This week Jessica sits down to share her journey through addiction and into recovery. Like so many others, Jessica started experimenting with al...
You are not alone
The Team at Our Collective Journey is here to help.

We know how the isolation and darkness of Mental Health, Addiction and other issues can impact your life. We have fought this Darkness that has brought us to the brink of taking our own lives. We are here to help with a level of understanding unparalleled. We are here to help bring you out of that darkness because someone was there to help us when we needed it. Someone seen us bigger then we seen ourselves when it was a struggle to keep going. Let us be there for you.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE… Please Reach Out
Social Contagion of Recovery w/ Dr. David Best
We are honoured to have this week guest join the show. With credentials and a resume too long to list, Dr. David Best undoubtedly brings a wealt...
Exploring Recovery Journeys with a Clinical Social Worker
This week Amber and Ryan welcome Rhonda Hayward to the show. Rhonda is a clinical social worker who’s been in the field for close to 30 years. T...
Where Old Meets New
A lot of recovery in the room today! Rick and Ryan welcome Cal and Chris to the studio as they share some of their recovery stories. One has 42 ...
Euphoric AF
This week Amber and Ryan welcome Karolina Rzadkowolska to the show. Karolina is a certified alcohol-free life coach who helps intuitive women ma...
Is there a Difference Between Being Clean and/or Sober and Being in Recovery?
In recovery, clean, and sober are all words or phrases that are thrown around a lot and used interchangeably, especially by those in the community of substance user... Read more
MY ADDICTIONS AWARENESS WEEK POST
TO ANYONE STRUGGLING WITH ADDICTIONS AND/OR MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES. I LOVE YOU, RECOVERY IS POSSIBLE AND YOUR WORTH THE WORK. I SPENT APPROXIMATELY 26 YEARS OF MY LIF... Read more
A Message Of Hope
I am sharing a message of hope today for a world wracked by anxiety and fear, both of which can only lead to deep feelings of depression. I have had much experience... Read more
Today – my life is completely different
Recovery Series: Personal Story
I always like to call my childhood average. I grew up in a middle class home, neither rich nor poor….my parents are still marr... Read more
Recovery Series: Personal Story
I was a functional alcoholic for over 25 years, and my addiction was dressed up in social acceptability. I loved to go to wineries, microbreweries, and local distil... Read more
My Recovery Journey…
I grew up in fear of my father. He was extremely abusive to my Mother in every way and this spilled over onto me and my siblings as well. He was and still is alcoho... Read more
The Magic of shared Experience
“What an important week indeed and very dear to my heart! I have recently been struggling for my life, plagued with addiction. Too afraid to reach out and ask for h... Read more
A Life Worth Living
“I grew up a teenage daughter of a mother who suffered from severe depression which resulted in an opioid addiction as a means of coping. This then resulted in the ... Read more
Doing it Alone Didn't Work
“I am a 39-year-old partner, father, and a friend. Everyday I battle my anxiety, my depression, my post concussion syndrome, PTSD and a speech impediment. To deal w... Read more
A Prisoner in My Own Mind
“I was born and raised in Medicine Hat, the middle daughter of 3. I grew up in an alcohol free home. I often heard stories of alcoholic relatives and was aware that... Read more
Wherever I went, I was there...
Although my parents did the best they knew how, I learned at a very young age that Its not okay to be who I am. To express myself meant shaming, belittling, anger a... Read more
Asking For Help is not Weakness
“In 2018 I tried to kill myself. I can count on one hand the amount of people I’ve ever said that to, and I can promise you that I’ve never shared that with anyone ... Read more
A Journey to Mental Wellness
“I feel like throughout my 35 years of life, I cannot remember a time I wasn’t struggling with mental health issues. It goes as far back as I can remember and start... Read more
"Framing a Pathway Forward" CMHA Day a huge success!
This day-long event was intended to help our community frame a pathway forward in healing through messages of HOPE.
We heard from a wide variety of individual... Read more
Compliance vs. Surrender
There are two ways we can approach recovery: by simply complying with what is being asked of us, or surrendering our power. In our experience, individuals who surre... Read more
Problem vs Solution
I absolutely had no idea that my drinking was a problem. I drank like most of the people around me. I thought it was normal. Enter drugs. Back in my using days, I d... Read more
The Power of Shared Experience
We received this feedback after a listener explored Podcast Episode 12 of From Darkness to Life. After obtaining his consent, we wanted to share it. His feedback il... Read more
Once COVID Hit, Things Got Worse
"Thirteen, thirteen is when it started; thirteen is when I got drunk for the first time, thirteen is when I smoked my first joint, thirteen is when I started e... Read more
Too Smart for her Own Good
"When people say, “she’s too smart for her own good,” I really feel a connection to that. Growing up, I was an army brat, the middle child born to a loving but... Read more
Spiritual Black Hole
“Many of us resemble the drug addict in our ineffectual efforts to fill in the spiritual black hole, the void at the center, where we have lost touch with our souls... Read more
The Late Bloomer
"I didn’t come from a home that had drinking as a part of it. I had two loving parents and I grew up feeling loved, valued and cherished. In 2003, though, I ha... Read more
Addiction After my Mother's Suicide
"I am the youngest child of three and since I can remember I have been seeking everyone’s approval so that I could feel comfortable being myself. I’ll be hones... Read more
Small Town Living
"Growing in up in a small town, my early life was ripe with family, athletic events, recreation, and church attendance. I had a father who worked hard and prov... Read more
I Realized I was Different
"Growing up my life was pretty normal. My parents were both drinkers and they were what you would call “functioning alcoholics”.
The household was a pret... Read more
OCD, Opression and Addiction
"I grew up in a great family environment. A loving, caring mom with patience of gold. A dad who loved me, played sports with me and taught me many things. They... Read more
I am a Survivor
“Growing up and only child in a home with an alcoholic mother and alcoholic father was at times very lonely, very scary and a whole lot chaotic. I remember very wel... Read more
I Needed a Drink at 6
"I started drinking at the age of 12. I think I needed one at the age of 6. That is about how far back I can remember where I didn’t feel like how other people... Read more
Surviving my Brother's Suicide
"I can still remember that day, the smells, the way the room felt, the warmth of that summer day at the beginning of August, 3 weeks before my 12th birthday. T... Read more