Episode 13: Sobriety vs Recovery: What’s the Difference?

Episode 13: Sobriety vs Recovery: What’s the Difference?

How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This chat between co-hosts Lisa Smith and Tawny Lara zeros in on one deceptively simple question: what’s the actual difference between being sober and being in recovery? Lisa and Tawny break it down in plain, no-nonsense language. Sobriety, they say, is the act of stopping the substance or behaviour: alcohol, drugs, gambling, porn, shopping, even sugar.

Recovery, on the other hand, is everything that comes after putting it down – the ongoing process of “developing new behaviours, new ways of thinking” and getting to the roots of why they used in the first place.

As Lisa puts it, “The more I put into my recovery, the more I get out of my recovery.” You’ll hear them talk about “dry drunks” and “white knuckling” – people who’ve stopped using but haven’t done any work on the underlying issues. There’s a powerful analogy to physical rehab: you don’t just set a broken leg and walk away; you go to therapy so it heals strong and doesn’t break again.

Relapse is framed honestly too, as something that’s “very common” and often part of a long, slow process rather than a one-and-done fix. The conversation branches into 12-step tools, higher power, resentment (“Resentments are a luxury I do not have”), and practical recovery habits like meetings, sponsors, and restraint of tongue. Tawny adds a modern spin with yoga, retreats, journalling, and music therapy, especially through Road Recovery and its peer-support jam sessions.

Both stress community and accountability, whether through 12-step rooms, book clubs, or online sober friendships. It’s a relaxed, funny, and very human look at how simply not drinking is just the beginning – and how community, creativity, and honesty can turn abstinence into genuine recovery. How do you define your own difference between staying sober and actually getting well?