeb Blassingame speaks with author and illustrator Amanda Davis about two deeply connected experiences: growing up in a home impacted by alcohol use disorder and later navigating postpartum OCD as a new mother.

Amanda shares what it was like to lose her father to alcohol-related illness at a young age and how growing up in an unpredictable, high-stress environment shaped her nervous system, anxiety, and sense of responsibility. She explains how those early experiences laid the groundwork for postpartum OCD years later, when multiple major life changes collided at once.

The conversation takes an honest, clear-eyed look at postpartum OCD, including intrusive thoughts, “sticky” thinking, reassurance-seeking cycles, and the fear many mothers feel about admitting what’s happening in their minds. Amanda walks through how her symptoms showed up, why they were so frightening, and how an intensive outpatient program specifically for postpartum OCD helped her recover.

Together, Ashley and Amanda also discuss how we talk to children about hard things, including addiction, loss, anxiety, and recovery, and why silence often does more harm than age-appropriate honesty. Amanda shares how these experiences led her to write Sometimes Stormy, a children’s book that gives families language for talking about emotional storms without shame.

This episode is for mothers, clinicians, educators, and caregivers who want to better understand postpartum OCD, intrusive thoughts, and how recovery can look when the struggle is internal, invisible, and deeply misunderstood.

www.AmandaDavisArt.com

"Sometimes Stormy: A Story About Finding Calm and Staying Safe When Someone You Love Drinks Too Much" by Amanda Davis

#LocalBookStore

#AmandaDavisArt

#PostPartumOCD

#ParentalLoss

247. The Myth of Rock Bottom: Why “Normal” Drinking Can Be Heavy Enough Nov 13, 2025

Show notes

Lesley Jones never had the dramatic “rock bottom” people expect. No arrests, no lost job, no catastrophic implosion. Instead, she lived with the quiet, relentless hum of anxiety and the mental gymnastics of someone who intuitively knew alcohol worked a little too well. As a high-achieving oldest daughter, state-champion athlete, and lifelong perfectionist, she learned early how to drink with precision to silence the internal buzz of fear and pressure.

In this conversation, Lesley shares what most people never talk about: the early-stage progression of alcohol use, the mental toll of constantly negotiating with yourself, and the moment she realized she didn’t need to lose everything to decide she was done rolling the dice. She breaks down how she got sober in her late twenties, what actually shifted, how motherhood reshaped her awareness, and the internal “fan noise” that finally pushed her toward change.

We also dig into the difference between abstinence and recovery, parenting with a program, why “mommy wine culture” is a trap, the slow creep from control to obsession, and how she built a sober life she’s proud of — including a beautiful company, Traveling Pendants, dedicated to passing on strength through shared stories.

This episode is a lifeline for anyone who’s ever quietly wondered, “Is this getting a little too loud?” You do not need a spectacular bottom to choose a better life.

What The Listener Will Learn

• How early-stage alcohol use disorder shows up long before obvious consequences
• Why anxiety, perfectionism, and “oldest daughter energy” often drive early drinking patterns
• How mommy-wine culture quietly normalizes dependency
• How the mental load of drinking becomes its own problem
• The difference between simply not drinking and actually being in recovery
• Why intuition is often the first, most accurate warning sign
• How to recognize the internal “fan noise” that signals addiction creeping in
• What it looks like to get sober without hitting a dramatic bottom
• Practical tools for staying sober in social and family environments
• How working a recovery program can shift the way you parent
• Why community and accountability are critical in early sobriety
• How Lesley’s Traveling Pendants project uses shared storytelling to give people strength

• High-functioning alcoholism and its invisible progression
• Anxiety, control, and self-medication
• The myth of the rock bottom
• Early intervention and choosing sobriety before major loss
• Motherhood, drinking culture, and social normalization
• The psychological burden of planning drinking
• Why people quit long before the big consequences
• Emotional and spiritual transformation through recovery
• Community, sponsorship, and accountability
• Repair, amends, and healthier family dynamics
• Storytelling as connection
• Passing strength forward through shared experience

