I Love Being Sober

Hosted by Tim Westbrook

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Episodes

189

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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EN-US

About the show

Hello my friends, and welcome back to yet another episode of I Love Being Sober brought to you by Camelback Recovery - a proud partner to the most effective way to achieve long term recovery without the pain and suffering and high cost of multiple stints in detox, rehabs, and sober living homes. My name is Tim Westbrook and I am the CEO and Founder of Camelback Recovery here in the always sunny and always sober Scottsdale, Arizona where my team and I over the course of many years have helped thousands of people on their path to long term recovery. I started this show because there is so much misinformation about addiction treatment, mental illness, and addiction recovery in general. There is much more to recovery than just going to inpatient treatment, seeing a therapist, and going to 12 step meetings. Those things are important and AA saved my life. However, to find long term recovery and live happy, joyous and free, there is a lot more to it than just stopping the drinking, stopping the drugs, or stopping any addictive behavior. Sobriety and recovery can and should be fun. That’s not to say that the recovery process is going to be easy and it’s not to say that there won’t be difficult times ahead. However, to live the life that you deserve and for it to be exciting and fun you need new lifestyle habits. New healthy lifestyle habits that promote your mental, spiritual, and physical health. That my friends will lead you to living a KICK ASS SOBER LIFE! Visit CamelbackRecovery.com to learn more about recovery coaching, sober living, and your next step to freedom and happiness.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

August 4, 2026Episode 18355 min

100 First Dates Sober: Building Secure Relationships From Chaos

What happens to your relationships when you get sober? In this episode of the I Love Being Sober podcast, recorded live at Camelback Recovery’s outpatient treatment center in Phoenix, Arizona, host Tim Westbrook sits down with Melissa Nanavati , a TEDx speaker, author, and relationship coach for executives and high performers. Melissa’s story will resonate with anyone navigating sobriety and connection. After graduating college at nineteen, she began drinking heavily to fit in, was clinically diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, and struggled with anxious attachment and people pleasing. She went on more than 100 first dates over ten years, about fifty of them completely sober, before meeting her husband. Now eight years sober, she hosts alcohol-free gatherings of 80 people in the Scottsdale area, had a dry wedding with 100 guests on the dance floor, and teaches the neuroscience of connection to high achievers around the world. Tim and Melissa dig into why your romantic relationship is either the biggest energy leak or the biggest force multiplier in your life, and how unresolved friction always falls into one of three buckets: unmet needs, unseen efforts, or unresolved issues. Melissa breaks down the four types of relational courage most people never consciously practice, then walks through her complete BRAVE framework for having hard conversations: Begin within, Request the time, Affirm and ask, View and validate, and End with action, including why you should always be seated, touching, and why a thirty-second hug changes everything. For couples rebuilding after addiction, Melissa explains the three neurochemicals behind chemistry and desire, dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin, and the practical weekly habits that rebuild the spark. For singles learning to date sober, she shares how to create real chemistry without alcohol, why hiking dates and daytime dates work, and how she made a goal to never have a bad date again. The live audience Q&A covers healing while dating, dating apps, and how to meet value-aligned people in person. Whether you’re in recovery in Phoenix, Scottsdale, or anywhere in the world, this conversation is a masterclass in building secure, resilient relationships in sobriety. The I Love Being Sober podcast is produced by Camelback Recovery, a leading provider of addiction treatment, mental health support, and sober living in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona.

July 28, 2026Episode 1821 hr 38 min

Nervous System Regulation: How Cold Plunges And Breathwork Accelerate Natural Healing

