175 - Geographical Change: Assisting People Through Recovery175 - Geographical Change: Assisting People Through Recovery
Real Recovery Talk
Tom Conrad talks with Benjamin B. and Renee L. about how moving far from home can support addiction recovery, contrasting South Florida’s recovery culture with the Northeast. They share real experiences of medically assisted treatment, abstinence-based approaches and the impact of family involvement on staying sober.
38:52•22 Apr 2021
Geographical Change and Recovery: Why Distance Can Boost Sobriety
Episode Overview
- A geographical change can reduce access to dealers, familiar using spots and peers who undermine sobriety, making commitment to treatment stronger.
- Medically assisted treatment with suboxone or methadone may keep people alive, but the speakers argue that abstinence-based treatment should usually be tried first, especially for younger users.
- MAT programmes that lack proper therapy or support often fail to address the underlying addiction and can even create new dependencies.
- Family members who constantly intervene, rescue or pressure staff from afar can unintentionally derail treatment; boundaries and trust in professionals are crucial.
- Building a solid recovery foundation in a strong recovery community can make later moves back home more manageable, even if local support is weaker.
“"Getting on an airplane and going 1,500 miles away from where you live is a commitment as opposed to going to your treatment center right down the street."”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol or drugs 1,200 miles from home? This episode of Real Recovery Talk looks at whether packing a suitcase and starting fresh somewhere new can genuinely support sobriety. Host Tom Conrad chats with Benjamin B. and Renee L. about "geographical change"—leaving your home area, your dealers, and your usual chaos behind.
Renee explains how her family sent her from the Northeast to South Florida because, as she puts it, suboxone programmes at home meant, "They would take my money and that was it. No therapy, nothing associated with it." Ben adds his own experience with methadone and suboxone, pointing out, "I never passed a single drug test...
and they still prescribed me methadone." Together they talk frankly about medically assisted treatment (MAT), stressing that for many people an abstinence-based approach deserves a proper try before jumping straight to suboxone or methadone. They’re clear that MAT can keep people alive, but question it as a first step for young or newer users. The heart of the conversation is the power of distance.
Ben notes that "getting on an airplane and going 1,500 miles away from where you live is a commitment," making it much harder to storm out of treatment on a bad day or swing by the usual "dope spot".
Renee is equally honest: it took her almost a year in South Florida to truly want sobriety, and she’s sure that if she’d stayed home, she "would have never gotten sober." They also tackle family involvement—how constant calls, emotional rescue missions and trying to control treatment from afar can quietly sabotage recovery.
If you’re wondering whether a change of scenery could give you or someone you love a better shot at recovery, this conversation might be exactly the reality check you need.
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.
Related Episodes
Similar episodes from other shows in the catalogue.