Recovery Demystified is a non-religious, queer, and neurodivergent-friendly recovery podcast exploring addiction, sobriety, and harm reduction. Our guests tell their addiction recovery stories to upend stigma surrounding recovery, provide practical tools, and tell stories about navigating life in the process of healing from addiction and trauma. We leave shame, dogma, and purity politics at the door.
Each episode is created for folks seeking addiction recovery support from a radical lens, whether you're early in sobriety, exploring alternatives to 12-step programs, or looking for harm-reduction strategies that work in your life. We feature inclusive perspectives from queer and neurodivergent communities, tackling topics like relapse prevention, coping with cravings, mental health, trauma, and identity in recovery.
You can expect:
-Empowerment, encouragement, and a healing environment
-Personal recovery stories from queer, ND, and non-religious voices
-Practical harm reduction tools and strategies
-Honest discussions about sobriety challenges, relapse, and mental health
-Guidance for secular and alternative recovery paths
-A punk, stigma-free, and inclusive approach to healing
Whether you're looking for a queer recovery podcast, neurodivergent sobriety support, or just want real talk about addiction and harm reduction, Recovery Demystified is here to provide clarity, compassion, and community.
If you have ever felt left behind or pushed to the fringes of society, you are in the right place! Recovery for the rest of us!
Connect with us:
Instagram - @recoverydemystified
Substack - @recoverydemystified
Email - info@recoverydemystified.com
Donate to our cause!
Patreon - Link in episode descriptions!
Venmo & Paypal - @recoverydemystified
https://www.recoverydemystified.com/donations/
Last refreshed: ⓘ
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more
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 was fruitless and entirely unfulfilling, so he started selling weed to support his family. Then he ...
Early explores the internal struggle of addiction, explaining cognitive dissonance and the neuroscience behind cravings, particularly the role of dopamine. She introduces the Addicted Voice Recognition Technique (AVRT) as a simple yet powerful tool to separate from addictive thoughts. The episode also discusses how intentional practices like meditation can rewire the brain, fostering greater impulse control and sustainable recovery.
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 at a bar, she put down the drink and never looked back. During her three decades of recovery she has ...
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 themselves. When the 12 steps didn't work for me, I was told that "It works if you work it. Keep coming...
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 cocaine pretty regularly while getting a degree in addiction studies, working at a homeless shelter...
Early Brunner shares the most important resilience-building skill in addiction recovery: embracing discomfort. They explain how growth occurs by incrementally tolerating challenging emotions, moving beyond the "comfort zone" and "panic zone" into the "growth zone." The episode outlines practical strategies, including prioritizing basic needs like sleep and nutrition, developing emotional literacy to understand and process feelings, and utilizing nervous system regulation techniques like controlled breathing and grounding. These skills collectively empower individuals to confidently navigate triggers and cravings, transforming discomfort into a personal superpower.
Recovery Demystified welcomes new listeners, especially those for whom traditional 12-step programs haven't worked or who feel like outsiders. Host Early Brunner, who is queer and neurodivergent, highlights diverse recovery stories, including harm reduction and quitting before hitting "rock bottom." The podcast also features actionable recovery resources, emphasizing individual intuition and empowerment over prescriptive approaches.
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 began as relief then escalated into dependence, leading him from prescription pills to IV heroin an...
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 your everyday life. We explore how science and relationships shape recovery, starting with the impac...
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 most people would perceive as a minor mistake, Katy turned fully inwards and experienced a period of en...
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 of abolitionist frameworks through his zine writing. He emphasizes the importance of being met with ...
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 alcohol addiction. We talk about attachment wounds, punk culture, and how he ultimately caused harm to so...
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, and then returned to. He spent a while being Cali-Sober (only using weed products) until that landed...
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 out she decided she wanted to "try something different"- and moved on forever. Want to be interviewed ...
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 them unconditional love. They also discuss the importance of our ability to learn how to tolerate d...
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 found a path to lasting healing by learning how to deal with his emotions in a healthy way, and has...
In Part 1 of Cecil's story of addiction recovery and neurodivergence/ADHD, he talks about how childhood trauma, poverty, and emotional suppression lead to his addiction to alcohol. ACEs, or adverse childhood experiences, have been shown to have a dramatic affect on a person's chance of developing addiction. Cecil reflects on his upbringing in a trailer in podunk Arkansas with an abusive father who drank to excess. He quickly learned that showing emotions was unwelcome, and learned how to stuff t...
Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of. Dry January can be more than a break from alcohol. It can be the beginning of the path to long-term secular addiction recovery, especially when our focus is on healing ourselves with science and community instead of shame and dogma. In this episode, Early shares their highlight reel of secular addiction recovery books and podcasts for sober curious folks exploring sobriety outside of...
JT returns for a follow-up conversation on ADHD and addiction recovery, exploring how ADHD affects cravings, emotional regulation, school, and daily routines. We discuss building structure, finding purpose in recovery, and navigating grief and emotional overwhelm. This episode also touches on social media's impact on mental health, and some very nosey questions from Early about dating in recovery and the asexual/aromantic spectrum. Tune in if you've been struggling with executive dysfunction wit...
In this episode, Benji shares the story of dating a partner in addiction recovery and the loss that followed from a fentanyl overdose. Through the lens of a queer relationship, they discuss the reality of loving someone in recovery, navigating mental health struggles, and coping with the grief in the aftermath of addiction. The episode also incudes harm reduction education, addressing the dangers of fentanyl, why recovery can be fragile, and how stigma impacts people seeking support. We explore ...
Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of. Trying to find addiction recovery support can feel overwhelming when you're poor, neurodivergent, or have never had to navigate the world of mental healthcare. In this episode, we talk honestly about how to look for a therapist when money is tight, the system is confusing, and the process itself can be overwhelming or retraumatizing. We also unpack something that doesn't get talked a...
In part 3 of Hana's miraculous addiction recovery story, she breaks down the step-by-step reality of going from homelessness to rehab, sober living, and long-term stability. She shares how she managed triggers, avoided relapse during chaotic jobs, and stayed sober while building her business and buying a home. All the while, she follows her intuition through every growth phase, confronts the reality of being a felon, and unlearns the shame society projected onto her. This episode explores settin...
Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of. Let's take a deep dive into a neurodivergent, radical perspective on surviving the holidays with practical addiction recovery skills. We discuss tools that foster empowerment, nonviolent communication, healthy boundaries, and harm reduction that are specific to the unwanted pressure society puts on us this time of year. Family dynamics can cause added stress that fuels cravings. We t...
In this episode, Hana shares her raw and unflinching story of addiction, trauma, and survival. We dive into Part 2 of her story with a harrowing tale of being held at gunpoint by a drug dealer, followed by stories of a near-amputation, sex work, and homelessness in Seattle. She was in and out of jail and treatment. One day she heard another addict tell their story of addiction and recovery, and had a lightbulb moment. Recovery was possible for her. She found her path to sobriety and has been off...
Hana's miraculous addiction recovery story begins with growing up with an alcoholic mother who created an extremely chaotic living environment. Hana was forced to caregive and be a "friend" to their mother, a phenomenon known as parentification -- when a child is forced to be in an adult role. She got into meth and alcohol as a teen in order to make friends and be away from her home life. Hana's substance use and rebellious behavior managed to get them kicked out of everywhere, including school....
Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of. In today's episode, Early and Amber Hollingsworth of popular YouTube channel Put the Shovel Down discuss data-informed methods of how to help our loved ones escape their addiction. Most people accidentally put themselves in the "villian" role in their addicted family member's life, even though their actions are rooted in love. Why is this? What can we do better? How can we use compas...
Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of. Today Early discusses more addiction recovery resources for people in recovery, sober curious folks, and anyone else on a healing journey with their relationship to drugs and/or alcohol. They discuss a book from White Bison Inc about the hundreds of years old Indigenous resistance to alcoholism, and the decolonization movements that heal Native American communities. Next is a book ou...
Today we hear Danny's addiction recovery story as a neurodivergent person. He describes himself as being a highly emotional child who cried often. He tried LSD at the age of 11, and promptly changed his world view and became a musician and someone who ditched class. He got kicked out of multiple schools and was sent to a jail-like boarding school. After a bad breakup in early adulthood, opiates started to hit different. He got deeper and deeper into hard drugs until working with plant medicine I...
Recovery Resources that actually help, build your own recovery with secret resources you probably never heard of. Today Early discusses a bit more about their own story in addiction recovery. They outline the three most important plant medicines they have worked with on their journey: valerian root, kratom, and ayahuasca. What's right for one person may be harmful for another, and the most important thing is learning to listen to your own intuition and find what's right for you. Our relationship...
Today we hear Kelly's addiction recovery story. Her life started with a complicated childhood: a mix of happiness, love, and abuse. She was tasked with caring for her younger brothers as they suffered from life-threatening health problems, which she later realized was parentification. She had an "aha" moment after her first drink, and soon fell in with a crowd of older kids who were partying with ecstasy and weed. She lived the life of the party girl for a long time, getting heavily into cocaine...