Recorded live in front of clients at Camelback Recovery’s outpatient addiction treatment center in Scottsdale, Arizona, this episode of I Love Being Sober brings host Tim Westbrook together with Michael Roviello, U.S. Navy veteran, certified Wim Hof Method instructor, and co-founder of Optimyze, a natural wellness company with four locations across the Phoenix Valley. Michael grew up in a rough part of Queens, New York, where blackout drinking and drugs were normal by his early teens. At 20, a Navy recruiter found him day-drinking in a Long Island bar and offered him a way out: helicopter search and rescue. Michael went on to fly combat search and rescue missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, deploying on the first aircraft carrier in the war zone after 9/11. But he came home carrying more than he realized: PTSD, severe insomnia, crippling anxiety, chronic pain from a cervical spine injury, and a drinking habit the military culture had only reinforced. After emergency spinal fusion surgery, a growing dependence on pain pills, and a surgeon telling him a second surgery was the only option, Michael drew a line: nothing from a pharmacy. In this conversation, he shares what happened next, from the Landmark Forum and Dr. John Sarno’s mind-body work to plant medicine ceremonies in Brazil and Peru, the Wim Hof Method, and the daily cold plunge and breathwork practice that has kept him off pain medication, out of pain clinics, and away from a second surgery since 2012. Tim and Michael dig into the science of cold water therapy: nervous system regulation, the norepinephrine and dopamine response, why the ice bath is a trust exercise, and how to use the suggestible theta brainwave state for mantras and affirmations. They also cover the single most underrated recovery tool Michael ever used: learning to say no, changing his environment, and letting the wrong people leave his life. The episode closes with live audience Q&A from Camelback Recovery outpatient clients on insomnia, restless leg syndrome, cold plunge timing, sauna for sleep, and nasal breathing. Whether you are navigating recovery from drugs and alcohol in Phoenix, Scottsdale, or anywhere in Arizona, or you are looking for natural tools to manage anxiety, chronic pain, trauma, or sleep issues in sobriety, this conversation is a masterclass in healing from the inside out. Connect with Michael Roviello: Instagram @michael_roviello | Optimyze on Instagram @optimyze.me | OPTIMYZE.me | Optimyze locations in Arcadia, North Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tempe | Jungle Rhythms wellness festival, August 1 at Mountain Shadows Resort Learn more about Camelback Recovery: CamelbackRecovery.com | Sober living and outpatient addiction treatment in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona Click Here for more information about Camelback Recovery

July 21, 2026Episode 18158 min

How Chiropractic Releases Traumatic Stress And Resets The Nervous System

What does your spine have to do with staying sober? More than you think. In this episode of I Love Being Sober, recorded live at Camelback Recovery in Scottsdale, Arizona, Tim Westbrook sits down with Dr. Marc Blackstone, a board-licensed chiropractic physician with more than 25 years of clinical experience who has spent the past five years bringing chiropractic care into mental health and addiction treatment settings. Dr. Blackstone breaks down the mind-body connection in plain language: how a chiropractic adjustment affects far more than the joint being treated, why addiction and mental health conditions keep the sympathetic (fight-or-flight) nervous system stuck in overdrive, and how adjustments help activate the parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) response that lowers cortisol, reduces anxiety, and supports better sleep in early recovery. He also delivers one of the most important warnings of the episode: unresolved chronic pain is a real relapse risk. With more than half of chronic pain patients likely to use opioids, treating the physical damage people carry into recovery isn’t a luxury. It’s relapse prevention. In this episode, you’ll learn: how a rugby injury at age 14 led Dr. Blackstone to chiropractic; what he sees treating clients in recovery settings versus traditional practice; what actually happens in your body during an adjustment; why the body reverts to old patterns (and why one visit isn’t enough); how chiropractic supports people detoxing from opioids, amphetamines, and alcohol; the forgotten history of chiropractic sanitariums treating mental health in the 1920s; his advice for anyone in early recovery dealing with pain; and what it would take to bring chiropractic care into every treatment center in America. Whether you’re navigating substance use disorder, supporting a loved one in recovery, or running a treatment program and wondering what holistic care really looks like, this conversation makes the case that recovery has to include the body, not just the mind. Connect with Dr. Marc Blackstone: info@azchiropracticservices.com | drblackstone.com I Love Being Sober is hosted by Tim Westbrook, MS, founder and CEO of Camelback Recovery, an addiction and mental health treatment center in Scottsdale, Arizona. Learn more at CamelbackRecovery.com . Click Here for more information about Camelback Recovery

