Episode 188 - "Riding the Wave"-Beating Your Urges To UseEpisode 188 - "Riding the Wave"-Beating Your Urges To Use
Recovery Is Possible
Mike and Lily talk about how to handle strong urges to drink by "riding the wave" and leaning on recovery community. Their conversation highlights the importance of in-person meetings, service, and long-term relationships in staying sober.
41:15•21 Jul 2026
Riding the Wave: How Community Helps Beat Urges to Use
Episode Overview
- Urges to drink can feel intense but often pass if you "ride the wave" and distract yourself for about twenty minutes.
- Community is presented as the opposite of addiction’s isolation, making meetings and friendships central to staying sober.
- In-person meetings are stressed as far more effective than online ones because much of the real support happens before and after the formal gathering.
- Trying different meetings to find a home group is encouraged, while keeping recovery itself as the non-negotiable priority.
- Getting involved in service – from making coffee to chairing – helps people feel responsible, connected, and more committed to long-term sobriety.
“Addiction is isolation and recovery is community.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? In this episode of *Recovery Is Possible*, the chat between Lily and Mike is all about what happens when the urge to drink hits hard, and how community can be the difference between relapse and staying sober. Early on, Lily celebrates Mike’s big milestone: passing his Certified Substance Abuse Counsellor exam in Virginia and moving towards becoming a Licensed Professional Counsellor.
That sets the tone – this isn’t just theory; Mike’s using both lived experience and formal training to talk about cravings and long-term recovery. One of the core moments is Mike’s Poland story.
At six years sober, alone on a work trip and surrounded by vodka, he finds himself thinking, “Who would know?” Then he remembers his sponsor, his sponsees, his home group, and his belief that “addiction is isolation and recovery is community.” He leans on something he heard in recovery: if you can “ride that wave” of desire for about twenty minutes and distract yourself, the urge usually fades. From there, the conversation shifts to why in-person meetings matter.
Mike and Lily compare AA meetings to trying different pickleball clubs: if one doesn’t feel right, “you vote with your feet” and try another, but you don’t walk away from recovery itself. Mike stresses that the real work often happens before and after the meeting, chatting in car parks and church basements, sharing phone numbers and making sure newcomers don’t feel judged or alone.
They also talk about service – making coffee, opening the door, chairing meetings – as a way to move from sitting at the back to truly belonging. The more someone is part of that community, the more they feel a responsibility to stay sober for themselves and for others. If cravings have been knocking at your door, could riding the wave and leaning into community be the next step for you?
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