Flat Out Recovery

There are hundreds of Mutual Aid groups around the place, all working to the same principle, namely ‘put a bunch of people with the same problem in a room together and see what happens’. This week, we’re looking at how powerful groups can be, and at how they can become dysfunctional. Also, we look at how all 12-Step groups have the same purpose but approach it differently, and we consider how easy...

Can we go too far and forget ourselves when helping others? While altruism plays a critical part in our recovery, is there a point where it takes over and we forget what we need to do for ourselves? This week, we’re talking about trying to maintain that delicate balancing act, whereby we are able to help other people without sliding into co-dependency, resentment or neglecting our own wellbeing. A...

It’s not me, it’s everybody else! Sometimes we say this in spite of ourselves. Are we always aware of what we look and sound like, particularly when agitated? How big does an entertainment system in a vehicle need to be? What is AI really for? This week, we’re talking about these questions and more, including the many faces of volunteering, experiences of school and our attitudes towards our forme...

What do we do when everything changes? How do we respond to sudden changes in circumstances? Are we inclined to make mountains out of molehills? (Surely not!) What have horror films got to do with early recovery? We look at the process of change, how we negotiate everyday problems and challenges, without having our heads fall off completely. Of course, some of us can still get angry over the mecha...

On January 26th 2024, Changes UK went into insolvency. This week, I’m talking to Anthony Cokeley and Steve Hatch about their longstanding experience with the organisation, about how it evolved from being a small and close-knit operation into one of considerable size and about the many positive effects of Changes UK’s work over the years. We discuss the challenges that arose and how we were ultimat...

In the fourth of a series of interviews with Service Users who have recently completed treatment and engaged in an Aftercare Programme, we are talking to Robin about his experience of the process and how he has used it to maintain recovery.  He talks about the importance of compassion and of forging new, meaningful connections. We discuss the value of community, finding new habits and a new way of...

What do I do with days off and days spent at home? How do I avoid reverting to old habits? I can see that I’m powerless, but how am I unmanageable? And why am I still unmanageable now? This week, we’re talking about how we handle days we take to ourselves and what we need to do in order to protect ourselves from returning to our previous behaviour at home. Also, we’re looking at powerlessness and...

In the third of a series of interviews with Service Users who have recently completed treatment and engaged in an Aftercare Programme, we are talking to Karl about his experience of the process and how he has used it to maintain recovery.  We discuss the importance of community, finding new habits and a new way of living, highlighting how an Aftercare Programme supports this. We also look at how a...

Do we need outcomes and results in recovery? Why (not)? What do we do in order to give ourselves a sense of purpose in our first few months back out in the world? How do we go about it? This week, we’re talking about how we make progress in recovery, one small step at a time. If we are constantly looking for outcomes and absolutes, we are in danger of setting ourselves up to fail. Also, we’re talk...

How do I negotiate the idiosyncrasies of everyday life without collapsing into a heap? How do I cope with organising myself as a new year dawns? How do I avoid resentments and petty squabbling? This week, we’re talking about all the little things, how we deal with them and what we can do to prepare ourselves for fresh challenges ahead. Also, we’re looking at buses and how to cope with them, the pe...

What is ‘a blackout’ and how do we define it? How often were we doing things in blackout when under the influence? How does this appear to those around us? This can be more deceptive than we might think. This week, we’re talking about drunk driving, blackouts, the ‘morning after eye-opener’ and how we do (or don’t) manage to drink with the normies. We discuss the nature of blackouts, how we come t...

This week – all the way from New Mexico – we’re talking to Nico, about his personal journey through addiction and into recovery. He cites the importance of addressing our mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing, the need to find appropriate role models and how positive relationships are vital to achieving and maintaining recovery. While his chosen approach differs from ours (and we never said we...

