Recovery Demystified - Non-Religious Addiction Recovery and Harm Reduction for Queers, Neurodivergent People, and Their Allies

Story #41: Adam - Transforming Deep Shame into Finding Purpose

In today's episode we hear Adam's addiction recovery story. His life starts with a feeling of being very different. After he found out he was adopted -- it was confirmed for him that yes, in fact, he was different. Finding alcohol gave him an initial sense of relief, and an immediate bout of consequences. Things got a lot worse before they got better. When faced with the news from his doctor that if he kept drinking, he would die -- Adam got in his car and pulled out his sleeve of nips. His survival was no small task. Adam is a testament to learning how to love ourselves, building on small successes to make big changes, and never giving up. He now works as a Recovery Coach and is the host of the Finding Purpose podcast. Check out Adam's website here! [https://www.adamvorha.com] Click here to check out Adam's podcast! [https://open.spotify.com/show/1knfBr578rnGU5A93qvf0N?si=900ffacac7d9410f] Want to support Recovery Demsystified? Did you know that we are a 501c3 nonprofit?? Help us help others and keep this work sustainable! Join our Patreon! You get to know SECRETS!!! [https://patreon.com/RecoveryDemystified?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink] Donate to our nonprofit via our website! [https://www.recoverydemystified.com/donations/] Get some cool toad items from our merch store!! [https://www.bonfire.com/recovery-demystified/] Follow us on Instagram! [https://www.instagram.com/recoverydemystified/] Subscribe to our Substack! [https://recoverydemystified.substack.com/] Logo - Stevie Petet Theme Music - Logan Bragg

RR#32: How to Stop Being So Hard on Yourself - Rewiring Your Brain to Dismantle The Inner Critic

In today's episode of Recovery Resources we build our skills on rewiring our brains to move past our addictions. Do you ever argue with yourself about if you're going to drink/use? Do you find it exhausting to let yourself down over and over again? You're not broken, and you can rewire your brain to move past difficult thoughts. There's a reason why we have an inner critic, an inner addicted voice, and a fearful voice that's afraid of change. Today we will learn how to identify them, how to interrupt the feedback loop of addiction, and how to build new neural pathways so we can move past our addiction and into healing. Click here to book a free 20 minute recovery coaching call with Early! [https://recoverydemystified.setmore.com/early] Click here to donate to our nonprofit! [https://www.recoverydemystified.com/donations/] Join our Patreon! [https://patreon.com/RecoveryDemystified?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink] Check out our Instagram! [https://www.instagram.com/recoverydemystified/] Check out our Substack! [https://recoverydemystified.substack.com/]Shop our merch store! [https://www.bonfire.com/store/recovery-demystified/] Logo: Stevie Petet Theme Music: Logan Bragg

Story #40: Pepe Bandit - From Latchkey Kid to Trafficking Weed on an Airplane

In today's episode we hear Pepe Bandit's story. He describes growing up with divorced parents, and a lot of freedom. School never made sense to him, so he dropped out and started hanging out with older kids who opened up the world of drugs. This quickly led to acid-freakouts, weed turning on him, and it fizzled out when he found out his girlfriend was pregnant. He was only 17. Working for a living was fruitless and entirely unfulfilling, so he started selling weed to support his family. Then he started selling more weed, continually escalating until it "made sense" to buy an airplane. This episode explores the gray area of process addictions, compulsion, and watching things escalate out of control. We talk about childhood trauma, helping loved ones with addiction, and rebuilding after a total collapse. Check out Pepe's podcast - Click here to listen to Back on the Grind! [https://open.spotify.com/show/0QW6svTLYKLngvNzdmzQ20?si=dba7cc4405904f31] Want to support this podcast? Join our Patreon! [https://patreon.com/RecoveryDemystified?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink] Prefer to donate to our nonprofit via our website? Click here! [https://www.recoverydemystified.com/donations/] Check out our merch store! [https://www.bonfire.com/store/recovery-demystified/] Follow us on Instagram! [https://www.instagram.com/recoverydemystified/] Check out our Substack! [https://substack.com/@recoverydemystified] Theme music - Logan Bragg Logo - Stevie Petet

RR #31: Stop Fighting With Yourself - Train Your Brain to Stop Cravings

In today's episode Early discusses how and why we have addictive cravings, and why we tirelessly argue internally with ourselves about whether or not we are going to drink/use. Are you sick of broken promises to yourself? Sick of fighting an exhausting internal battle at every twist and turn? Fortunately, once we understand why our brain is like this, we can train our brain through neuroplasticity to stop cravings in their tracks. Click here for a free 20 minute 1:1 recovery coaching consultation with Early! [https://www.recoverydemystified.com/secular-addiction-recovery-coaching/] Donate to support our nonprofit! [https://www.recoverydemystified.com/donations/] Get some toad swag at our merch store! [https://www.bonfire.com/store/recovery-demystified/] Check out our Substack! [https://substack.com/@recoverydemystified] Follow us on Instagram! [https://www.instagram.com/recoverydemystified/] Study showing 75% of people recover from their addictions! [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0376871620303343] Logo - Stevie Petet Theme music - Logan Bragg

