Jay Wylie on Scott H Silverman's Happy Hour Podcast

In this episode we meet Jay Wylie, a San Diego resident who has dedicated himself to working with others to heal the damage wrought by substance abuse disorders. Listen to Jay tell his stirring story of rising through the ranks to become captain and commander of a naval 'guided missile' destroyer. The challenges and difficulties he coped with led Jay down a path of progressive alcohol abuse until he finally sought treatment and began a life of recovery over a decade ago.

Now, Jay Wylie has joined the Confidential Recovery team as Operations Manager and become an influential 'change-agent' in the lives of many who seek drug rehabilitation with us.  He specializes specializes in helping San Diego Veterans recover from a substance use disorder.

Jay Wylie is also the Cabinet Secretary for Safe Homes Coalition, bringing his years of recovery and training to help the mission.  Jay also serves as Operations Manager at Confidential Recovery—a San Diego outpatient treatment program that

Jay Wylie has been instrumental in expanding Confidential Recovery’s services to Veterans-in-need, and he frequently appears in the media discussing the issues that face Veterans. Read more in this article about how the Ukraine Conflict Causes PTSD for San Diego Veterans-in-Recovery, and how Jay was instrumental in helping guide the VA Secretary McDonough and Congressman Levin in Confidential Recovery Attends Round Table about Veterans’ Wellbeing in San Diego.

In this podcast, Jay related how the stress of service, separation, and command led to his increasing abuse of alcohol, to numb away feelings of fear, loneliness, remorse and regret, which is a common thing that many Veterans experience through their service. Many veterans self-medicate to avoid feelings of “survivor’s guilt”, or to imagine what they could have differently or better in a tense situation. These feelings have been compounded by a sense of failure as conflicts like Afghanistan have ended poorly. Many Veterans feel abandoned and even more isolated after the collapse of the “political solution” to a war they believed in and fought very hard to win. Through recovery, Jay is now able to help other Veterans find healthy strategies to cope with these feelings and achieve sustainable life long recovery. His journey has become their journey.

Jay Wylie May 2022 Appearance on Happy Hour  Podcast

Jay Wylie appeared on Scott H. Silverman's Happy Hour Podcast again this month to discuss the challenges that both active military and Veterans in San Diego face in coping with the stress, "warrior ethos" and perfectionism of serving, and then also the frequent occurrence of PTSD that haunts Veterans after their service is done (and leads to so many of them struggling with an SUD).

From the "Happy Hour Podcast" webpage: Jay Wylie, Veteran Coordinator/Operations Manager at Confidential Recovery, San Diego, is a Southern California native who served as a Naval Officer for 22 years. However, a serious drinking problem derailed that career and returned him to civilian life. Facing the same dark crossroad that all substance abusers face, Jay chose recovery and is now 9 years sober, is very active in the 12-Step community and is completing his certification as a Substance Use Disorder Counselor. He currently resides in San Diego with his wife and 2 children.