#49 Cohen Miles-Rath, MSW: Author of Mending Reality, Speaker, Mental Health Advocate

#49 Cohen Miles-Rath, MSW: Author of Mending Reality, Speaker, Mental Health Advocate

Cohen Miles-Rath [https://substack.com/profile/364366177-cohen-miles-rath] is a fellow social worker, speaker, and mental health advocate whose nearly fatal mental health crisis transformed his life and clarified his purpose: to strengthen our mental health systems and deepen our collective understanding of mental illness and recovery. He’s the author of Mending Reality: An Advocate’s Existential Journey with Mental Health. [https://a.co/d/05CYySlG] I learned about Cohen listening to his episode as guest on Armchair Expert Podcast [https://open.spotify.com/episode/6xbihAxKKq3w24T6W7qqww?si=1b771406b41d45e6]sharing his experience, strength, and hope. Not only is his story utterly incredible, but the reach he had on this platform to educate the general public about mental health and how to help someone is astounding! In this episode Cohen vulnerably discusses mental health along a spectrum, managing schizoaffective symptoms, substance misuse, family dynamics, the importance of peer support, becoming a father, and his mission as a macro level social worker. To learn more or book him for speaking engagements click on his website below. https://cohenmilesrath.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kelleykitley.substack.com [https://kelleykitley.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

#48 Christie Tate: NYT Bestselling Author and Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick, GROUP

Christie Tate [https://www.christietate.com/]is an essayist and author who writes creative nonfiction and memoir. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller Group [https://www.exileinbookville.com/item/rPCoGQ_-yAWNoTQ1_qq3Mg], [https://www.exileinbookville.com/item/rPCoGQ_-yAWNoTQ1_qq3Mg] which was a Reese’s Book Club selection and has been translated into 19 languages. She is also the author of B.F.F.-- A Memoir of Friendship Lost & Found. [https://www.exileinbookville.com/item/gQpiPqSJBXi8qOE-Y_JHqA]Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and elsewhere. Her essays have been nominated for Puschcart Prizes, and Kiese Laymon selected her essay, Promised Lands, as the winner of the New Ohio Review’s 2019 nonfiction contest. She writes about addiction, eating disorders, friendship, alienation, recovery, and her Grandma’s farm in Forreston, Texas. She grew up in Dallas and now lives in Chicago with her family. She has finally stopped telling people that she graduated first in her law school class. Please don’t hate her because she has no pets. In this episode Christie shares her experience, strength, and hope as a woman in recovery from an eating disorder, the daily tools she uses rooted in a spiritual practice, and the world’s obsession with being thin through the use of GLP-1’s especially for middle aged women, who don’t medically need it. Tate’s book’s are deeply relatable, vulnerable, and offer a refreshing perspective on how we move through this one precious life. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kelleykitley.substack.com [https://kelleykitley.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

#47 Tricia Sims: Host of Recovery Happy Hour, Pilates Instructor, Former Chef, Sober Since 2016

Tricia Sims became a sobriety podcast trailblazer in 2018 when she created the Recovery Happy Hour [https://open.spotify.com/show/3k5qkWLXzePmRGfSZZUOHL?si=f52e929ae27c4c74] podcast and since then has archived 139 episodes! Each conversation celebrates inspiring stories of recovery from alcohol addiction and gray area alcohol abuse. She and her guests look at life beyond the bottle and what's current in sober culture. Kitley was a guest on Episode #12 [https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/ep-12-surrender-kelley-kitley/id1406152548?i=1000418633649] of Recovery Happy Hour talking about the power of surrendering. Kitley and Sims reconnect years later as women in long term recovery on America’s Social Worker Unfiltered podcast. They discuss life changes as Tricia recently celebrated her 45th Birthday, heading into year 10 of recovery, a new marriage, leaving a corporate job and transitioning into teaching pilates. Tricia vulnerably lays out her drinking history starting at the age of sixteen with three shots of whiskey and the progression of her alcohol use as a high achieving, perfectionistic woman in her mid 30’s. She describes the thinking obsession around alcohol use and knowing she’d eventually have to stop drinking after witnessing the destruction and chaos substance use disorder caused her family. As we near the end of May, Mental Health Awareness Month, many of our guests have shared their experience, strength, and hope with alcohol use and their co-morbid mental health disorders, often using substances to self medicate. Tricia talks about her journey with ADHD, anxiety, how she manages her mental health today and the importance of being of service to others. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kelleykitley.substack.com [https://kelleykitley.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

#46 Riley Whelan: TikTok Recovery Creator, Recovery.com Social Media Marketing Coordinator, Young Person in Recovery

Riley Whelan [https://www.tiktok.com/discover/riley-whelan] is a prominent TikTok creator, sober advocate, and shares content about addiction recovery, ADHD, emotional sobriety, relapse, and the importance of community. Her audience grew through candid videos mixing humor, vulnerability, and recovery education. As a young person, (29 years old) with three years of recovery, one of her videos has 6.7 million views after sharing her story of relapse and hope. Riley is the Social Media Marketing Coordinator for Recovery.com [https://recovery.com/], a tech company that combines independent research with expert guidance on addiction and mental health treatment. Their mission is to help everyone find the best path to recovery through the most comprehensive, helpful network of treatment providers worldwide. In this episode Whelan shares her experience, strength, and hope identifying as an alcoholic, her journey as a young person in treatment and transitioning to sober living in Charleston, SC, family dynamics, and changing the conversation of mental health and addiction recovery through social media. Riley is inspiring the next generation of people on a sober journey and provides fresh energy with new perspective for those who have been around for a while and looking to enhance their sober journey! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kelleykitley.substack.com [https://kelleykitley.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

#45 Mary Tilson: Owner of Sun & Moon Sober Living, Recovery Coach, Retreat Leader, Podcast Host

Mary Tilson [https://sunandmoonsoberliving.com/#about]is a Certified Professional Recovery Coach (IAPRC) with a Master’s Degree in the Psychology & Neuroscience of Mental Health. She draws on a holistic background, which includes Somatic Experiencing, a body-based approach to healing trauma and stress-related disorders and over a decade of experience as a Yoga & Mindfulness Teacher. Having experienced drug and alcohol addiction firsthand, her approach to coaching is rooted in compassion and understanding. She’s been sober for 13 years and is passionate about helping others build fulfilling lives substance-free. Mary got sober at the age of twenty-three after attending treatment at Hazelden. [https://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/resources/get-sober-sil?utm_source=googleppc&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google_PPC_|_Illinois_|_Treatment_|_Branded&utm_content=Hazelden_Betty_Ford&utm_term=hazelden%20betty%20ford&customer_id=498-099-2470&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=675573599&gbraid=0AAAAAD_raImbUOk7yTMQ2_s0wH8EGWo3q&gclid=Cj0KCQjw8PDPBhCeARIsAOJwmWUcn188FeNZ744GZ1-wyC9IbEltug5NopGXi8T6Qa0A5QD58z4Az8waAgrLEALw_wcB] She then moved to Southeast Asia where she lived at a meditation center and practiced yoga and ultimately landed back in Colorado where she attended college. She’s a spiritual nomad who leads retreats for sober women around the world and hosts the Sun and Moon Sober Living Podcast. [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sun-moon-sober-living-podcast/id1603805157] In this episode, Mary shares her experience, strength and hope as a woman in recovery, working through perfectionism and anxiety, living a life in early sobriety when she thought life was going to be boring to living a life beyond her wildest imagination, climbing mountains in Nepal. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kelleykitley.substack.com [https://kelleykitley.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]