The Butler Eagle's new podcast launches with recovery expert and guest speaker Congressman Mike Kelly
From left to right, Laura Crago, Joseph Mahoney, Dr. C. Thomas Brophy and Alyssa Vorrell attend the Alter Eagle event on Thursday, January 25th at Vintage Coffee House in downtown Butler. ” during the live preview. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle (01/25/24)
Kyle Prudhomme
Rep. Mike Kelly (R-16th) said his words sometimes sounded like “half-baked speeches” to his son, who suffers from a drug use disorder and is incarcerated. Ta.
“You have to know that mommy and I are there…come hell or high water, you always have a home to come back to,” he shared, telling his son I repeated what I said. “Never think that you might become someone we don't love.”
The scourge of addiction – guilt, shame, stigma and worthlessness – and conversely, the support of family and the power of relationships, will be explored Thursday, January 25th at Vintage Coffeehouse on Main Street, a project by Alter Eagle. took center stage. We released a live preview of the first episode and invited community members to a conversation with guest speaker Kelly, followed by a panel of recovery experts.
Kelly likened addiction, which rewires the brain's neural pathways, to a chronic disease like cancer that no one wants for themselves, but requires treatment, patience, and community support.
“We need to realize that these are people who really need help and no one feels worse than them,” he said. “That's the part that people don't really understand. It's what keeps you up at night and when you wake up in the morning you say, 'There's no point in getting out of bed today.'”
Dr. C. Thomas Brophy, medical director of the Ellen O'Brien Geyser Center; Executive Director Joe Mahoney. and clinical director Alyssa Vorrell discussed the neuroscience behind addiction and the intersection of mental health, trauma, and substance use. The group was later joined by Rachel Shuster, and Vorrell was replaced by podcast host Laura Crago, who spoke about bias and harm reduction.
Mahoney pointed out that 70% of youth in addiction treatment have a history of trauma, and Brophy said 70% of youth in addiction treatment have a history of trauma, from food insecurity, neglect and sexual abuse to witnessing domestic violence and divorce. He said the history may vary from person to person. Trauma, like drug use, shapes the brain, the panel argued.
Human connection came up repeatedly in their conversations, which spanned addiction, trauma, mental health, and community resources.
“Why wouldn't it work to incarcerate somebody (for an ongoing addiction), to incarcerate them for a year and a half, two years?” Dr. Brophy said. “That's because nothing was being done to realign the neural pathways…”
“It takes effort, it takes time, it takes support, it takes community,” he says. “Addiction doesn't happen in silos. And addiction affects everyone in a community. So it really takes the entire community to participate in that healing.”
Mahoney said treating addiction holistically means looking at the mind, body and spirit.
“We have physical health, behavioral health, mental health, emotional health, spiritual health and social health,” Vorrell said. “All of these assets are most likely to be destroyed during addiction…We treat all of these aspects of recovery in so many different ways.”
Comprehensive treatment of addiction includes bringing the family into the conversation.
“We are all products of our families,” Mahoney said. “We have to bring families together, but it's going to look different for everyone, because not everyone has the traditional nuclear family unit that we're talking about. So for some people, working together as a family unit becomes friends in the community that we can turn to for support.”
Family and home environment also shape how people express prejudice, Mahoney said.
“Bias comes from learned behaviors from generations before us about what is appropriate and inappropriate to talk about,” he said.
Shuster says stigma permeates our language, influences the way drug use and addiction recovery is discussed, and affects how clinicians and nurses treat addicts. He pointed out that there is a possibility.
She pointed out that the word addict should be avoided when describing someone with an addiction.
“It's a label, and a person's entire identity is wrapped up in that word,” she said before the event. “We all wear so many hats. You know, I'm not just a mom, I'm not just a sister, I'm not just a registered nurse. I wear so many different hats. But that label doesn't describe me as a complete person.”
Instead, Shuster opts for “individual-first” language and uses terms such as “person with a substance use disorder” and “person who uses drugs.”
“This diagnosis has taken away a lot of shame,” she said. “And shame is what makes us sick.”
“When you think about stigma, I think a lot of times it's historical,” Mahoney said. “These are topics that never would have happened 50 years ago, 40 years ago, 20 years ago. People would not have gathered together to hear stories about addiction.”
Please tune in
Season 1 of Alter Eagle's podcasts features Rep. Kelly, Dr. Brophy, Rep. Mahoney, Rep. Vorrell, Rep. Shuster, elected officials, and people in recovery. The first episode features Brophy and Mahoney and will be available on all streaming platforms on February 5th.
The first season of the podcast will help educate the public about drug use and highlight important voices in the conversation, said Tammy Shuey, Butler Eagle general manager and Ellen O'Brien Geyser Center board member. said.
As the number of overdose deaths in Butler County rises in the midst of the opioid epidemic, garnering countless headlines, Shuey said, “We cannot stand by and do nothing.”
“Addiction knows no limits,” Shuey said. “It affects so many people in our community and we don’t want anyone to suffer from addiction.”
From left: Laura Crago, Joseph Mahoney, Dr. C. Thomas Brophy, Alyssa Vorrell and Rachel Shuster watch a live preview of “Alter Eagle” at Vintage Coffee House in downtown Butler. . Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle (01/25/24)
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An Alter Eagle Podcast sign sits on a table before a live preview Thursday, Jan. 25, at Vintage Coffee House in downtown Butler. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle (01/25/24)
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Eagle podcast producer Laura Crago smiles while being introduced during Alter Eagle's live preview Thursday, Jan. 25, at Vintage Coffee House in downtown Butler. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle (01/25/24)
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Eagle podcast producer Laura Crago speaks with her hands during a live preview of The Alter Eagle on Thursday, Jan. 25, at Vintage Coffee House in downtown Butler. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle (01/25/24)
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Eagle podcast producer Laura Crago speaks with U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-16) during a live preview of Alter Eagle on Thursday, Jan. 25, at Vintage Coffee House in downtown Butler. ) are listening carefully. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle (01/) 25/24)
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From left, Butler Eagle General Manager Tammy Shuey and Eagle Podcast Producer after Alter Eagle's live segment at Vintage Coffee House in downtown Butler on Thursday, January 25th. U.S. Congressman Mike Kelly (16-year-old Republican) chats with Laura Crago. .Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle (01/25/24)
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Eagle Podcast Producer Laura Crago leads the conversation during a live preview of The Alter Eagle on Thursday, January 25th at Vintage Coffee House. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle (01/25/24)
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Rachel Shuster speaks during a live preview of “Alter Eagle” Thursday, Jan. 25, at Vintage Coffee House in downtown Butler. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle (01/25/24)
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Eagle podcast producer Laura Crago ponders her thoughts before the second part of a live preview of The Alter Eagle on Thursday, Jan. 25, at Vintage Coffee House in downtown Butler. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle (01/25/24)
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Joseph Mahoney talks about stigma during a live preview of Alter Eagle on Thursday, January 25th at Vintage Coffee House. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle (01/25/24)
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U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-16) speaks during a live preview of “Alter Eagle'' at Vintage Coffee House in downtown Butler on Thursday, January 25th. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle (01/25/24)
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Rachel Shuster listens intently from the audience during a live preview of “Alter Eagle” at Vintage Coffee House in downtown Butler on Thursday, Jan. 25. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle (01/25/24)
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Empty seats for hosts before a live preview of “Alter Eagle” on Thursday, Jan. 25, at Vintage Coffee House in downtown Butler. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle (01/25/24)
Kyle Prudhomme
