Jason Coombs: Recovery & Resilience | Ever Onward - Ep. 30

If you haven't read it , I'd highly recommend it to anyone . It gives practical , evidence-based guidance on how to help someone that's going through addiction and recovery . He's got another long list of things that he's done and a master's in helping people and social work and also is on the speaker circuit .

He's now doing corporate events to help people with wellness . Again , longtime friend , longtime community leader , welcome to the podcast today , jason Coombs . Buddy Broski man , it's good to see you . It's good to see you . It's good to see you . I get emotional already , man , thank you for all you do for our family and for everyone . You're a great person .

You know that . Thank you , it's interesting . So Jason Coombs joins us today . Again , I'll read a whole bio on you before , but it's going to be great to have you on today . But you've helped me so many times , so many different ways , that it's pretty emotional when I see you walking in here today . How are you doing ?

But we also do deal with , obviously , obviously , the heart side , the heart side right .

But you had your own past of going through some addiction and some lows and found yourself in some places you didn't ever think you'd be and make yourself out . But flash forward to when I met you , you had just come to town 10 years ago with this dream and vision of helping other people and starting Brickhouse Recovery .

Tell us about that journey and then your book . I mean , there's a lot of people I don't know have listened to you before on this . I'd love to . I'd love to hear that . And then I've got some very specific things I want to chat with you about . But give us a little .

Get us up to speed from , like , just Brickhouse and how things are going and what , what , the , what the latest is with you absolutely .

That does include nights and weekends and holidays , which is cool , and the idea of being a person in long-term recovery is beyond me , because there were days that I had conceded that I would die addicted to drugs and alcohol and my entry point into that world came through an injury .

And it's interesting because we think that somebody who blows out their knee in soccer in high school like myself you know somebody who blows out their knee in soccer in high school , like myself gets hooked on Percocet that are prescribed to you , versus someone who goes through the exact same thing and doesn't get hooked on that medication .

There is something that's fascinating about substance use disorder and the disease in the mind and in the brain , and it truly is an allergy . So the definition of an allergy is you have an abnormal reaction to whatever that is , whether it's peanuts . That person breaks out in symptoms , the symptoms of someone with this disease . This allergy is two-pronged .

The first one is once you ingest it , it ignites something inside where you are driven to want more . It is a solution to a lot of the co-occurring disorders , whether it's ADHD , whether it's anxiety disorder , depression or bipolar it . It kind of helps , you know , shave off some of the rough edges of that .

Yes , whether that's dopamine pathways , whether that's whatever it is , it does something that you're like oh , that was different and that helps me , versus someone like me , which is exactly the opposite . It's like I feel horrible , right , and that distinguishing thing drives behaviors and I don't think people realize that that are not , have not experienced .

But I'm getting to the point now . As I get older , I think every sphere , almost every family , almost every people know people that have struggled with addiction . So I think it's becoming easier to talk about . I think , don't you think I do .

I think it used to be like taboo of , oh , you had this or you don't have that , but the more , the more experience I get in my life .

I think almost everyone's sphere of , of influence in their circle , their family , has had addictions and I think that people are becoming more aware of hey , I'm lucky that I had the aversion and didn't have the other reaction . I love your allergy analogy because it's like that's what it is right .

That's right and so you have knee surgery , you have this thing , and then it's like , oh wow .

Is there's this insanity of the mind , or the phenomenon of this , the idea where all consequences go out the window and you get this tunnel vision and you just are driven by the midbrain and it overrides all the prefrontal cortex stuff . And so how do you reverse that ?

Well , that's where recovery comes in , that's where support systems come in and they literally act as your prefrontal cortex and say , hey , that's not the best idea to go get engaged with someone that's two weeks sober , or , you know , jump into a roommate situation where someone's toxic . It's kind of like , hey , let's , let's rally around each other and help .

And so I went through that myself and and it's been quite a journey through the process .

Right , I mean , it's work , it's your life's duty , right , that's what you're doing for all these people . But it's hard to's duty right , that's what you're doing for all these people .

But it's hard to right , yeah , cause it involves so many different things to get people clear and free of past relationships that may be toxic and get them into a situation where they're able to rewire and and change the way that they think and the way that their brain works Right , and then and then they experience sobriety and talk us through that a little bit

of how witnessing that over and over goes for you .

