The Courage To Be Honest (Episode 2)The Courage To Be Honest (Episode 2)
Relational Recovery
Wes Thompson and Austin Hill talk about the difficulty of being honest in addiction recovery, especially when stigma and family reactions are so strong. They discuss self-stigma, trust, and the struggle to find safe people to share real struggles with.
6:03•2 Sept 2026
The Courage to Be Honest: Stigma, Family, and Early Recovery
Episode Overview
- Honesty in recovery is hard because stigma and shame make people hide and wear a mask.
- Early in recovery, the circle of safe people to share with is often very small, and not everyone is able to handle the truth.
- Family members may want to help but feel inadequate and uncomfortable, offering simple solutions that don’t match the depth of addiction.
- Negative or pessimistic responses, even when fuelled by pain, can push someone further into addiction and away from support.
- Self-stigma grows when people start believing societal labels like "once an addict, always an addict," which can wipe out hope and trust in themselves and others.
“"Self-stigma is just simply you believe what society says about you, you attach it and then you internalize it and then you say, I am those things."”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation from Relational Recovery leans into one of the hardest parts of getting clean: having the courage to be honest when shame and stigma are screaming at you to hide. Hosted by Wes Thompson and co-host Austin Hill, the episode keeps a relaxed, conversational feel, but the stories cut deep. They talk about how stigma from others easily turns into self-stigma, and how that shift can quietly drain hope.
As one line puts it bluntly, "self-stigma is just simply you believe what society says about you... you attach it and then you internalize it and then you say, I am those things." Austin shares how his mum became his main confidant, offering encouragement and simple, practical advice like "just stop doing drugs and things will get better" – honest, if incomplete.
His dad, more pessimistic and worn down by years of watching him struggle, often mirrored society’s harsh voice: "there we go again... it just keeps repeating itself." That mix of encouragement and discouragement will feel very familiar to anyone who’s tried to get sober in a family that doesn’t quite know what to do. The episode keeps circling back to a key question: who is actually safe to be honest with?
Wes and Austin acknowledge that, especially early in recovery, that circle might be tiny – maybe a counsellor, a pastor, a sponsor, or sometimes no one at all. They highlight how trust is fragile when you’ve been judged, labelled, or written off as "once an addict, always an addict." Aimed at people struggling with addictions and the loved ones walking alongside them, this episode offers a grounded look at honesty, stigma, and hope.
It’s a gentle nudge to ask: who could you risk being truly honest with today?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.