Recovery Demystified

Recovery resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of. Addiction recovery community support... incoming!!

Looking for addiction recovery support outside traditional programs? In this episode, Early shares recovery resources that will actually help you build a sustainable recovery community and find meaningful addiction recovery support in your everyday life.

We explore how ...

Katy's story is a powerful look at addiction, trauma, and recovery outside the traditional 12-step model. Growing up in a meth house surrounded by hard drugs and instability, she experienced firsthand how addiction can shape a childhood and ripple into adulthood. She shares how those early experiences influenced her relationship with substances, identity, and the search for meaning.

After what most people would perceive as a minor ...

In Part 2 of Joey's story, we talk about accountability in sobriety and what it means to stay sober after causing harm. Accountability in addiction recovery isn't just about stopping substance use, it's about taking responsibility and working on our growth and healing. Joey discusses the things that he tried after his accountability process, which included therapy, self-education, and exploration of abolitionist frameworks through ...

In today's episode, Joey shares his journey from a kid longing for attention to a touring punk musician immersed in a culture that normalizes alcohol addiction. Passed around between family members growing up, Joey learned how to adapt, perform, and fight for belonging. He finally found a place to belong in the punk community, but a life of touring and party culture slowly sunk him into deep alcohol addiction. We talk about attachm...

In today's episode Jakob tells his addiction recovery story. Jakob's story begins with supressing deep traumatic grief with the use of substances- something he saw demonstrated by adults in his life. His story moves through dabbling and being addicted to a variety of hard drugs, alcohol, and weed. Kratom and cocaine ultimately landed him in a not very classy rehab, which he left after three days, and then returned to. He spent a wh...

In this episode we hear Sara's addiction recovery story. Her life starts with being raised in a party environment, picking up cigarette butts at the age of 7, and using alcohol and every drug under the sun before graduating high school. After a series of awful relationships and worsening addiction to drugs and alcohol, Sara's life imploded and she ended up stuck in the psych ward. After she got out she decided she wanted to "try so...

Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of.

Addiction recovery starts with survival. In this episode, Early shares how their relationship with their dog Cheyenne helped them survive addiction and have a reason to live. They share how even during times of complete isolation and social rejection, their dog propped them up and gave them unconditional love. They also...

In part two of Cecil's story, he opens up about how continued emotional suppression and ADHD contributed to his worsening addiction to alcohol. He also shares about porn addiction, self-harm, being cheated on, and another tragic suicide attempt. He was ultimately kicked out of the military after seeking mental healthcare for his struggles. After spending sometime homeless and living in his car, he found a path to lasting healing by...

In Part 1 of Cecil's story of addiction recovery and neurodivergence/ADHD, he talks about how childhood trauma, poverty, and emotional suppression lead to his addiction to alcohol. ACEs, or adverse childhood experiences, have been shown to have a dramatic affect on a person's chance of developing addiction. Cecil reflects on his upbringing in a trailer in podunk Arkansas with an abusive father who drank to excess. He quickly learne...

Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of.

Dry January can be more than a break from alcohol. It can be the beginning of the path to long-term secular addiction recovery, especially when our focus is on healing ourselves with science and community instead of shame and dogma.

In this episode, Early shares their highlight reel of secular addiction recovery books a...

JT returns for a follow-up conversation on ADHD and addiction recovery, exploring how ADHD affects cravings, emotional regulation, school, and daily routines. We discuss building structure, finding purpose in recovery, and navigating grief and emotional overwhelm. This episode also touches on social media's impact on mental health, and some very nosey questions from Early about dating in recovery and the asexual/aromantic spectrum....

In this episode, Benji shares the story of dating a partner in addiction recovery and the loss that followed from a fentanyl overdose. Through the lens of a queer relationship, they discuss the reality of loving someone in recovery, navigating mental health struggles, and coping with the grief in the aftermath of addiction. The episode also incudes harm reduction education, addressing the dangers of fentanyl, why recovery can be fr...

Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of.

Trying to find addiction recovery support can feel overwhelming when you're poor, neurodivergent, or have never had to navigate the world of mental healthcare. In this episode, we talk honestly about how to look for a therapist when money is tight, the system is confusing, and the process itself can be overwhelming or r...

In part 3 of Hana's miraculous addiction recovery story, she breaks down the step-by-step reality of going from homelessness to rehab, sober living, and long-term stability. She shares how she managed triggers, avoided relapse during chaotic jobs, and stayed sober while building her business and buying a home. All the while, she follows her intuition through every growth phase, confronts the reality of being a felon, and unlearns t...

Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of.

Let's take a deep dive into a neurodivergent, radical perspective on surviving the holidays with practical addiction recovery skills. We discuss tools that foster empowerment, nonviolent communication, healthy boundaries, and harm reduction that are specific to the unwanted pressure society puts on us this time of year....

In this episode, Hana shares her raw and unflinching story of addiction, trauma, and survival. We dive into Part 2 of her story with a harrowing tale of being held at gunpoint by a drug dealer, followed by stories of a near-amputation, sex work, and homelessness in Seattle. She was in and out of jail and treatment. One day she heard another addict tell their story of addiction and recovery, and had a lightbulb moment. Recovery was ...

Hana's miraculous addiction recovery story begins with growing up with an alcoholic mother who created an extremely chaotic living environment. Hana was forced to caregive and be a "friend" to their mother, a phenomenon known as parentification -- when a child is forced to be in an adult role. She got into meth and alcohol as a teen in order to make friends and be away from her home life. Hana's substance use and rebellious behavio...

Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of.

In today's episode, Early and Amber Hollingsworth of popular YouTube channel Put the Shovel Down discuss data-informed methods of how to help our loved ones escape their addiction. Most people accidentally put themselves in the "villian" role in their addicted family member's life, even though their actions are rooted i...

Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of.

Today Early discusses more addiction recovery resources for people in recovery, sober curious folks, and anyone else on a healing journey with their relationship to drugs and/or alcohol. They discuss a book from White Bison Inc about the hundreds of years old Indigenous resistance to alcoholism, and the decolonization m...