There's an entry point and I take this from the book Atomic Habits from James Clear , and we really try to help our clients at Brickhouse identify what the entry points are to these lifelong habits and so an entry point he gives this analogy of a choreographer , a dance choreographer named Twyla Tharp , who in her 80s is still dancing every single day and she speaks

to the habit is not going to the studio and dancing . The habit is putting on her dance clothing and hailing the cab at the curb . And once she completes that the cab and getting dressed for dancing then she has accomplished the habit and then the rest kind of takes care of itself .

And so identifying entry points to recovery and getting into these rhythms that's what will change the brain is through action and I think people think it's so hard .

But when you look at it in context of where the person's at , if they're willing and they're not pushing up against it and don't want to change , like if they want to change it's more of like a flow and a surrender and a willingness to just allow the healing process to take place and all the distractions that come in and pepper you .

Those are really where the hard work is is saying no to this , saying no to that , saying no to them and just being a part of the healing process

.

I just sat taking notes the whole time . But and then I had read Atomic Habits before , but I reread it after you came and this idea of systems or flow or whatever you talk about , like , let's talk a little bit more about that , because I think all too often this idea of a list of things I'm going to do these , these , these and it leads to failures .

Well , I haven't done that . And the concept with the Atomic Habits is no , create a system of success . For her , it was hailing the cab , it was getting dressed and that was the thing that then you know , for me it's where my alarm goes off in the morning , it's my morning routine . It's trying to do that as often as I can .

I'm not perfect , but I've got systems in place to make myself more successful than not . But one of the questions I was going to ask you long , long , long backstory here , but talk about what that feels like for people , whether you're recovering from an addiction or you're just trying to be successful and change your habits in life .

As a business person that a lot of people are listening to today , it feels good too . It can become its own addiction to have success with the systemic changes where you go .

Oh , I'm being successful , like I look at my week and I just I just got up four days early and worked out and drank my athletic greens and did my vitamins and did my cold plunge or whatever . I mean some , some . If you find that with people , that that that success also gets you going , you use the word flow . Talk a little bit more about that .

you're traveling . You can really get into that negative self-talk and the negative self-talk breeds on itself . You can really get into that negative self-talk and the negative self-talk breeds on itself and ultimately creates the energy that is opposite of flow , it creates anxiety and it creates the other symptomology of depression and so forth .

So , as you talked about the retreat , we really scuba-dived into mental wealth as opposed to only focusing on mental health . But looking at , okay , how do we optimize our mental stamina , how do we optimize our mental excellence when we arrive at work ? And so there's these systems and processes .

From an organizational standpoint , and being a business owner myself , boy , I have gone through all those stages of infancy with zero systems and zero processes , to adolescence , where we're literally slobbering our way through trying to create these habits and these systems and processes .

And then you have a staff change and then that all goes out the window and then you've got to restart it . And then you get to young adulthood or maturity as an organization and the more refined those guardrails are , those automatics . That brings a sense of security to employees and to the participants that are really trying to deliver in an organization .

And then you take it down to the personal level and those daily habits or system and processes . I have been really immersing into Miracle Morning and that is by Hal Elrod and check it out on Prime .

It's a documentary that goes through the lifesavers and not to really dive into his content , but the idea is that those savers are an acronym of actions that set up your morning to have a successful day and if you can master the morning with routines and really open up this channel of peace , of inspiration , of personal revelation that will guide you throughout the

day , it's interesting how much fear drives us if we don't do that and we're driven by anxieties and I think to a point that's why some business people are successful and why ambition is honored is the anxiety is literally the fuel to take action and to get things done , because you feel a sense of dopamine release and serotonin and the whole thing and I think

that's a good thing . But there's a Goldilocks zone there where you're not too far on one end , where you're driven by anxiety and fear because that ripples out to your family and that ripples out to your spouse and that ripples out to your employees , and then on the other end , where it's just so lax , without systems , without guardrails and funding .

That Goldilocks zone , I think , is really important and it all starts with mastering the morning , which means mastering the setup at bedtime .

There's been , you know , we're going through a little bit of a rebrand here right now . In fact , the podcast now when it goes out , is Ever Onward . I love it and this thing's kind of .

