#89 – Carl Fessenden: The Drunken Worm

#89 – Carl Fessenden: The Drunken Worm

How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation with Carl Fessenden gives a straight-talking, often funny, but deeply honest look at what long-term recovery can look like. Carl, a substance use counsellor and host of The Drunken Worm Podcast, shares how his addiction began after a difficult exit from the United States Marine Corps and escalated into heavy meth use.

He explains the emotional weight of losing that sense of "family" in the military, the confusion that followed, and how that chaos fed his addiction. As he puts it, he went "from a dope fiend into a hope fiend" once recovery entered the picture. You’ll hear Carl describe the turning point where congestive heart failure forced a brutal medical reality check: "go to the hospital right now" or risk a body bag.

From there, he embraced a 12-step programme, found a sponsor, and started telling the truth about his past for the first time. He talks about walking into men’s meetings, "butching it up" as a proud gay man, and then realising those tough-looking biker types became some of his closest friends.

The chat moves into his work as a counsellor, from county-run rehab to high-end residential treatment, and the imposter syndrome that hit when he drove through the gates thinking, "am I really qualified to be here?" He credits consistent stepwork, fellowship, and hard graft for transforming his life, not magic. Both Carl and host Brett Morris stress that meetings alone don’t change lives; doing the uncomfortable work does.

They hammer home the idea that addiction is "doing push-ups" just outside the door, and that recovery means choosing meetings over trap houses and progress over comfort. If you’re curious how someone rebuilds their life from near-death to helping others, this story might be the hope shot you’ve been waiting for. What part of Carl’s journey do you see in yourself?