AR-The Other side of Addiction

08/10/2026

Ep #401 Mind, Body & Spirit: Healing the Parts of Ourselves We've Forgotten, With Peter McLaughlin

This episode was sponsored by EMERGO ACADEMY/emergoacademy.com

Mind, Body & Spirit: Healing the Parts of Ourselves We've Forgotten

What if true healing isn't just about changing your thoughts or strengthening your body... but reconnecting with your spirit?

In this powerful conversation, I sit down with certified hypnotherapist, life coach, and creator of BlueSky Hypnosis, Peter McLaughlin, to explore the often-overlooked third piece of healing: our spirit. Too often we focus on the mind and body while neglecting the part of us that gives life meaning, purpose, and peace.

Peter shares how a leukemia diagnosis in 2003 became the catalyst for his own healing journey and ultimately led him to help others uncover the root causes of emotional pain through Havening, present and past life regression, and spiritually-centered healing practices.

We discuss why trauma isn't always defined by what happened to us, but by what we continue to carry within us. As Peter says, "If it bleeds, it leads." Our minds naturally hold onto painful experiences for survival, but healing begins when we stop allowing those experiences to define who we are.

One of the most powerful moments of our conversation came when Peter shared the phrase:

"As within, so without."

In other words, what we carry inside—our beliefs, wounds, fears, and unresolved emotions—eventually becomes reflected in the life we experience on the outside. When we begin healing internally, our relationships, purpose, and perspective begin to change as well.

Whether you're healing from addiction, grief, trauma, or simply searching for a deeper connection with yourself, this conversation reminds us that lasting transformation isn't about fixing what's broken—it's about reconnecting with who we've always been.

Because sometimes the greatest healing doesn't happen by changing the world around us... It happens by healing the world within us.

Peter also runs the BlueSky Hypnosis YouTube channel, where over 130,000 people (many focused on weight loss and spirituality) gather to access practical healing tools and stories of hope

Storms don't just test our strength—they reveal what still needs healing.
When we learn to care for our mind, strengthen our body, and reconnect with our spirit, we don't simply survive life's storms... We become transformed by them.

08/03/2026

Ep #400 Healing The Emotional Pain, With Laura de Silva

This episode was sponsored by EMERGO ACADEMY/emergoacademy.com

Healing The Emotional Pain with Laura da Silva

What if addiction isn't the real problem—but the symptom of something much deeper?

In this powerful episode of Through The Storm, I sat down with therapist and Lighthouse Counseling Services founder Laura da Silva to explore what true recovery really looks like. We discussed why lasting recovery is about far more than breaking a habit. It's about healing the emotional pain underneath it, rebuilding trust, restoring relationships, and learning to live a life that no longer needs an escape.

One of the most impactful parts of our conversation was Laura's perspective on trauma. She explained that trauma isn't measured by the event itself, but by how each person experiences it. What may seem like a "Big T" trauma to one person could be a "Little T" trauma to another—and both deserve compassion and healing. There is no scoreboard for pain.

We also talked about something we often overlook in recovery and life: celebrating the small victories. Healing isn't always found in giant breakthroughs. Sometimes it's choosing to get out of bed, making one healthy decision, asking for help, or simply refusing to give up. Those small wins become the foundation of lasting transformation.

If you've ever wondered why emotional healing is essential to recovery, or if you're supporting someone through addiction, this conversation offers hope, understanding, and practical insight.

Because recovery isn't just about changing what we do...

It's about healing who we've been hurting.

08/02/2026

Monday on "Through The Storm" Podcast with Laura de Silva

What if addiction isn't the real problem—but the symptom of something much deeper?

In this powerful episode of Through The Storm, I sat down with therapist and Lighthouse Counseling Services founder Laura da Silva to explore what true recovery really looks like. We discussed why lasting recovery is about far more than breaking a habit. It's about healing the emotional pain underneath it, rebuilding trust, restoring relationships, and learning to live a life that no longer needs an escape.

Laura da Silva is a therapist, practice owner, and passionate advocate for helping people find lasting healing. As the founder of Lighthouse Counseling Services, she has spent nearly two decades working with individuals and families facing addiction, trauma, anxiety, and relationship struggles. Laura believes that recovery is about more than breaking a habit—it's about healing the emotional pain beneath it, rebuilding trust, and strengthening relationships. She is passionate about supporting both those struggling with addiction and the loved ones walking beside them, offering hope, practical tools, and encouragement for the journey toward lasting recovery.

07/28/2026

We’re happy to announce Emery Knudtson as one of our 2026 HEALING UTAH SUCCESS SUMMIT Speakers.

Emery Knudtson is an emerging trauma and moral injury therapist, former Oakland police officer, and Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate student with a strong record of leadership in real-world crisis and recovery settings.

Over the past 15 years, he has provided peer mentoring and support to veterans, first responders, and individuals impacted by trauma, bringing lived experience and practical insight into high-stress environments where resilience is tested daily.

He specializes in trauma-informed care, moral injury recovery, resilience building, and post-traumatic growth, with a focus on helping individuals not only heal from what they have endured, but also rebuild identity, purpose, and strength in the aftermath of adversity.

