Jess sits down with Jennifer Chase—certified life coach and founder of Rise Addiction Life Coaching—to rethink a well-worn myth: Is trauma the real gateway to addiction? Jennifer shares her generational story of alcoholism, childhood sexual abuse, a brain-tumor surgery that led to opioid dependence, and the exact tools and reframes that helped her reclaim voice, power, and peace.
We cover:
A closing thought
Healing isn’t linear. When we shine light on shame, we make space for breath, choice, and self-worth.
Chapters
00:00 — TW + welcome
01:05 — “Perfect” outside, chaos inside
04:40 — Truth-teller, not “black sheep”
08:48 — Brain tumor → opioids: “Where has this been?”
12:50 — Shame spirals & escalating use
14:55 — When your child mirrors your pain
18:58 — Rock bottom → treatment
21:05 — Forgiving to reclaim power
25:12 — Families, enabling & new boundaries
29:00 — Choosing your hard
34:20 — Tools you can use today
40:05 — Emotional safety in unsafe systems
46:40 — “The cave you fear…”
49:55 — What life after trauma means today
Resources & Links
Tap Follow on Spotify/Apple and Save this episode so you don’t miss what’s next. Sharing this with a friend helps more than you know. 💛