Three Plant Medicines That Helped Me Survive & Thrive After Addiction: Valerian Root, Kratom, and Ayahuasca
Release Date: 10/28/2025
When No One Else Could: How Pets Support Us in Addiction Recovery
Recovery Demystified - Secular Addiction Recovery and Harm Reduction for Queers, Neurodivergent People, and Their Allies
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 discomfort and how this emotional skill is fundamental to a strong recovery. Grab a box of tissues and buckle up. Want to support this work? Sign up for our Patreon Or donate to our Donorbox in any amount Want to...
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Cecil Part 2: "Shame Is the Antagonist Here” — Escaping Addiction Through Emotional Processing
Recovery Demystified - Secular Addiction Recovery and Harm Reduction for Queers, Neurodivergent People, and Their Allies
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 hashing out his childhood trauma with a therapist. Want to support this work? Donate via our...
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Cecil Part 1: How Childhood Trauma, Poverty, and Emotional Suppression Lead to Addiction
Recovery Demystified - Secular Addiction Recovery and Harm Reduction for Queers, Neurodivergent People, and Their Allies
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 them down. As a teenager he found that drinking with his cousins led to the human relationships he...
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Secular Dry January Resources: Indigenous Wisdom, Intersectional Feminism, and Neuroscience
Recovery Demystified - Secular Addiction Recovery and Harm Reduction for Queers, Neurodivergent People, and Their Allies
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 the traditional 12-step or religious frameworks. These authors and podcasters explore recovery through the lenses of neuroscience, intersectional feminism, indigenous wisdom, and harm reduction. Addiction...
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JT Part 2: Coping With ADHD in Addiction Recovery, Managing Cravings and Emotional Regulation to Prevent Relapse
Recovery Demystified - Secular Addiction Recovery and Harm Reduction for Queers, Neurodivergent People, and Their Allies
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 with ADHD/neurodivergence, want tools for emotional regulation, or are learning how to manage cravings...
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Benji: Loving Someone in Recovery and the Grief of Losing Them to Fentanyl Overdose
Recovery Demystified - Secular Addiction Recovery and Harm Reduction for Queers, Neurodivergent People, and Their Allies
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 the complexity of addiction recovery, queer love, mental health and the importance of compassion,...
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How to Find a Therapist If You’re Poor and/or Neurodivergent and in Addiction Recovery
Recovery Demystified - Secular Addiction Recovery and Harm Reduction for Queers, Neurodivergent People, and Their Allies
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 about enough: how to balance your emotional needs between yourself, your community, and a therapist. This episode explores: -Why and how we can balance community support, professional help, and emotionally...
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Hana Part 3: Rebuilding a Life From Scratch After Addiction: Managing Triggers, Avoiding Relapse, and Deciding to Cut Off Her Mother
Recovery Demystified - Secular Addiction Recovery and Harm Reduction for Queers, Neurodivergent People, and Their Allies
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 setting boundaries with family, including the painful decision to cut off her mother, and what it actually...
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Sober for the Holidays: Practical Skills for Coping with Loneliness & Fostering Empowerment Through Self-Inquiry
Recovery Demystified - Secular Addiction Recovery and Harm Reduction for Queers, Neurodivergent People, and Their Allies
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 talk about addressing and sitting with our loneliness without shame. You'll learn how having somatic awareness of your own nervous system can save you from getting overwhelmed. If you've been looking for an...
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Hana Part 2: From A Homeless, Drug Addicted Sex Worker to Finding Hope While Being Held at Gunpoint
Recovery Demystified - Secular Addiction Recovery and Harm Reduction for Queers, Neurodivergent People, and Their Allies
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 drugs for 8 years. She now owns her own home and business, and gives special credit to her cat,...
info_outlineToday 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 to plants, the earth, and each other has been growing further and further apart as our culture becomes more solitary and technological. Some part of us deep down is still drawn to nature and the seasons -- it's why people have the impulse to put pumpkins on their porch. Not long ago we actually grew and harvested our food and medicine, and fostering a new connection to nature can create wholeness and healing in our recovery. We explore the idea of harm reduction with kratom in this episode.
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Logo: Stevie Petet
Theme Music: Logan Bragg