Rise Above with Kevin Lanning

Mike Debany was a fast-talking sales guy living what looked like the good life in South Florida — a fiancée, a baby on the way, money in the bank. Underneath it he was already an addict, having found his way from marijuana to the pill mills of South Florida, where a doctor in a parking lot would hand out 180 Xanax and 90 Roxys to anyone who waited long enough. Then on October 18, 2010, everything changed. Driving a Jeep overloaded with cinder blocks over a bridge under construction, he rolled the vehicle. The cinder blocks came through the windshield. He was airlifted to the hospital, spent roughly 18 hours in surgery, and didn't wake up for nearly six weeks. When he came to, one of his vocal cords was crushed, his legs had atrophied, and his right arm no longer worked — an arm he would have to amputate a year later. But as Mike tells it, the accident isn't the story. He woke up already on morphine, Dilaudid and Ativan — and what followed was years of full-blown opiate addiction, a vicious slide into heroin once the pill supply dried up, and the loss of his fiancée, his daughter, and nearly everything else. Now 7 years sober, Mike has rebuilt his relationship with his now 15-year-old daughter, bought a home, built a business, and lives a life centered on service — going to a meeting every day, sponsoring others, and carrying the message into detoxes and hospitals. This one is about how recovery is possible even when the odds are completely stacked against you. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/rise-above/ #RiseAbove #OpioidRecovery #HeroinRecovery #7YearsSober #RecoveryIsPossible #AddictionRecovery#SoberLife #Amputee #PillMill #MensRecovery #SobrietyJourney #MentalHealth #FatherhoodInRecovery#RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #MikeDebany #ServiceWork #AgainstAllOdds #SoberDad #OneMoreThing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the outside Christie Green looked like she had it all together. A successful career, a wide circle of friends, the person who sent the thank-you cards and remembered everyone's birthday. Nobody saw the high-functioning drinking underneath, or the grief, divorce and decades of quiet pain she was masking with it. Christie lost her hair to alopecia as a child and spent years building humor and achievement into armor so no one would look too closely. She lost her mother six years ago and describes that grief as the catalyst that sent the next chapter of her life into a tailspin. She went through a divorce, multiple miscarriages, and a long stretch of self-medicating just to avoid sitting with her own feelings. Then on one bad night out she slammed a door in a stranger's face in a crowded bar, walked home, and woke up the next morning knowing she was done. She caught herself at the crossroads. This March she celebrated one year alcohol-free. In this honest and reflective episode Christie talks about high-functioning drinking, grief, learning to sit with hard emotions instead of numbing them, and the journaling and self-worth work that carried her through her first year sober. This one is for everyone who looks fine on the outside and is quietly struggling underneath. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/rise-above/?utm_source=rise%20above&utm_medium=social%20media&utm_campaign=june #RiseAbove #SoberLife #1YearSober #HighFunctioningAlcoholic #AlcoholFree #SobrietyJourney#GriefAndHealing #WomenInRecovery #Alopecia #RecoveryIsPossible #MentalHealth #SelfWorth #SoberCurious#RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #ChristieGreen #GettingSober #Journaling #OneDayAtATime #OneMoreThing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Betty Guadagno was born into a long line of addicts — poverty, chaos, eviction notices in red envelopes, and sexual trauma she carried as a small child. By 11 she was mixing drinks behind a stranger's bar. By 15 she was smoking methamphetamine. And for the next 20 years drugs were the only thing that made her feel powerful, beautiful and safe. By the end she was a homeless meth addict who had lost 100 pounds in three months, lost most of her teeth, and was manipulating and prostituting other women to fund her addiction. She had been through over a dozen detoxes and rehabs. Her own cousin — who had come forward about the same family abuse — died of a heroin overdose three days before her 21st birthday. Then Betty overdosed on her bathroom floor. And had a near-death experience that changed everything. She says she met God, was told she was worthy of all the love in the universe, and was forced into a recovery she never asked for. Now 7 years sober Betty is married to a man she met in the rooms, works as a coach helping others break free, and is living a life she never thought was possible. This one is for anyone who believes they are too far gone, too broken, or too unworthy to ever come back. 