Warriors Heart reveals a Marine Veteran’s Powerful Journey Through Addiction During the Holidays

As the holidays intensify hidden battles with addiction and mental health, Warriors Heart shares Michael O’Dell’s story of pain, redemption, and purpose.

SAN ANTONIO, TX, UNITED STATES, December 9, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- While the holidays are often framed as the most joyful season of the year, it can be one of the most emotionally difficult periods for individuals struggling with addiction and mental health challenges. Relapses, alcohol misuse, trauma triggers, and overdose risks consistently rise between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, affecting millions of Americans across every walk of life.

To reach others who may be struggling this holiday season, Marine Corps Veteran Michael O’Dell, now Warriors Heart Command Center COO, is publicly sharing his story of pain, redemption, and purpose. Before dedicating his life to helping others break free from addiction, O’Dell spent years battling a personal darkness, especially during the holidays.

“I had my first drink at age 14. And by 16, I was off doing my own thing, drifting from structure and stability. The holiday season only intensified emotions that I did not know how to process,” O’Dell explains.

“I always hated the holidays,” O’Dell said. “Everybody else felt joy. I felt anger and depression. It was like trying to mix oil and water.”

In November 2006, O’Dell joined the Marine Corps and experienced a sober Christmas during boot camp. The next two Christmases were also sober for O’Dell while being deployed overseas.

O’Dell recalled, “During my second deployment, tragedy struck when a member of my unit, our saw gunner, died by suicide. The weight of that loss followed me home and deepened wounds that I was not yet able to confront.”

After separating from the military in 2010, O’Dell’s life began to unravel. One month later, O’Dell was rear-ended in a serious vehicle accident and faced a felony DWI. The woman involved, whose own son had recently left the Marine Corps and struggled with addiction, asked the judge not to press charges.

“This chain of events should have woken me up, but I was deep in addiction,” O’Dell added.

Over the next several years, O’Dell cycled through addiction, legal trouble, and 30 arrests. “Each holiday season became another reminder of how much my life was spiraling out of control,” O’Dell said.

Everything changed in 2016 when O’Dell spent Christmas in prison. “It was my first sober holiday in eight years. In a quiet concrete cell, I experienced an unexpected moment of clarity and peace. I remember reading the scripture where Apostle Paul writes of ‘a peace that surpasses all understanding’. For the first time in my life, I felt that peace, and I felt it in prison,” O’Dell shared.

This moment marked the beginning of O’Dell’s transformation. After serving two years, O’Dell rebuilt his life one decision at a time and eventually became a sober father, public speaker, motivational coach, and now the Command Center COO at Warriors Heart, a private and accredited addiction and mental health treatment center exclusively for our nation’s heroes (military, veterans and first responders). In this role, O’Dell uses the experiences that once nearly destroyed his life to help save the lives of others.

“A lot of people go through the holidays feeling like they have to pretend they are okay,” O’Dell said. “They are surrounded by people, but they feel completely alone. I have been there. And I want them to know this. They are not alone, and they are not beyond help.”

O’Dell offers a direct message to those who want to wait until January to seek treatment:
“Don’t wait until after the holidays. Give up one holiday to change the next 30.”

ABOUT: WARRIORS HEART (Bandera, Texas near San Antonio and Milford, Virginia, near Richmond and Washington D.C.) is the first and only private and accredited treatment program in the U.S. exclusively for “warriors” (active duty military, veterans, first responders and EMTs/paramedics) faced with the self-medicating struggles of alcohol addiction, prescription and drug addiction, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), mild TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and other co-occurring issues in a private, 100-bed facility on a 543-acre ranch in Bandera, Texas and 60-bed facility in Milford, Virginia. Along with a minimum 42-day peer-to-peer residential treatment program, Warriors Heart offers a full continuum of care with the option of Detox, Residential Treatment (inpatient), Day Treatment, Outpatient (IOP), Sober Living, TMS (brain treatment) and Aftercare. Warriors Heart is accredited by the Joint Commission, and is a member of the NAATP (National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers). As a “Preferred In-Network Community Care Provider”, Warriors Heart accepts TRICARE and most insurance. Warriors Heart’s work has been featured on the TODAY Show, CBS Health Watch, A&E Intervention, CNN, National Defense Radio Show, NPR, Shawn Ryan Show, Dr. Drew Midday Live, and in FOXNews, TIME, Forbes, Addiction Pro magazine, Stars and Stripes, Task & Purpose, Military Families Magazine and many more. Warriors Heart’s 24-hr hotline is 866-955-4035, and is answered by warriors. For more information, visit https://warriorsheart.com/connect

Liz H Kelly
Goody PR
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Marine Veteran and Warriors Heart Command Center COO Michael O’Dell discusses How to help troubled service members and veterans get through the holidays

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