258 - Grag W. shares his comeback story from addiction!258 - Grag W. shares his comeback story from addiction!
Real Recovery Talk
Greg W. talks through his journey from high-school opiate use and a near-fatal fentanyl overdose to two years in recovery grounded in faith and 12-step work. The conversation focuses on emotional pain, spiritual growth, and building a strong support network to stay sober through life’s toughest moments.
38:20•1 Mar 2023
From Overdose to Hope: Greg W.’s Honest Comeback from Addiction
Episode Overview
- Addiction often begins as a way to ease emotional pain, so long-term recovery needs more than just removing substances.
- Leaving treatment early or going home without a clear plan can quickly lead back to drinking or using, even if that substance wasn’t the main drug of choice.
- Working the 12 steps with a sponsor can shift the focus from drugs and alcohol to healing the deeper spiritual and emotional issues.
- Showing up consistently to meetings and building honest relationships with same-gender peers creates a support network that catches you when life gets painful.
- Strong recovery foundations help people face serious life events, such as relationship breakdowns, without returning to substances for relief.
“This isn’t about drugs and alcohol. This is about something completely different and something so much more valuable, which is human spirit.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation on Real Recovery Talk follows Greg W.’s raw comeback from opiate addiction, overdose, and the long road back to faith and recovery. Hosted by Tom Conrad, with co-host Benjamin B., the episode is relaxed, funny in moments, and very honest.
The target audience is anyone affected by addiction – people in active use, those early in sobriety, and families trying to understand why their loved one “doesn’t just stop.” Greg traces his using from high-school Percocet to sniffing heroin and fentanyl, eventually ending up “overdosed, dead in my mom’s bathroom” after IV fentanyl.
He describes waking up from that overdose not grateful to be alive, but checking his pockets for more drugs – a moment that later showed him “how sick I actually was.” A big theme is the idea that substances are a solution to pain rather than the core problem. As Greg puts it, “We have a pain problem.
Which is why we’re using these substances in the first place.” He and the hosts talk about the “spiritual malady”, emotional pain, and how alcohol or weed can quickly drag people back towards their primary drug of choice. You’ll hear how getting a sponsor and genuinely working the 12 steps changed everything for Greg: “This isn’t about drugs and alcohol.
This is about something completely different and something so much more valuable, which is human spirit.” He talks about building a solid foundation through meetings, male support, and faith-based step work, and how that foundation helps him face painful stuff like relationship problems without picking up. The tone stays grounded and hopeful: relapse, divorce scares, and fear are all on the table, but so is the message that anyone can do this with willingness, consistency, and community.
If you or someone you love feels stuck in pain and patterns, could Greg’s story be the nudge to try doing recovery differently?
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