Improving A Conscious Connection: How Prayer and Meditation Overcomes Anxiety | American Recovery



He grew up in foster care with a schizoaffective mother, and a father in prison. He was selling heroin out of his grandmother’s house. Today he’s 17 years sober and runs a recovery program in LA.
Chris Howard is a substance abuse counselor, interventionist, and certified case manager who has spent over a decade helping people get sober at Ethos Recovery — the same program that helped save his life. But in this episode, he’s not here to sugarcoat anything.
Chris and Aaron Prager have a no-holds-barred conversation about prayer, meditation, personal accountability, and why Chris thinks the modern treatment industry is doing more harm than good.
In this episode:
✔️ Growing up in poverty, foster care, and chaos — and refusing to call it a victim story ✔️ Why Chris believes he was born with the gene for opiates — and whether trauma even matters
✔️ The cop who let him go with $500 worth of Narcos and told him to get his life together ✔️ How prayer and meditation work for someone who isn’t religious — and resists being so ✔️ Why Chris didn’t truly connect with God until 3 years ago — after 14 years sober
✔️ The “milkshake study” and why the narrative you believe about yourself is everything ✔️ Why most treatment centers are just expensive spa vacations — from someone who works in the industry
✔️ Why teenagers probably shouldn’t be in 12-step meetings (a controversial take from an insider)
✔️ The diagnosis problem: three therapists, three different answers — and why that’s not science.
This is one of the most intellectually honest conversations about addiction and recovery we’ve had on American Recovery. Chris doesn’t trade in war stories or patchouli tree-hugging inspiration — he trades in truth.
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