Verify InsuranceEpisode 10 is a wrap up episode of how the podcast came into existence, some favorite moments from our first 9 episodes, and some exciting news for the future of A. Reason to Live.
Email us at areasontolivepodcast@bhoperehab.com.
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Transcript
Aaron Reason:
Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of A Reason to Live. I’m very excited to bring you this final episode of season one. We will be wrapping it up today, and I just want to thank everybody for your support in this endeavor. You guys have been amazing. We appreciate it. It’s just Michael and I sharing our experiences today with this podcast, and we really hope that you guys enjoy it and we look forward to bringing you season two.
Speaker 2:
Located in Anderson, Indiana, Bridges of Hope is a detox and residential treatment facility assisting those experiencing alcohol and substance abuse addiction. Our treatment philosophy is based on a comprehensive and integrated approach to addressing all issues related to substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health issues. Addiction treatment at Bridges of Hope can guide you safely through withdrawal from drugs and alcohol, and teach you important skills that help you achieve long-term recovery. Client care is our highest priority, and we offer our clients all-inclusive treatment services. Our ultimate goal is to identify the challenges, concerns, and problems related to substance use and mental health disorders to provide professional clinical treatment to all of our patients. For more information on our services, visit us at bhoperehab.com or call 844-449-6392.
Aaron Reason:
Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of A Reason to Live. My name is Aaron Reason. I am the host. I’m here with my producer, Michael Whitlock.
Michael Whitlock:
Good to be back.
Aaron Reason:
And so today we’ve got a real special guest called nobody. It’s just going to be me and Michael here today just to kind of wrap up the season and just kind of give my thoughts. The first thing I want to do is just say how appreciative I am of everybody listening and sharing. I’ve got so much good feedback and so much support for doing this, and I just think it’s awesome that we’re able to do this and carry the message to the alcoholic and the addict out there that’s still suffering. So what a great experience this has been.
Michael Whitlock:
Let’s take pause and share how this became a thing, because this is, I mean, I think it’s a God thing, but it just kind of took off out of nowhere. So I remember that you were going to be speaking at an event, and I really didn’t know that you did any public speaking, telling about your story, and you shared a video of this, and I was so impressed. First off, holy cow, as we saw in episodes one and two, there’s quite a story there. All I knew was the Aaron Reason that is a staff member here at the facility. And then we quickly became friends. But I was super impressed with this video and I was like, wow, he’s articulate. He’s got a great story, he’s got such confidence, and you could see the engagement of everyone in the audience. And I just started thinking other people have to hear this.
Aaron Reason:
Yeah, I mean, honestly, what’s so funny about that is when you say confidence, man, I was so nervous in doing that because I go around to places and I give my lead at Media 12 Step meetings and other recovery facilities, and I always say, I don’t really get nervous there because I’m around my people, but everybody’s my people. And in that particular event, I was speaking in front of judges and attorneys, and it was a sit down dinner. It was something really out of my comfort zone. And with the chaplain that I work with at the local jail and the class I do up there, he made a comment. He said, “You’ve got to learn to get comfortable being uncomfortable.”
Michael Whitlock:
Well, that just actually sparked a whole new thought for me. I am a firm believer that incarceration by itself for people with drug addictions does not work because you’re dealing with a disease and you actually have to have an educational component and some therapies and the whole spectrum of services, the kind of things that we offer. And you’re speaking to the people that need to hear it the most, not just addicts, but you’re speaking to these judges and police officers and stuff to need to know that, wow, look at this guy. He is living proof of somebody who’s been through the system, been through incarceration, and that didn’t work. But the education and joining a 12 step program and having a sponsor and all those things is what is part of your success story. And now you’re helping these other people that some of them are involved in the criminal justice system.
Aaron Reason:
Yeah, I mean, it’s unbelievable just how different life is, and I think that’s what really made me take the leap to get into this field because I love helping people. I genuinely do. I know it’s my calling and I know this is what I’m supposed to be doing with my life is helping people in some way, in some format. And I want addicts out there to see that it doesn’t matter how bad off you were, and this is recovery week, and I posted a before and after picture, and I got a lot of reactions on social media about that picture. And from an addict perspective, it was an embarrassing photo for me, but I want people to see how bad off I was. It’s a miracle that I’m still alive for one.
