Rise Above with Kevin Lanning

You can buy it at a gas station. It's sold next to energy drinks and lottery tickets. And it almost destroyed Matt Dean's life.

Matt Dean had already been through the pill mill era in Florida, cold turkey detoxed off 50-60 Percocet a day, built a career in real estate, and gotten sober from alcohol — twice. Then his little brother died of an overdose. And a well-meaning smoke shop employee handed him a free sample of 7-Hydroxymitragynine.

Within weeks he was spending $100 a day — burning through his 401K and savings — chasing a high from something most people have never even heard of. He went to treatment twice just to get off it. The second time, he had to go back to detox just to get off the Suboxone they gave him to get off the 7-OH.

This is one of the most important episodes of Rise Above to date — because 7-OH was just banned in Florida in August 2025, and something just like it is already taking its place.

In this eye-opening episode, Matt shares:

Growing up in a sober household and discovering opiates at 18 after surgery

The pill mill era in Florida and cold turkey detoxing off 50-60 Percocets a day

Getting sober from alcohol twice — and what kept pulling him back

Losing his little brother to an overdose and the grief that followed

How a free gas station sample of 7-OH started a $3,000-a-month addiction

What 7-OH withdrawal actually feels like — and why treatment centers don't know how to treat it

His relapse after treatment — and the second rehab stay just to get off Suboxone

Where he is today with 3+ months clean and what he's building

If you or someone you love is using Kratom or 7-OH and thinks it's "just a supplement" — you need to hear this.

🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week

If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment.
Call or Text: 844-443-5669
Visit: https: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may

#RiseAbove #7Hydroxymitragynine #7OH #KratomAddiction #GasStationDrugs #AddictionRecovery #SoberLife#OpioidEpidemic #KratomWithdrawal #RecoveryIsPossible #NewDrugs #FentanylAlternative #MentalHealth#SobrietyJourney #PillMillEra #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #MattDean #FloridaAddiction #OneMoreDay
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John Luedke had it all on paper — a scholarship to Michigan State, a successful father, a big house, and every material thing a kid could want. But underneath it all, he was drowning. His parents' affair and messy seven-year divorce left him as the emotional middleman between two broken people. He got cut from the basketball team. He lost his identity. And he spent the next decade eating, drinking, using cocaine, nitrous oxide, and anything else he could find to fill the hole.

At his heaviest, John weighed 315 pounds. By his senior year, he was paying people to take his classes, doing coke in Cabo while being held at gunpoint by cartel members, and surviving a campus mass shooting — all while telling himself he had it under control.

He got sober on January 1st, 2024. He was 22 years old.

In this raw and honest episode of Rise Above, John shares:

Growing up privileged while quietly falling apart after his parents' divorce

Getting cut from basketball and losing the only identity he had

Paying people to take his classes while drinking and drugging through COVID

Surviving the Michigan State campus shooting and what those hours of terror felt like

Being held at gunpoint by cartel members in Cabo at 5am — the moment everything changed

Going from 315 pounds to 196 through fitness, sobriety, and deep inner work

How journaling, meditation and therapy helped him finally face the root causes

Writing his book to help other young men who are suffering in silence

This one is for every young guy out there who looks fine on the outside but is completely lost on the inside.

🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week 📲 Follow John Luedke: find him on Instagram and check out his book

If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment.
Call or Text: 844-443-5669
Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may

#RiseAbove #CollegeAddiction #SoberAt23 #CocaineAddiction #WeightLossJourney #MichiganStateShooting#AddictionRecovery #SoberLife #MensmentalHealth #RecoveryIsPossible #GenZSober #YoungAndSober #75Hard#TraumaAndRecovery #SobrietyJourney #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #JohnLuedke #CartelStory#OneMoreDay

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Elisa Nicole Saunders was a Palm Beach County schoolteacher, standing in front of classrooms every day — and quietly drinking and drugging her way through 30 years of addiction. Two DUIs. A five-car pile-up. Crashing drunk into a tow truck while two people had to run for their lives. Sitting in a jail cell staring at her wrist, wondering how it got this bad.

She never wanted to get sober. A judge gave her the nudge.

Now, coming up on 15 years of sobriety, Elisa has rebuilt her life from the ground up — from losing her teaching certificate, to borrowing gas money to attend an addiction conference, to becoming a respected professional in the drug and alcohol rehabilitation industry in Los Angeles.