245. From Infertility to Postpartum Depression: Therapist Neha Kumar on Motherhood’s Hardest Moments and Finding Strength Oct 15, 2025

Show notes

Therapist Neha Kumar opens up about infertility, IVF, endometriosis, and postpartum depression. We talk about cultural expectations in South Asian families, the reality of new motherhood, what “natural” doesn’t mean, and practical ways to support women through fertility treatment and postpartum mental health. It is honest, grounded, and full of hard-won perspective.

This episode is sponsored by Reconstruction Unlimited, a recovery-focused organization that provides coaching, interventions, and holistic support to help people and families thrive in long-term recovery.

Guest

Neha Kumar, LMFT Private practice therapist focusing on women’s mental health, postpartum, and culturally informed care.

Website: https://prosandpsyche.com

Growing up as the youngest of three girls in a South Asian immigrant family and the “son preference” context
Film school to therapy (why service work in India changed her path)
Undiagnosed inattentive ADHD, chronic fatigue, and how symptoms were missed
Endometriosis finally diagnosed after years of severe cycles
IVF at 28, grief around repeated negatives, cost, and stigma
Postpartum depression after baby one, spinal headache after baby two, and what “hopeless” actually feels like
Why “it is natural” does not mean “it is easy” for conception, birth, or breastfeeding
Practical support for friends in fertility treatment (what helps, what hurts)
Advocating for yourself in healthcare and pushing for answers
Building resilience, redefining “enough,” and finding a new normal

Validation matters. Delayed diagnoses of ADHD and endometriosis can fuel years of self-blame.
Support should be operational. Rides to monitoring, meal trains, childcare, and help with logistics beat platitudes every time.
Language counts. Avoid “just relax,” “have you tried…,” or fast fixes. Try “I am so sorry. I am here. What do you need today?”
Postpartum depression often feels like hopelessness more than sadness. Sleep loss and medical complications can intensify risk.
Community reduces harm. Modern parenting often lacks the “village” that many cultures build by design.

Resources:

Neha’s practice: https://proseandpsyche.com
Postpartum Support International (find local help, warmline): https://www.postpartum.net
ADHD information and screening overview (inattentive type): https://chadd.org
Endometriosis basics and patient guides: https://www.endofound.org

If you are in crisis, contact your local emergency number or go to the nearest emergency department.
Postpartum Support International helpline (US): 1-800-944-4773 (call or text “HELP”)

If this episode helped you, share it with a friend who might need to hear it. Rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to help others find these conversations. For speaking, collaborations, or sponsor inquiries, contact us through the podcast website.

#infertility #ivfjourney #ivfsupport #endometriosis #postpartumdepression #postpartumsupport #motherhood #womenshealth #mentalhealth #maternalmentalhealth #southasianwomen #culturalexpectations #newmomlife #postpartumjourney #ivfcommunity #endowarrior #adhdawareness #healingjourney #fertilitysupport #womensupportingwomen #griefandloss #hope #strength #resilience #parentingjourney #mommentalhealth #breakingthestigma #motherhoodunplugged #itsokaynottobeokay #thecouragetochangepodcast

244. Tides of Grief, Waves of Grace: Ashley Jo on Sobriety, Loss, and Building a Life After Trauma Oct 03, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to the first episode of Season 7!

This episode of The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast is brought to you by our sponsor Reconstruction Unlimited. As our sponsor, Reconstruction brings their mission to life by supporting individuals through personalized coaching, case management, and aftercare programs that foster meaningful transformation and sustained well-being. Learn more at www.reconstructionunlimited.com.