Michael Whitlock:
It looks like, anyone that hasn’t seen it, it looks like it’s been through a filter. It doesn’t look like you.
Aaron Reason:
Yeah.
Michael Whitlock:
I’m sure that you feel like you’re looking at someone else now when you see the picture.
Aaron Reason:
Absolutely. Absolutely.
Michael Whitlock:
And in a way, you were, right? You’re looking at someone else.
Aaron Reason:
I look at that picture and I just see a broken man. I see a broken man that hadn’t dealt with the baggage that I carried around for so many years. And I love that you touched on the therapy and everything and the education here, because that’s really what I needed. When I worked a 12 step program, I’ve got a great sponsor that worked with me and I really cleaned my closet out, and I started to see what kind of a picture of the person that I was. I started to see that I had this victim mindset, and I call it the Eeyore syndrome because it was just like, oh, poor me, nobody loves me. And that’s what a lot of us addicts fall into because you feel like it’s you against the world.
Michael Whitlock:
Yeah. So before I go into this next part about how this all came to fruition, I want to give you a shout-out because you just got a promotion here at work.
Aaron Reason:
I did. I did.
Michael Whitlock:
And I’m very proud of you, you’ve put a lot of hard work into it, and so now you’re supervising and it’s just a credit for all the hard work that you do, and-
Aaron Reason:
I appreciate that.
Michael Whitlock:
Impacting lives. So just a quick little mention there. I wanted to add that. Second, so I see this video and my wife is a podcaster. And so she’s been doing this for I feel like a year and a half, maybe a little more. I feel like she just hit her anniversary about five, six months ago, and she had been talking about doing a podcast for a couple years and pulled the trigger, and she’s been very successful, a completely different topic than what we have here, but she taught me everything that I needed to know about how to put this together. I’m very thankful for… I mean, she’s my rock and I love her to death. I’ve been blessed with two wonderful children, but she was a great advisor for the startup of this process.
Aaron Reason:
Absolutely.
Michael Whitlock:
And because of I think all the hard work that she had in putting her podcast together and seeing your video, I was like, what if we can bring this message to other people? And I was like, I’ll throw it out there. We’ll see what happens. And then like any dream, if you don’t put the work into it or whatever, maybe it dies. And it was a great conversation. But you said, “Let’s do it.”
Aaron Reason:
Let’s do it. Yeah.
Michael Whitlock:
I’m like, really?
Aaron Reason:
Yeah.
Michael Whitlock:
Okay. Well, that was easy. And then I approached the people at Bridges of Hope and Indiana Community Addiction Network, and they’re like, yeah, let’s do it. And I’m like, okay, I guess we’re doing this.
Aaron Reason:
And you know what? When you asked me to do it, I’ll be honest. I said let’s do it, but in my mind, I was thinking, this thing probably won’t ever happen. And it was like, what, two days? And you were like, “We’re doing it.” And I was like, oh my gosh, okay.
Michael Whitlock:
Yeah. I felt like it just kind of took on a mind of its own and it became this thing. I just want point back to the first day that we were recording. I knew we were onto something special. I’m not one to pat myself on the back. I do not like to be the center of attention, but something special is going on.
Aaron Reason:
Yeah, absolutely.
Michael Whitlock:
And we joke and have a good time and cut up, but we just had a flow and it’s been present every episode. And I’m just like, we’re supposed to be doing this. And then we put out those first two episodes and the reaction was crazy.
Aaron Reason:
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it’s been shared a lot. We have listeners overseas now. I mean, I just think that is so unbelievable.
