I Was Buying Kratom At The Gas Station Every Morning Just To Function....It Destroyed Me

Matt Von Boecklin grew up outside Seattle, raised by a single mother after his father suffered a mental break when Matt was a toddler and had to be cared for in a home. A socially anxious kid always reaching for the edge of the cool crowd, Matt found early that alcohol quieted that feeling — and years later, a motorcycle accident introduced him to opiates and opened a door he says was impossible to un-see. What followed was a global, restless run — tramadol by the pocketful in Mexico, a rock-bottom withdrawal alone in Nairobi crying on a shower floor, and finally the substance almost nobody talks about honestly: kratom, and its concentrated form 7-OH, sold legally over the counter at gas stations and smoke shops. This episode is essential listening on a crisis that's exploding right now, because Matt lived it and beat it. He describes buying "feel free" bottles and the hardest-hitting extract shots every single morning just to get through work meetings, seeing double, losing his balance, hiding it from the fiancée he loved, and the shame of driving a mile and a half for a fix in the time it should've taken to grab a bagel. Here's what makes his story valuable: Matt is a chemical engineer, and he approached quitting like an engineer. He built himself a "quit kit" of non-prescription supplements to manage the brutal withdrawals, did the reading, and finally threw the last shot in the trash before a trivia night with his fiancée. Now 2 years sober, he can speak with rare clarity about how these legal products hook people who never thought of themselves as addicts — and exactly what it takes to get free. If you or someone you love is stuck on kratom or 7-OH and telling yourself it's fine because it's legal, this is the episode to hear. Matt Von Boecklin grew up outside Seattle, raised by a single mother after his father suffered a mental break when Matt was a toddler and had to be cared for in a home. A socially anxious kid always reaching for the edge of the cool crowd, Matt found early that alcohol quieted that feeling — and years later, a motorcycle accident introduced him to opiates and opened a door he says was impossible to un-see.What followed was a global, restless run — tramadol by the pocketful in Mexico, a rock-bottom withdrawal alone in Nairobi crying on a shower floor, and finally the substance almost nobody talks about honestly: kratom, and its concentrated form 7-OH, sold legally over the counter at gas stations and smoke shops. This episode is essential listening on a crisis that's exploding right now, because Matt lived it and beat it. He describes buying "feel free" bottles and the hardest-hitting extract shots every single morning just to get through work meetings, seeing double, losing his balance, hiding it from the fiancée he loved, and the shame of driving a mile and a half for a fix in the time it should've taken to grab a bagel.Here's what makes his story valuable: Matt is a chemical engineer, and he approached quitting like an engineer. He built himself a "quit kit" of non-prescription supplements to manage the brutal withdrawals, did the reading, and finally threw the last shot in the trash before a trivia night with his fiancée. Now 2 years sober, he can speak with rare clarity about how these legal products hook people who never thought of themselves as addicts — and exactly what it takes to get free.If you or someone you love is stuck on kratom or 7-OH and telling yourself it's fine because it's legal, this is the episode to hear. 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/rise-above/ #RiseAbove #KratomAddiction #7OH #KratomRecovery #2YearsSober #RecoveryIsPossible #AddictionRecovery#SoberLife #LegalOpioid #OpioidRecovery #MensRecovery #SobrietyJourney #MentalHealth #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #MattVonBoecklin #FeelFree #OverTheCounterAddiction #QuitKit #OneMoreThing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices