Gratitude in Recovery: How to Actually Practice It Without Lying to Yourself

Sober But Still Miserable? The Dry Drunk | Borrowed Wisdom Pt. 3 Bob D

Another Borrowed Wisdom episode — I read the highlight clips from a Bob talk that shifted something in me, and reflect on them one at a time. This one lands hard on the stuff nobody tells you when you first put the drink down: that the real problem starts where the bottle ends. Bob talks about being restless, irritable and discontent as a little kid, long before he ever picked up. The "disease of more" that no amount of drinking, drugs, or even getting jacked at the gym could ever fill. And the scariest place I've ever been in my own recovery — the dry drunk. Sober, but not living. We get into geographic escapes that don't work, the redwoods that topple when they grow alone, and why community is the thing that replaced the drink for me. It closes where it always seems to: everything you want is on the other side of the action you're avoiding. Chapters below. This is lived experience and peer perspective — one addict sharing what's kept me sober one more day. If this helped, follow Recovering Out Loud on whatever platform you're on and leave a rating — it's the thing that helps the next person find it. Recovery is simple. Not easy. Need help? Visit https://newbeginningsrecovery.ca/ [https://newbeginningsrecovery.ca/]

Gratitude in Recovery: How to Actually Practice It Without Lying to Yourself

Everyone in recovery preaches gratitude. Almost nobody tells you it can feel completely fake when you're hurting. In this solo episode I get into what gratitude actually is in recovery — the difference between the performative "#blessed" version and the real thing — why it's so hard early on and after a relapse, and how I practice it without lying to myself. I talk about grateful for the rock bottoms, the boring wins of sobriety, gratitude as an action instead of a feeling, and the traps to avoid (bypassing, comparison, forcing it). This isn't "be positive and your problems disappear." It's a real look at gratitude as a tool — what it does, why it's hard, and how to actually use it. What helped me might help you. Recovery is simple, not easy. 🎧 Follow Recovering Out Loud so you don't miss an episode. 📩 DM me on Instagram @recoveringoutloud — I answer every message.

Sober But Still Selfish: The Self-Centeredness That Outlasts the Substance

Getting sober doesn't automatically make you a good person. Remove the alcohol or the drugs and you're left with the same wiring — the self-centeredness, the main-character syndrome, the 100 forms of self-centered fear that ran the show all along. The problem starts where the bottle ends. In this solo episode, Anthony talks honestly about the selfishness that outlasts the substance: the sneaky forms it takes in sobriety (recovery self-absorption, keeping score in relationships, using sobriety as a moral trump card, hiding behind "I'm working on myself"), why self-obsession is a real relapse risk, and the oldest fix there is — getting out of self through service. This is self-honesty, not self-hatred. Noticing your own selfishness is the growth, not proof that you're a bad person. Shared from lived experience, one addict to another. If this lands with you, the greatest payment I can receive is a follow — it helps the next person struggling find the show. 0:00 Sober doesn't make you a good person 1:13 Service: the highest pay grade in recovery 2:20 Self-honesty, not self-hatred 3:48 You can get sober and stay selfish 5:06 My story: relapse after 7.5 years 5:28 "You are not unique" 7:40 The myth of the new person 8:51 A spiritual experience is a change in how you see 10:45 Sobriety is the starting line, not the finish 11:06 Why addiction is selfish by design 13:11 The wiring doesn't vanish with the substance 15:09 The sneaky forms selfishness takes in sobriety 17:09 Sobriety as a moral trump card 18:51 The main character habit 20:32 Why it matters: people feel it 21:57 Self-obsession as relapse risk 23:37 How to work on it: service & living amends 25:06 Sober doesn't equal selfless

Relapsing After 11 Months, Sober Motherhood & 14 Years in Recovery — Co-Founder of Generation Women

She had 11 months sober — then relapsed over an argument she'd only ever had in her own head. Jen returns to the show to walk through what came next: eight months of counting drinks, sneaking drinks, and trying to "manage it" — a stretch she says felt crazier than when she was strung out. From there it's the recovery that finally stuck: getting sober for good, becoming a sober mom (which she says was harder than getting sober the first time), and finding the four things she believes every recovery path has in common. This is two people in recovery talking honestly — lived experience, peer to peer, no experts and no scripts. We get into alcohol and drug recovery, what actually drives a relapse, emotional sobriety, spirituality without the "Sky Daddy," and why “ 12 step recovery helped me — and it's not the only way." ▶️ New here? This one's a good place to start if you've ever wondered whether you could just cut back instead of quit. If it lands, follow the show and send it to one person who needs it today. ⏱️ Chapters below. Generation Women Canada: https://www.generationwomen.ca/ [https://www.generationwomen.ca/]

The Masks We Wear in Recovery | Borrowed Wisdom Pt. 2 : Earl H, The Path to Freedom

This is Part 2 of Borrowed Wisdom: Earl, "The Path to Freedom." Earl is one of my all-time favourites in recovery. I pulled the quotes that hit hardest and reflected on each one from my own experience — a guy who relapsed after 7.5 years sober and had to find his way back. What we get into: - The mask we wear — in addiction, in sobriety, and how the tough guy performance set up my relapse - Fear as the real engine behind addiction (we're not bad people — we're frightened ones) - Self-worth that doesn't depend on other people's reception - Kindness vs. people-pleasing — a real difference most people miss - Forgiveness as a selfish act, done for yourself - 5–10 minutes of meditation and what it actually does to your impulse control - Service as the greatest high in recovery - The dying man story — and the gratitude reset it delivers every time Want the full Earl tape? DM me on Instagram: @RecoveringOutLoudPod Recovery is simple, not easy. I love you. 00:00 Showing up when you don't feel like it 01:53 Welcome & Anthony's story 03:01 The mask and the false self 06:12 Who you actually meet in recovery 07:22 Fear is the engine behind addiction 08:20 Commitment not contingent on others 09:09 Not everyone gets this chance 11:41 Kindness vs. being a nice guy 12:51 The samurai — being ease and comfort 14:39 The greatest buzz in recovery 14:56 Being strong enough to be gentle 17:21 Forgiveness releases the prisoner 18:54 Fairness is a one-way street 19:07 Progress, not perfection 20:31 When self-centred fear takes over 21:47 Meditation: 5–10 minutes changes everything 24:13 I don't understand God — but I see evidence 25:59 Service: stepping out of your own head 27:01 Don't look at the sports car 28:58 Authenticity is what people actually connect with 29:06 The weight of the beauty of recovery 30:22 The moment in the car 31:04 The dying man story 33:11 From "I have to" to "I get to" 34:17 Closing: I love you