Michael Whitlock:
I love data. I’m a data person, so looking at the analytics of this page or this podcast, I’m like, okay, we’ve got somebody listening in Denmark and the Philippines and India and United Kingdom and Germany, and I love sharing with you specifically our numbers. Once we hit these big benchmarks, I’m like, all right, we got our first a hundred listens and we got our first 500 listens. And it just kept growing. And I’m just so excited. And I’m like, people are listening to this, and they’re reaching out to us and they’re sharing. You see it on social media.
Aaron Reason:
Yeah.
Michael Whitlock:
I’m like, this is incredible.
Aaron Reason:
I know. I think I definitely want to take a second and thank all of our guests too because our guests have been unbelievable because we’ve really just been winging this thing. And you’re right, though. I mean, it just comes so natural. And I think what touched my heart more than anything else so far with this thing is when we had a client come back here and he had mentioned to me that the reason he came back was because he was listening to the podcast and it inspired him to come back. I mean, that’s what this is all about.
Michael Whitlock:
If we could save one person for all of this work, it was worth it and then some.
Aaron Reason:
Absolutely. Absolutely.
Michael Whitlock:
I mean, that’s better than all the social media likes and shares and everything. That’s a human being.
Aaron Reason:
Absolutely.
Michael Whitlock:
And they know they matter because we’re doing this for them.
Aaron Reason:
Yeah. I mean, and that’s what it’s all about. And my story, it’s dramatic, it’s crazy. I lived this chaotic lifestyle for so long, and I’d got to this place where I just felt defeated and didn’t know if I’d ever make it out, honestly. And now that I have, it’s really about the next person. And everybody’s story is unique. That’s what I love about this is we’ve got the clinical side, we’ve got people’s stories of their redemption stories, and there’s so many out there. And that’s one thing that I took away from the 12 step program that I worked was it’s not always about me. Sometimes I don’t feel like going to a meeting, right? But then I think to myself, what if there’s an addict in there that needs to hear something from me? And that’s the selflessness that you gain through these programs and through coming to treatment and learning to love yourself again. I mean, that’s what it’s all about.
Michael Whitlock:
Sure. So when I brought this idea to you, I said, “Let’s do one season, 10 episodes and see what happens. And if it goes from 10 episodes and we feel successful, we’ll do a season two.” And I’m glad to report here and now there are plans for a season two based on our feedback and reaction. It’s been tremendous. So what we’re going to do, and I’ll just make this announcement now, is we’re going to wrap it up with this episode for season one, and we’re going to take a little break and we’re going to start recording episodes as we have opportunities and guests who want to be on, and we already have some guests lined up, some great stories. And then we’re going to try and drop season two at one time, all 10 episodes of season two. That way people don’t have to wait in between. They can listen at their own pace. But I’m excited that it’s been such a positive experience. The feedback’s been so good that we’re going to keep going on and see what happens.
Aaron Reason:
Yeah. Yeah, I’m excited about it too. And I think the dropping everything at once is a great idea because I know when I watch Netflix or something, man, and they give me those stay tuned for the next episode next week, I’m always like, dang it.
Michael Whitlock:
Yeah.
Aaron Reason:
I want to hear it now. I want to watch it now. So yeah, I think that’s awesome, man. I’m excited about it. I’m glad that this all happened. And you’re right and I agree with you 100%, I do think it was a God thing. That’s the way I see things now, you know?
Michael Whitlock:
Yeah. You have to.
Aaron Reason:
Yeah, absolutely.
Michael Whitlock:
The other thing I’d like to share, I feel like this is sharing excitement and some good stuff. We’ve talked about your promotion. We’ve talked about season two. We now have a location on the bhoperehab.com webpage, which is the Bridges of Hope website. It’s a dedicated location for all of our episodes. Again, that is B-H-O-P-E-R-E-H-A-B .com. And what else is exciting about this being the location of our sites or podcast and where you can listen is we have a transcription of every episode. And so for any of our deaf or hearing impaired, anyone who likes to read, it’s just an opportunity for them to take a deep dive into each of our episodes, and that’s going to continue to be updated. So super excited about bringing that portion to the table.
