Addiction Rears Its Ugly Head with Clive, Dom & Matt

Addiction Rears Its Ugly Head with Clive, Dom & Matt

How do individuals turn their lives around after addiction? This conversation on My Sober Addiction brings together Matt, Clive and Dom for a wide‑ranging chat about what really sits underneath addictive behaviour, and why family and community matter so much. You’ll hear them question the old idea of “know thyself” and replace it with “know thyself within thy family”.

Dom talks about how our role in a family unit shapes decisions made in childhood, which can echo for decades and push some people towards substances as a way of coping. Clive stretches the idea of family further, comparing political and elite family structures with everyday households, and how support – or the lack of it – can push people towards or away from addiction.

Matt shares openly about his own drug use, how his family eventually stopped enabling him, and the brutal but life‑saving impact that had: “Sometimes you've got to hit rock bottom before you start to swim back up again.” He describes the shock of seeing an old ID photo once he was sober and realising how unhealthy he really looked, despite believing at the time that everything was under control.

The trio also chat about “chosen families”: support groups, close friends and even recovery communities that can become a healthier replacement when our birth families are unsafe or absent. They poke gentle fun at the idea of a “nice gang” – a group whose mission is kindness rather than chaos – and argue that humans are pack animals who rarely thrive alone.

Along the way, they question cultural norms around sport, fandom and heavy drinking, and how these can act as distractions from uncomfortable emotions or wider social issues. If you’ve ever wondered whether your environment and the people around you are helping or harming your recovery, this relaxed, honest chat might nudge you to ask: who’s really in your corner, and what kind of family are you building for yourself?