Pain meds after surgery were supposed to help her heal, not take over her life. Years of prescriptions following a C-section, miscarriages, and unresolved childhood sexual trauma quietly turned into addiction, shame, and a double life that looked perfect on the outside while crumbling on the inside. When everything finally imploded, Shannon said yes to help, went to The Meadows in Arizona, and started the hard work of sobriety, inner child healing, and facing what she had been trying to numb for years.

In this conversation, Shannon talks with Scott about why addiction is a symptom, not an identity, and why shame and silence keep so many vets stuck. She shares how she supports veterans, including her own partner, who survived a suicide attempt, by creating judgment-free spaces, normalizing dark thoughts, and asking the real question: why would dying feel easier than speaking up. From powerful inner child work and self-forgiveness to psychedelic-assisted healing with iboga at Ayo Life Sciences in Mexico, Shannon explains how some veterans are reducing PTSD, TBI symptoms, and pill loads while rebuilding a new sense of purpose after the uniform. They close with simple daily practices like gratitude lists, reframing painful experiences, and finding new missions through retreats and coaching that help vets move from fight-or-flight into a life that actually feels worth staying in.

Timestamps:

• 00:01:35 - When Shannon's perfect life implodes, and she finally says yes to help
• 00:06:02 - Miscarriages, childhood trauma, and how prescriptions became her coping strategy
• 00:08:20 - Addiction as a symptom and why she refuses to shame anyone for using it to cope
• 00:26:35 - Inner child work, protecting the little boy who never felt safe, and why vets struggle to see themselves as worthy of love
• 00:31:18 - Iboga plant medicine in Mexico, massive shifts for PTSD and TBI, and why preparation and safety matter so much

• Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1
• Website: https://www.angelgoddesshealing.com
• Follow Shannon Curtis on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angel.goddess.healing
• Follow Shannon Curtis on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelgoddesshealing

View the transcript for this episode.

Coming home was supposed to be the safe part. For the 1st Battalion 17th Infantry, it did not work out that way. They lost 22 soldiers during their 2009 to 2010 Afghanistan deployment, then as many more after returning home. At one funeral, a soldier finally said what many were thinking: "When is someone going to do something about this?" That question pushed former platoon leader Adam Swift to start searching for an answer in the middle of the night, which led him to The Independence Fund and its unit retreat program, Operation Resilience.

Scott sits down with Adam and Independence Fund Deputy Chief of Operations Steven Rozina to hear how Operation Resilience brings entire units back together for a long weekend. Flights are covered, the veteran pays nothing, and the schedule blends fun sober events like NASCAR and hockey with long, guided clinical sessions. Units literally map out their deployment, from pre-mob through the worst days downrange and into life back home, finally talking through firefights, IED blasts, and moral injuries they have carried alone for years.

Adam shares what it was like to watch brothers he had not seen in 15 years walk out of the hotel elevators, and how The Independence Fund quietly recreated the teepee memorial from their FOB so the unit could honor their fallen around a final-night bonfire. You will also hear exactly how to get your own unit considered for Operation Resilience and why you do not need to be in command to step up and start the process.

Timestamps:

• 00:03:30: The suicide funeral that sparked Operation Resilience and a hard decision to say no more
• 00:09:30: Adam realizes being home feels more dangerous than Afghanistan after losing 22 more brothers
• 00:15:15: Inside the marathon clinical session, where the unit spends eight hours walking through their deployment
• 00:17:45: Elevators open, brothers step out, and a battalion reconnects after 15 years apart
• 00:49:15: Scott's challenge to listeners to be the one who steps up and brings their unit to Operation Resilience

• Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1
• The Independence Fund Website: https://independencefund.org/
• Operation Resilience: https://independencefund.org/pages/operation-resiliency
• Follow The Independence Fund on X: https://twitter.com/indyfund
• Follow The Independence Fund on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheIndependenceFund/
• Follow The Independence Fund on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/independencefund/
• Follow The Independence Fund on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-independence-fund/
• Follow The Independence Fund on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUrXtHO1C7HiGNSoOfWlqwg
• Follow Adam Swift on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-swift-281a688b/
• Follow Adam Swift on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adam.swift.940
• 17th Infantry Association: https://www.17thinfantry.org/

Marine combat leader and entrepreneur Rich Brown shares how TBI ended his time in uniform, pushed him into building Honor Bound FIT, and led to GUIDON22, a 22-mile ruck that pairs hard miles with stories of veterans and first responders lost to suicide. You will hear how those stories, family testimonies, and simple phrases like "good friends have hard conversations" give vets a way to move, talk, and stop passing their pain to the people they love.

Timestamps:

• 02:30: From Marine infantry and TBI to unexpected entrepreneurship
• 08:45: Launching Honor Bound FIT in a parking lot on Memorial Day
• 13:10: How GUIDON22 turns rucks and stories into suicide awareness
• 21:20: Passing on your pain vs letting your tribe carry it with you
• 33:40: Creative ruck events, community impact, and how to get involved

• Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1
• Website: https://www.HonorBoundFIT.com
• Follow Rich Brown on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThisIsRichBrown
• Follow Rich Brown on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisisrichbrown
• Follow Rich Brown on Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/@sheepdogalpha1
• Follow Rich Brown on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheepdogalpha/

View the transcript for this episode.