Mark your calendar for Saturday October 3rd at The Miller Free Enterprise Building in Sandy, UT. You get two tickets for $39. Doors open at 9am, event starts at 10am.

07/27/2026

Ep #399 Our Darkest Moments Can Become The Foundation For A Life of Purpose With Dalton Tarufelle

This episode was sponsored by EMERGO ACADEMY/emergoacademy.com

Our Darkest Moments Can Become The Foundation For A Life of Purpose

Some people believe their past disqualifies them from living a meaningful life. Dalton Tarufelli is living proof that it doesn't.

On this episode of Through The Storm, Dalton shares a journey marked by unimaginable loss. He lost his father to cancer at just 17 years old, his brother to addiction while battling his own substance use, and then, only one year into recovery, lost his mother to alcoholism. Each loss brought another wave of grief, guilt, and questions that so many people silently carry.

We talked about survivor's guilt and the heavy burden of wondering if you could have done more to save someone you love. It's a painful place to live, especially when addiction has touched every corner of your life. But as Dalton shared so honestly, healing begins when we stop carrying responsibility for battles that were never ours to control.

Today, nearly four years sober, Dalton has transformed his pain into purpose. Working in the recovery field, he now uses his experiences to remind others that no matter how dark life becomes, there is always hope. Your story isn't over because you've experienced tragedy. Sometimes the very things that nearly break us become the strongest foundation we have to help someone else.

One of my favorite takeaways from our conversation is that our greatest purpose is often found in the places where we've experienced our deepest pain. The storms we survive don't just change us—they prepare us to become a light for someone who's still walking through theirs.

If you've ever wrestled with grief, addiction, guilt, or questioned whether life could ever get better, this conversation will remind you that healing is possible, purpose is real, and hope can be found even after life's greatest losses.

Remember...

The storm may shape your story, but it never has to define your ending.

07/25/2026

Monday on "Through The Storm" Podcast With Dalton Tarufelli

This episode was sponsored by EMERGO ACADEMY/emergoacademy.com

Our Darkest Moments Can Become The Foundation For A Life of Purpose

Some people believe their past disqualifies them from living a meaningful life. Dalton Tarufelli is living proof that it doesn't.

On this episode of Through The Storm, Dalton shares a journey marked by unimaginable loss. He lost his father to cancer at just 17 years old, his brother to addiction while battling his own substance use, and then, only one year into recovery, lost his mother to alcoholism. Each loss brought another wave of grief, guilt, and questions that so many people silently carry.

My name is Dalton Tarufelli. I’m 30 years old and almost 4 years sober. Before recovery, my life was marked by loss, grief, and addiction. I lost my dad to cancer when I was 17, and years later I lost my brother to addiction while I was fighting my own battle with substance use. After finding recovery, I faced another devastating loss when my mom passed away from alcoholism while I was just one year sober. There was a time when I couldn’t imagine a different future, but my story didn’t end there.

Today, I work in the recovery field and am passionate about sharing hope through honest conversations. I believe that even our darkest moments can become the foundation for a life of purpose, and I hope my story encourages others to believe that change is possible.

07/21/2026

It was an absolute honor to be a guest on The Brave Man Project with my brother from across the pond, Hamish Niven.

A surgeon gave Al Richards two hours to decide: keep a dying foot, ...

07/20/2026

#398 "On Going Consequences From Prison That Are Still Painful" With Marnie Breitsprecher

This episode was sponsored by EMERGO ACADEMY/emergoacademy.com

On Going Consequences From Prison That Are Still Painful | Through The Storm Podcast

What happens after prison? What happens when you've served your sentence, found freedom in Christ, but still live with the consequences of your past?

In this powerful episode of Through The Storm, I sit down with Marnie Breitsprecher, whose life was forever changed by addiction to prescription pain medication. What began with medication prescribed after surgery slowly spiraled into years of addiction, fraudulent prescriptions, multiple arrests, and ultimately a six-year prison sentence after a car accident that could have ended in tragedy.

Looking back, Marnie now says prison became the very place where God transformed her life.

We talk openly about addiction, shame, consequences, forgiveness, and the freedom that only faith can bring. While many of the earthly consequences remain—including strained family relationships—Marnie refuses to live as a prisoner of her past. She knows that the Highest Judge has already declared her forgiven.

One of the most powerful moments of our conversation came when Marnie shared these words:

"Expectations are premeditated resentments."

Instead of expecting others to restore what was broken, she has learned to trust God's timing, God's grace, and God's plan.

Marnie also shares how, during some of her darkest days in prison, she would remind herself:

"This is not my forever."

That hope carried her through six years of incarceration, three years of parole, and into the beautiful life she now shares with her husband Jimmy—a relationship neither of them ever saw coming but one they believe was orchestrated entirely by God.

This episode is about much more than prison. It's about redemption.

It's about understanding that while we may continue to live with earthly consequences, we don't have to carry eternal condemnation.

No matter how broken your past may be, there is still hope, there is still purpose, and there is still a future waiting on the other side of the storm.