Project Recovery KSL Podcasts

Matthew Jackson joins Casey Scott and Dr. Matt Woolley again to talk about how his life has changed after his time on the podcast three years ago, the ways his recovery has shifted, and his decision to pursue being a Substance Use Disorder / Addiction Counselor for the youth.

We also dive into how substance abuse has evolved among the youth, modalities that Matthew uses to help the youth overcome substance abuse and addiction, as well as how dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) can help introduce emotional skills to the youth that can be used to combat addictive tendencies.

In this week's episode, Casey Scott and Dr. Matt Woolley are joined by Matthew Jackson, a former BYU professor, to talk about Matthew's experimentation with substances growing up in a small town, the shame he felt after his addiction became more well-known, and how a spiritual awakening led him to experience recovery for the first time.

Then Matthew talks about his life without substance abuse, how pursuing his Ph.D. led to a reliance on caffeine, and his decision to begin abusing energy drinks and pain pills to stay focused on his goals.

Matthew also talks about the "Holy Trinity" of addiction, the events that led to his rock bottom, and what his recovery looks like now.

Scott Devine joins Casey Scott and Dr. Matt Woolley to talk about his family’s experience moving to America from Ireland to be more active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, why he found comfort in pursuing rebellious behavior throughout high school, and his decision to attend BYU-Idaho, despite continuously disobeying the Honor Code.

Scott also talks about going off the rails and having to spend Christmas and New Year’s Day in a residential facility, his experience with relapsing, and the work he put toward his sobriety that would eventually help him climb out of the hole of addiction.

 

Amy Abshere joins Casey Scott and Dr. Matt Woolley to talk about how she quickly learned that her achievements and success could lead to attention and praise when she was younger, using her successes in education and athletics to justify her substance abuse, and feeling as if her identity had been taken away after she graduated college.

We also dive into Amy’s experience with struggling to get off prescription pills following a serious injury after college, how her addiction to pain pills turned into a full-blown addiction to heroin, and why her rock bottom turned into a spiritual journey that would ultimately lead her to find recovery.

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Season 11 champion of the hit television show, 'Ultimate Fighter', and Welterweight MMA fighter, Court McGee, joins Casey Scott and Dr. Matt to talk about his experiences surrounding addiction and eventually overcoming years of struggle to ultimately become a professional UFC fighter.

Court also explains how an injury led to becoming addicted to pain pills in a week, which eventually led to a derailed college career as a wrestler and an overdose on September 9th, 2005.

He also details how he was able to find a path to sobriety after dying, only to be ruined by a single Long Island Iced Tea, leading to the worst two weeks of his life.

Court then talks about how his early love for wrestling was able to create a solid foundation to build his MMA skillset and how a loss to Jeremy Horn made him realize that he could compete in the UFC.

Lastly, we dive into the steps that eventually led him to become the champion of 'Ultimate Fighter' season 11 and how his success on TV and in the octagon helped him create the McGee Project, allowing him the opportunity to spread awareness surrounding addiction.

For more information about the McGee Project, visit courtmcgee.com/thecgeeproject.

Friend of the show, Christian Smith, joins Casey Scott and Dr. Matt Woolley to talk about the causal factors of low success rates in the recovery community, how we can increase recovery outcomes, and how insurance companies impact the cost of attending treatment centers.

Then we talk about ways we can improve the process of preparing addicts for a stint in treatment, why addicts need to open up about their struggles, and why loving who you are can help become a turning point in recovery.