Tides of Grief, Waves of Grace: Ashley Jo on Sobriety, Loss, and Building a Life After Trauma

In this powerful episode of The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast, host Ashley Loeb Blassingame welcomes back Ashley Jo — former podcast producer, recovery advocate, and now author of the forthcoming memoir Tides of Grief, Waves of Grace. Ashley Jo shares the unfiltered truth about her journey through addiction recovery, grief, and healing after unimaginable loss.

From losing her infant son to a rare genetic disease at just 22, to navigating divorce, adoption, and the challenges of raising five children, Ashley Jo’s life has been anything but ordinary. She opens up about surviving a public paternity scandal, her ex-husband’s struggle with substance use disorder and death from a fentanyl overdose, and how sobriety gave her the tools to lead her family through crisis without turning back to alcohol.

In this candid conversation, Ashley and Ashley explore:

How sobriety prepared Ashley Jo to face back-to-back tragedies without relapsing
Parenting through grief, addiction, and family trauma
The roller-coaster pace of life in recovery and learning to accept your unique wiring (hello, ADHD superpowers)
How writing her memoir became a therapeutic tool for processing decades of unprocessed grief
Why honesty with children about addiction and loss can be a bridge to healing
The concept of “two things can be true” — embracing both joy and sorrow

Ashley Jo’s story is one of resilience, radical honesty, and finding grace in the middle of chaos. If you’re navigating sobriety, parenting challenges, or life after loss, this episode offers hope, hard-earned wisdom, and a reminder that the waves that threaten to drown us can also be the ones we learn to ride.

Order Ashley Jo’s memoir: thisisashleyjo.com

Listen now for an inspiring, real-life example of recovery, redemption, and rebuilding after life’s most brutal storms.

Topics: sobriety journey, grief recovery, fentanyl overdose, addiction recovery, memoir, parenting through grief, ADHD and recovery, healing after loss, substance use disorder, family therapy, resilience, emotional healing, The Courage to Change Podcast

End of Season 6, Amends, and Season 7 Aug 19, 2025

Show notes

I dropped the ball in Season 6. My guests were great but my cadence was not. Season 7 is coming back stronger than ever — Scott is back, we’ve got a sponsor, and I can’t wait to share what’s next.

From the Archives: 137. Mother Battles Alcoholism After the Death of Her Young Son Apr 23, 2025

Show notes

Sarah Campos was born in Arizona and raised in Southern California. She graduated from ASU with a BS in Business. A hairdresser by trade, she now runs a full time e-commerce business online that supports clean living and wellness. She is the mother to Jaxon, Alesa and Ford.

When tragedy struck her family in the form of the death of her 8 year old son, it sent her drinking into a destructive spiral. Numbing the pain of the loss she eventually ended up in detox and finally found help in AA and Al Anon.

She is new to the sober community but in 2 short years her sobriety has been completely life changing even in the worst circumstances. Today she gets to live imperfectly but free from addiction. She honors her son’s memory in the love she gives to his siblings.

Episode Resources

Connect with Sarah Campos

Instagram | @campos_mama

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

Lionrock Resources

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

243. TV Host Marci Hopkins: “Perimenopause played a huge role in my drinking”—Here’s What Saved Me Apr 15, 2025

Show notes

TV host and author Marci Hopkins joins Ashley to share her deeply personal journey from childhood trauma and decades of functional drinking to hitting rock bottom—and rising again. In this raw and eye-opening conversation, Marci reveals how perimenopause played a critical but overlooked role in her escalating alcohol use, the hidden struggles behind her success in television, and how she finally found peace through sobriety, healing, and spiritual connection.

Marci opens up about growing up in chaos, experiencing abuse, and turning to alcohol at a young age to cope. She talks candidly about her final DUI, how perimenopause and antidepressants intertwined with her drinking, and why so many women suffer silently through this transitional period. Through it all, she found purpose in storytelling, launching Wake Up with Marci, and writing her book Chaos to Clarity to help others find hope.

If you’ve ever wondered how hormones, trauma, and high-functioning addiction intersect—or how healing is possible no matter how far you've fallen—this is a must-listen episode.

