Episode 61 | The #RecoveryFirst Podcast with Mike Todd | “A Disease Of Negative Thinking”Episode 61 | The #RecoveryFirst Podcast with Mike Todd | “A Disease Of Negative Thinking”
The Recovery First Addiction Recovery Podcast by Freedom Recovery Services of Greenville
Mike Todd reflects on "a disease of negative thinking" and shares how mindfulness, meditation and affirmations affect his recovery. The episode also highlights efforts to support people in South Carolina through recovery housing and naloxone access.
14:05•17 Jan 2022
A Disease of Negative Thinking: Mindfulness, Recovery and Guarding Your Mind
Episode Overview
- Negative thinking can act like its own disease in recovery, so paying attention to thoughts is crucial.
- Simple mindfulness – asking whether a thought is helpful – can stop resentments and old memories from taking over.
- Regular prayer, meditation and affirmations can shift mood, outlook and even practical areas like financial security.
- Choosing what to consume, especially on social media, helps reduce exposure to unnecessary negativity.
- Recovery housing and access to naloxone are key supports for people with substance use disorder in South Carolina.
“I can choose not to participate in the negative things that come into my mind.”
How do people cope with the challenges of staying sober? This conversation on The Recovery First Addiction Recovery Podcast looks at one of the sneakiest threats to recovery: what Mike Todd calls "a disease of negative thinking". Speaking as "not a guru" but someone who's "just like you", Mike shares how years in recovery have shown him that his biggest battle often sits between his ears.
He talks honestly about a lifelong habit of pessimism and how, over the last 90 days, he has been leaning hard into mindfulness to change it.
You'll hear how books like *The Power of Now* and *How to Communicate Like a Buddhist* have helped him pay closer attention to what crosses his mind, and to ask a simple question: "Is this really good to be thinking about?" When old resentments or painful memories show up, he practises choosing a different thought rather than letting it run the day. Mike walks through his daily routine of prayer, meditation and affirmations – from gratitude to financial security.
He jokes that it may sound "hokey pokey", yet points out how repeating lines like "money comes to me in expected and unexpected ways" has coincided with real changes in his and his wife's financial stability. For him, it's proof that guarding his mind changes how he feels and shows up in recovery.
He also talks candidly about social media, admitting he's "addicted" to it, but stressing that he can "choose not to participate in this negative stuff" and even restart a bad day with five minutes of quiet. The episode rounds off with information about recovery housing in South Carolina and efforts to get naloxone and training into every recovery home.
If you've ever wondered whether your thinking might be sabotaging your sobriety, this honest chat might get you asking what you're letting live rent-free in your head today.
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