I want to talk to you a little bit about this because I know it might be a little personal , but we all kind of get things figured out and go , and then we get smacked down right and things change .

It's always changing , there's always problems coming and I think there's never that point in your life where you're not going to have challenges and problems Personal , family , kids , business . You're always going to have the next challenge . So this concept I was talking to my son-in-law , matthew , about this and we were talking about , okay , what's our tagline ?

And it's ever onward . It's like , hey , it's going to change , and we're going forward , and we're going to go forward with enthusiasm and grit and and we're going to go forward in a very optimistic and we're going to go get this done . Way . How important is that ? Resilience I think the word is resilience , right ? Um that , that that makes up our lives .

And I know you just went through . I remember the day you called me and I called you with your wife and I just got a report that her scans are negative .

We just expanded into our third location in Coeur d'Alene . How old were your twins at the time ? Seven , seven , seven years old , a boy and a girl . Seven years old , a boy and a girl and when we experience that blow , you do have the choice of how to respond .

And I think what's interesting is you know how I brought up a little earlier about this channel of access to inspiration and access to my higher powers , guidance and direction , which I really see him as my CEO of my life and I try to take as much direction as I can , which requires this seeking and this seeking . Well , you back up to February of 2023 .

She was diagnosed in April , where they found a softball-sized tumor in her ovaries and found another golf ball-sized tumor between her diaphragm and her liver . And in February I had this inspired thought where I just felt like I was in a rut .

You know those those seasons where you're just like struggling to get out of bed because there's nothing that you feel that's driving you . I mean , maybe , maybe the listeners can or can't relate to this , but maybe one of your loved ones is experienced that and you just want to motivate them Like , come on , you know , you know there's something to live for .

Well , when you feel like you're in that rut , you start to seek like , okay , what should I do , you know , do I need a diet ? Do I need ice bath ? Do I need this and that ?

And I had a friend introduce me to deliberate cold exposure and this was something that I had been seeing on social media , how it's helping people lose weight or it's helping people kind of face some of their fears . And my buddy started to talk about it completely differently .

And he is a manager of a large pharmacy here in the area and he was struggling so much with anxiety that he was debilitated , where it was difficult to even go to work , and he's never had this issue before . And here he is in his mid-40s and all of a sudden he's facing some hardcore anxiety , like debilitating anxiety .

And he told me that he began for the last five weeks he began doing deliberate cold exposure and this was in the winter and his wife was sitting next to him and she said I can't even believe the change I've seen in him and that just piqued my interest , I was like , really , because I have anxiety , I've always dealt with anxiety , it's one of the reasons why

I started using drugs and alcohol . And when he was telling me about the benefits of the mental side not just the fact that it converts white fat to brown fat and helps , you know , helps you on the autoimmune side of things and optimizes your physical health , but the mental piece was so interesting . He said you know why I do it .

He said you notice that before you even get close to the ice bath , your voice , your negative self-talk , starts to talk to you and tell you you can't do this , don't do it , this is dumb , there's no benefit .

And then when you push through that and you get to the loud voice , when you step in it and you sit in it and you and I have done this together when you step in it and you sit in it and you and I have done this together when you step in that ice bath , it is screaming at you . That voice is like get out , your body can't take this .

Your heart's pumping , you're breathing , you're gasping for air because you're just not used to it . And then the body starts to adapt and if you can stay in it long enough for those 10 , 20 , 30 seconds , whatever it is to get over that first wall , you just accomplish some serious mental and emotional

resilience . And we talk about resilience . So I began this habit in February , based on inspiration .

When she was diagnosed in April , I had already been working on this resilience piece , so it was a preparatory action that helped me optimize so that when we found out that helped me optimize , so that when we found out it didn't totally debilitate me or lead me back to drinking or using or to totally crumble , but to actually take it as okay .

This is the ice bath . Breathe , take some breaths . We're going to get through this wall . Be there for my kids , be there for her . It's not so much survival , it's more like how can I help them ? How can I help them ? And that was everything .

And you wouldn't believe the doors that opened up , people that rallied around us to help us from housing down in Salt Lake at Huntsman Cancer Institute , which you led us to and you guided us . You were our first call and I'm so grateful for your willingness to help .

