Grateful to see Collectors MD featured in an article that appeared on the front page of The Wall Street Journal yesterday.

As the modern collecting hobby continues to grow, so does the importance of conversations around intentional engagement, education, support, and ensuring that collecting remains a positive part of people’s lives. It’s incredibly encouraging to see that conversation reaching broader audiences through national platforms like The Wall Street Journal, and we're grateful to have the work we're doing at Collectors MD included in the story.

We're especially proud that Sean Harding, our very first community member and now an important member of our team, was featured in the piece.

Since joining our community last year, Sean has made incredible progress in his recovery and has gone from seeking support himself to helping provide it for others. Today, Sean helps lead peer support meetings through both Collectors MD and The Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado's Unboxed: Powered By Collectors MD, and has become an important voice in the work we're doing.

Sean is a shining example of what's possible in recovery - and of the spirit behind Step 12 of GA & The CMD Recovery Guide: paying it forward by using his own experience to help others find hope, support, and a path toward healing.

We're also excited to share that Sean will be joining The Wall Street Journal's podcast to talk more about his recovery journey, his experience with Collectors MD, and the work he's now doing to help others navigating similar challenges.

Very grateful to Hanna Krueger, Sarah Nassauer, and The Wall Street Journal for the opportunity to be part of this story, and especially proud of Sean for continuing to use his experience to help others.

If you'd like to read the article, you can check it out here: https://bit.ly/4g0ac7R

In this episode of The Collector’s Compass, Alyx sits down with Lauren Johnson, LCSW, a licensed clinical social worker, Marine Corps veteran, mental performance coach, and founder of Ascent Wellness Group.

Before becoming a therapist specializing in gambling and compulsive behaviors, Lauren experienced many of the same challenges that countless collectors and hobbyists face today. Through her company, The Playing Field, she became deeply immersed in sports card breaks, finding herself taking risks and blurring the lines between business, investing, and compulsion.

Despite understanding addiction professionally, Lauren found herself experiencing firsthand just how powerful and deceptive compulsive behaviors can become, particularly within highly stimulating environments designed around constant access, urgency, and dopamine.

Alyx and Lauren discuss her journey into collecting, therapy, and recovery, her experience in the Marine Corps, building a sports cards business, and the difficult realization that collecting had evolved into something far different than she originally intended.

They also explore the thin line between business, investing, and gambling, examining risk-taking, chasing, sunk-cost fallacy, and why highly functioning individuals are often vulnerable to compulsive behaviors. Lauren shares the cognitive distortions that can keep people leaning further into the chase and why addiction often affects people who appear to have everything together on the surface.

They also explore recovery, resilience, and the power of healing in community. Lauren shares what recovery has taught her, why she calls herself a "delusional optimist," and how her military experience shaped her resilience.

They also discuss the "dopamine economy" and how today's increasingly stimulating digital environments - from smartphones to live-streaming platforms - shape our behavior, while sharing practical strategies for healthier engagement.

At its core, this episode is about awareness, resilience, intentionality, and understanding why healing happens through connection rather than isolation.

If you've ever wondered why some hobbies can slowly become all-consuming, questioned where the line exists between passion and compulsion, or struggled to understand why intelligent, high-functioning people sometimes find themselves caught in cycles they never intended to enter, this is a conversation worth listening to.

Sometimes the issue isn't the cards, the breaks, or the platforms themselves. It's learning how to navigate environments intentionally when so many systems are designed to keep us chasing more.

Subscribe, share, and join the conversation around awareness, intentional collecting, and building healthier relationships with our hobbies and behaviors.

Watch The Episode On YouTube

Learn More & Join The Movement:

Website: collectorsmd.com

Nonprofit: lohas.org/client/the-cmd-foundation

Socials: bio.collectorsmd.com

Weekly Meetings: bit.ly/45koiMX

Contact: info@collectorsmd.com

YT: ‪@collectorsmd

IG: @collectorsmd

Contact Lauren:

Website: ascent-wellness.co

Psychology Today: bit.ly/4vcjZhk

Contact: hello@ascent-wellness.co | (303) 550-9757

Help for Problem Gambling: Call or Text 800-GAMBLER

This Episode of The Collector's Compass is sponsored by ‪All Touch Case, a premium display and protection solution designed to showcase your cards while keeping them safe. Use code COLLECTORSMD for 15% of your order. Collect. Protect. It’s a peace of mind.

#CollectorsMD | #TheCMDFoundation | #AscentWellness | #RipResponsibly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6222d1AC-4Y

Most people will never have a problem with collecting. But for those who do, the consequences can be very real.

No one talks about the part where collecting stops feeling like a hobby and starts feeling like an obligation. When excitement turns into chasing, spending, secrecy, and the belief that the next rip, purchase, or big hit will finally be enough.

We do.

Collectors MD provides support, community, and real tools from collectors who have been there. Because struggling with a hobby you love can feel incredibly isolating - but you don’t have to navigate these challenges alone.

Collect with intention, not compulsion.

#CollectorsMD | #TheCMDFoundation | #RipResponsibly 

https://www.instagram.com/p/DbddBKyRX97/

Alyx Effron | July 27, 2026

Presented By All Touch Case

Last week, I had the incredible honor of presenting at the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) Annual Conference in Nashville. Several days later, I’m still struggling to put the experience into words. It wasn’t simply another speaking engagement. It was one of those rare moments in life where you pause, look around, and realize just how far you’ve come.

Eighteen months ago, I was still trying to rebuild my life after gambling addiction nearly destroyed it. I was learning how to recover, how to be honest with myself, and how to find purpose in one of the most painful chapters of my life. If someone had told me back then that I would one day be standing on stage at the largest problem gambling conference of the year, presenting my own work to an audience of clinicians, researchers, treatment providers, and advocates from across the country, I never would have believed them.

