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

In this episode we dive into books & podcasts that are off the beaten path -- ones that cater specifically to struggles of people who are autistic and/or have ADHD. The way we recover is not the same as everyone else, and it has everything to do with authenticity and honoring our needs. We also hear about a 30+ year old book that dives into intersectional feminism and how it relates to addiction a...

Let's talk about the origins of harm reduction that are often overlooked: queer & BIPOC folks have always used underground methods of mutual aid as a method of survival. In this episode Meesh and Early discuss their paths to finding harm reduction spaces and practices, and we get a couple history lessons from Meesh on the origins of harm reduction and the war on drugs. Importantly, we also hear ab...

If AA didn't work for you, you're not broken. One size fits all isn't real, and it's ok to want something different... In Part 2 of this series, we're diving deeper into why the 12-step model fell short — not as a personal failure, but as a structural one. If you're crossing our half the words in a book to make it work for you, why not just toss the book aside and write something brand new that fi...

In today's addiction recovery story we hear from Chris Conde. Chris started drinking at 13 because he wanted to be included in what the grown-ups were doing, and later he also found that drinking made the pain of his trauma go away. Things got very dark, very fast. His sobriety journey is not a straight line -- like many of us, he had bouts of sobriety, followed by times of going back out. It got...

In today's Recovery Resources episode Early answers some listener questions! Addiction recovery and harm reduction come with a multitude of curve balls and challenges. Sober but still riddled with shame for being a degenerate? Have a deeply loved family member with an addiction and don't know how to help? Wondering how to get back on track after a relapse? We will discuss all this and more in this...

In this episode we hear Annette's addiction recovery story. Their life starts with the divorce of their parents at a young age and exposure to a step-parent who was using substances. She talks about struggling with social anxiety, ADHD, and multiple traumas. Her drinking and psychedelic use eventually spiraled out of control, and as she quit drinking her weed use accelerated. After a series of all...

In today's Recovery Resources episode, we talk about exactly what in the heck our "intuition" is... and how it is our guiding light in addiction recovery! We each require a constellation of changes in our life in order to create a life we no longer need to escape from. How do we know what the next right step should be? When we learn how to listen to our intuition, we begin to trust ourselves again...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 a...

In today's episode I talk about being queer, neurodivergent, AFAB, and living with religious trauma while trying to be involved in AA/12 Step programs. I discuss exactly how and why I felt worse after being involved in Alcoholics Anonymous, not better. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) claims that their simple program works for everyone -- provided the person is capable of being completely honest with the...

Today we hear Sierra's story. She talks about growing up with an addicted mother, and then being adopted into a strict religious family. She describes how these polar-opposite childhood traumas created a foundation of trauma and mental instability in her life. Later she gets into a difficult partnership that is characterized by intense substance use. We talk about weed induced panic attacks, using...

Recovery Resources is a series about skills and addiction recovery resources that actually help. Feeling lost? Tried everything? Buckle up, because this episode is going to introduce an idea that will set you free. Today Early talks about their most important resilience-building skill in addiction recovery -- being comfortable with being uncomfortable . Once mastered, this essential skill will mak...

12 Step doesn't work for everyone! Freaks and weirdos are welcomed! In this introduction, Early discusses what you can expect here at the Recovery Demystified Podcast. We tell stories of people who use harm reduction, people who came back from the brink and rebuilt their lives, and people who returned to controlled use. We also talk with people who quit before it got bad. You do not need to hit ro...

Jacob's story of addiction and recovery reveals how ancestral trauma, chronic anxiety, autism, ADHD and chronic pain can intersect in ways that push people toward substance use -- and how healing is still possible. In this episode, Jacob shares how opiates initially felt like a miracle solution to all of his problems, temporarily easing a lifetime of overwhelming anxiety and chronic pain. But what...

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...

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 mos...

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...

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 alcoh...

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,...

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 ou...

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...

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...