Sober 28 Years: You Don't Have to Hit Rock Bottom | Dialed In Health

You do not have to hit rock bottom to get sober. Jon Sommervold runs a 30 night, 12 step immersion program in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with roughly a 50 percent success rate, when the national average is closer to 10 percent. In this episode he explains how recovery actually starts, and why waiting for rock bottom is the wrong plan. This is Dialed In Health with Melissa Goodwin. Jon Sommervold is the Executive Director of Tallgrass Recovery and Sober Living Homes in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He has been sober 28 years, he has sponsored 40 to 50 people, and every single person who works at Tallgrass is living in 12 step recovery. We get into the questions most rehab websites and influencer pep talks skip: why addiction is a disease of isolation, what a higher power actually means when you are not religious, what to do with the religious baggage and hypocrisy that pushes people away, and the honest difference between heavy use and addiction. If you love someone who is struggling, or you are quietly wondering about your own drinking or use, this conversation is for you. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN Why you do not have to hit rock bottom, and why "choose your bottom" is the safer truth How a 12 step immersion program reaches a 50 percent success rate when the average is near 10 percent What higher power really means in the 12 steps, including for atheists How someone gets spiritual when they are too sick to think straight What to do with religious baggage and the hypocrisy that turned you off The real difference between heavy drinking and addiction, in one honest question Why the opposite of addiction is connection, not just sobriety What to say to someone who does not think they have a problem Why family is the hardest voice for an addict to hear, and where Al-Anon fits Why willpower does not beat addiction, because it is a disease, not a moral failing Exactly how to start at Tallgrass if you or someone you love needs help today QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS EPISODE Do you have to hit rock bottom to get sober? No. Jon says to choose your bottom instead, because searching for a lower bottom is dangerous. Are the 12 steps religious? No. They are spiritual, not religious, with no hierarchy and no test of how you pray. What does higher power mean? Anything greater than you that loves and forgives you. His first higher power was the fact of a meeting. How do you tell heavy use from addiction? When you start, do you stop? About 90 percent can drink normally. The other 10 percent cannot. How do you help someone you love? Do not stop showing up, skip the passive aggressive hints, and ask if they are getting what they want. CHAPTERS 0:00 A loved one disappears in front of you 1:19 Welcome to Dialed In Health 2:05 How Jon became Executive Director of Tallgrass 3:46 From third grade to daily use: the story 4:41 What he was really anesthetizing 5:46 Forgiveness is a decision 9:29 I tried every medical thing 10:11 Why pills and maintenance can other the addict 12:07 Maintenance vs recovery, and why CBT struggles 14:15 How Tallgrass gets 50% sober when the average is 10% 16:37 The 12 steps are not religion: higher power explained 18:15 His first higher power was the fact of a meeting 21:26 The 12 steps, walked through one by one 31:55 Why resentment is the most dangerous thing in recovery 34:48 From 18 to 84: how every generation works the steps 39:03 Families, interventions, and why love is hard to hear 42:15 What Al-Anon actually is 43:27 Heavy use or addiction? The honest litmus test 45:47 Why the opposite of addiction is connection 49:07 Myth busters: rock bottom, willpower, and quitting for love 52:09 If he had a billboard in Sioux Falls 54:24 How to start at Tallgrass today ABOUT THE GUEST Jon Sommervold is the Executive Director of Tallgrass Recovery and Sober Living Homes in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, a 30 night 12 step immersion program followed by sober living. Phone 605-368-5559. Website tallgrassrecovery.org. ABOUT DIALED IN HEALTH Dialed In Health brings in the people who actually do the work, the providers and practitioners who see patients every day, and asks the questions you would ask if you were sitting across from them. Hosted by Melissa Goodwin. New episodes weekly. FIND A TRUSTED PROVIDER Browse vetted providers in the Dialed In Health directory: https://dialedin.health/the-directory IF YOU NEED HELP NOW SAMHSA National Helpline, free and confidential, 24/7: 1-800-662-4357. If you are in crisis, call or text 988. To reach Tallgrass Recovery directly, call 605-368-5559. DISCLAIMER This episode is educational and informational only. It is not medical advice and not a substitute for evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment by a licensed provider. #AddictionRecovery #12Steps #Sobriety #Sober #MentalHealth YouTube: @dialedinhealth | Web: https://dialedin.health