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week📲 Follow Betty: @goodentvgloomy Betty Guadagno was born into a long line of addicts — poverty, chaos, eviction notices in red envelopes, and sexual trauma she carried as a small child. By 11 she was mixing drinks behind a stranger's bar. By 15 she was smoking methamphetamine. And for the next 20 years drugs were the only thing that made her feel powerful, beautiful and safe.By the end she was a homeless meth addict who had lost 100 pounds in three months, lost most of her teeth, and was manipulating and prostituting other women to fund her addiction. She had been through over a dozen detoxes and rehabs. Her own cousin — who had come forward about the same family abuse — died of a heroin overdose three days before her 21st birthday.Then Betty overdosed on her bathroom floor. And had a near-death experience that changed everything. She says she met God, was told she was worthy of all the love in the universe, and was forced into a recovery she never asked for.Now 7 years sober Betty is married to a man she met in the rooms, works as a coach helping others break free, and is living a life she never thought was possible.This one is for anyone who believes they are too far gone, too broken, or too unworthy to ever come back.📲 Follow Betty: @goodentvgloomy If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #RiseAbove #WomenInRecovery #7YearsSober #MethRecovery #HeroinRecovery #RecoveryIsPossible#AddictionRecovery #NearDeathExperience #SoberLife #TraumaRecovery #FaithAndRecovery #SobrietyJourney#MentalHealth #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #BettyGuadagno #FromHomelessToHealed #SpiritualAwakening #GodSavedMe #OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matthew Polimeno was six years old when he climbed into his mother's bed and woke up next to her body. She had gotten sober through AA. Then a car accident led to an OxyContin prescription. And then she was gone. Growing up without her Matthew watched his father hold everything together while carrying a grief nobody talked about. He went to AA meetings as a kid without understanding why. And then at 16 he had his first drink — and immediately understood exactly what his mother had been chasing. By his worst stretch Matthew was drinking a liter and a half of vodka every single night. Shaking so badly at work he could barely function. Googling urgent cares while blackout drunk at 1pm on a Sunday. By some miracle a substance abuse hotline appeared in his search results instead. Now 16 months sober Matthew is doing the work — the steps the sponsor the hard look in the mirror — and building a life he never thought was possible. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #RiseAbove #SoberLife #16MonthsSober #AlcoholRecovery #RecoveryIsPossible #AddictionRecovery#ChildOfAnAddict #OxycodoneOverdose #GriefAndAddiction #MentalHealth #SobrietyJourney #WomenInRecovery#LGBTQSober #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #MatthewPolimeno #MomInRecovery #GenerationalTrauma#FunctioningAlcoholic #OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Luedke had it all on paper — a scholarship to Michigan State, a successful father, a big house, and every material thing a kid could want. But underneath it all, he was drowning. His parents' affair and messy seven-year divorce left him as the emotional middleman between two broken people. He got cut from the basketball team. He lost his identity. And he spent the next decade eating, drinking, using cocaine, nitrous oxide, and anything else he could find to fill the hole. At his heaviest, John weighed 315 pounds. By his senior year, he was paying people to take his classes, doing coke in Cabo while being held at gunpoint by cartel members, and surviving a campus mass shooting — all while telling himself he had it under control. He got sober on January 1st, 2024. He was 22 years old. In this raw and honest episode of Rise Above, John shares: Growing up privileged while quietly falling apart after his parents' divorce Getting cut from basketball and losing the only identity he had Paying people to take his classes while drinking and drugging through COVID Surviving the Michigan State campus shooting and what those hours of terror felt like Being held at gunpoint by cartel members in Cabo at 5am — the moment everything changed Going from 315 pounds to 196 through fitness, sobriety, and deep inner work How journaling, meditation and therapy helped him finally face the root causes Writing his book to help other young men who are suffering in silence This one is for every young guy out there who looks fine on the outside but is completely lost on the inside. 