#292 From Rock Bottom to Recovery: NBA Star Chris Herren on Addiction, Healing, and Hope

The Gabby Reece Show

GOTOGABBY

Health & Fitness, Business, Society & Culture, Relationships, Entrepreneurship, Mental Health

4.8 • 890 Ratings

🗓️ 21 October 2024

⏱️ 88 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Gabby sits down with former NBA player and recovery advocate, Chris Herren. Once considered a basketball prodigy, Chris's rise to fame was paralleled by his struggles with addiction, a battle that nearly cost him his life. After losing everything due to substance abuse, Chris has spent the last 16 years rebuilding his life and helping others do the same. Today, he runs Herren Wellness, a center for addiction recovery, and travels the country speaking about the importance of addressing trauma and mental health in young people. Chris shares his deeply personal journey, highlighting how addiction can happen to anyone and why it’s essential to understand the “why” behind substance use, rather than just focusing on the consequences. This episode is a powerful look at addiction, recovery, and the lifelong commitment to sobriety, making it a must-listen for anyone dealing with addiction or looking for insights on supporting loved ones through their struggles. Chapters: Introduction to Chris Herren and His Journey Gabby introduces Chris Herren, detailing his early life as a basketball prodigy and his struggles with addiction that led to his fall from grace. Chris reflects on how his personal history of trauma set the stage for his substance use. Addiction Starts Early: Understanding the ‘Why’ [00:00:00 - 00:15:00] Chris explains how addiction often begins in adolescence, focusing on the emotional trauma that drives young people to substances. He emphasizes the importance of understanding why kids turn to drugs and alcohol rather than solely focusing on how or what they use. Navigating Sobriety: The Challenges of Staying Clean [00:15:01 - 00:35:00] Chris shares his struggles with sobriety, even after 16 years, and discusses how mental health plays a critical role in long-term recovery. He talks about his approach to therapy and how tools like Internal Family Systems (IFS) have helped him address his deeper traumas. Parenting with Awareness: Supporting Kids Through Addiction and Beyond [00:35:01 - 00:55:00] As a father of three, Chris reflects on how his past has shaped his parenting. He discusses the fine line between being supportive and enabling, and how he navigates conversations about addiction with his children. Rebuilding Life and Creating Herren Wellness [00:55:01 - 01:15:00] Chris talks about founding Herren Wellness, his recovery center, and the fulfillment he finds in helping others reclaim their lives from addiction. He shares success stories from the center and emphasizes the importance of community and support in recovery. The Importance of Therapy and Emotional Wellness in Recovery [01:15:01 - End] Gabby and Chris wrap up the conversation by discussing the importance of ongoing therapy, emotional wellness, and how recovery is an evolving journey. Chris explains how tools like EMDR and IFS have helped him cope with the lasting effects of trauma and addiction. To learn more about Chris: Social media channels Facebook: @chrisherren24 I Twitter: @c_herren I IG: @c_herren_ Website: herrentalks.com Everything Gabby: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabbyreece/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gabbyreeceofficial The Gabby Reece Show Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeEINLNlGvIceFOP7aAZk5A Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I think where we've gone wrong when it comes to talking about addiction, I think we've
0:04.0	put so much energy in the end instead of understanding the beginning.
0:08.0	You know, when your 8th grade, 9th grade, 10th grade boy comes home, daughter comes home
0:16.0	and she just went through her first experience with drugs or alcohol. I think parents are so concerned
0:23.0	about where they got it, who they were with. How much did they do? They don't understand why.
0:28.5	Do you think people know right away if substances are an issue for them, or do you think there
0:33.5	are certain people where it creeps up on them? Alcohol is probably the scariest of, you know, when it creeps up on it.
0:40.3	What's the first best step for somebody who goes, you know what, this is going somewhere I need to redirect?
0:46.3	I ask people all the time, why wait? Why wait for it? Take that step. Why wait?
0:51.3	You know, people often say to me, like, you know, if you had a chance and you could go back to that dorm room that night at 18 years old, or the first time you did heroin, what would you do? And it's always been I would.
1:06.2	Greatness isn't built overnight. It takes years of hard work, practice, and dedication. But what happens when
1:12.9	that hard work comes at the expense of your mental health? What happens when you reach the
1:18.0	pinnacle of success only for unresolved childhood trauma to come roaring back? Well, that's what
1:24.9	we're talking about today with Chris Herron. His NBA career is a modern day tragedy. He was an exceptional basketball player who practiced tirelessly to overcome a really difficult childhood. So when he was drafted in the second round of the 1999 draft, most people saw him as a true American story. But for Chris, he felt like a time bomb
1:46.3	ready to explode. Internally, Chris was battling with addiction and really losing the war. In 2004,
1:53.0	he was arrested for heroin possession, and in 2008, he overdosed and crashed his car. Paramedics
1:59.2	would later tell him that he was legally dead for 30 seconds.
2:04.2	To many, Chris's fall from grace seemed sudden, but in reality, the warning signs were always there.
2:10.7	Just as there's no such thing as an overnight success, there are always clues before the fall.
2:21.0	However, today, Chris has turned his life around and is dedicated to helping others avoid the mistakes he made. He works with young people facing the same
2:26.7	challenges he once did, shifting the measure of success from the scoreboard to the lives he's impacting.
2:34.5	So whether you or someone you know struggles with addiction or you're just looking for
	...

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