Aaron Reason:
Yeah. Yeah, that’s so cool. And the doors just keep opening. And I mean, I think that in life and in general, just as somebody that feels like they’re on a spiritual journey, it’s always about the growth I feel like, especially these days for me personally. It’s about spiritual growth and mental growth. And I think it’s just so cool that this has come about, that this has happened. I love doing the show with you, man. We’ve got such a good ebb and flow, if you will.
Michael Whitlock:
For sure.
Aaron Reason:
So it’s been a great experience, but we’ll take a break and send it to our sponsors real quick and then we’ll jump back into it.
Michael Whitlock:
Be right back.
Speaker 4:
At the Indiana Community Addiction Network, we offer the new standard in medication assisted treatment. So if you’re ready to put substance abuse behind you, we’re here to help. We are a local family owned center who will create an individualized physician led care plan to help you reach sobriety. At ICAN, we treat your addiction based on your unique needs and have full addiction treatment programs. Get started on recovery today. Call ICAN now to speak to an advisor at 888-635-1470, or visit us at addictionsnetwork.com.
Aaron Reason:
And I know we touched on some of the guests that we had. I think that one of my favorites looking back was I love what Skip does, and I’ve been around Skip for like the past three years. He’s been around me my whole sobriety journey because he actually works with the halfway house that I went through.
Michael Whitlock:
Oh, sure.
Aaron Reason:
So I see him at all these events and it’s always kind of been touch and go, how you been man and all that. And just to hear his story, that was so awesome and what he’s doing in our community for the first responders and the fact that he has a podcast too. I was really impressed with that. Our staff here, I just love everybody and I loved that everybody was willing. I don’t think we had anybody that [inaudible 00:19:45].
Michael Whitlock:
No, no.
Aaron Reason:
We did not get a no from anybody. And that just shows the selflessness of the people that we work with too.
Michael Whitlock:
So I think you’ve mentioned a couple times on here that it’s about giving back once you’re in the community, and that’s a way to give back is by sharing your story because people see that there is hope on the other side. There’s sober fun.
Aaron Reason:
Yeah, there is.
Michael Whitlock:
And community and strength in numbers. And we have more stories coming. We didn’t just stop with this first season. We had more people that are willing to share their story.
Aaron Reason:
Yeah, and I mean, that’s what’s exciting is just everybody that’s here almost is in recovery or has been affected by recovery in some ways. So I think going forward, it’s just going to continue to grow, it’s going to be a positive thing. The feedback that I’ve got from the listeners has been amazing. I had a sponsee call me the other day and talk to me about how much he loved the podcast. And I was like, “Wow, man, you’ve been listening.” He’s like, “Of course I listen to it. I listen to every one.” And just that, I mean, it made me feel so good.
Michael Whitlock:
One of my favorite things looking back at this first season is kind of a behind the scenes part where people don’t see it, but how many of our guests were nervous? And then they get in and they feel comfortable and they’re like, okay, we’re just really having a conversation. And they start sharing their story and afterwards they’re like, ah, I remember Chef Crystal.
Aaron Reason:
Yeah, yeah.
Michael Whitlock:
She was a nervous wreck. And bless her heart, she did such a great job sharing her story and she felt so good once it was over. I was so proud of her.
Aaron Reason:
Yeah, absolutely. I loved the clinical side too, because I love to learn and seeing their perspective on things, that was awesome.
Michael Whitlock:
Helps people see what kind of to expect.
Aaron Reason:
Yeah.
Michael Whitlock:
I know that we’re going to get into some of our other services as well in the future about maybe some case management, some of those things, but people do have to live here during that time. They’re going to eat and they’re going to get some medical care and they’re going to get some clinical, it’s a full spectrum of services and we’ve got to kind of touch on that.
Aaron Reason:
Yeah. And I always share this whenever I give my lead is share your story, get out there. We all live in I like to say our little bubbles of the world. So I live in a certain place and what can I do to help the community? What more can I do to help the addicts that are out there still suffering? Because I feel like this right now, especially in the world that we live in today, with fentanyl being the way that it is, what can I do to make an impact? Because if we all get on the same page and we all start having that same kind of a mindset, what can we do in our little bubbles, in the little worlds that we live in? If we all do our part and we really start to fight this thing, then we can make an impact. I think that’s so important.
