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45: Teens & Parents, Mental Health, Drugs, & Healing as a Family Unit // The Story of Aaron Huey

Background:

Aaron Huey has been working with children, teens, and parents for over 18 years. After ten years directing camps and empowerment programs around the world, Aaron opened Fire Mountain because he wanted to work with kids and families on a deeper level. Over the first few years of running programs like Teen Rites of Passage The Warrior Phoenix Challenge, and numerous cries for help from parents, Aaron realized the need to turn his efforts towards teens struggling with drugs, alcohol and the behaviors and issues related to addiction. An addict in recovery since 2000, he felt a calling to put together an expert team and open Fire Mountain. His mission is to awaken confidence and leadership. “It‘s not about being better, it‘s about giving up the struggle to be different from who you are.”

Aaron’s formal educational background is in acting. He graduated from the top acting school in the US, The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1990. His skills in comedy and drama make him an influential speaker and presenter, and a favorite among the kids. His confidence, compassion, and humor set the tone for deep healing, and fun. Aaron is also trained as an EMT, a Wilderness Survival Instructor and Martial Arts teacher, all of which he weaves into the Fire Mountain RTC curriculum.

 

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

  • 3:15 In 2021, Aaron found out that his property insurance policy would bring his business down. He described it as being blindsided by global warming.
  • 4:36 In Sept 2021, Aaron closed his treatment facility. This experience made him realize a very important lesson.
  • 9:08 When the COVID19 pandemic happened, Aaron had to make sure that he and his staff members get vaccinated regardless of what he thinks about vaccines.
  • 13:22 Aaron offers his insight about resilience and overcoming huge challenges.
  • 17:15 Eric shares his personal story about his experiences during his teenage years dealing with depression, anxiety, drugs, and booze.
  • 20:43 At a very young age, Aaron was diagnosed with ADHD. After high school, he was sexually assaulted by his best friend.
  • 22:10 When he hit his rock bottom, Aaron decided that he wanted to quit drugs. In 1998, he experienced unconditional love that finally made him quit using drugs.
  • 26:18 About a year into his recovery from drug addiction, Aaron realized that the recovery process is even more selfish than addiction.
  • 32:13 According to Aaron, gateways are not cannabis, alcohol, or video games. Gateways are actually unmet needs.
  • 37:14 Aaron talks about how they do their treatment process for kids and teenagers.
  • 39:51 Currently, Aaron is working with a family where the father held his dead daughter in his arms until the paramedics came and revived her.
  • 43:52 When treating kids, Aaron explains why it’s not the fault of the parents but it’s the fault of genealogy.
  • 46:45 For Aaron, being transparent is the new tough love. He explains what he means by parents being transparent in order to help treat their kids.
  • 52:31 If people want to reach out to Aaron, he has a Facebook Group: Parenting Teens That Struggle. He also has a podcast entitled: Beyond Risk and Back, which is for parents with struggling teens. His website is FireMountainPrograms.com and he also recommends checking out BrabApp.com for those who want to work directly with him.
  • 54:41 Aaron provides his last words of wisdom regarding self-concept versus self-worth and self-esteem.

This Episode Brought to You By:

  • 35:40 The Man, the Myth, the Canadian Legend: Eric Gilbert-Williams. Eric put together this very podcast as a passion project to help you & others. If you’d be so kind to Subscribe & Leave a Written Review of the show, it’d really make our day! You can Subscribe & Rate our Podcast right here: From Rock Bottom to Rockin’ It..

 

Key Points from the Interview:

  • “What you seek is seeking you. Anybody who is listening to this, who still struggles with the cravings, me too. Who still struggles with the trauma of being sexually assaulted or abandoned or abused, me too. And what you seek is seeking you. And there is a point where you got to stop looking. I kinda liken it to hide and seek. Like you search and you search and you search for this hidden thing but at some point, if you just sit and become open to it, it gets bored hiding from you and it allows itself to be seen.”
  • “When you’re in the anxiety attack or you’re in your depression attack, do one thing today of those five – water, food, sleep, movement, breathe. Do one thing and you can go back to bed. But just keep doing one thing every day. That’s context, that’s keep swinging, keep kicking a hole in the wall when the door gets slammed even if they’re little kicks. You’ll wear a hole, you’ll wear a hole.”

 

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