Shane Berber: Gambling, Trust, and Falling in Love with Recovery

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#74: When we asked Shane Berber to define recovery he responded: “It’s this, it’s Phoenix, family, new friends, a community, being part of something bigger… and having something bigger.” As the Community Engagement Coordinator for The Phoenix in Austin, Texas, recovery for Shane is his professional and personal life, and it’s a blessing everyday. After falling in love with gambling as a kid, Shane recounts his experience living with a compulsive gambling addiction and the scary course it led him down. Now, Shane alongside his mother leads a meeting for parents of compulsive gamblers. Tune into the episode to learn more about Shane and his recovery journey, including:

• What happens "when the drug is money," and how gambling was the substance that catalyzed his addiction.
• The events of June 10th, 2020, and the fateful conversation with his dad and his wife that led Shane to choose going to a treatment center over prison.
• How in a gambling-specific treatment center Shane fell in love with recovery, as it was the first time he could relate to every single person in the room.
• How after treatment, he started to love life again and enjoy the things he used to enjoy.
• The moment when someone looked him in the eyes, and Shane realized he didn’t feel judged anymore, and he felt proud of who he was for the first time in a long time.
• How slivers of hope are oxygen, especially because the journey is never pretty or linear.
• Regaining his family’s trust, and how it was actions, not intentions, that really mattered to his family.
• How The Phoenix in Austin was created, and his family’s role in making it happen.
• His message to folks: try to love without enabling. There is hope.

Check out gamblersinrecovery.com.
If you would like to reach out to Shane, send him an email at [e-mail] .
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If you or a loved one is experiencing a mental health or substance use related crisis, the following resources can provide immediate help.*
If you are experiencing a medical/mental health emergency, dial 911.

• Dial 988 for the SAMSHA Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Available 24/7
• Text “HOME” to 741-741 for the NAMI Crisis Text Line. Available 24/7
• Dial 1-800-622-2255 to connect with a nearby treatment center & community resources through NCADD Hope Line. Available 24/7
• Call/text 1-844-326-5400 for The GSCA CARES Warm Line. Answered by Certified Addiction Recovery Empowerment Specialists with lived experience of SUD. Available any day of the year, 8:30am-11pm EST

*Note: The resources listed are provided for informational purposes only. This list is not comprehensive and does not constitute an endorsement by The Phoenix or the Rise Recover Live Podcast.
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Learn more about The Phoenix, sign up for classes, or become a volunteer at https://thephoenix.org/ .
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