In this honest and deeply moving episode of Rise Above, Elisa shares:

Teaching school hungover and in active alcoholism for over a decade

Two DUIs — including a drunk driving crash that nearly killed two people

What it really means to be "dry" versus truly sober — and why she was more miserable without drinking than with it

Relapsing after treatment and spending years "white-knuckling" without a program

Why financial amends took her 14 years to complete — and why she finally did it

Losing both parents in sobriety and navigating grief without picking up

How a deep spiritual connection became the foundation everything else was built on

Going from Hurricane Liza — the woman who wrecked every room she walked into — to a woman who gives back without expecting anything in return

This one is for anyone who thinks they're functioning just fine — and for anyone who's been sober a while but still feels like something's missing.

🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week 📲 Follow Elisa: @elisansaunders (Instagram & Facebook) | linkedin.com/in/elisansaunders

If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment.
Call or Text: 844-443-5669
Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may

#RiseAbove #FunctioningAlcoholic #AlcoholRecovery #SoberLife #15YearsSober #DUIStory #TeacherInRecovery#AddictionRecovery #RecoveryIsPossible #SpiritualAwakening #WomenInRecovery #SobrietyJourney#MentalHealth #GriefAndRecovery #TwelveStepper #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #ElisaSaunders#DrinkingAndDriving #OneMoreDay
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Jordan Freeman had everything going for him — loving parents, a spot at one of the top business schools in the country, varsity baseball, and a bright future. But behind closed doors, he was ordering Xanax off the dark web, gambling with money he didn't have, blacking out and not remembering a single thing from the night before — and calling it normal.

By his sophomore year at Indiana University, Jordan was locked in his apartment alone, blinds down, friends knocking on the door, completely lost. He didn't want to die. He just couldn't see any hope left.

Now, coming up on 5 years clean from drugs and gambling and nearly 3 years alcohol-free, Jordan is finishing his Masters in Social Work at NYU and helping others find the path he fought so hard to find himself.

In this raw and honest episode of Rise Above, Jordan shares:

Ordering fentanyl-laced Xanax off the dark web in high school and college

How gambling consumed every dollar, every thought, and every relationship

The day he sat his parents down and finally said "I can't stop — I need help"

Three months in treatment in Orange County and what actually changed

Why he relapsed on alcohol nine months in — and how he came back stronger

What it really looks like to get sober in your early twenties

How he's now guiding families and individuals through the recovery process

If you're a young person who thinks addiction could never happen to you — this episode is for you.

🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week 📲 Follow Jordan Freeman: @blueprintbyjordan (TikTok & Instagram)

If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment.
Call or Text: 844-443-5669
Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may

#RiseAbove #CollegeAddiction #GamblingAddiction #SoberLife #XanaxAddiction #DarkWeb #RecoveryIsPossible#GenZSober #AddictionRecovery #YoungAndSober #GamblersAnonymous #SobrietyJourney #MentalHealth#RecoveryCoach #SocialWork #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #JordanFreeman #FentanylAwareness#OneMoreDay
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I went inside Compassion Behavioral Health (CBH) headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to experience neurofeedback firsthand — and I vlogged the whole thing.

In this episode, I go through my first two sessions:
🧠 Session 1 — Brain Mapping: Reading my actual brainwave patterns, identifying high-stress areas, mood fluctuations, and self-regulation challenges.
⚡ Session 2 — Brain Training: Wearing sensors while my brain learns to regulate itself in real time — watching a screen dim and brighten based on my own brainwave activity.

We talk about how neurofeedback is being used to address:
✔️ PTSD & Trauma
✔️ Anxiety & Depression
✔️ ADHD
✔️ Addiction (drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex addiction)
✔️ Emotional dysregulation & mood swings

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🏥 ABOUT COMPASSION BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
Compassion Behavioral Health (CBH) is a leading treatment center based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, dedicated to helping people heal from addiction, mental health challenges, and co-occurring disorders. CBH offers a full spectrum of evidence-based and innovative therapies — including neurofeedback — tailored to each person's unique brain mapping results.

Their team doesn't believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. Every client's brain is mapped individually so that training targets *their* specific areas of dysregulation. I saw firsthand how genuinely passionate the CBH team is about seeing people recover and re-enter the world with more confidence.

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📞 If you or someone you love is struggling, reach out to Compassion Behavioral Health:
📱 Call or Text: 844-443-5669
🌐 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may

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This is not a quick fix — it's a process. And that's exactly why I'm documenting mine.

Drop a comment below if you've ever tried neurofeedback or if you have questions. Let's rise above, together. 🙏

#RiseAbove #KevinLanning #Neurofeedback
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