I Was a Child Protective Services Worker Addicted to M3th & F3ntanyl | Ep 167

On this intense and emotional episode of Get a Grip Podcast, hosts Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes sit down with Brandy Harden for a brutally honest conversation about addiction, trauma, loss, and survival. Brandy opens up about her chaotic upbringing, growing up with her father after her mother left when she was young, and how rebellion and risky behavior began early in her life.

From stealing cars in high school to buying a house at just 19 years old, Brandy’s story is full of extreme highs and devastating lows. She shares how toxic relationships and bad decisions pulled her deeper into the drug world, including being manipulated into transporting meth, cheating with dealers, and spiraling into addiction herself. What started as experimentation quickly turned into a lifestyle filled with dangerous situations, self-destruction, and losing control.

Brandy talks openly about using drugs while working professional jobs, including at CPS and Job & Family Services, where addiction completely overtook her life. Despite passing drug tests and maintaining appearances for a time, behind the scenes she was battling severe mental health struggles, reckless spending, and a growing dependency that drained her emotionally, financially, and spiritually. She describes blowing through tens of thousands of dollars, losing her home, becoming homeless, and eventually hitting rock bottom.

The episode becomes even more heartbreaking as Brandy reflects on losing contact with her daughter, a pain she still carries every day. She also recounts terrifying moments of addiction, including wrecking her car while high, hitchhiking across Ohio while dopesick, struggling through methadone treatment complications, and experiencing the traumatic death of someone she loved after desperate attempts to save his life.

But through all the chaos, Brandy’s story is ultimately one of honesty, accountability, and hope. She speaks about where she is today, the lessons addiction has taught her, and the message she wants others to hear before they lose everything. She also shares emotional words directed toward her children and discusses her plans for recovery moving forward.

This episode of Get a Grip Podcast is raw, heartbreaking, and deeply human — a conversation about addiction, mental health, motherhood, grief, and the long road toward healing and redemption.

🔥 Expect emotion. Expect truth. Expect hope.

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