The Gift of Continued Relapse with Cole Chance

The Gift of Continued Relapse with Cole Chance

What are the common struggles and victories in addiction recovery? This conversation between host Tim Westbrook and guest Cole Chance pulls back the curtain on repeated relapse, stubborn denial, and the unexpected gifts found in finally asking for help. You'll hear how Cole’s drinking began at 13 as a “golden ticket” for social anxiety, then expanded into all‑day alcohol use, DUIs, seizures, and eventually heroin in a desperate attempt to quit booze.

Cole describes a pivotal moment in a dark house in Austin, surrounded by bottles, when she remembered someone telling her, “You’re going to come to a point where you realise that you can be high or you could be happy.” That line, plus the dawning terror that substances had stopped working, finally nudged her to call a sober living house and say the words she never used: “I need help.” The episode also digs into how yoga, Buddhism, and nervous system work now underpin her recovery.

She talks honestly about going to six treatment centres, drinking on the plane home, hiding bottles in sober living, and insisting, “I’m not supposed to be here,” even as her life fell apart. A big thread is denial and how fiercely it can keep someone sick. Cole explains polyvagal theory using a simple traffic‑light metaphor: green for “life feels possible”, yellow for stress and activation, red for shutdown and disconnection.

She shares practical tools like breathing, humming, and shaking to shift state and support the nervous system, especially for those in early recovery. For anyone who’s relapsed more times than they can count, or loves someone stuck in that cycle, this talk offers raw honesty, practical language for understanding the nervous system, and a fresh view on how repeated attempts at treatment can still plant crucial seeds.

It might leave you asking: is your own “bubble of delusion” getting thinner—and what could you do with that moment?