Michael Whitlock:
Well, and again, we talk about fentanyl and in itself, fentanyl is a horrible, scary drug and it’s killing people. But I just talked to our urinary drug screen rep, the laboratory that we work with, and just to touch base again, this xylazine is being found in Indiana now.
Aaron Reason:
Yeah, yeah. It’s awful.
Michael Whitlock:
It’s in the fentanyl and it is a horrible killer. And so just if you’re struggling with fentanyl, please, in itself, that’s scary. But the xylazine, it’s really, really scary because it just makes so that the Narcan can’t bring some people back.
Aaron Reason:
Yeah. And I encourage people when I talk to addicts, especially the ones that are in here going through withdrawals, and it’s never to one up them, but just to let them know that they have the strength to get through this. I was intravenously using fentanyl and meth at the same time. In the streets, they call it speed balling. I was also drinking every day, and I detoxed from all of that in jail. I had no medicated assisted treatment or anything. They gave me Gatorade. They gave me Gatorade so I wouldn’t die of dehydration. But as tough as that was, I got through it. And I think that’s why I try to share that with them here is like, you don’t have to go through that. You can come to these facilities and get treated and get the assistance that we need because that’s what that’s here for.
Michael Whitlock:
Sure. Let’s touch base on that. We’ve talked a little bit about that, but if you think that you may be ready for treatment, reach out. And it doesn’t have to be to this facility. It can be any facility. Your life is worth it. If you are interested in checking out our facility or one of our outpatient clinics, we would love to serve you. We want to help you become the best version of yourself. And you can find out more information about Bridges of Hope at bhoperehab.com or at Indiana Community Addiction Network outpatient clinics at addictionsnetwork.com. But again, we’ve got listeners worldwide. Reach out and ask for help. And if you can’t do it yourself, ask a friend. You’re worth it.
Aaron Reason:
Yeah, you’re worth it and you’re not alone. I think that a lot of addicts feel like they’re alone. Like I said earlier, that’s that me against the world attitude. But you don’t have to have that, and you don’t have to accept that your life is just going to be that way. It can radically change. I’m living proof of it. A lot of the people that I work with here are living proof of it. You can have your own redemption story is what I would like to say to everybody. You can have your own redemption story. I believe in God, and I don’t believe God is a respecter of persons. What he did for me, he can do for you. And I think it’s important to stress that. And you’re right. I mean, get help. While I do think that we do have the best facility, reach out regardless and get the help that you need because it is available. So I think that’s going to end it for today and our first season, man.
Michael Whitlock:
Season one in the books.
Aaron Reason:
Awesome, man. I’ve loved working with you and I really look forward to season two.
Michael Whitlock:
Yeah.
Aaron Reason:
I can’t wait to see the guests that we bring on and continue to carry this message. So thank you to all of our listeners for listening. You guys have been amazing and thank you so much for the support and the love that you poured out to me personally and Michael as well.
Michael Whitlock:
Same.
Aaron Reason:
We are so grateful for that.
Michael Whitlock:
That’s a wrap for season one of A Reason to Live, and I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving us all your support and listening to this wonderful podcast. I want to thank my partner in crime, our host extraordinaire Aaron Reason. I want to thank our sponsors, Bridges of Hope and Indiana Community Addiction Network. We couldn’t do it without you. One final thought. As we are readying ourselves and thinking about how we want to formulate season two, I would like to tell everyone about an email address that we have, areasontolivepodcast@bhoperehab.com. Again, that’s areasontolivepodcast@ B as in boy hoperehab.com if you want to give us a thought on what you enjoyed the most, what you’d like to see in season two, just give us some feedback in general, send us a funny meme, whatever. I’m happy to see your emails. That is now live and we’re happy to be manning it and we’ll see you on season two of A Reason to Live. Thanks.