As someone that was introduced to alcohol at a young age and battled addiction throughout his teenage and young-adult years, Zack Ament knows the ins and outs of substance abuse well. After moving through his own recovery journey, he decided he wanted to make a difference and developed Westwind Recovery in Los Angeles, California.

In today’s episode, he shares his journey to understanding his sexuality in the context of his family, developing a dependence on alcohol, how mental health fluctuates in the process of confronting addiction, and how recovery requires a strong foundation.

“Rarely does someone come in and say, “I’m gonna take this one day at a time, slowly.’ I most often hear, ‘OK, I’m here. Help me get a job, a girlfriend…’ They make the decision to be sober and want to start working on everything else… It’s a slow process, and we really encourage people to get a strong foundation in their recovery before they start even attempting some of these things that add stressors to their lives.” (18:13)

Zack also encourages people to utilize the resources and professionals available to them in recovery because he understands how emotionally and physically taxing the process can be. It’s part of the reason why Westwind is so influential. It maximizes the impact of community support through its sober living houses.

“There’s 12-step programs. You can go to an AA meeting/NA meeting, raise your hand, and say what you’re struggling with, and often that first step in helping yourself, everyone will rally around you and help you do what you’ve gotta do. ” (25:11)