And , and you know , for the listeners , it's it's a really personal podcast , because Tommy and I help each other with our family members stuff all the time which we won't get into for privacy of our loved ones , but it's , you know what I'm talking about . I know what you're talking about and it's just so beautiful .

And to watch you then be in that position of vulnerability and watch how you navigated it on behalf of your wife and your kids and how you just the ever onward Okay , what are we gonna do next ? It was awesome , jason , to just witness and watch . And what a great example it was .

And I'm sure you had your moments very often of , okay , this is hard , but how strong you were for her and for your kids was amazing . And so she's doing well . Yeah , can .

But I want to speak to , I think , another divine intersection in our relationship , which is very cool and I hope it's worthy of telling for the listeners because this is kind of fun . It's like you and I reminiscing but connecting dots nonetheless . And when you called me in the middle of the summer , I was in another rut .

This was last summer and I'm down at Salt Lake , out of my comfort zone . I'm full-time dad , full-time business owner and full-time caregiver of my wife going through chemo , where she's in bed most of the time , and we're out of our area , we're down in in the house and we don't know the neighbors .

So you know it's it's a tall order to execute at a high level , especially when I deal with some of the mental stuff and and emotional stuff that I have anyway . And you reached out and you said , hey , looking for someone to come and present our retreat in September . Would you be interested ? Or do you know anyone who might be interested ?

And I so badly wanted to decline and send you to someone else who I knew would rise up and blow , you know , knock it out of the park , Because I knew at that moment I had nothing to give . I felt like I had nothing to give because I had no routine . I was struggling with sleeping . I was really struggling with my diet , nutrition .

I was off balance in every way , just trying to do what I could to survive . I was away from my ice bath , which I wish I would have had it , but it was too hot . And you know , when I said yes to your offer , that's what propelled me to get into action and that's when I started to search .

And then Miracle Morning came into my life and then I began to optimize my mornings and that was a pivot point for me to get out of the funk and to get out of the rut , because I knew I had to come and deliver for you and your company . And I wasn't going to let you down .

I was like , okay , I'm going to do whatever I got to do to overcome this freaking mountain that I have in front of me and try to be the best version of myself . And I felt like the entire event . You knocked it out of the park with the whole lineup and I don't know how you feel about it , but I felt so good about it ?

We've talked about Atomic Habits , optimizing yourself , talk about just interactions and leadership and self-improvement and some things , because I do think we all get in ruts . I mean , I do . I mean I think , like all of usuts , I mean , I do . I mean I think , like all of us , there's routine that we get into .

There's times of being overwhelmed , there's times when we're like , ah , you know we need some wins , right ? I mean , have you ever had those weeks where you're like , okay , it's Thursday and we have no ? We've had no wins this week , right ? And so I know you have so much to offer and give .

But give some advice to folks out there that are either business owners , running businesses , running families , trying to figure out life , and when you get in a rut , what advice would you give us ? Some of the stuff you told us at the retreat ?

You're one of them that I will reach out to when I am facing something and you know I will ask for your guidance and your help . It's usually the big things . I know you're busy and and not that you're busy , I just don't want to pepper you with the small things . The big things .

You know who are the people in my life that I can turn to and ask for help , because I think that's the biggest thing .

Trust and go to and be vulnerable , I think vulnerability and just being authentically raw and saying , hey , jason man , I'm struggling , or I've got this problem , or I'm not feeling this or I'm in a rut , or whatever those people that know you well , that can look you in the eye and say , hey , have you thought about this , have you thought about that ?

Or you got a blind spot here . There's just great things that come from mentorship , so I love that you brought that up first . Yeah .

which is so important to me ? It's literally guided me through the hardest of days and , of course , over the last 15 months it's literally been my guiding light , I would say . Maybe the second point would are mindset masters and getting our mindset in an abundance stage of thinking .

What I mean by mindset is really coming down to the very thoughts that we have as we talk to ourselves , and one of my mentors , dave Blanchard , who's the CEO of the Augmandino Group , he asked me one time when we were in Coronado Island , speaking at an event . He said , jason , if I talk to you the way you talk to yourself , would we be friends ?