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week 📲 Follow John Luedke: find him on Instagram and check out his book If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #RiseAbove #CollegeAddiction #SoberAt23 #CocaineAddiction #WeightLossJourney #MichiganStateShooting#AddictionRecovery #SoberLife #MensmentalHealth #RecoveryIsPossible #GenZSober #YoungAndSober #75Hard#TraumaAndRecovery #SobrietyJourney #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #JohnLuedke #CartelStory#OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jordan Freeman had everything going for him — loving parents, a spot at one of the top business schools in the country, varsity baseball, and a bright future. But behind closed doors, he was ordering Xanax off the dark web, gambling with money he didn't have, blacking out and not remembering a single thing from the night before — and calling it normal. By his sophomore year at Indiana University, Jordan was locked in his apartment alone, blinds down, friends knocking on the door, completely lost. He didn't want to die. He just couldn't see any hope left. Now, coming up on 5 years clean from drugs and gambling and nearly 3 years alcohol-free, Jordan is finishing his Masters in Social Work at NYU and helping others find the path he fought so hard to find himself. In this raw and honest episode of Rise Above, Jordan shares: Ordering fentanyl-laced Xanax off the dark web in high school and college How gambling consumed every dollar, every thought, and every relationship The day he sat his parents down and finally said "I can't stop — I need help" Three months in treatment in Orange County and what actually changed Why he relapsed on alcohol nine months in — and how he came back stronger What it really looks like to get sober in your early twenties How he's now guiding families and individuals through the recovery process If you're a young person who thinks addiction could never happen to you — this episode is for you. 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week 📲 Follow Jordan Freeman: @blueprintbyjordan (TikTok & Instagram) If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #RiseAbove #CollegeAddiction #GamblingAddiction #SoberLife #XanaxAddiction #DarkWeb #RecoveryIsPossible#GenZSober #AddictionRecovery #YoungAndSober #GamblersAnonymous #SobrietyJourney #MentalHealth#RecoveryCoach #SocialWork #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #JordanFreeman #FentanylAwareness#OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin Parker had everything stripped from him — his health, his freedom, his leg, and nearly his life. After a night that started with a family intervention and ended with him face-down in his own vomit, Kevin flatlined three times, spent three weeks in a coma, developed sepsis, gangrene in all four limbs, multi-organ failure, and woke up an amputee. The doctors said he'd be brain dead. They said he'd never walk. They said he'd never use his hand again. He proved every single one of them wrong. In this raw and powerful episode of Rise Above, Kevin shares: The morning of his overdose and what led up to it Waking from a coma to find out he'd lost his left leg How he went from atheist to finding God in that hospital bed Learning to walk again in 2 months (doctors said 2 years) How he regained nerve-damaged hand function through sheer will His journey from concrete laborer and drug dealer to certified recovery coach and motivational speaker Why he believes addiction is a spiritual search — not a moral failure If you're in your first 90 days, deep in it, or loving someone who is — this episode is for you. 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week 📲 Follow Kevin Parker: @thekevinjparker (Instagram) | Recovery Warrior 33 (TikTok) 📩 Email: truewarriorssuccess@gmail.com If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #RiseAbove #AddictionRecovery #SoberLife #RecoveryCoach #OverdoseSurvivor #14YearsSober #Amputee#SecondChance #SobrietyStory #HeroinRecovery #OpioidCrisis #TrueWarrior #RecoveryIsPossible#MentalHealth #SpiritualAwakening #PodcastInterview #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #KevinParker#OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Courtney Janssen grew up in a farm town outside Chicago watching domestic abuse and drinking become "normal." By 12 she had her first drink. By her twenties she was doing cocaine daily to survive double shifts bartending in Nashville. Then she impulsively married a man she barely knew — in Vegas, hours after he fled an undercover detective — and woke up pregnant, broke, and trapped in a verbally abusive marriage while feds surveilled her house. The morning federal agents kicked in her door with guns drawn, her daughter was two months old and she was still breastfeeding. This is the story of how she climbed out of it all — postpartum psychosis, divorce lawyers weaponizing her past, years of sobriety — and is now building a sober nightlife concept in South Florida. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #sobriety #recoveryispossible #addiction #soberlife #cocainerecovery #postpartumdepression#domesticabuse #survivorstory #mentalhealthmatters #sobercommunity #addictionrecovery #traumarecovery#truecrime #podcast #womeninsober Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices