Recovery Dialogues and Sober Stories

At 80, Russell has been sober longer than most overdose-awareness campaigns have existed. He and addiction medicine physician Dr. Sylvie Stacy from Rehab.com talk mental health, addiction recovery, and the clinical insight nobody applies to self improvement after 30 years.Official RDSS websiteGoFundMe - even a dollar helpsMerch with Meaning - wear Recovery Mantras to fit your styleContent Done Write - Content for the work you're already doing well.

Mental health, self improvement, addiction recovery, and the overlooked truths about who gets care—and who doesn't. Cynthia lives with severe depression, anxiety, PTSD, and disability, and found a therapist who finally made treatment feel possible—until the funding ran out and the system offered nothing in its place. Host Antonio Matta brings in two experts—licensed counselor Laurie Groh of Shoreside Therapies for clinical insight on therapeutic continuity and ghost networks, and behavioral health access leader Rani Cholagh from Pacific Health Group on the structural gaps that keep failing the people who need care most—to examine what mental health parity enforcement, provider shortages, and coverage walls mean for real people right now.Content note: This episode discusses grief, disability, depression, PTSD, and systemic mental health access barriers. Please listen at a pace that feels safe for you.Show notes include:Cynthia's GoFundMe link | Open Path Collective | SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-4357 | RDSS GoFundMe | Merch with MeaningMessage the show, ask questions for future Q&A episodes, and more: https://recoverydialogues-soberstories.show

On the day this country celebrates independence, we asked what freedom actually means in addiction and mental health recovery. Seven real answers—from faith to found family to living fully despite an ongoing diagnosis—surface one of the most overlooked truths this show has covered all season.Official show siteGoFundMeMerch with Meaning

Mental health, addiction recovery, and self-improvement all have one overlooked truth in common: getting better is hard to do alone—and yet building new relationships may be the hardest part of recovery nobody talks about. In this solo episode, Antonio Matta breaks down why trust, connection, and attachment feel so difficult when you're living with mental illness or co-occurring disorders, and shares five evidence-based strategies to help you build, protect, and sustain the relationships your recovery depends on. If you've ever wondered whether real connection is still possible for you—this episode is your answer.Donate to City VoicesOfficial RDSS websiteGoFundMeMerch with Meaning

61.5 million Americans are living with mental illness—and nearly 30 million of them received no treatment last year. In this special Mental Health Awareness Month bonus episode, trauma-informed peer support counselor and author R. Antonio Matta reads from his spoken word album to be released soon, shares raw testimony from years of lived recovery, and makes the case that awareness without access—and clinical language without humanity—is failing the people who need help most. Season 5 of Recovery Dialogues & Sober Stories is coming, and this is where it starts.