Topics Include:

How perimenopause impacted Marci’s mental health and substance use
The illusion of high-functioning alcoholism
Healing from childhood abuse and generational trauma
Working the 12 steps and finding spiritual strength
Rewiring your brain and rewriting your narrative
Parenting in recovery and repairing family patterns

Resources & Links:

📖 Chaos to Clarity: Seeing the Signs and Breaking the Cycle – Available on Amazon

🌐 WakeUpWithMarci.com

📩 Email Marci: wakeupwithmarci@gmail.com

📲 Follow Marci on social @wakeupwithmarci

242. The Cost of Silence: One Woman’s Fight to Break the Cycle of Abuse Feb 26, 2025

Show notes

In this powerful episode, Alreen Haeggquist shares her journey of resilience, from surviving childhood abuse in a deeply patriarchal household to becoming a fierce advocate for justice. After decades of silence, Alreen made the brave decision in 2023 to publicly speak out about her experiences—challenging cultural stigmas, confronting family denial, and ultimately transforming her pain into purpose. Now a successful attorney, she dedicates her career to representing survivors of workplace harassment and abuse.

Topics We Cover:

✅ The long-term impact of childhood abuse and silence

✅ How trauma can resurface later in life—even when you think you’ve moved on

✅ The reality of confronting family denial and cultural pressures

✅ The hidden power dynamics of workplace abuse and how perpetrators defend themselves

✅ Essential legal rights women should know before entering the workplace

✅ Why speaking out is both terrifying and liberating

✅ How to recognize red flags in work environments that enable harassment

If you’ve ever struggled with past trauma, wrestled with family expectations, or wanted to understand how abuse manifests in professional settings, this conversation is for you.

🔗 Resources & Contact:

Alreen's website: www.alreen.com

Her book: Fired Up: Fueling Triumph from Trauma – Available wherever books are sold.

"Triggers are like echoes from the past—you have to learn to recognize and control them." - Alreen Haeggquist

241. Paralyzed but Unstoppable: Randy Hall’s Journey Through Guillain-Barre, Addiction, and Redefining Recovery Dec 19, 2024

Show notes

In this inspiring episode of The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast, host Ashley Loeb Blassingame sits down with Randy Hall, a recovery advocate and facilitator based in Birmingham, Alabama. Randy shares his powerful journey from addiction to recovery, exploring how he found healing through multiple recovery programs, including Recovery Dharma, SMART Recovery, and the 12 Steps.

Randy opens up about his struggles with addiction, his near-fatal battle with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, and the pivotal moments that led him to transform his life. He discusses the importance of cultivating self-compassion, embracing diverse recovery paths, and creating space for self-acceptance over perfection.

Listeners will gain insight into the complementary nature of various recovery methods and the crucial role of community support. Randy's story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the possibility of growth, even after life-altering experiences.

Key Takeaways:

Multiple Recovery Pathways: Learn how blending programs like Recovery Dharma, SMART Recovery, and the 12 Steps can create a holistic recovery journey.
Mind-Body-Spirit Balance: Explore the significance of nurturing mental, emotional, and physical well-being in recovery.
Self-Acceptance Over Perfection: Discover how shifting from a self-improvement mindset to a self-acceptance approach can be transformative.
Resilience in Adversity: Hear Randy’s powerful story of survival through Guillain-Barré Syndrome and how it ultimately became a turning point in his recovery.

Resources Mentioned:

Connect with Randy Hall:

Instagram: @RandallWesleyHall
Email: RandallWesleyHall@yahoo.com

Join the Conversation:

Subscribe to The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast for more stories of resilience and transformation. Leave a review and share this episode with anyone who might find hope and inspiration in Randy’s journey.

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If you’ve ever struggled with past trauma, wrestled with family expectations, or wanted to understand how abuse manifests in professional settings, this conversation is for you.

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