July 14, 2026Episode 1801 hr 31 min

How I Reversed A Terminal Diagnosis: The Metabolic Root Of Healing & Addiction

What if addiction isn’t a moral failure — and it isn’t just a brain disease either? What if it’s the natural expression of a terrain that never got the support it needed? In this episode of I Love Being Sober, Tim Westbrook sits down with Dr. Nasha Winters — naturopathic oncologist, bestselling author, and 35-year stage IV ovarian cancer thriver — for one of the most clinically rich and emotionally honest conversations this podcast has ever hosted. Recorded live at Camelback Recovery’s outpatient treatment center in Scottsdale, Arizona, in front of a live audience of clients and staff. Dr. Winters scored a perfect 10 out of 10 on the ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) scale. She came from a family shaped by alcoholism, addiction, mental illness, and trauma. She was days from death when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer at 19 — and she was sent home to die. Instead, she spent the next three decades building one of the most comprehensive frameworks in integrative medicine: the Terrain Ten. This conversation bridges two worlds that rarely talk to each other: terrain-based medicine and addiction recovery. And the overlap is exact. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why sugar and ultra-processed food activate the same dopamine receptors as cocaine and heroin — and how that keeps recovery stuck How unstable blood sugar mimics and worsens the craving cycle in early sobriety Why Dr. Winters now puts mental and emotional health FIRST in her Terrain Ten — flipping the framework she published in 2017 The ACE score, what it predicts, and why a score of 3 or above dramatically increases disease risk What intermittent fasting actually does to the brain in recovery — and how to start without white-knuckling it The emerging field of metabolic psychiatry and why ketosis has reversed bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and addiction in clinical trials Why being “never sick” is a red flag, not a health flex How chronic stress puts the body in a state where treatments “bounce off” — and what to do about it EMDR, ibogaine, and psychedelic-assisted therapy in the context of trauma and addiction recovery The two things that showed up as universal common denominators across 500 cancer and mental health patients: not feeling seen, and not feeling heard The audience Q&A goes even deeper — covering sleep and metabolic health, keto and depression, sexual abuse and trauma processing, and what it takes to rebuild a life after violence and addiction. This is not a light episode. It’s a complete one. Resources mentioned: Website: Dr. Nasha Winters | Tend the Terrain YouTube & Podcast: Tend the Terrain Podcast with Dr. Nasha Instagram: Instagram.com/drnashawinters Substack: Tending the Terrain: Reflections by DrNasha(TM) Facebook: Facebook.com/drnashainc Book: The Metabolic Approach to Cancer Book: Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind — Dr. Georgia Ede Book: Brain Energy — Dr. Chris Palmer Book: The Circadian Code — Dr. Satchin Panda Camelback Recovery outpatient treatment: CamelbackRecovery.com #AddictionRecovery #SoberLiving #MetabolicHealth #TraumaHealing #MentalHealth #DualDiagnosis #SubstanceUseDisorder #ILoveBeingSober #CamelbackRecovery #Scottsdale #Phoenix #TerrainTen #DrNashaWinters #BloodSugar #DopamineRecovery #IntermittentFasting #MetabolicPsychiatry #ACEScore #SoberLife Click Here for more information about Camelback Recovery

July 7, 2026Episode 1791 hr 11 min

How Emerging Adults Can Achieve Healing

What actually keeps women from walking through the door of a treatment center — and what keeps them from staying once they’re in? Tim Westbrook sits down with Dr. Whitney Howzell , a licensed clinical social worker, US Army veteran, certified sexual therapist, and Vice President of Inpatient Operations at Meadows Behavioral Healthcare , for one of the most honest conversations about recovery this podcast has ever had. Dr. Howzell breaks down why shame is gendered and shows up completely differently for women than for men, why emerging adults struggle to engage in treatment even when the consequences are right in front of them, and why the prefrontal cortex matters more than most treatment programs acknowledge. She talks candidly about digital culture, dopamine, and how recovery has to evolve to meet a generation that was born into the internet age. The conversation goes deep on intimacy — not the physical kind, but the kind most people in recovery have never learned: eye contact, vulnerability, what it means to let someone actually see you. Dr. Howzell also discusses her work treating sexual trauma, sexual compulsive behavior, and the new Willow Healing Center at Meadows Behavioral Healthcare, a combined women’s program that integrates eating disorder treatment with intimacy disorder treatment after clinicians discovered the two were almost always co-occurring. This episode is for anyone in recovery, anyone who loves someone in recovery, or any clinician who wants to understand why the one-size-fits-all treatment model keeps failing the people who need it most. Recorded live at Camelback Recovery in Scottsdale, Arizona with a live audience of clients and staff.