Story #39: Mary - ADHD, Rebellion, and Finding a Home in Secular AA

Today we hear Mary's addiction recovery story. She grew up with both parents in recovery and doing direct care work for people in crisis with their alcohol addictions. A fierce inner critic ruled the landscape with fear and shame -- something that she found only alcohol could quiet down. Her drinking spun out of control while she worked as a flight attendant, and after a co-worker called her out at a bar, she put down the drink and never looked back. During her three decades of recovery she has learned how to love herself, how to quiet down the inner critic without alcohol, and most importantly she honors her own authenticity by not listening to other people's dogmatic projections. She is passionate about an empowering secular approach to recovery and her wisdom will leave you with a lot to chew on. Click here to learn more about 1:1 coaching and book a free 20 minute consultation! [https://www.recoverydemystified.com/secular-addiction-recovery-coaching/] Click here to join our Patreon! [https://www.patreon.com/cw/RecoveryDemystified] Click here to donate to our nonprofit! [https://www.recoverydemystified.com/donations/] Click here to get some sick merch! [https://www.bonfire.com/store/recovery-demystified/] Click here to check out our Substack! [https://substack.com/@recoverydemystified] Click here to follow us on Instagram! [https://www.instagram.com/recoverydemystified/] Logo - Stevie Petet Theme music - Logan Bragg Mary's Contributions: Send Mary an e-mail - secularaa@gmail.com [secularaa@gmail.com] Website for more information - https://www.aasecular.org [https://www.aasecular.org] Recommended podcasts: Secular AA speakers/panels: https://secularaa.buzzsprout.com/ [https://secularaa.buzzsprout.com/] Rebellion Dogs Radio: https://rebelliondogspublishing.com/rebellious-radio [https://rebelliondogspublishing.com/rebellious-radio] Beyond Belief Sobriety: https://www.youtube.com/@BeyondBeliefSobriety [https://www.youtube.com/@BeyondBeliefSobriety] Recommended Readings: One Big Tent: AA Grapevine stories from 1964 to 2018 of atheists and agnostics https://www.aagrapevine.org/store/one-big-tent?srsltid=AfmBOopMICJPNr2rQkkGyQHVmMuO0HnDaQ8_FXpltG-0ugBUycBLP4t6 [https://www.aagrapevine.org/store/one-big-tent?srsltid=AfmBOopMICJPNr2rQkkGyQHVmMuO0HnDaQ8_FXpltG-0ugBUycBLP4t6] Beyond Belief: Agnostic Musings for 12 Step Life, by Rebellion Dogs Publishing https://www.amazon.com/dp/0988115700?ie=UTF8&sr=8-6&linkCode=sl1&tag=rebeldogspubl-20&linkId=0a5f1ca06a67508187859a0ebe9d5e88&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0988115700?ie=UTF8&sr=8-6&linkCode=sl1&tag=rebeldogspubl-20&linkId=0a5f1ca06a67508187859a0ebe9d5e88&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl] Staying Sober Without God: The Practical 12 Steps to Long-Term Recovery from Alcoholism & Addiction, by Jeffery Munn https://www.amazon.com/Staying-Sober-Without-God-Alcoholism/dp/1733588000 [https://www.amazon.com/Staying-Sober-Without-God-Alcoholism/dp/1733588000] We're Not All Egomaniacs: Adopting the 12 Steps for people with low self-esteem, by Beth Aich https://www.amazon.com/Were-Not-All-Egomaniacs-Self-Esteem/dp/1098362624/ref=sr_1_1?crid=WBGRRX3RS9SA&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Vp5ZUlR9urY0lYC7VW4IJw.wZE34XSD3nWRavOyaSZp0RgQD5yxB45Nx4-v46Os1Mk&dib_tag=se&keywords=We%27re+not+all+egomaniacs&qid=1776466802&sprefix=we%27re+not+all+egomaniacs%2Caps%2C326&sr=8-1 [https://www.amazon.com/Were-Not-All-Egomaniacs-Self-Esteem/dp/1098362624/ref=sr_1_1?crid=WBGRRX3RS9SA&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Vp5ZUlR9urY0lYC7VW4IJw.wZE34XSD3nWRavOyaSZp0RgQD5yxB45Nx4-v46Os1Mk&dib_tag=se&keywords=We%27re+not+all+egomaniacs&qid=1776466802&sprefix=we%27re+not+all+egomaniacs%2Caps%2C326&sr=8-1]