Behind The Smile with Ash Butterss

In this week's episode, I'm putting myself in the interview seat and have invited my best friend of 25+ years, Georgia, onto the show to ask the questions. Georgia lives in Europe and at the time of recording we hadn't seen each other in over two years (thanks to Covid19). The last time we'd been together I was still drinking and my life was a mess. Watching my journey into recovery from afar, Geo...

In this week's episode, I sit down with Monique, a Nurse and mum of four who gave up alcohol on the 28th December, 2019. We discuss Mon’s journey into sobriety and what she’s discovered about herself since choosing to live life sober. Mon talks openly about the pressure she felt to be “perfect” from a young age and how she used alcohol to self-medicate until she wasn’t able to control it anymore....

In this week’s episode, I talk about the stigma that surrounds the disease of alcoholism and why this is preventing people from reaching out for help. Before coming into recovery, my perception of an alcoholic was someone living rough, drinking around the clock and consuming spirits out of a brown paper bag. And because I didn’t identify with this stereotype, I didn’t think I qualified as an alcoh...

In this episode, I’ve invited my ex-husband and dear friend Max on to share his story of recovery. Max talks candidly about his personal struggles with addiction and what it took for him to finally reach out for help. There’s no holding back in this episode as we speak openly about a range of personal topics, including the breakdown of our marriage. It’s my hope that by drawing back the curtain on...

In this episode, I talk about my life long struggle with perfectionism and how this developed as a result of certain conditioning throughout childhood. I discuss the reason why I view perfectionism as being a vice as dangerous as addiction and why I needed to treat this core issue before tackling my underlying substance abuse. This episode contains topics that could be triggering. If your mental h...

For this debut guest episode, I’ve invited my dad Rod to share his story of recovery and hope. Rod started his recovery journey in 2010, however this is not his current sobriety date. For the first time, Rod speaks publicly about his recent relapse and how he made the journey from his darkest days, to now experiencing joy beyond his wildest dreams. Find Rod: www.linkedin.com/in/rodbutterss Find As...

In this debut episode of Behind The Smile with Ash Butterss, host Ash shares her own experience and journey into recovery.   From an early age, Ash learnt to hide her true emotions behind a big smile. She used this mask as a way of keeping herself protected and continued doing so all throughout her twenties. On the outside, Ash looked as though she was living a "normal" life but by the a...