The Only Rock Bottom in Recovery is Ryan | Episode 495

The Only Rock Bottom in Recovery is Ryan | Episode 495

How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation on The Way Out brings that question to life through Ryan’s raw and often darkly funny account of alcohol and cocaine addiction, near-death experiences, and the long climb into recovery.

Charlie and Jason sit down with Ryan from *Rock Bottom with Ryan*, a fellow recovery podcaster who jokes that he *is* “the only rock bottom in recovery.” Across 17 years of alcoholism, he shares how college party culture, fraternity life and later cocaine turned alcohol into “my easy button” for social anxiety, trauma and loneliness.

Things escalate into hospital stays, a .34 DUI, blackouts, seizures and injuries so severe his own mother once walked past his hospital bed because she didn’t recognise him.

A powerful turning point comes when a former nun from his childhood school finds his name on the ward list and visits daily: “I usually read last rites, but I’m here to pray for you.” That quiet presence nudges Ryan towards treatment and, eventually, a life based around meetings, service, fitness and his podcast, where people “recover out loud.” The episode is ideal for anyone feeling stuck between relapse and recovery, or wondering if their drinking has gone too far.

You’ll hear how Ryan now gives rides to meetings, works out with people he met in treatment, and chairs meetings alongside his mum, who also found sobriety. He’s honest about tough days too, including a recent craving spike he managed with “three meetings in a day” and a long phone call instead of a drink.

With humour, candour and zero guru vibes, this chat shows that “your bottom is when you stop freaking digging” – and that even quiet acts of service can keep you sober one day at a time. Where might you be able to stop digging and ask for help today?