This week, we’re taking about Christmas. How do we learn to ‘do Christmas’ clean and sober? Are there particular strategies we can use which will enable us to negotiate the festive season safely? What do we do about the inevitable presence of alcohol throughout? We look at one of the most challenging times of year for people in recovery, highlighting the need for boundaries and exit strategies and...

What happens after we have been through an Aftercare Programme? It might sound obvious, but perhaps it’s not? How do we use what we have learned to cope with our newfound independence? This week, we’re talking about what happens after we finish an Aftercare Programme, how we learn to take responsibility for ourselves and what we do and how we gradually come to reengage with the world outside. Also...

What’s the most important part of my recovery toolkit when I leave treatment? (Actually, that would be my mobile phone.) What was it like years ago (but not that many), when we didn’t have any technology to help us? This week, we’re talking about how times have changed; from tooth extraction to technological developments improving our means of communication, we look at how changing times may be ch...

In the second of a series of interviews with Service Users who have recently completed treatment and engaged in an Aftercare Programme, we are talking to Katie about her experience of the process and how she has moved on since. She explains how the ongoing support offered by an Aftercare Programme has helped her to find a consistency in her recovery, and how she is now able to help others as a res...

In the first of a series of interviews with Service Users who have recently completed treatment and engaged in an Aftercare Programme, we are talking to Charlene about her experience of the process and how she has moved on since. She describes her journey into treatment, the consequences of relapse and how it reignited her commitment to recovery. Also, she explains how participating in a structure...

When friends relapse, how do we learn to respond differently over time? How do everyday situations become somehow easier to circumnavigate when we remain in recovery? How do we learn to manage when we are faced with simple problems, such as broken phones, computers with minds of their own and journeys not going to plan? This week, we’re talking about the kind of everyday problems and issues which...

What is the difference between treatment and aftercare? How important is it that rehabilitation services offer an extended programme which offers support far beyond the initial stages? How are such programmes managed? This week, we’re talking to Steve Costello, who manages all aspects of Aftercare at Changes UK. He talks about his journey into the job and why it is so important. Also, we talk abou...

How do we find the places where we can genuinely wind down? Do we need both contact with people and to be silently on our own? How does this contribute to finding a sense of belonging, self and purpose? This week, we’re talking about how we find meditation (and all sorts of versions of it) in what appear to be the unlikeliest places. We look at how we need time to allow our unconscious minds to wo...

How do we talk to children about addiction, its effects and how it is treated? What are we supposed to say, and how do we say it? How do we make children a part of the conversation when one of the adults in their life goes into recovery?  This week, we’re talking to Casey from ‘Addiction And The Family Podcast’ about his new book, entitled ‘Mommy’s Getting Sober’. While the book is written from th...

How do we learn to cope with every little obstacle life throws at us on a daily basis in early recovery? How do we try to stop the matchsticks from turning into mountains? How does time in treatment prepare us for dealing with these everyday irritations? Yes, this week we’re talking about ‘the matchsticks’, how they can pile up if we don’t deal with them and how we train ourselves to catch them as...

This week, we’re talking to Anthony, who is the Operations Manager at Changes UK. He talks about his own journey and how all his experiences – before and after – inform how he works today. We talk about the critical importance of volunteering, the ‘dos and don’ts’ of treatment work and the different models of treatment available. Also, We look at some of the challenges facing rehabilitation servic...

Will an active drunk always find a drink, no matter what impediments are placed in the way? Will a using addict find a way to a drug when the only plausible way appears to be impossible? Like magicians, active addicts and alcoholics can find alcohol and drugs even when there’s apparently nothing there! This week we’re talking about how hikes in the price of booze, harsher sentencing for those unde...

Why do we need to use Social Media in a working environment? We weren't sure, so we brought in an expert. As part of a series where we are interviewing staff from across the whole of Changes UK, today we’re talking to Chloe, who handles our Social Media. Critically for us, she has ‘come from the outside’ as it were, having no direct experience of addiction or its effects prior to coming to wor...