June 30, 2026Episode 17850 min

Achieving Wholeness And Lasting Recovery

What if the part of you that wants to drink, use, or self-sabotage isn’t the enemy — it’s just trying to protect you the only way it knows how? In this episode of I Love Being Sober, recorded live at Camelback Recovery’s outpatient center in Scottsdale, Arizona, host Tim Westbrook sits down with licensed professional counselor and IFS therapist Kristy Crabtree for a deep conversation on trauma, healing, and what it actually means to recover from the inside out. Kristy breaks down Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy in plain language — explaining why we all have protective “parts,” why no part is bad (even the addictive ones), and how to work with your inner world instead of fighting it. In this episode, you’ll learn: What IFS therapy is and why it works for addiction and trauma The difference between a “manager” and a “firefighter” — and which one is driving your behavior Why your addictive urge has a positive intention (and how to redirect it) How trauma gets stored in the body and blocks spiritual growth A simple breathwork technique to regulate your nervous system right now How to begin healing the inner child without becoming overwhelmed Kristy Crabtree is the founder of Inner Light Counseling in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area and Sacred Revolution, a consciousness expansion practice. She is the author of Sacred Revolution and Reclaiming Eden , and host of the Transcendence Talks podcast .

June 23, 2026Episode 1771 hr 12 min

How To Live At A Higher Standard

In this episode of I Love Being Sober, recorded live at Camelback Recovery’s outpatient treatment center in Scottsdale, Arizona, host Tim Westbrook sits down with Michael Bernoff — founder of the Human Communication Institute, developer of Human Interaction Technology™, and author of Average Sucks. Michael has been alcohol-free since New Year’s Eve 2016, not because he hit a rock bottom, but because he made a clear-eyed decision: there was nothing good about drinking, and he refused to be an influence that pulled anyone else toward it. This conversation goes deep into the psychology of language and identity in recovery. Michael breaks down why the words ‘sober’ and ‘addict’ can quietly keep people stuck, why ‘learning to live differently’ is a more powerful frame than ‘getting sober,’ and what it actually means to raise your average when you’ve been running on empty. The live audience at Camelback Recovery joins in with real questions — and Michael works through them in real time, demonstrating exactly the kind of powerful, in-the-moment coaching that has impacted hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. Topics covered: the decision to stop drinking, language and identity in recovery, Human Interaction Technology, raising your average, the word ‘addict’ and why it may be working against you, learning to live differently, self-image, communication strategies, CORE Live event, and what it means to become an example for someone else. If you’re in recovery or considering treatment in the Phoenix or Scottsdale area — or anywhere in the country — this episode will challenge the way you think about sobriety and give you practical tools you can use today. #ILoveBeingSober #CamelbackRecovery #MichaelBernoff #AverageSucks #SobrietyPodcast #RecoveryPhoenix #RecoveryScottsdale #ArizonaRecovery #LiveDifferently #HumanInteractionTechnology #AddictionRecovery #SoberLife #LanguageMatters #IdentityInRecovery #PersonalDevelopment #OutpatientTreatment #CORELive

