Michael pt.2: Recovery: How to Become a Guy on the Giving-Back Side

This is the second and final episode of Michael Stewart's story. He had beaten his craving for drugs and gotten into one of the very few programs that treat mental illness and drug use. Which meant, the hardest part was about to begin. This is how Michael traveled the long, twisting road of recovery, rebuilding his life to become an outreach specialist - the guy on the giving-back side.

The episode producer was psychiatrist Mark Ragins. He has written an excellent book entitled "Journeys Beyond the Frontier: A Rebellious Guide to Psychosis and Other Extraordinary Experiences." You can order it at your local bookstore or his website, markragins.com.

Michael started his recovery at River Community, the very first residential treatment program for dual diagnosis in the United States. You can find out more about it at rivercommunityazusa.com.  

Michael trained for peer support and then worked at Project Reach Peer Support Network. Learn about them and the unique power of peer support at prpsn.org.  

Both of those organizations are in southern California. If you want to find out about programs near you, go to the Treatment Advocacy Center's helpline at TAC.org/helpline. There, you can fill out a quick confidential form with your request and get an answer in 1-3 days. It's not for a crisis response, but they are a trustworthy resource.  

Let us hear from you! Tell us your reaction to this episode. You can leave a text or regular old confidential voice message at (424) 240-9302. If you have a detailed story, it's even better to email us an audio message to brainstoriesproductions@gmail.com.