And the reality is no . I'd probably punch him in the nose , because the things I say to myself if I look at myself in the mirror , I'm usually not affirming anything positive . And so one piece of advice that I offer to anyone in business , any one of my employees , which I have between 30 to 40 employees on any given day .

They are encouraged to follow a simple little practice , which can be as expensive as one post-it note , and I I wrote the words give yourself a compliment today and I'll look at myself in the eyes in the mirror as an entry point to a day of self-love , and I will say to myself in my own eyes , which is in the beginning it's a little awkward , but once you

get used to it , and I will affirm that I am a good husband , I am a good father , I am a faithful husband and and I will tell the , tell myself these things that I can believe that I'm really striving to become . And what's interesting is I've noticed that that negative self-talk has diminished just by that one 30 second practice in the mirror .

It's it's fluorescent yellow and I wrote mindset on it and I wrote three very personal things to me and I stuck it first place I go in the morning when I say my prayers , on my computer screen . I put it there . It's still there today and it was it .

I mean , call them affirmations , call them whatever you want to call them , but it's made a huge difference for me because I think , I think it sets it level , set you right , it puts you where you need to be in your space .

I think that's a powerful concept you taught , which was this idea of self optimization , that if you can be your best self realization , that if you can be your best self and I like the morning thing too right the way our bodies work and the way we've got these , you know , clocks that work in us and we sleep and we wake up , it does give you a chance

every day of renewal to go see the sunshine and say , okay , here's my day , right , and just starting that right , in the right mindset and dragging that with you . And just starting that right in the right mindset and dragging that with you , it becomes infectious . As you see family , then you see workers , you go throughout your day .

It's powerful and that was one of the things you really drilled into us . There was mindset miracle morning . You know I've read all the books . I think you recommended seven books in our retreat but I love that idea .

So mentorship , and then it's this mindset and self-affirmations wherever you are and there are people probably listening today thinking I don't need any self-affirmations , I don't need that . But if we're all honest , wherever we are and we want to go to that next level , it's a powerful tool .

And , and I would say the third suggestion is in context of mastering the morning , something so dang simple is drink two full glasses of water in the morning , because the first glass of water is going to be consumed by the brain , because the brain has to be hydrated to optimize itself , and the second goes to the body .

And I learned that when I was cycling and my mentor in cycling , as I was training for an Ironman , he said you have to start each morning with your minerals and electrolytes and your water . And what I've found is the days that I don't drink water , it's like I'm driving on fumes . Mentally it's just a different thing .

But when it's lubed up and it's fueled with hydration , it's amazing how that makes you feel .

It's powerful and you know it's powerful and you know it's the whole idea of you know we become what we want to be by continuously being what we want to become . I mean , that's , it's these daily things .

And what I love about what you taught us too , is you're going to have days where you miss , but you get a reset every day , right , and it's this directional , this directional mindset of saying I'm going to you saying I got three out of seven this week and next week I'm going to be better , and kind of not beating yourself up too .

For a lot of people that are in business world , I think they are perfectionists and they get too tied up to oh , I missed this or I didn't do that , or I need to do more , and we also need to be a little bit kind to ourselves , right ?

There's a lot of pulls in life right now and you try to be all things to everybody and you're going to fall short .

I want to make sure I get to a couple of other things . So we've kind of talked about being the best you can be , optimizing yourself . I really wanted to get that today .

But I also want to give you some time to talk about what services you provide , because very personal Again , you've kind of brought it up a couple of times , but the number of times I've called you and said , hey , jason , either my family member or my friend needs help , and the amount of time that you go through to get them placed and helped , has been

incredible . Talk a little bit about your core business , your locations , what you do , what you provide . I think there's always an opportunity to get that information out there , because it is a tremendous resource and it's the best I've ever seen or been around . So talk a little bit about it .

You know , brickhouse Recovery is an adult-only outpatient substance use disorder and mental health treatment center and our focus is on those who are interested in healing and recovering through a spiritual path pathway .

This isn't church camp , this isn't religious , it's just making sure that we don't dismiss the recovery of the soul , so the mind , body and the spirit , because it's substance use disorder , anxiety disorder , depression and down the list .

They do impact every part of us and when we come into treatment being so addicted and struggling , we're experiencing a very real spiritual anorexia and so we focus on a faith-based approach . We focus on a faith-based approach which is an open door for those that struggle or wrestle with principles of faith or principles of the spirit and said differently .

