National Recovery Day: Nick The Poet

Hi, folks, how are you today? This is Nick the poet. And I wanted to go live because I found out that it's national recovery Day, and National Recovery Day celebrates people who have been in long term sobriety recovery from, I think it's alcohol, drugs, and behavioral addictions. And so I've been in long term recovery. I've been sober from drugs and alcohol since September or, excuse me, June 15, 2012. And just wanted to share, you know, a little bit about that experience that might help you if you're someone who's, who's going through, you know, some of that stuff and also maybe give you an understanding of, you know, how you can support your loved ones, friends, coworkers who are going through that, that same thing.

And it's, you know, it's, it's really tough right now. There's, there's, you know, so many people who are passing away because right before our eyes, because of the addictions and mental health and these invisible illnesses. And that's why I feel, you know, more than ever, the message that Cadre is offering is, is really important. And, you know, kind of two main themes, you know, came to me as I was thinking about this. And number one is to ask for help, right? Like, we cannot do this on, on our own.

You know, it's like the definitions of, definition of insanity is trying to solve a problem with the same mind that created it. So we, you know, in my experience, we can't recover by ourselves. We need the community, you know, we need, whether that's here on the Cadre platform, you know, whether it's twelve step groups, you know, for me personally, thank you, Alec, so much. And he just said thank you for being a leader in this space. And yeah, it's something that I'm really passionate about, you know, and coming from a twelve step background, which is the kind of anonymous, you know, programs, it's like they're, God, they, it's changed my life, right, these, the twelve step programs.

And I think there's such a space for the anonymous nature of it. There's a reason that it's that way so people can be comfortable sharing. And there's the spiritual principle of anonymity as well, which kind of gets us outside of ourselves and like, gets us doing kind acts for others. But there's like, with that anonymity too, there's like, you know, maybe can't share as freely, you know, sometimes. And so I think we're all learning, you know, as we go and as the Internet age has become, you know, very Luke says, nick, we love you, brother.

So proud of you and the changes you made. Thank you, you know, so much. And Luke has been someone who's been there from the beginning, you know, and seen me, you know, when I was really struggling with these, these mental health challenges and these addictions. And so it's what I'm saying here with, with my background as, you know, I've gotten help with the twelve steps. I've gotten, you know, therapy, psychology, you know, life coaching, you know, spirituality, you know, religion, all this different stuff.

And so I just encourage you, if you're struggling, to ask for help because there's so much help available and it doesn't have to look the same, you know, for everyone. Different strokes for different folks, you know? But the one thing is that I really believe is you can't do it alone if you're. You're kind of screwed if you're alone. I call it Nick island. And when I was, you know, drinking and when I was having my mental health problems, I was on my own island. I wasn't listening to anyone. And, you know, so that's the first thing, is to ask for help.

And then once you ask for help, life gets so much better. So much healing can occur, you know, it's amazing, like, when you're in the throes of these problems, you know, but I've witnessed so many miracles around me, and so I just believe in the power of connection and the power of healing and know that wherever you're at, that things can change. Things can change, you know, so much and life can get so much better. And so I would just encourage you to ask for help. And then the other thing is that once you learn that muscle of asking for help, you need to keep doing it.

Because part of recovery, in my experience, is that, like, as life gets better and better and better, like, things keep coming up, right? You know, I used to be a cigarette smoker, right? And so that was a big thing to you, you know, that came out like, God, I've quit drinking. I've quit smoking marijuana. It's like, I gotta quit smoking these cigarettes. They're killing me. So that was another thing to uncover, you know, discover and discard and, you know, and now it can be, you know, different fears, it can be different, you know, anxieties, career stuff, relationship stuff.

And so that needing help doesn't stop that discovery process of who you are as a sober person doesn't stop just because. Doesn't stop just because you've made the choice to be sober. It's like we keep needing that help and I think it can be really easy, especially for people who've been sober for a while, like, and life is going well, it's like it's easy to quit doing the things that got us there. And so I'm a really back to the basics guy, too, which has helped my recovery of, like, do the stuff that works and then add on to it, grow from there and, and make those changes.

And so I really see this, this Cadre platform as an opportunity to connect and deliver these real experiences, you know, that we're talking about right from people who've gone through them. And so I was just compelled to hop on today and just, you know, share a little bit about where I'm at. And life has gotten so good. And at the same time, I'm excited to continue this healing journey because I don't know, you know, where it's going to lead. And that's a very exciting thing. Like, I want it to keep going.

You know, there's a saying in the twelve step community, how free do you want to be? You know, how happy, joyous and free do you want to be? And so I want to keep doing the work. I want to keep doing the work on this platform, you know, with you. And I would love if you would reach out to me. I'm going to keep saying this at the end of all my lives, and I haven't got an email yet, but please reach out to me. Ethan, thank you for chiming in. Ethan's one of our awesome app developers. So what you're seeing right now, this awesome live stream experience, Ethan and Alec have helped put that together.

And maybe I'll just take a quick opportunity to highlight some of the other, you know, presenters on this app. We have Risa Costas, who's absolutely amazing. She went live this morning and has such a powerful message of transformation that she's been through and is a fashion guru. So definitely, you know, follow her lives when they come up. And then we have doctor Carrie Manke, who is amazing, amazing. And she is a coach and she's worked through so much trauma and has helped so many people to overcome this.

You don't want to miss her live streams. And Evan Lieberman, also known as Evan, the counselor who had a live earlier about arranged marriages, which was super fascinating. He is an awesome mental health and addiction counselor who is super funny and just approaches things in a really fresh and humorous way. And then if you haven't seen the catch it on Cadre podcast, that also is totally amazing. Our host, James Roden, has interviewed some outstanding people, and our video production specialist, Kyle Peterson, has been there every step of the way.

And Katie Donovan is a total leader in the parents of addicted loved ones space. She fills auditoriums and stages across the country, and we're lucky enough to have her presenting on our app. And so, I know I'm, I'm forgetting some. And we have new collaborators that are coming, you know, all the time to the platform. So, anyways, you could tell I'm, you know, a bit excited about this stuff, but I just seen more and more the opportunity that we have to, you know, to help and to heal and to keep growing.

So thanks for taking this time to listen today. I hope you have a peaceful and positive weekend. Okay. Bye.