The Inner Shift That Ends the Need to Escape with Jay Stinnett | The Hopeaholics Podcast


In this powerful and deeply reflective episode, longtime sober member, historian, spiritual teacher, and filmmaker Jay Stinnett shares an extraordinary journey that spans addiction, surrender, awakening, and a lifetime of conscious spiritual practice. With more than four decades of continuous sobriety, Jay recounts hitting bottom at a young age, walking into his first recovery meeting broken and desperate, and experiencing a profound inner shift that changed him on a cellular level. He explores addiction as a spiritual malady, the illusion that something outside ourselves can make us whole, and how true healing comes through rigorous honesty, amends, service, prayer, and meditation. The conversation weaves through raw personal stories of early recovery, sponsorship, marriage, grief, and loss, while also diving into the deeper spiritual roots of the recovery movement and the importance of conscious contact with a higher power. Jay also shares the remarkable story behind producing the award-winning documentary Bill W: Conscious Contact, including risking everything to tell a story he felt spiritually called to share. This episode is a moving testament to faith, resilience, creativity, and the idea that a fully lived life—no matter how painful or beautiful—is the greatest spiritual adventure of all.


#thehopeaholics #redemption #recovery #AlcoholAddiction #AddictionRecovery #wedorecover #SobrietyJourney #MyStory #Hope #wedorecover #treatmentcenter #natalieevamarie


Join our patreon to get access to an EXTRA EPISODE every week of ‘Off the Record’, exclusive content, a thriving recovery community, and opportunities to be featured on the podcast. https://patreon.com/TheHopeaholics


Go to www.Wolfpak.com today and support our sponsors. Don't forget to use code: HOPEAHOLICSPODCAST for 10% off!


Follow the Hopeaholics on our Socials:
https://www.instagram.com/thehopeaholics
https://linktr.ee/thehopeaholics


Buy Merch:
https://thehopeaholics.myshopify.com


Visit our Treatment Centers: https://www.hopebythesea.com
If you or a loved one needs help, please call or text 949-615-8588. We have the resources to treat mental health and addiction.


Sponsored by the Infiniti Group LLC:
https://www.infinitigroupllc.com


Timestamps:
00:01:31 - Sober Since May 2nd, 1979
00:04:43 - Alcoholism as a Spiritual Malady
00:05:20 - The First Drink and the Unitive Experience
00:08:22 - Addiction as the Illusion Something Outside Makes Us Whole
00:13:47 - Arrests, Living in a Pinto, and Knowing the Jig Was Up
00:15:53 - Told to Choose AA or Die Trying
00:17:34 - Walking Into His First AA Meeting
00:19:28 - “You Don’t Ever Have to Feel This Way Again”
00:20:28 - Changed on a Cellular Level and Never Picking Up Again
00:26:37 - Listening to the Inner Voice for the First Time
00:28:35 - First Prayer and Spiritual Surrender
00:32:09 - Sponsoring Someone at 28 Days Sober
00:36:48 - Choosing Not to Act in Pain During Marriage Crisis
01:02:05 - Betting His Home to Tell the Story

Breaking the Cycle of Addiction as a Family w/ Rafael & Nodia | The Hopeaholics Podcast


In this emotionally charged episode, Rafael and Nodia sit side by side to share a raw, multi-generational story of addiction, denial, fear, and ultimately healing. What begins as Rafael’s attempt to escape the shadow of his past and Nodia’s effort to prove control through drinking spirals into cocaine, meth, psychosis, DUIs, hospitalizations, and moments where death or prison felt inevitable. Together, they recount confrontations, crashes, paranoia, and the terrifying realization that the same disease was quietly repeating itself within their family. Through brutal honesty, they unpack the pain, resentment, and misunderstandings that once defined their relationship, and how recovery reshaped everything. This episode goes far beyond sobriety—it’s a powerful testament to accountability, forgiveness, and the life-changing impact of choosing recovery not just for yourself, but for the people you love most. It captures the fear of watching someone you love disappear and the hope that comes when they finally ask for help. Their conversation reveals how recovery can reopen communication that once felt impossible. It also shows how shared vulnerability can rebuild trust where silence and anger once lived.


#thehopeaholics #redemption #recovery #AlcoholAddiction #AddictionRecovery #wedorecover #SobrietyJourney #MyStory #Hope #wedorecover #treatmentcenter #natalieevamarie


Join our patreon to get access to an EXTRA EPISODE every week of ‘Off the Record’, exclusive content, a thriving recovery community, and opportunities to be featured on the podcast. https://patreon.com/TheHopeaholics


Go to www.Wolfpak.com today and support our sponsors. Don't forget to use code: HOPEAHOLICSPODCAST for 10% off!


