Flat Out Recovery

How do we treat someone who relapses and disappears, then makes it back? What happens when this becomes a cycle? Are people returning to recovery, or just ‘treatment hopping’? This week, we’re talking about how we cope when we’re returning from relapse and engaging with the same process again, and why ‘Wet Houses’ have become necessary, whether we like it or not. We’re also looking at why it is so...

How do we cope with doing familiar things, clean and sober for the first time? How do we manage with other people in a way that we didn’t before? Do we put up new barriers with people in recovery, to replace the old ones we’ve broken down? This week, we’re talking about how it can seem strange to go about things we never previously thought twice about, simply because we’re no longer under the infl...

What do we do when we feel that we are losing our way? What do we mean by ‘The Dip’ in early recovery? How do we cope when old behaviours resurface, often in different contexts? This week, we’re turning back the clock, examining what it was like at the beginning, when the chemicals had only just been removed. Also, we’re looking at how there are peaks and troughs in the recovery process, how we ca...

How do we work through difficult situations in recovery, the kind of things which would have always made us pick up in the past? How do we cope when all the people we did rehab with are suddenly gone? Once we’ve made our way through rehab and beyond, we face a whole new set of challenges. This week, we’re talking about how to respond to those challenges. Above all, we must continue what we started...

What do we mean by ‘letting go’ and how do we go about it? How do we cope with things we don’t expect and things which make us uncomfortable? This week, we’re talking about Barbie; well yes, we are... but seriously, we’re talking about at losing self-obsession, how we cope with being pushed out of our comfort zone and how we cope with the unfamiliar. We look at why these things are a necessary par...

How do we take proper time out? What is ‘reflection’? How do we find time to reflect? Does taking time out for reflection give us perspective? Well, yes, the good news is that it generally does! Among other things, this week’s circuitous ride around recovery takes in… how to find perspective on our problems, facing those problems rather than pretending they’re not there, the social aspect of recov...

How do we deal with the real world, particularly when we’re being subjected to a constant barrage of technology? And how do we deal with said technology? Why are people still so important? This week, we’re talking about ‘The How’. We discover that it’s not such much what we actually do, but how we go about it that matters most. We’re also looking at how technology can be effective when handled wit...

How are the children of addicts and alcoholics affected over the course of time? What does recovery look like to them? This episode, we’re talking to Lauren from UK Detox and her son Owen. She tells us about her journey into recovery and how everything has changed, while he explains the utter transformation he has seen in his mother in the course of the last few years. Also, we’re talking about th...

Does time go faster as we get older? Do we experience a sense of ‘needing to make up for lost time’ when we come into recovery? This week, we’re talking about the dangers of burnout, the perils of ‘just filling time’ and how we make best use of the time we have once we are clean and sober. Also in this episode… what is it about people in early recovery and mountains? And are we really only talking...

What do I do for myself in early recovery? Is it a good idea to dive directly into doing anything and everything when I’ve just left treatment? How do I gradually find a balance? This week, we’re talking about how we all have to ‘learn to recover’, and that the process is an individual one, that takes as long as it takes. We’re also talking about open-mindedness, being willing to engage with all s...

Do we always know when we’re in denial? Is denial just about our drinking and using? Are we always in denial about something, however small? Do all the ‘earthlings’ fall into denial just as easily as us addicts and alcoholics? And once it’s there and we admit it, what do we do about it? This week we’re looking at how denial has affected our lives in the past, and at how it can be a barrier to prog...

How do we cope with everything the world keeps throwing at us? It’s one thing to know that we’re getting riled about things that don’t really matter, but it’s another thing entirely to maintain a rational and reasonable approach. How am I supposed to be patient when the world seems to have it in for me? Chances are that’s not true, but it’s the way it looks to me, so perhaps I should be talking ab...