June 16, 2026Episode 17655 min

How Sex Addiction Should Be Treated

What if the substance was never really the problem? In this episode of the I Love Being Sober Podcast, recorded live at Camelback Recovery Treatment Center in Phoenix, Arizona, host Tim Westbrook sits down with Dr. Marcus Earle, Clinical Director of Psychological Counseling Services (PCS) — one of the most respected behavioral health practices in the country. Dr. Earle has spent over 35 years treating individuals, couples, and families struggling with sexual addiction, trauma, OCD, compulsive behavior, and dual diagnosis mental health issues. The PCS Intensive Program has over 40 years of experience pioneering the week-long intensive therapy model, with a multidisciplinary care team of 25+ clinicians and individualized treatment plans designed to promote lasting growth and change. In this honest, eye-opening conversation, Tim and Dr. Earle explore: What sobriety really means in sex addiction recovery — and why it’s far more nuanced than abstinence How unresolved trauma drives addiction, compulsive behavior, and relapse The connection between OCD, process addiction, and substance use disorder What dual diagnosis and mental health treatment looks like when you go beneath the surface Why so many people in addiction recovery are also carrying issues they’ve never named What long-term, thriving recovery actually looks like — not just white-knuckling it Whether you’re in recovery from alcohol or drugs, struggling with a process addiction, dealing with trauma or mental health challenges, or loving someone who is — this episode will meet you where you are. Recorded live in front of clients at Camelback Recovery’s Outpatient Treatment Center, this is the I Love Being Sober Podcast — real stories, real healing, real recovery. 🌐 Learn more about the PCS Intensive Treatment Program: www.pcsintensive.com 🌐 Camelback Recovery: www.camelbackrecovery.com #ILoveBeingSober #AddictionRecovery #SexAddiction #TraumaRecovery #OCD #DualDiagnosis #MentalHealth #SubstanceUseDisorder #SoberLife #RecoveryPodcast #PhoenixArizona #CamelbackRecovery #OutpatientTreatment #PCSIntensive #RealRecovery #SoberPodcast #HealingTrauma #ProcessAddiction #RecoveryIsPossible #OneDayAtATime

June 9, 2026Episode 1751 hr 9 min

Finding Your Own Inner Peace

At 18 years old, Elijah Kai put a loaded gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. It didn’t fire. What followed was two decades of searching — therapy, religion, hustle, two marriages, a felony, and a life spent building a character convincing enough that nobody, including him, could see the pain underneath. In this episode of I Love Being Sober, we sit down with spiritual teacher, Divine Architect, and author Elijah Kai to talk about the moment everything changed — and the truth he discovered on the other side of suffering. Elijah breaks down why the traditional approaches to healing, recovery, and sobriety so often fall short, what recidivism really tells us about identity, and why the peace you’ve been chasing your entire life has been underneath you this whole time. If you’re in recovery, fighting to stay sober, or simply trying to understand why you keep returning to old patterns — this episode will crack something open in you. In this episode, we cover: Why 20 years of therapy, religion, and hustle couldn’t fix what wasn’t broken The difference between thought and thinking — and why it matters in recovery What recidivism reveals about identity and the cycle of relapse How to remember who you were before the world got its hands on you The moment Elijah stopped trying to fix himself and found he was already whole Resources mentioned: Already Whole by Elijah Kai — available now elijahkai.com Belief Theory Institute

May 26, 2026Episode 17450 min

A Patient’s Story Of Recovery And Purpose

Hannah Keller lost three siblings, battled addiction, and hit rock bottom before finding recovery at Camelback Recovery in Phoenix, Arizona. In this episode of I Love Being Sober, host Tim Westbrook sits down with Hannah to talk about what it really takes to rebuild your life from the ground up. Hannah was a patient at Camelback Recovery. Today, she’s an employee helping others find healing. This conversation covers grief and loss in recovery, how motherhood became her turning point, the role of faith and spirituality in staying sober, what people misunderstand about addiction recovery, mental health and dual diagnosis treatment, and what it means to find your identity and purpose after addiction. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, this episode is proof that recovery is possible and that your story isn’t over. Camelback Recovery is a Joint Commission accredited dual diagnosis and addiction treatment center in Phoenix, AZ offering inpatient, outpatient, sober living, TMS therapy, EMDR, medication-assisted treatment, and holistic therapies. Learn more at camelbackrecovery.com Follow Hannah: @hannahmkeller Follow Tim: @_timwestbrook Follow Camelback Recovery: @camelbackrecovery #addiction #recovery #mentalhealth #sobriety #traumarecovery #dualdiagnosis #addictiontreatment #soberlife #ilovebeingsober #phoenixarizona #camelbackrecovery #griefandloss #faithinrecovery #soberliving #TMStherapy #EMDR