Recovering Out Loud26 Aug 2025

Weed Was My Higher Power for 25 Years - Patty D

Patrick spent over two decades trapped in daily use, denial, and isolation. From high school parties to bartending life, from weed dependency to cocaine spirals, he believed recovery wasn’t possible. After losing relationships, hiding debts, and nearly losing his health, Patrick finally reached a breaking point when his family discovered the truth.

In this powerful conversation, Patrick shares how honesty and surrender opened the door to treatment — and how the support of family and the 12 steps gave him a new life. He opens up about childhood insecurity, the destructive grip of marijuana and cocaine, his eye-opening rehab experience, and the spiritual practices that keep him grounded today.

This is a raw and hopeful story about faith, service, and the freedom that comes with letting go. If you’ve ever felt alone in addiction, Patrick’s journey is living proof: recovery is possible.

00:00 – Introduction & Patrick’s first steps toward recovery
02:00 – First retreat experience & early sobriety milestones
05:40 – Childhood insecurity, masks, and constant worry
08:30 – High school party life: weed as his “higher power”
10:00 – Cocaine enters the picture in university
14:00 – Twelve years off hard drugs, but dependent on weed & alcohol
17:20 – Progression into bartending, debt, and isolation
20:20 – Dad’s stroke & the breaking point of honesty with family
24:00 – Entering rehab: resistance, breakthroughs, and self-love
29:00 – Discovering spirituality & meditation in recovery
40:00 – Daily essentials: prayer, meetings, kindness, connection
44:00 – The role of service and helping others in sobriety
47:00 – Letting go of outcomes & trusting the process
52:00 – Best advice: acceptance, empathy, and radical honesty

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(140)

Trauma & Addiction: Gabor Maté & The Body Keeps the Score (An Honest Take)

Why the pain, not why the addiction? An honest, peer look at the trauma model of recovery.This week it's a solo one. I sit with two thinkers who reshaped how we talk about addiction — Gabor Maté (In t...

29 Aug 10min

Surrender in Recovery — Why Letting Go Isn't Giving Up

Surrender sounded like giving up — until it became the thing that finally let me stop losing.For years I thought surrender meant waving the white flag: defeat, quitting, rolling over. My ego hated it....

27 Aug 15min

The 12 Principles That Actually Keep You Sober

Working the steps gets you sober. Living the principles keeps you there. All 12 — and why they hold.My mentor asks me one question: "How are you living today, Anthony?" It's easy to be a star in the r...

25 Aug 26min

10 Things Alcoholics Do That Normal Drinkers Don't

Ten things I thought were normal until I got sober — supply math, pre-gaming, the morning panic. I'm not a doctor. I'm just a guy who did all ten of these, and didn't realize nobody else was living li...

22 Aug 19min

The Hidden Opportunities in Recovery (The Wins Nobody Claps For)

The wins nobody claps for are the ones that built your recovery. Here are the hidden ones.We throw parties for the first sober birthday and the first sober holiday. But nobody warns you about the firs...

20 Aug 24min

10 Weird Things My Alcoholic Brain Does in Recovery

Ten weird things my alcoholic brain still does in recovery — and why none of them run my life anymore.I've been in recovery since 2015. I relapsed around seven and a half years in, and I'm back — a ye...

18 Aug 20min

Everything I Knew About Getting Sober Was Wrong (10 Myths)

Ten recovery myths that keep people stuck — from someone sober again after a hard relapse. Almost everything I thought I knew about getting sober turned out to be wrong, and some of it nearly cost me ...

15 Aug 23min

Staying Sober While Travelling, the Strivers' Curse & "We Could Have Missed It All"

CHEF DEV IS BACK...A counsellor once asked Devan: what's wrong with the way you feel? This is that conversation. Chef Devan Rajkumar Today, he travels and cooks across different cities, constantly lea...

13 Aug 49min