Am I honest with myself about judging things I know nothing about? We do this all the time in the madness, but can we identify it in recovery? This week, we’re talking about how we judge things before we’ve seen or heard them, people before we’ve even met them and places when we’ve never been there. We’re also talking about how we identify this when it’s happening, and what we can do about it. And...

Should I be here? Or even there? Can everyone else see what I’m thinking? Do they all think I’m a fraud? ‘Imposter Syndrome’ is a very common phenomenon in early recovery, the feeling that we are somehow ‘out of place’. This week, we’re talking about why it’s so important that we identify it and get over it.  We’re also looking at the important role played by volunteering in early recovery, why it...

What is a spiritual experience? How do we know if we’ve had one? What do we do when it happens? Do we even know when it's happened? Far from being some great, faraway mythical marvel, we can and do find them in the everyday. We look at some of the different manifestations of spiritual experience, from the first day of rehab to the golf course, with everything else in between! Also, we’re talki...

How important are the connections we make in recovery? How much are we defined by the company we keep?  This week, we’re looking at how we make those connections and why they are so important. Also, we’re looking at how keeping the right company is critical in maintaining recovery. We look at the impact of relapse in early recovery, and the effect it can have on all concerned. Meanwhile, resentmen...

How do we maintain healthy boundaries in recovery? How do we establish them in the first place? This week, we’re looking at why we need boundaries, how we make them and how they contribute towards maintaining recovery. We’re also talking about codependency, how we are vulnerable to it (especially to begin with) and what we can actually do about it when it happens. We’re also looking at gaslighting...

Too many consequences to mention? Join the club! For every addict and every alcoholic, there are consequences, which tend to join forces and multiply over time. This week, we’re talking about some of those consequences (including homelessness, the perils of HMOs, financial issues and how we find help), how we respond to them and how we can help others by understanding our mistakes. Also, we’ve som...

Should I do all these things that are being suggested to me? This week, we’re talking about how we engage with recovery and practise its principles as well as we possibly can. We’re also looking at ‘Recovery Maintenance’, how we stay clean and sober over time and how we use a 12-Step Programme in everyday life. We look at some of the behaviours, attitudes and perceptions that persist in early reco...

What was it like when you started meditating? And how often do you pray? Erm… Help?!? Of all the things that we’re asked to do in early recovery, ‘Prayer and Meditation’ can seem the most difficult and elusive. This week, we’re talking about the barriers some of us face when trying to engage with these processes for the first time. Also, we’re looking at the misconceptions that exist around spirit...

This week, we’re talking about how we can come to doubt ourselves, and how we are naturally sceptical when faced with the unfamiliar. This is particularly common in early recovery; so, what can we do about it? We look at productive strategies, considering the positive impact of 12-Step meetings, peer support and the role of the sponsor. Also, we’re looking at the difference between being proactive...

This week we’re talking about resentments, resentments... and more resentments! While our capacity for picking up resentments does diminish over time in recovery, this doesn’t mean that we magically stop getting them as soon as we’re clean and sober. We look at how learning to deal with resentment is one of the crucial things we must do in the day-to-day, and we consider the tools and strategies w...

How do I approach both ‘Dry House Living’ and the initial stages of recovery? What to do and what not to do? We’re talking about ‘Dry House Dependency’ – both positive and negative – and how to avoid complacency in this environment. Also, we’re looking at different stages of recovery, how we continue to use the same key ingredients to maintain it and at how we prevent it from going stale. And last...

This week we’re talking about how we persuade ourselves to engage with the day, even when we don’t want to. Sometimes, we have to take action in spite of ourselves! We look at the direct effect this can have on our well-being. We’re also talking about transport (and various other things that we can’t control), the perils of living in HMOs and how we engage with Mental Health in recovery.

This week we’re talking about procrastinating, doubtless whilst procrastinating ourselves! Does procrastination involve simply not doing anything, or is it more a case of actively doing anything and everything else to avoid doing what we know really needs to be done? We’re also talking about how we have to come into and maintain recovery for ourselves, before we can be of service to others. And la...