I Got Sober. I Still Avoid the Phone

I Got Sober. I Still Avoid the Phone

How do people cope with the challenges of staying sober when everyday tasks still feel huge? This chat between Matt J and Steve C pulls back the curtain on avoidance – the awkward, nagging habit of dodging phone calls, money decisions, dental appointments, home repairs and even vaccines – long after the drink has gone. Matt admits, "Sobriety doesn't remove avoidance.

It just makes it harder to hide from," and Steve backs this up with his own story of dodging the dentist for two years, convinced the bill and bad news would be unbearable. The punchline? The appointment was fine – and far less painful than the long stretch of worry leading up to it. You’ll hear them tie everyday procrastination to ADHD, anxiety and old coping patterns where alcohol used to be the quick fix.

Now, without that crutch, they lean on their AA programme: making decisions, taking "the next right action", and using simple tools like breaking tasks into tiny steps or "move a muscle, change a thought" to get unstuck. The tone is frank and down-to-earth.

You get honest talk about money fears, choosing contractors, big home projects like replacing a pool liner or refinishing floors, and the weird guilt of saying "no" to people – all framed through the lens of sobriety and emotional growth. Steve keeps returning to the idea of serenity: avoidance doesn’t just delay a job, it slowly drains peace and makes him snappy and unsettled.

Rather than pretending sobriety magically erases anxiety, they stress that feeling scared or overwhelmed doesn’t mean you’re doing recovery wrong. It means you’re human and need tools, support and small actions. By the end, the challenge is simple and practical: pick one thing you’re avoiding, be honest about why, and take one small step towards it. What’s the one task you’re dodging today that might actually feel lighter once you start?