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

Obsidian returns to discuss their ongoing addiction recovery story as a queer and neurodivergent person! In today's episode, we discuss the complexity of using again after a period of abstinence. Our healing work doesn't just disappear, and it can inform our experience when we use again. Picking back up again can be very different, end quickly, and be a reminder of why we quit in the first place....

Today we hear Randy's addiction recovery story. Randy's life started with tragedy and abandonment trauma; he was the sole survivor of a car wreck that killed his mother and two brothers when he was only 9 months old. Growing up he was always the odd one out until he found drugs and bad kids. He managed to keep his life together for a long time while drinking and using a variety of drugs. Eventuall...

Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of. In today's episode Early goes over our inherent need for both community and alone time, why your social anxiety makes you normal, how alcohol advertising targets our "wound of existence", anti-individualism, why normal things don't feel good anymore, and the ultimate question to ask wh...

In today's episode, Early talks with their friend Elise about her addiction recovery story. Elise suffered sports concussions as a kid and had to stop playing soccer, which at that time was a huge part of her identity. A resulting change in her body and self-image led to an eating disorder as a teen. During high school she experimented with alcohol with her friends. As an adult she entered into re...

Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably ever heard of. Today Early discusses a few more books & podcasts to supplement your recovery, along with a speech from their soapbox and for some reason - a lot of cussing. They discuss a practical book about methods to expore while quitting drinking, an addiction memoir, tracing addiction back to chi...

Today we hear Andie's addiction recovery story and how they got into harm reduction. Andie's life started in a family with everyone in various degrees of neurodivergence and addiction. They began as many of us do, with stealing beer out of a friend's parent's garage fridge. Soon they got in legal trouble from bringing alcohol to school. They and their brother both proceeded to escalate their drug...

Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of. This is a replay of Early's interview with Samar Kargbo on his podcast "Sort of Sure" - a podcast about imposter syndrome. Early talks about their time in EMS, a bit about their addiction recovery story, starting a nonprofit, and how they overcome seemingly insurmountable tasks. Check...

Today we hear Sophia's addiction recovery story. Sophia grew up in a house where both parents drank. She took her first drink when she was 12 and was smoking meth by age 14, and began rebelling in every way possible. She met some older friends, began selling meth and weed, and remarks on how her relationships felt transactional. Later she went to prison several times, once where she was subjected...

Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of. Another curated list of recovery resources to help you on your journey! It is time to reprogram our brains and bathe them in a soup of new information. We hear about a book discussing sober sex and dating, addiction recovery stories, and a book about addressing burnout and neurodiverge...

Today we hear from Misha about their addiction recovery story as a LGBT and neurodivergent person. He describes his childhood as both boring and traumatic, having grown up queer in a strict religious household. His brothers introduced him to the liquor cabinet, and after they moved away, it became all his. A sexual assault in college sent him spinning out of control and he shortly found himself in...

Today we hear Clay's addiction recovery story as a neurodivergent person. His life began with both parents having problems with addiction, and having to leave with his mother and sister on the run from their father. This created a foundation of deep fear that characterized much of his life. Struggling in school as a neurodivergent person added additional stress. Smoking weed allowed him to have th...

As we continue to bathe our brains in a soup of new information, we grow, and we become stronger and more resilient. Learning new things helps to rewire our brains! Make your addiction a thing of the past. We discuss becoming sober curious, a book on the neuroscience of addiction, indigenous storytelling, sober black girls club, a podcast on women in recovery, and more! Books: Sober Curious by Rub...

In today's episode, Obsidian tells their addiction recovery story. Their life begins with a mix of emotions, with their loved ones both caring for them in some ways and also being emotionally abusive in others. They mostly abstained from substances even though their friends were imbibing-it just didn't feel safe enough to experiment at the time. Their first experiences with alcohol and weed were b...

Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of. People are always asking how/why Recovery Demystified got started! In today's episode, Early discusses why they started Recovery Demystified as a non-profit instead of a for-profit business. They also give a reader's digest version of their story with addiction and recovery as a queer...

In today's episode, Karrie tells her addiction recovery story. Her life began as a victim of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy -  her stepmother created fake health problems on her behalf which resulted in unnecessary medications and surgeries. Much of the time she was locked in her room. She later went to juvie, a shelter, and the foster care system. When she found alcohol, she experienced a "halleluj...

Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of. Click here to follow along with the slideshow! Today, Early discusses how thoughts originate, and how addictive processes can hijack our thoughts. They then present three concrete methods to address difficult thoughts. We explore the HALT method, the RAIN method, and the kitchen table...

In today's episode, Kailey tells her addictionr recovery story with alcohol and vaping. Her parents were divorced and as the oldest child she took on much of the role of parenting her siblings. Soon, she started with average teenage experimentation and college binge drinking. She reflects on how "no one teaches us how to drink" and how this led to her binge drinking and vaping to the max. She bega...

Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of. Addiction recovery support... incoming! Let us continue to bathe our brains in a soup of new information. Knowledge is power, after all, so how about picking up a new book or listening to a new podcast? Addiction recovery resources can come in many shapes and sizes. Learning how to com...

n today's episode we hear Robert's addiction recovery story. Robert's life began in a pretty rough way: with childhood neglect, abuse in the family, and having his dad give him beers because he thought it was funny. Robert's childhood consisted of misbehavior, escalating drug and alcohol use, and being repeatedly kicked out of different schools. In adulthood he followed his intuition to seek more...

In today's episode we hear JT's addiction recovery story. JT's story began with a traumatic childhood and being medicated for ADHD (which may have just been symptoms of trauma.) Later, her self-medication of unresolved trauma blossomed into binge drinking and multiple drug concoctions. After some broken bones, benders, and embarassment, she realized something needed to change. It took a few attemp...

Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of. Addiction recovery community support... incoming! It is time yet again to bathe our brain in a soup of new information. The learning never ends, and as we keep trying new things, our recovery grows and becomes more secure. Looking for addiction recovery community support? You're in the...

In today's episode we hear Natalie's addiction recovery story. Natalie tells the story of her childhood growing up with a severely addicted parent, and how it affected her as a kid and into adulthood. She demonstrates the need to communicate effectively with children at an age appropriate level- because if we don't communicate to them, they create their own answers, and they often know much more t...

Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of. Addiction recovery community support... incoming! Many people have struggled or dabbled with inhalants, yet we very rarely hear it discussed. In today's episode Early discusses their own personal use of inhalants as well as their experience as an EMT treating patients who use inhalants...

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 today's episode we hear EK's addiction recovery story. They describe seeing their family use alcohol and cigarettes while they were a kid. EK's drinking and use stopped being fun at a very young age, as they navigated survival through abusive relationships. They describe self medicating after reaching out for help with the pain of experiencing sexual assault and depression. After a close encoun...