And yet, there I was – standing before a room of more than 150 people, every seat filled, sharing my journey that ultimately led to the creation of Collectors MD.

I don’t mind admitting that I became emotional during my presentation. It wasn’t because I was nervous. It was because, for the first time, I fully appreciated what that moment represented. It wasn’t just a presentation – it was the culmination of eighteen months of recovery, late nights, setbacks, hard conversations, and an unwavering belief that this issue deserved a place within the broader behavioral health conversation.

I’m incredibly grateful to NCPG for embracing Collectors MD with open arms and giving this emerging topic a platform.

Despite a few travel delays and a flight cancellation, we finally made it to Nashville. I’ll admit I started to get frustrated for a bit, but it turned into a good reminder to practice a little radical acceptance. Sometimes the only productive thing you can do is let go of what you can’t control and focus on what comes next. From the moment we arrived, everyone we met was welcoming, encouraging, and genuinely curious. It was clear that people weren’t dismissing this conversation – they wanted to understand it.

I’m equally grateful to the Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado (PGCC) for believing in this work from the very beginning. Together, we’ve built something far greater than a single presentation. Through our partnership, we’ve developed Unboxed: Powered by Collectors MD, created facilitator and participant curricula that are now available for anyone to review, and begun building a framework that will help organizations better support individuals navigating these behaviors for years to come.

It was an absolute privilege to present “Not Just a Hobby: How the Culture of Collecting Can Escalate Gambling Disorder” at the NCPG Annual Conference in Nashville.

One of the most humbling parts of the week was the response from those who attended our session. As I stood at the podium moments before we began and looked out at a completely full room, I had to take a moment to soak it all in.

Throughout the presentation, the audience remained incredibly engaged. People were taking notes, nodding along, and asking thoughtful questions that continued long after our session officially ended. The conversations afterward were unlike anything I could have imagined. Clinicians shared stories of clients they had struggled to understand. Researchers wanted to learn more. Treatment providers asked how they could incorporate this work into their own programs. Others simply thanked us for giving language to something they’d been observing but hadn’t yet been able to explain. That kind of reception is something I’ll carry with me for a very long time.

I also left Nashville incredibly grateful for the opportunity to finally meet so many people in person. Over the past year, countless partnerships have been built through emails, virtual meetings, and phone conversations. Being able to shake hands, share meals, and spend time with so many individuals I’ve admired from afar reminded me that this field is filled with people who genuinely care about helping others. I have no doubt that many of the relationships formed in Nashville will grow into future collaborations that continue expanding the reach of this work.

And, of course, none of it would have been the same without my wife, Monika. She wasn’t there because she had to be. She was there because she wanted to be. She sat in the audience, supported me every step of the way, celebrated every conversation afterward, and reminded me to enjoy the moment when everything started happening so quickly. Having my biggest supporter by my side made an already unforgettable experience even more meaningful.

One realization continued to surface throughout the conference. For decades, the problem gambling field has understandably focused on traditional gambling environments like casinos, sportsbooks, lotteries, and slot machines. But today’s world looks very different. Many of the same behavioral mechanics that have long existed in gambling – uncertainty, variable rewards, rapid purchasing, scarcity, live interaction, and constant accessibility – now appear across dozens of modern consumer environments, including certain parts of today’s collecting ecosystem. Our presentation wasn’t about labeling collecting as gambling. It was about helping clinicians recognize when these increasingly stimulating environments become difficult for vulnerable individuals to navigate and why curiosity, education, and collaboration matter.

Throughout the conference, I found myself thinking about one idea over and over again. There are so many people struggling right now who don’t even realize that help exists. For years, many collectors experiencing compulsive spending, loss of control, or gambling-like behaviors have lacked the language to explain what they’re going through. Likewise, many clinicians simply haven’t been exposed to the culture, terminology, or behavioral mechanics of today’s collecting environments. That gap leaves far too many people falling between two worlds.

Now, we’re beginning to bridge that gap. That may be what I’m most hopeful about. This conference wasn’t the finish line. It was the beginning of something much larger.

Looking back, Collectors MD has always been about turning lived experience into something meaningful. What started as one person’s recovery journey has grown into a movement built around education, peer support, advocacy, collaboration, and hope. It’s become proof that some of life’s greatest purpose can emerge from its greatest pain.

This truly feels like my calling. My pain has become my purpose. After this past week, I’m more convinced than ever that we’re only just getting started. Recovery gave me a second chance at life. If my story encourages someone else to take that first step toward getting the help they need, then this work is doing exactly what it was meant to do.

#CollectorsMD
NCPG wasn’t just another conference – it was a reminder that awareness begins with courageous conversations. By bringing lived experience, behavioral health, and the collecting community together, we’re helping ensure that the people who need support know they aren’t alone – and that help exists.

—
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This Daily Reflection is sponsored by All Touch Case, a premium display and protection solution designed to showcase your cards while keeping them safe. Use code COLLECTORSMD for 15% off your order. Collect. Protect. It’s a peace of mind.

https://collectorsmd.com/pain-into-purpose/

If you missed my presentation with Jamie Glick and Chigbo Nzoiwu of The Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado at the National Council on Problem Gambling Conference in Nashville, you'll have another opportunity to join us.

I'm excited to join Megan Poliquin on behalf of Collectors MD for a free webinar hosted by Zepf Center on Thursday, August 6, at 12PM ET.

If you're interested in learning more about how the culture of collecting can intersect with gambling disorder, and what we can do to promote healthier, more intentional engagement, we'd love to have you join us.

Register here: https://bit.ly/4yKxyXA