And the second I learned that there was this out , and the second I learned that there was . There's gotta be something more to help me .

It was powerful for him and and this idea that , hey , you don't have to do it yourself , you can rely on and that means different things for everybody higher power , the fact that there is something bigger than us out there that is willing to help or be or we can rely on , was it was . It was completely life-changing for him .

And he sat there with tears in his eyes and he's like I think I can do this now , and you know it was hard , sure , but um , he's had no relapses , um , it's been this amazing thing and I , I , I just still thank you so much because I , you know , I see where he was and how worried I was about him and how do you ever get through this ?

And then he goes through the program with you and at the other end he has this beautiful life and he's figured it out . But it was coping skills , it was everything you taught him that was just unbelievably life transforming for him , for his loved ones , and so anyway , man , my team is the best of the best .

I'm so grateful that their work is impacting your loved ones and others and we get to see the sunlight of the spirit really feed that side while treating the psych , while treating the medication , while treating the emotional and the cognitive pieces to recovery , which is a tall order in and of itself .

But what we found is that when we create an environment where people who struggle with meaning and purpose and faith in a plan of this life here , what we find is that they come in and they're able to go through that wrestle in a nonjudgmental space , and people that are like , yeah , get it , we get it , and they literally unpack all their beliefs and all their

hangups and resentments , because some have experienced religious trauma too and have been abused in the name of that .

And so the idea of like , putting it all out on the table , looking at it , working with our staff while analyzing and then repacking it in a way that's going to serve them , going forward and leave the rest that's a very important process so that they can begin to and I've done this with my own recovery , begin to link arms with a power that's going to be

my best friend rather than an arch type of my dad , for example , who was disappointed in me , didn't want to talk to me , was angry because I had burned him , and rightfully so . But to view a higher power in the same light , I needed to recorrect some of how I viewed that so being a faith-based program is our first differential advantage .

The second is that we are industry trusted and I think that so being a faith-based program is our first differential advantage .

The second is that we are industry trusted , and I think that this is more and more important these days where there are snakes in the grass in our industry and as healthcare compliance and standards within the entire system nationally and here locally , we are required to meet certain standards from the CARF or Joint Commission , and what's interesting is that for some

reason , behavioral health providers have given our industry a black eye because they will prey on those that are addicted and sick , and that has been an issue throughout our country for quite a while .

And so when I say that we're industry trusted , I sit on the Idaho Association of Addiction Professionals Board and my hope is to rally and gather and influence the industry as a whole here in Idaho so that we are highlighting the good players that are doing things right , that are honest and ethical , and kind of like calling out those that aren't .

And that process is underway and I think that because we're engaged in that , we get some of the accolades from Idaho's Best in Mental Wellness , three years in a row , and Best Places to Work Top Ten , and just a lot of those kinds of accolades we did earn .

And I like to praise my staff with these awards not so much myself at all staff with these awards , not so much myself at all , but they won . We won a national award for excellence in treatment and we were one of six treatment centers that were awarded , and the others have many , many , many locations throughout the country .

I mean , we're we're a little boutique shop here in Idaho and they base it on outcomes . So real data , real outcomes , and it's just really cool to see

how that works .

really begin to offer support in a nonjudgmental and an open dialogue across the board . And it's interesting how much we're up against . And all you have to do is go sit in one of the legislative sessions about mandatory minimums and to see the stigma and to hear the labels that those that are making decisions view and call those that have these struggles .

We are far , far away from where we need to be in viewing these as illnesses and viewing the symptoms as symptoms of an illness , rather than moral issues or the labels that are thrown out . And I have really struggled with my emotions when I go to those sessions because I want to stand up and call them all out , and that's not really good either .

Call them all out , and that's not really good either .

But my parting message is to let's contribute to the positive side of this , normalize it to a degree and begin to praise those that are doing the good work , that are willing to see this as a disease from the , willing to see this as a disease from the legislative level , and willing to see the opportunities where there is room for help .

We do need more resources . We do need more funding . We do need doors that will open instead of only relying on the state Medicaid budget . We need to call out those organizations that have money for causes that they want to get behind , and this is one that is desperate in need of causes and funding .