Recovery Talk

Recovery Talk

How do people manage co-occurring mental and physical health issues while recovering? Recovery Talk brings together David Lewry and Steve from Stonewall Recovery Center for an honest, funny, and sometimes fiery chat about what healing can actually look like. Rather than pushing a single method, they question the idea that there is only one acceptable way to get well.

Steve talks about being told that anyone who tries a different path is doomed to fail, and how that fear-based message kept him small for years. As he puts it, "We've been sold a lie that we are not strong enough. We've been sold a lie that we can't do it on our own." The conversation ranges from 12-step culture and harm reduction, to queer-specific recovery spaces, trauma, consent, and the impact of white supremacy on treatment systems.

They talk frankly about labels like “alcoholic” and “addict”, why some people stop using them, and how recovery can be framed instead as a long-term healing journey rather than a one-time fix. You’ll hear examples of people crafting their own programmes, setting their own goals (including moderated use), and using tools like “procrastinating my addiction” to get through difficult days.

Safety comes up again and again – emotional, physical, cultural – with stories of people who have never felt safe, even in treatment, and what it might mean to finally define safety for yourself. The tone is raw, sweary, warm, and very human. There’s humour, talk of protest, mental illness, self-harm ideation, and the realities of being queer in hostile systems.

If you’re tired of being told there’s only one right way to recover, this conversation might make you pause and ask: what would my recovery look like if I wrote it myself?