STICK WITH THE WINNERS! –
Oct. 14, 2025 – Dr. Cali Estes is a celebrity addiction specialist, psychologist, and founder of The Addictions Academy and Sober On Demand®. A six-time best-selling author and media expert, she’s helped thousands worldwide overcome addiction and burnout, combining neuroscience, mindset, and holistic strategies to turn pain into purpose and chaos into clarity.
Q. If you are in recovery, what was your drug(s) of choice and when is your sobriety date?
A. My drug of choice was speed and diet pills. I got sober at 23 years old.
Q. Is there anything special in your sobriety toolkit that helps keep you sober?
A. YES! My secret weapon is squats. Movement is medicine. Exercise naturally boosts dopamine — your brain’s feel-good chemical. You can’t be sad and happy at the same time, and you can’t be depressed and happy at the same time. When you move your body, you change your brain chemistry. That’s why I use exercise as a non-negotiable mental health biohack. It’s one of the fastest ways to shift your mood, elevate your mindset, and take back control of how you feel.
Q. Do you think addiction is an illness, disease, a choice, or a wicked twist of fate?
A. Addiction is a coping mechanism. Our brain learns patterns through repetition, and neuroscience shows it can form these pathways in as little as 30 days. Once your brain learns to use a chemical or behavior to stop a painful feeling, it locks that pattern in — and it will want more of it. That’s why recovery isn’t just about removing the substance; it’s about retraining the brain. You have to replace that old coping pattern with new, healthy ones that create the same emotional regulation — like movement, mindfulness, and purpose