Follow the Hopeaholics on our Socials:
https://www.instagram.com/thehopeaholics
https://linktr.ee/thehopeaholics


Buy Merch:
https://thehopeaholics.myshopify.com


Visit our Treatment Centers: https://www.hopebythesea.com
If you or a loved one needs help, please call or text 949-615-8588. We have the resources to treat mental health and addiction.


Sponsored by the Infiniti Group LLC:
https://www.infinitigroupllc.com


Timestamps:
00:06:06 – “I Swore I’d Never Be Like My Dad”
00:08:27 – Cocaine Enters His Life Right Before Christmas
00:09:40 – Snorting Cocaine Before a Solo Night Drive
00:11:18 – Lost on the Freeway While High and Euphoric
00:13:31 – Armed, Paranoid, and Convinced People Were After Him
00:17:52 – Parents Show Up and the Secret Is Over
00:18:35 – Selling His Businesses to Go to Rehab
00:19:44 – Finding Out He’s Having a Baby While in Rehab
00:23:59 – Smoking Crystal Meth for the First Time
00:25:49 – Trapped in a Dark House With a Naked Stranger
00:35:52 – Found Wandering the Streets in His Underwear
00:53:36 – First Drink Ends in the Hospital
00:54:38 – Second Hospitalization Sparks Resentment
00:57:37 – Crashing Into a Jail Gate During a DUI
01:01:26 – First DUI at 21 Years Old
01:02:29 – Suicidal Thoughts After Second DUI
01:04:09 – Nearly Hitting a Bus While Drunk
01:11:28 – Finally Saying “Yes” to Treatment
01:38:51 – Father Says He’s Finally Getting to Know His Daughter
01:40:05 – Realizing Her Father Was Only Trying to Help

“HEROIN ALMOST TOOK MY LIFE” w/ David Cohen | The Hopeaholics Podcast


In this powerful episode of the Hopeaholics Podcast, a raw and unfiltered story of survival takes center stage as David Cohen shares the gripping truth of his journey through addiction, chaos, and redemption. From forging prescriptions on Windows 95 to surviving a near-fatal heroin overdose that left him in a coma for days, his life spiraled through crime, crack houses, and moments where death felt inches away. But through unimaginable lows came a turning point—one sparked by family intervention, a gritty county-funded rehab, and a candlelit meeting that hit him with the same force as his first high. David’s transformation from a young man chasing destruction to a clinical leader helping others fight the same battle is nothing short of extraordinary. This episode delivers gut-wrenching honesty, dramatic moments, and the undeniable proof that recovery is real, possible, and powerful. Tune in to hear how grit, grace, and relentless willingness can pull someone from the darkest depths into a life of purpose. His story is a reminder that no one is too far gone to rise again. If you need hope, this episode delivers it in every minute.


#thehopeaholics #redemption #recovery #AlcoholAddiction #AddictionRecovery #wedorecover #SobrietyJourney #MyStory #Hope #wedorecover #treatmentcenter #natalieevamarie


Join our patreon to get access to an EXTRA EPISODE every week of ‘Off the Record’, exclusive content, a thriving recovery community, and opportunities to be featured on the podcast. https://patreon.com/TheHopeaholics


Go to www.Wolfpak.com today and support our sponsors. Don't forget to use code: HOPEAHOLICSPODCAST for 10% off!


Follow the Hopeaholics on our Socials:
https://www.instagram.com/thehopeaholics
https://linktr.ee/thehopeaholics


Buy Merch:
https://thehopeaholics.myshopify.com


Visit our Treatment Centers: https://www.hopebythesea.com
If you or a loved one needs help, please call or text 949-615-8588. We have the resources to treat mental health and addiction.


Sponsored by the Infiniti Group LLC:
https://www.infinitigroupllc.com


Timestamps:
00:19:38 – David’s Heart Stops After First Heroin Injection
00:20:12 – David Wakes Up From a 4–5 Day Overdose Coma
00:14:25 – Creating Fake Prescriptions Using Windows 95
00:17:11 – Shooting Up a Friend First to “Test” New Drugs
00:18:25 – Sliding From Pills Into Heroin and Crack Addiction
00:21:41 – Car Radiator Explodes While He’s High, Dealers Run
00:22:28 – Using His Broken Car as a “Mobile Office” to Get High
00:22:40 – Returning to Find His Car Stripped and Eventually Gone
00:23:08 – Father Confronts Him: “You’ve Changed So Much… We Don’t Know What to Do”
00:24:40 – Mother Bravely Tells Her Boss Her Son Is a Heroin Addict
00:25:58 – Candlelight AA Meeting Hits Him Like His First High
00:26:17 – David Realizes He Must Recover With Hardened Ex-Convicts
00:28:59 – Relapse Into Black Tar Heroin After Moving to Venice
00:29:25 – Waking Up Beside a Mysterious Man Who Tells Him to Go Home
00:30:26 – Returning Home in Psychosis With Only 10 Days Clean