Emotional Recovery (The Daily Trudge)Emotional Recovery (The Daily Trudge)
RAW Recovery Podcast
Dion talks through emotional recovery after the drink is gone, touching on PAWS, family impact, codependency and self-worth. Humour, honesty and practical tools highlight how emotional sobriety develops over time, not overnight.
43:24•7 May 2026
Emotional Recovery and The Daily Trudge: Beyond Just Not Drinking
Episode Overview
- Stopping drinking is only the beginning; emotional recovery takes time and focused work.
- Alcoholism affects the whole family, and loved ones need their own emotional healing, regardless of the drinker’s sobriety.
- Post-acute withdrawal symptoms can last for months and may call for extra support such as therapy.
- Emotional sobriety means building self-esteem from within, not relying on others’ approval or behaviour.
- Tools like meetings, therapy, prayer, meditation and honest talk help replace control and reactivity with acceptance and peace.
“Recovery isn't just about drinking. It's about learning how to live emotionally sober.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This RAW Recovery instalment of The Daily Trudge zooms in on emotional recovery and why putting down the drink is just the start. Dion chats candidly about life after physical sobriety, when fear, anger, insecurity and resentment are still running the show even though the alcohol is gone.
Drawing on *Courage to Change* and Bill W.’s ideas on emotional sobriety, he talks through why alcoholism is a family disease and why, as one reading puts it, “the time for the family members to begin working out their own emotional recovery is now.” You’ll hear him unpack post-acute withdrawal symptoms (PAWS), the limits of comparing alcoholism to other illnesses, and the heavy weight of survivor’s guilt when someone you’ve tried to help doesn’t make it.
Dion keeps things grounded with plenty of humour and self-awareness, from showing off his puppet "Trudge" and an 80s-style theme song, to admitting his own codependency when his wife is in a bad mood or when he wants officials to move faster on a new detox centre. He’s open about jealousy, ego and that urge to have everyone behave exactly how he wants so he can feel okay.
Across the episode, he circles back to emotional sobriety as learning to “take back your power,” stop relying on others for self-worth, and build healthy (not rigid) boundaries. Meetings, therapy, prayer, meditation, honest conversations and acceptance all show up as practical tools. If you’re sober but still feel like your emotions are all over the place, this conversation might feel uncomfortably familiar in the best possible way.
Are you ready to work on the emotional side of recovery, not just the physical bit?
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.